Word: endostatin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...seemed too good to be true, and of course it was. There are no miracle cancer drugs, at least not yet. At this stage all EntreMed can offer is some very interesting molecules, called angiostatin and endostatin, and the only cancers they have cured so far have been in mice. By the middle of last week, even the most breathless TV talk-show hosts had learned what every scientist already knew: that curing a disease in lab animals is not the same as doing it in humans. "The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer...
Even that understates the scientific hurdles that lie ahead. No one knows yet whether angiostatin and endostatin will help people. Even if researchers do figure out how to make the compounds work, pharmaceutical companies estimate it would take as much as $400 million and at least 10 years--not two years--of thorough clinical trials to bring a drug to market...
Most people thought they were hearing about a new breakthrough. In fact, Folkman's work on angiostatin and endostatin had been reported months before in scientific journals and just a few weeks ago in Business Week. A November article in Nature briefly boosted EntreMed's stock 28%, to $15.25 per share. But of course that was nothing compared with last week, when the stock rocketed past $80 before eventually dropping to $33.25 at Friday's close...
...development of drug resistance in cancerpatients to their chemotherapy can often be thefinal stage of their condition, but endostatin andangiostatin do not induce such reactions. Evenwith such exciting results, Folkman acknowledgesthat the ultimate step in his research is to beable to provide clinical treatment for humans...
...Endostatin and angiostatin are now licensed tothe pharmaceutical industry and await movementinto clinical trials...