> Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found a troubling association between the use of an adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vector to deliver gene therapy and the occurrence of liver cancer, at least in the mice used for experiments. "Most of the AAV integrations that caused liver cancer landed in a gene that is not found in the human genome, which suggests that the cancers we observed after AAV gene therapy may have been a mouse-specific phenomenon. However, these studies do convincingly demonstrate that AAV can be a cancer-causing agent, which argues for further studies," said Randy Chandler of the National Human Genome Research Institute. More
> In a win for the Clinton Foundation's goal of preventing 10,000 prescription drug-related deaths over 5 years, privately held kaléo agreed to sell its Evzio Auto-Injector to universities and other institutional buyers at the low federal price. The announcement was made at the at the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters Annual Activation Summit in La Quinta, CA. Story
> Insys Therapeutics announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to its liposomal encapsulated paclitaxel candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Release
> Glide Technologies selected Albany Molecular Research Limited to manufacture its novel solid dose injection formulation of octreotide for use in an upcoming human bioequivelance study. Release