scholarly journals Nanomaterials Upscaling Cell Production and Advancing Exosome-Based Stem Cell Therapies

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athina Samara ◽  
Branson D. Belle

The COVID-19 pandemic underlined that by investing in both basic and clinical life science research and if there are enough volunteers, it is feasible to have -validated by Phase III clinical trials- vaccines in less than a year. Regarding the treatment options for the people who were infected by COVID-19, we know that it was the large clinical trials - like SOLIDARITY (WHO) and RECOVERY (UK)- that gave the most valid results, and that although hundreds of drugs were repurposed, sadly, most proved to be unsuccessful. Repurposing drugs and compassionate use, were the only options for the first half of 2020. The same applied to the convalescent plasma (CP) approach; however, apart from CP, other cell derived therapeutics were deployed, such as synthetic monoclonal antibodies, which were also tested and given provisional licences by health authorities. Unfortunately, synthetic antibody production comes with problems related to low and slow yield that were not overcome, while SARS-CoV-2 viral mutations may possibly render them less effective. One approach that works and is currently assessed in several clinical trials, is mesenchymal stromal cell (MSCs) and extracellular vesicle (EV) administration for therapy. Interdisciplinarity may prove key here. Easy to produce nanomaterials and biomaterials should be further investigated to increase bioproduction of MSCs, both at the level of therapeutics, as the base substrate for EV production and to upscale synthetic antibody production for therapy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-221
Author(s):  
Colton H. Funkhouser ◽  
Kathleen M. Coerdt ◽  
Wasim Haidari ◽  
Michael A. Cardis

Objective: Hydrogen peroxide 40% (HP40) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for topical treatment of seborrheic keratosis (SK) in December 2017. This article will review phase II and III clinical trials to assess the drug’s efficacy, safety, and clinical application. Data Sources: A systematic literature review was performed using the terms “Eskata AND seborrheic keratosis,” and “hydrogen peroxide AND seborrheic keratosis” in the OVID MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. ClinicalTrials.gov was searched to identify ongoing or nonpublished studies. Study Selection and Data Abstraction: Articles written in English between January 2000 and mid-June 2020 discussing phase II and phase III clinical trials were evaluated. Data Synthesis: In 2 phase III clinical trials, 4% and 8% of patients treated with HP40 had a Physician Lesion Assessment score of zero for all 4 SKs, respectively, compared with 0% in both vehicle groups at the primary end point of day 106 ( P < 0.01; P < 0.0001). Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: HP40, although less effective, has a better safety profile than other treatment options. It should be especially considered for treatment of facial SKs, where it is most efficacious and where other treatment modalities, such as cryotherapy, are more challenging. Conclusions: HP40 is a new, safe alternative treatment for SKs, although it is expensive and only modestly effective, both of which somewhat limit its overall utility. HP40 is a promising topical alternative, particularly for cosmetically sensitive locations, such as the face.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-204
Author(s):  
SRC McCracken ◽  
GC Durkan ◽  
RS Pickard ◽  
CN Robson

SummaryProstate cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death, in men, in western countries. Prostate cancer is diagnosed in very few people aged younger than 50 years (<0.1% of all patients). The mean age of patients with this disorder is 72–74 years. Most men aged older than 85 years have histological prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation reduces tumour activity in approximately 80% of patients with advanced disease, but most tumours relapse within 2 years to an incurable castrate-resistant state. Treatment options for patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer are very limited and, even with toxic therapy, such as docetaxel, the life expectancy is only improved by a median of 2 months. Hence earlier diagnosis and improved treatments for prostate cancer are urgently required. Novel drugs, such as Abiratorone acetate and MDV-3100 have shown promise in pre-clinical and early clinical trials, and a number are now in phase III clinical trials, alone or in combination with docetaxel.


2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A284-A284
Author(s):  
B NAULT ◽  
S SUE ◽  
J HEGGLAND ◽  
S GOHARI ◽  
G LIGOZIO ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 620-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Falardeau ◽  
Pierre Champagne ◽  
Patrick Poyet ◽  
Claude Hariton ◽  
[Eacute]ric Dupont

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1073
Author(s):  
Juan-Carlos Saiz

West Nile virus (WNV) is a widely distributed enveloped flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, which main hosts are birds. The virus sporadically infects equids and humans with serious economic and health consequences, as infected individuals can develop a severe neuroinvasive disease that can even lead to death. Nowadays, no WNV-specific therapy is available and vaccines are only licensed for use in horses but not for humans. While several methodologies for WNV vaccine development have been successfully applied and have contributed to significantly reducing its incidence in horses in the US, none have progressed to phase III clinical trials in humans. This review addresses the status of WNV vaccines for horses, birds, and humans, summarizing and discussing the challenges they face for their clinical advance and their introduction to the market.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212110183
Author(s):  
Laurent Kodjikian ◽  
Carl Joe Mehanna ◽  
Salomon-Yves Cohen ◽  
François Devin ◽  
Sam Razavi ◽  
...  

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents have transformed the management of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) over the past two decades. However, as more long-term real-world data become available, it is clear that treatment outcomes are inferior to those reported in large, controlled clinical trials. This is largely driven by undertreatment, that is, not maintaining a consistent injection frequency to achieve sustained VEGF suppression, whether due to patient non-compliance, an important injection burden, or non/incomplete anatomical response. Newer therapeutic advances under evaluation hold promise in achieving more, for less. We review the latest drugs currently in or having successfully finished phase III clinical trials, and determine their potential place in the management of patients with nAMD in Europe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175628642097591
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Scott ◽  
Ray Su ◽  
Kuangnan Xiong ◽  
Arman Altincatal ◽  
Carmen Castrillo-Viguera ◽  
...  

Background: Peginterferon beta-1a and glatiramer acetate (GA) are approved first-line therapies for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, but their therapeutic efficacy has not been compared directly. Methods: Clinical outcomes at 2 years, including no evidence of disease activity (NEDA), for patients receiving peginterferon beta-1a 125 mcg every 2 weeks (Q2W) or GA 20 mg/ml once daily (QD) were compared by propensity score matching analysis using individual patient data from ADVANCE and CONFIRM phase III clinical trials. In addition, clinical outcomes at 1–3 years for patients receiving peginterferon beta-1a Q2W or GA 40 mg/ml three times a week (TIW) were evaluated using a matching-adjusted comparison analysis of individual patient data from ADVANCE and the ADVANCE extension study, ATTAIN, and aggregate patient data from the phase III GALA and the GALA extension studies. Results: Propensity-score-matched peginterferon beta-1a patients ( n = 336) had a significantly lower annualized relapse rate [ARR (0.204 versus 0.282); rate ratio = 0.724; p = 0.045], a significantly lower probability of 12-week confirmed disability worsening (10.0% versus 14.6%; hazard ratio = 0.625; p = 0.048), and a significantly higher rate of NEDA (20.3% versus 11.5%; p = 0.047) compared with GA 20 mg/ml QD patients after 2 years of treatment. Matching-adjusted peginterferon beta-1a patients (effective n = 276) demonstrated a similar ARR at 1 year (0.278 versus 0.318; p = 0.375) and significantly lower ARR at 2 years (0.0901 versus 0.203; p = 0.032) and 3 years (0.109 versus 0.209; p = 0.047) compared with GA 40 mg/ml TIW patients ( n = 834). Conclusion: Results from separate matching comparisons of phase III clinical trials and extension studies suggest that peginterferon beta-1a 125 mcg Q2W may provide better clinical outcomes than GA (20 mg/ml QD or 40 mg/ml TIW).


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A592-A592
Author(s):  
Melissa Lingohr-Smith ◽  
Chelsea Deitelzweig ◽  
Grace Lin ◽  
Jay Lin

BackgroundTreatment advances have been made in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the development and approval of programmed death (PD)-1 and PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors may be used as monotherapies or in combination with other agents and have been shown to improve NSCLC patient outcomes in clinical trials. We conducted a systematic search to compare the efficacy and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of NSCLC.MethodsA systematic literature search of PubMed was conducted to identify phase III clinical trials in which the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of NSCLC was evaluated. PD-1 inhibitors included nivolumab and pembrolizumab; PD-L1 inhibitors included atezolizumab, avelumab, and durvalumab. Patient characteristics and efficacy data were extracted.ResultsSixteen phase III clinical trials were identified (nivolumab=4; pembrolizumab=5; atezolizumab=5; avelumab=1; durvalumab=1). Across the 3 nivolumab monotherapy trials (n=638; median ages: 61–63 years), median progression-free survival (PFS) ranged 2.3–4.2 months; response rates ranged 19%-26%; grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 7%-18% of patients. Nivolumab in combination with iplimumab (n=583; median age: 64 years) had a median PFS of 5.1 months and response rate of 33%; grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 33% of patients. Across the 3 pembrolizumab monotherapy trials (n=1,481; median ages: 63–64 years), median PFS ranged 3.9–10.3 months; response rates ranged 18%-45%; grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 13%-27% of patients. In the 2 pembrolizumab combination therapy trials (n=688; median ages: 65 years), median PFS ranged 6.4–8.8 months; response rates ranged 48%-58%; grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 67%-70% of patients. In the 4 atezolizumab combination therapy trials (n=1,486; median ages: 63–64 years), median PFS ranged 6.3–8.3 months; response rates ranged 47%-63.5%; grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 54%-73% of patients. In the 3 monotherapy trials of atezolizumab (n=613; median age: 63 years), avelumab (n=396; median age: 64 years), and durvalumab (n=476; median age: 64 years), the median months of PFS were 2.7, 2.8, and 17.2, respectively; response rates were 14%, 15%, and 30%, respectively; grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 15%, 10%, and 30.5% of patients, respectively.ConclusionsAlthough treatment responses varied, most of the evaluated PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors were associated with a clinical benefit for NSCLC trial patients. Generally, treatment efficacy was greater with combination therapies, but adverse events occurred more frequently. Innovations in the targeting/personalization of PD-1/PD-L1 combination therapies will likely lead to improved NSCLC patient outcomes and further research is needed in this regard.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Rossi ◽  
Giovanni Schinzari ◽  
Ilaria Grazia Zizzari ◽  
Brigida Anna Maiorano ◽  
Monica Maria Pagliara ◽  
...  

No standard treatment has been established for metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM). Immunotherapy is commonly used for this disease even though UM has not been included in phase III clinical trials with checkpoint inhibitors. Unfortunately, only a minority of patients obtain a clinical benefit with immunotherapy. The immunological features of mUM were reviewed in order to understand if immunotherapy could still play a role for this disease.


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