Guest guest Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Hi all, This is really exciting for the pancreatic cancer patients. I have been following Sutent because of its effect on GIST patients. Sutent is a drug that works on GIST patients when Gleevec and the other TKIs fail. Zavie Zavie (age 70) 67 Shoreham Avenue Ottawa, Canada, K2G 3X3 dxd AUG/99 INF OCT/99 to FEB/00, CHF No meds FEB/00 to JAN/01 Gleevec since MAR/27/01 (400 mg) CCR SEP/01. #102 in Zero Club 2.8 log reduction Sep/05 3.0 log reduction Jan/06 2.9 log reduction Feb/07 3.6 log reduction Apr/08 3.6 log reduction Sep/08 e-mail: zmiller@... Tel: 613-726-1117 Tel: 561-429-3309 in Florida Fax: 309-296-0807 Cell: 613-282-0204 ID: zaviem YM: zaviemiller Skype: Zavie Pfizer Inc. announced a new breakthrough Thursday that could give those with pancreatic-cancer histories - such as Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs - new hope for better treatment. Pfizer's drug Sutent, during a late-phase clinical trial, slowed the progression of pancreatic cancer in a relatively small population of patients with advanced tumors, the New York-based pharmaceutical giant said. The drug's effect was so powerful that Pfizer immediately ended the trial to offer patients on a placebo Sutent instead. The announcement sent Pfizer's stock price into a time warp - recalling the heady days more than a decade ago when Viagra was in its infancy and its stock was soaring - as it rose nearly 10 percent on Thursday. The stock had previously been beaten up throughout the year, losing as much as 30 percent of its value since the firm announced a $68 billion merger with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in January. Locally, Pfizer has campuses in Groton and New London. " We are delighted by these findings, " Dr. Mace Rothenberg, senior vice president of medical development and clinical affairs for Pfizer's oncology business unit, said in a statement. Sutent, already marketed to treat kidney and intestinal tumors, contributed nearly $850 million in sales to Pfizer's bottom line last year. Pfizer is looking into extending its treatment benefits to include advanced breast, lung, colon, prostate and other cancers. The United Kingdom recently accepted Sutent as an effective treatment for kidney cancer after initially rejecting the high-cost drug. Pfizer for two years gave away Sutent to regional health commissioners to try to prove the drug's effectiveness. Research on Sutent, like other cancer treatments, is done at Pfizer's laboratories in La Jolla, Calif. The compound came from Pfizer's buyout of Pharmacia in 2003. The company said its world research-and-development headquarters in New London did not contribute to the analysis or planning of Sutent's most recent drug trial. Pfizer ended the Sutent trial after an independent committee said the findings were strong enough to move on to the next phase of the drug-development process: presenting the findings to scientific authorities. The company also would likely try to fast-track the federal Food and Drug Administration's drug- approval process, analysts said. The successful drug trial showed that Sutent extended the survival time of patients and stopped the spread of advanced tumors in the islet cells of the pancreas. " Sutent works by blocking multiple molecular targets implicated in the growth, proliferation and spread of cancer, " including blood vessels, oxygen and nutrients, according to Pfizer. Pfizer said this particular form of pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, affecting an estimated 5 to 10 million people worldwide. But with few treatment options available, CNBC pharmaceuticals reporter Mike Huckman conjectured that former patients like Jobs, who had a rare form of pancreatic cancer, would likely be clamoring for Sutent. " Pfizer ... needs every little positive piece of drug development pipeline news that it can get, " Huckman said on his pharmaceuticals blog. " That may explain why the stock is rallying. " L.HOWARD@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 Dear Zavie, I can tell you from two years personal experience that Sutent comes with a price (and not just dollars). It has an array of side effects that makes Gleevec look tame. Bob , Granger, Indiana > > Hi all, > > This is really exciting for the pancreatic cancer patients. > > I have been following Sutent because of its effect on GIST patients. Sutent is a drug that works on GIST patients when Gleevec and the other TKIs fail. > > Zavie > > > Zavie (age 70) > 67 Shoreham Avenue > Ottawa, Canada, K2G 3X3 > dxd AUG/99 > INF OCT/99 to FEB/00, CHF > No meds FEB/00 to JAN/01 > Gleevec since MAR/27/01 (400 mg) > CCR SEP/01. #102 in Zero Club > 2.8 log reduction Sep/05 > 3.0 log reduction Jan/06 > 2.9 log reduction Feb/07 > 3.6 log reduction Apr/08 > 3.6 log reduction Sep/08 > e-mail: zmiller@... > Tel: 613-726-1117 > Tel: 561-429-3309 in Florida > Fax: 309-296-0807 > Cell: 613-282-0204 > ID: zaviem > YM: zaviemiller > Skype: Zavie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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