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Revenue for Merck’s drug Keytruda in 2020 was more than US$14 billion.
According to Statista, By 2030, the cancer drug market is projected to be worth $215 billion.
In global comparison, most of the revenue will be generated in the United States with 98.10 million dollars in 2022.
Scientists at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology at the Barcelona hospital (VHIO) have developed a drug capable of inhibiting the function of the key gene that drives cancer growth. According to the official statement from VHIO, Omomyc is a therapeutic mini-protein created through another previous drug, Peptomyc.
During the preclinical phase in the laboratory, it was shown that this protein is capable of entering cells and reaching their nucleus, where the MYC oncogene is found. According to the statement, Once in the nucleus, Omomyc inhibits the ability of MYC to promote the growth of cancerous tumors.
Results of the Phase I Clinical Trial
The director of the Cancer Molecular Therapy Research Unit (UITM) – VHIO CaixaResearch, Dr. Elena Garralda, started a phase I clinical trial involving 22 patients to test the safety of Omomyc and to see if there were early signs of cancer control.
The patients who participated in the trials of the new cancer-fighting drug had a variety of solid tumors, including non-small cell lung, intestine and pancreas cancers, that had received at least three prior treatments.
Eight of 12 patients who underwent CT scan after 9 weeks of treatment showed stable disease in which tumor growth had stopped.
“It is still too early to assess the activity of the drug, but we are seeing the stabilization of the disease in some patients. Of note is the case of a patient with pancreatic cancer who remained in the study for more than six months, and in whom the tumor shrank by 8% and there was an 83% reduction in tumor-derived DNA circulating in the bloodstream. There is also a patient with a salivary gland tumor whose disease remains stable and is still in the study after 15 months, and a patient with sarcoma, who had responded very poorly to previous treatments, who remained stable for 8 months.” explained Dr. Elena Garralda.
Secondary Effects presented during Phase I
According to the report, the most common treatment-related adverse side effects were mild reactions to the intravenous infusion, including chills, fever, nausea, rash, and low blood pressure. Higher dose levels were associated with more infusion reactions, but these were easily treated.
“The most exciting thing is that the biological markers clearly show that we are successfully inhibiting MYC. Also, adverse side effects are mostly mild, which is important when we start thinking about the next steps and combining Omomyc with chemotherapy or other therapies,” added Dr. Garralda.
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