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
Category: Biotechnology
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?
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)
Home-brewed Heroin? Q and A with a synthetic biologist.
Researchers are reporting that they have made significant strides in engineering yeast to efficiently produce Opioids (a drug class that includes morphine and heroin). Interestingly, these yeast strains are quite similar to those frequently used by individuals to brew beer or make pizza dough –raising concerns as to whether or not this biotechnology can one… Continue reading Home-brewed Heroin? Q and A with a synthetic biologist.