Small charity eases struggles of breast cancer patients
With volunteer leader Nancy Shepard at the helm, IWIN Foundation has distributed $875,000 in grants to breast cancer patients. Recipients have ranged in age from 18 to 90.
Cancer
Articles
Sledge’s exit will keep IU program mostly intact
The departure of Dr. George Sledge likely will sap the breast cancer research program at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center of about $500,000 in annual funding. But the program Sledge built over the past three decades mostly will remain intact.
Lilly wins appeal upholding patent for Alimta cancer drug
Eli Lilly and Co. won a U.S. appeals court ruling that upholds the validity of a patent for the lung-cancer drug Alimta and blocks generic competition through 2017. Alimta generated $2.5 billion in sales last year.
Indiana Blood Center tapping new vein of revenue
Group sees role in cellular therapy as growth area with profit margins higher than core business.
Lilly cancer treatment fails trial in stomach cancer
Erbitux, a cancer treatment made by Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.'s Imclone unit, failed to help patients with advanced stomach tumors in a late-stage clinical trial.
Notre Dame receives $5M for adult stem cell research
The university says the gift from an alumnus will fund three new endowed professorships in adult and all forms of non-embryonic stem cell research, in hopes of accelerating discovery of new treatments for heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Cancer tools help Roche with Alzheimer’s drug
Treatments for central nervous system diseases have a huge potential payoff, analysts say. A hint of whether the gamble may pay off is due in the second half of this year, as Eli Lilly and Co. and Pfizer Inc. announce results for Alzheimer’s drugs that attack the same protein as Roche’s experimental drug.
WellPoint enrolls IBM supercomputer at IU medical school
IBM’s supercomputer Watson is already a “Jeopardy!” champion. Now, three doctors in Indianapolis are trying to teach it how to treat cancer.
Komen grant recipients cope with controversy they didn’t create
Local health care providers won’t find an easy replacement for the grant money supplied by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. That money could be in jeopardy, as grass-roots Komen supporters appear to be sitting out of this year’s Race for the Cure in response to a national controversy over grants to Planned Parenthood.
Endocyte pulls trigger on European drug submission
Endocyte Inc. will submit its ovarian cancer drug EC145 for European market approval in the third quarter of this year after the European Commission granted it orphan drug status.
NFP of NOTE: Little Red Door Cancer Agency
Little Red Door Cancer Agency strives to make the most of life and the least of cancer.
Endocyte stays course despite being battered by investors
After spending most of 2011 as a Wall Street darling, the year ended ugly for Endocyte Inc. But CEO Ron Ellis thinks the West Lafayette-based drug developer is in better position than ever.
Q&A
Dr. Bryan Schneider, a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, led a team of researchers in identifying genetic variations that dispose some breast cancer patients to neuropathy when they are receiving chemotherapy with the drug Taxol. Schneider’s research was named one of the biggest advances in cancer research this year by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The society’s foundation also gave Schneider a three-year, $450,000 grant to further the research.
Q&A
Carmel resident David Wasilewski has launched WhatNext, a website that uses algorithms to make it easier for cancer patients to connect with others in similar circumstances. Wasilewski, 39, spent eight years as chief operating officer of the Spanx line of body shapers and did health care consulting before that. In addition to helping patients, he thinks WhatNext can become a way for health care organizations share their expertise with patients in need.
Lilly’s Alimta get favorable opinion for new use in Europe
If approved for continuation maintenance, Eli Lilly and Co.’s Alimta could be used for longer stretches in lung cancer patients, generating more revenue.
Debate rages over whether Lilly’s Byetta lifts cancer risk
A German researcher disputed the validity of a study that found Byetta and another diabetes drug increase cancer risk.
IU Cancer Center recruits top researcher
Dr. Murray Korc, an internationally known pancreatic cancer researcher, comes to the cancer center as the first Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research. The position is funded through a Lilly Endowment grant.
Attention race fans: Hot dogs may be hazardous to your health
A billboard near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway features an image of hot dogs poking out of a cigarette pack adorned with a skull and crossbones. A message warns viewers that "hot dogs can wreck your health."
IU Health strikes deal with Central Indiana Cancer Centers
Central Indiana Cancer Centers sold its five facilities to IU Health and transferred its 150 employees to the Indianapolis-based hospital system. The 16 physicians in the practice will remain independent, but they have signed a service agreement with IU Health that pulls the two entities into a tight embrace.
Analyst: Lilly drug poised for continued growth
Eli Lilly and Co.'s lung cancer treatment Alimta is poised for continued growth based on recently released study data, according to a new Credit Suisse analyst report.