Monday, September 10, 2012

Another cure from cancer. Again! (Post No 12) Dacomitinib


Very nice news – a drug against lung cancer very soon will be available! Probably…  
The SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group (SFJ), announced today that it has entered into a collaborative development agreement with Pfizer Inc. to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer's investigational pan-HER (pan-human epidermal growth factor receptor) inhibitor, dacomitinib (PF-00299804).  The trial, which will be conducted across multiple sites in Asia and Europe, will evaluate dacomitinib as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
And we are talking about targeted approach:  Dacomitinib (PF-00299804) is a second-generation irreversible pan-erbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It is believed to irreversibly inhibit erbB tyrosine kinase activity through binding at the ATP site and covalent modification of nucleophilic cysteine residues in the catalytic domains of erbB family members.
Therefore, thistargeted approach is not very much targeted – Dacomitinib is not specific to just one particular protein but to the whole family of erbB tyrosine kinases. Do not ask me why. And do not ask me who, when and how will be develop a medicine to the rest of lung cancer patients without activating mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We will follow the development of the situation with Dacomitinib with much interest!

No comments:

Post a Comment