New Report Shows Record Number Of Medicines In Development To Treat Leading Causes Of Cancer

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 02 Apr 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Responding to President Obama's call for "a cure for cancer in our time," the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) delivered a new report today on medicines in the research pipeline for cancer. The report shows that America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies are testing a record 861 new cancer medicines and vaccines. The medicines listed in the report are being tested in human clinical trials or are awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Nationwide, cancer is the second leading cause of death, affecting more than 10 million Americans, according to the National Cancer Institute. This year, more than half a million Americans are expected to die of cancer -- more than 1,500 a day. In Colorado, the lifetime risk of cancer is 1 in 2 for males and 2 in 5 for females. The most commonly diagnosed cancer in the state is breast cancer, followed by prostate and lung cancer.

"We released this report in Denver because of Colorado's growing role in developing cancer medicines," said PhRMA Senior Vice President Ken Johnson, who unveiled the report at the State Capitol Building.

"Oncology is one of Colorado's core research competencies, so the President's call to cure cancer resonates powerfully in our state," said Colorado Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien. "We are proud that the cancer medicines now in the research pipeline in Colorado are contributing substantially to the incredible progress made in the last five years by biopharmaceutical companies in developing new and more effective cancer treatments. The nation must continue its strong commitment to the cutting-edge pharmaceutical research that will enable cancer patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives."

"I am one of those patients who was diagnosed with cancer and was given a new treatment that brought me from the brink of death back to life," says PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin. "The men and women working for America's pharmaceutical research companies are committed to developing new cancer medicines that, one day, could eradicate cancer all together."

Cancer medicines being developed include 122 for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States; 107 for breast cancer, which is expected to strike more than 180,000 American women this year; 70 for colorectal cancer, which is the third most common cancer in both men and women; and 103 for prostate cancer, which this year is expected to kill 28,000 American men. Additional medicines target brain cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, skin cancer, and others.

The medicines represent many cutting-edge approaches, including a drug that delivers a synthetic version of a substance derived from scorpions directly to brain tumor cells; a number of cancer vaccines; medicines that target and kill specific cancer cells; and treatments that activate the patient's general immune system to destroy cancer.

"Researchers are making exciting progress in the search for new cures and treatments for cancer. But these efforts are wasted if the medicines we develop aren't accessible to patients who need them," said Johnson.

Help is available to patients in need through the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a program sponsored by America's pharmaceutical research companies. To date, the PPA has helped more than 5.7 million patients nationwide, including more than 72,000 people in Colorado. Since its launch in April 2005, the PPA bus tour has visited all 50 states and more than 2,500 cities to educate people about patient assistance programs.

The "Help is Here Express" is staffed by trained specialists able to quickly help uninsured and financially struggling patients access information on more than 475 patient assistance programs, including nearly 200 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.

To read Medicines in Development for Cancer 2009 on the PhRMA web site, click on the following link: http://www.phrma.org

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $50.3 billion in 2008 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $65.2 billion in 2008.

PhRMA Internet Address: http://www.phrma.org

For information on stories of hope and survival, visit: http://sharingmiracles.com

For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: http://www.innovation.org

For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: http://www.pparx.org

For information on the dangers of imported drugs, visit: http://www.buysafedrugs.info

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
http://www.phrma.org