32 MAY 2013 healthcare financial management The patent is a secondary rather than a primary patent, and the court rejected it as not being a novel invention because Novartis had patented a version of Gleevec in 1993, which it later abandoned. The focus on how innovative the secondary patent is relative to the first patent has potentially large ramifications for biologics, where innovations may ...

While working in his laboratory at the Salk Institute in 1979, Tony Hunter took a shortcut. Hunter decided not to make up fresh buffer for his electrophoresis run. That decision would alter his career, significantly influence the field of cancer biology, and ultimately lead to new cancer treatments. Hunter was studying Rous sarcoma virus, the first known cancer-causing virus, reported in 1911 b...

The availability of targeted compounds aimed at the molecular pathways involved in oncogenesis has created major opportunities that have led to the development of highly specifi c cancer treatments, with the potential for greater effi cacy and lower toxicity than conventional cytotoxic agents. Imatinib (Gleevec/Glivec) displays the full potential for these new approaches and has revolutionized ...

Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec™, STI571), a selective inhibitor of BCR-ABL, c-Kit, and platelet-derived factor receptor, has been used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Although its use has been associated with various adverse cutaneous reactions, pityriasis rosea-like drug eruptions are rare. Here, we report a case of pityriasis rosea-like drug erupti...

In the words of one scientist who read these pages in manuscript, “It might appear, especially to people who read books with references,” as though I “have given short shrift to exciting new developments in clinical oncology with drugs such as Gleevec” and to “a large literature that shows specific mutations in genes like rb, p53 and BRCA1 and BRCA2 generate polyclonal tumors and are sufficient...

A concise, flow-based synthesis of Imatinib, a compound used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, is described whereby all steps are conducted in tubular flow coils or cartridges packed with reagents or scavengers to effect clean product formation. An in-line solvent switching procedure was developed enabling the procedure to be performed with limited manual handling of intermediates.

A unique class of IFN-producing killer dendritic cells (IKDC) resembling natural killer cells has been defined that can recognize and lyse tumor cells through a tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-dependent mechanism. IKDC may mediate the host-dependent antitumor activity of Gleevec/STI571 and other therapeutics that can inhibit the c-kit tyrosine kinase. IKDC represent an i...

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common sarcoma of the alimentary tract and are believed to derive from the interstitial Cell of Cajal. Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec; Novartis, Basel, Switzerland) has revolutionized the treatment of GISTs and is generally used in the metastatic and adjuvant settings. We report the case of a 61-year old man who was treated with neoadjuvant imati...