Author: breakingbio

John McCain, Glioblastoma & Novocure’s Electric Cancer-killing Machine

Following a blood clot removal, John McCain was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a cancer with even worse prognosis than pancreatic cancer. For decades, patients diagnosed with Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) received an almost certain death sentence, with average survival times measured in months. Yet the approval of the most scifi-esque cancer therapy to date, Tumor-treating fields (Optune,… Continue reading John McCain, Glioblastoma & Novocure’s Electric Cancer-killing Machine

Don’t call it a comeback – rethinking, drug repurposing

The next big cancer drug may already be stocked on our pharmacy shelves without us even know it, ready to take a punch out of some new disease! Here, we consider the robust potential of drug repurposing (AKA drug repositioning, re-profiling, re-tasking or therapeutic switching). Even prior to dawn of modern medicine, it was common… Continue reading Don’t call it a comeback – rethinking, drug repurposing

Why aren’t natural products used to treat diseases?

Any person with an internet connection has heard stories about cancer-curing or fat-cutting natural products and extracts that pharmaceutical companies/doctors/etc. don’t want you to know about. While these ads are targeted at mostly vulnerable readers, there is a surprising truth behind this flood of clickbait. Consider this: Nearly 75% of all approved cancer drugs were… Continue reading Why aren’t natural products used to treat diseases?

How do we make a stand against Zika virus?

Yesterday, Julie Gerberding M.D. MPH and former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School about the current state vector-borne disease control (e.g. Zika virus) and the likelihood of an outbreak. Her overarching message? “It is not if… it’s when.” This statement was not a scare tactic, but… Continue reading How do we make a stand against Zika virus?

Biotech Beat: Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX)

Biotech stocks have had a rough break since the Turing fiasco in late 2015. While this negative publicity reflects a moderate amount of risk to large pharmaceutical companies with broad drug portfolios, it has created myriad investment opportunities in early stage companies. Here we discuss Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX), a stock whose current drug pipeline shows… Continue reading Biotech Beat: Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX)