In a related story also in the New York Times, cancer researchers in Australia have developed a drug that is effective in animal tests  at attacking cancer cells. It’s a long way to see if the new approach has validity in human subjects, but it is nice to see progress being made in imaginative ways.

With indictments against executives at two companies for conducting unauthorized clinical trials and with another trial voluntarily halted by a major university, Emory, because of poor record-keeping discovered after an audit, it’s interesting to see that the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Bulletin has an article advocating for a more streamlined clinical trials system to increase enrollment of subjects, at least in cancer trials… The apparent focus on recruitment as the first priority and on reducing regulatory oversight as the second priority of many institutions that conduct or sponsor trials  is disturbing. In the words of Casey Stengel, “Doesn’t anyone here know how to play this game?”…

Norian, Synthes, executives charged with conducting medical trials … Bizjournals.com – Charlotte, NC, USA – The indictment charges that from May 2002 until fall 2004 Norian conspired with others, including Synthes, to conduct unauthorized clinical trials of two …See all stories on this topic

A Closer Look: A Sense of Urgency: Rethinking the Clinical Trial … National Cancer Institute – NCI Cancer Bulletin – Bethesda, MD, USA – Low enrollment of adult cancer patients in clinical trials is an ongoing challenge in cancer research. Only about 3 to 5 percent of adults diagnosed with … See all stories on this topic

Emory halts enrollment in cancer clinical trials – Atlanta Journal Constitution – GA, USA - By Craig Schneider – Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute has stopped accepting new patients into clinical trials after a critical audit … See all stories on this topic

HEALTHPOINT-Sponsored Venous Leg Ulcer Clinical Trial Enrolls … PR Newswire (press release) – New York, NY, USA – The first patient was enrolled at The Center for Clinical Research near San Francisco, Calif., led by the site’s principal investigator, Alexander Reyzelman … See all stories on this topic

Sinovac’s H1N1 flu vaccine for clinical trial by July – China Knowledge Online – Singapore – Sinovac will invite other vaccine makers to join the large-scale production once the vaccine has been proved to be effective and safe in clinical trials. … See all stories on this topic

No more off-the-record human clinical trials – Economic Times – Gurgaon, Haryana, India – NEW DELHI: The government has mandated all human clinical trials being done in the country to be registered with the Indian Council of Medical Research … See all stories on this topic

Business Wire (press release) – Idera Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on Drug Candidate Pipeline … San Francisco, CA, USA – “Over the next 18 months we expect to obtain data from ongoing clinical trials of each of these candidates to enable decisions on further development … See all stories on this topic

Advancing Your Clinical Trial Interests – Oncology Nursing News – New York, USA – This nonprofit organization was founded in 1997 to increase awareness of, access to, and participation in cancer-related clinical trials. … See all stories on this topic

Biotech Calendar: More Key Clinical Trial Dates – TheStreet.com – USA – As promised, I’m back this week with another clinical trials list covering experimental drugs currently undergoing testing in phase II and phase III studies … See all stories on this topic

Abbott Initiates Trial of Next-Generation XIENCE PRIME(TM) Drug … PR Newswire (press release) – New York, NY, USA – “SPIRIT PRIME is expected to build upon the superior outcomes from the SPIRIT family of clinical trials, and the initiation of the study represents Abbott’s … See all stories on this topic

There is some fascinating and potentially breakthrough news about cancer treatment vaccine trials that was reported in the National Cancer Institute Bulletin. Recent trials could reshape the field of cancer research and the quest for a cure. Whatever is accomplished is no doubt a long way off but it’s worth keeping your eyes on. I’ll continue to keep you informed as this topic develops but here is the lead on a new story…

Treatment vaccines that boost the immune system’s response to tumors may have important clinical benefits for patients with various types of cancer, according to results from several clinical trials presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Orlando.

To many in the field, the findings represent an emergence of sorts for therapeutic cancer vaccines. Treatment vaccines have been the subject of intense study for more than 2 decades, but they have produced little in the way of FDA-approved cancer treatments. That could change based on the recent clinical trial results… 

Featured Clinical Trial: Imaging the Extent of Prostate Cancer – National Cancer Institute – NCI Cancer Bulletin – Bethesda, MD, USA – In this clinical trial, researchers are testing PET scans using a different radiolabeled molecule, carbon-11 (C-11) acetate, in conjunction with subsequent … See all stories on this topic

Clinical Trials Update: June 2, 2009 – U.S. News & World Report – Washington, DC, USA – This study seeks people who have high cholesterol. Participants will receive all study related care and investigational medication at no cost, … See all stories on this topic

New Zealand Herald – New Zealand – She said half a dozen BRAF inhibitors were being prepared for clinical trials but the teams developing them were yet to prove they were safe and effective. – See all stories on this topic

Legislative Action Alert from NORD: Support Expanded Access to … RSDSA – New York, NY, USA – Yet, current rules regarding eligibility for SSI prevent a significant number of people with rare diseases from participating in clinical trials that … See all stories on this topic

New Data from Satraplatin Phase 3 Trial in Second-Line Castrate … WELT ONLINE – Berlin, Germany – Data from other Phase I and Phase II clinical trials evaluating satraplatin in combination with other cancer therapeutic drugs were published in the 2009 … See all stories on this topic

I-SPY trial offers key insights into locally advanced breast cancer – Insciences Organisation – Basel, Switzerland – The goals are to establish a clinical trials model that supports the identification of drugs targeting the molecular profiles of aggressive breast cancers, … See all stories on this topic

Market Report — In Play (CYTK) – MSN Money – USA – In this trial, ispinesib appears to demonstrate anti-cancer activity with a similar toxicity profile when compared with prior clinical trials conducted with … See all stories on this topic