Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation: [Antibody-Drug Conjugates and Their Application in the Treatment of Hematological Malignancies].

[Antibody-drug conjugates and their application in the treatment of hematological malignancies].

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Yao Xue Xue Bao. 2012 Oct; 47(10): 1287-96
Lin L, Ding Q, Tang Q, Zhang ZZ, Dai Z, Zhan JB

Monoclonal antibody-targeted therapy has been a hot spot in current clinical cancer treatment. As current antibody drugs have large molecule sizes leading to poor tissue penetration, and high dosage in clinical application leading to high cost, to overcome the problems, the development of new antibody drugs with miniaturization and high potency has become a new trend. In recent years, the conjugates of monoclonal antibodies and cytotoxins, called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), have entered the arsenal of anti-cancer drugs, becoming a new format of antibody drugs and attracting extensive attentions. The ADC molecule usually consists of antibody, linker and effector molecule. According to different effector molecules, ADCs can be divided into three categories as chemo-conjugates, immunotoxins and radio-conjugates. When ADC molecules are internalized into cancer cells, cytotoxins will be released by chemical, enzyme degradation or by action of lysosomal proteases, then kill targeted cells by inhibiting protein synthesis, depolymerizing microtubules or breaking double-strand DNA. Recently, two ADC drugs have been approved by the US FDA and more ADC drug candidates are in clinical phase II or III trials which show significantly clinical effects and attracting much attention and competition of pharmaceutical enterprises. In this review, antibody conjugates in the past and present will be summarized and the future development trends and challenges of this type of antibody drugs will be discussed.
HubMed – drug

 

Monoclonal antibody: the corner stone of modern biotherapeutics.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Yao Xue Xue Bao. 2012 Oct; 47(10): 1275-80
Xia ZN, Cai XT, Cao P

Worldwide sales of biologic drugs exceeded 100 billion USD in 2011. About 32% is from therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb). With many blockbuster biopharmaceutical patents expiring over the next decade, there is a great opportunity for biosimilar to enter the worldwide especially emerging market. Both European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have introduced regulatory frameworks for the potential approval of biosimilar mAb therapeutics. Rather than providing a highly abbreviated path, as in the case for small molecule chemical drug, approval for biosimilar mAb will require clinical trial and the details will be very much on a case-by-case basis. Since mAb is the dominant category of biologic drugs, mAb will be the focus of this review. First, the United States (US) and European Union (EU) approved mAb and those in phase 3 trials will be reviewed, then strategies on how to win biosimilar competition will be reviewed.
HubMed – drug

 

[An overview of antibody-based cancer therapy].

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Yao Xue Xue Bao. 2012 Oct; 47(10): 1261-8
Miao QF, Shao RG, Zhen YS

The use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for cancer therapy has achieved considerable success in recent years. Approximate 17 monoclonal antibodies have been approved as cancer therapeutics since 1997. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) are powerful new treatment options for cancer, and naked antibodies have recently achieved remarkable success. The safety and effectiveness of therapeutic mAbs in oncology vary depending on the nature of the target antigen and the mechanisms of tumor cell killing. This review provides a summary of the current state of antibody-based cancer therapy, including the mechanisms of tumor cell killing by antibodies, tumor antigens as antibody targets, clinical effectiveness of antibodies in cancer patients and nanoparticles-based ADCs.
HubMed – drug

 

Evaluation of a pilot medication-assisted therapy program in Kazakhstan: successes, challenges, and opportunities for scaleup.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Adv Prev Med. 2012; 2012: 308793
Boltaev AA, Deryabina AP, Kusainov A, Howard AA

Study Aims. Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the medication-assisted therapy (MAT) pilot in Kazakhstan and review implementation context and related challenges. Methods. We performed a desk review of MAT policy and program documents and reviewed medical records at three MAT sites in Kazakhstan. MAT patients (n = 93) were interviewed to assess their perceptions of the program and its impact on their health, criminal, drug use, and HIV risk related behaviors as well as expenditures on nonprescribed psychoactive drugs. Persons injecting drugs who are not in treatment, MAT program staff, and other stakeholders were interviewed to obtain their perspectives on MAT. Results. Legislation supports introducing MAT as a standard of care for treatment of opioid dependence; however, its progress has been hampered by active opposition. Inadequate access and coverage, insufficient supply management, scarce infrastructure of narcological facilities, limited opportunities for staff development, and restrictive methadone dispensing policies compromise the quality of the intervention and limit its potential benefits. There were significant reductions in criminal, drug use, and HIV risk related behaviors in patients receiving MAT. Conclusions. The MAT pilot in Kazakhstan demonstrated its feasibility and effectiveness in the local context and is recommended for scaleup throughout the country.
HubMed – drug

 

Dried Whole Plant Artemisia annua as an Antimalarial Therapy.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

PLoS One. 2012; 7(12): e52746
Elfawal MA, Towler MJ, Reich NG, Golenbock D, Weathers PJ, Rich SM

Drugs are primary weapons for reducing malaria in human populations. However emergence of resistant parasites has repeatedly curtailed the lifespan of each drug that is developed and deployed. Currently the most effective anti-malarial is artemisinin, which is extracted from the leaves of Artemisia annua. Due to poor pharmacokinetic properties and prudent efforts to curtail resistance to monotherapies, artemisinin is prescribed only in combination with other anti-malarials composing an Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT). Low yield in the plant, and the added cost of secondary anti-malarials in the ACT, make artemisinin costly for the developing world. As an alternative, we compared the efficacy of oral delivery of the dried leaves of whole plant (WP) A. annua to a comparable dose of pure artemisinin in a rodent malaria model (Plasmodium chabaudi). We found that a single dose of WP (containing 24 mg/kg artemisinin) reduces parasitemia more effectively than a comparable dose of purified drug. This increased efficacy may result from a documented 40-fold increase in the bioavailability of artemisinin in the blood of mice fed the whole plant, in comparison to those administered synthetic drug. Synergistic benefits may derive from the presence of other anti-malarial compounds in A. annua. If shown to be clinically efficacious, well-tolerated, and compatible with the public health imperative of forestalling evolution of drug resistance, inexpensive, locally grown and processed A. annua might prove to be an effective addition to the global effort to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality.
HubMed – drug

 

 

Everyone’s Not Doing It An Alcohol Prevention Video – At CDAT (Christian Drug and Alcohol Treatment) (760) 991-2328. www.christiandrugandalcoholtreatment.com we offer free local substance abuse classes, information on drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs. We provide assistance to those who are experiencing difficulty sorting out what to do about someone at risk of addiction and the consequences. We specialize in information and counseling as it relates to drug and alcohol rehabilitation embodied in both traditional and Christian recovery principles.

 

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