Bellicum’s prostate-cancer vaccine: Dendritic cells served with a genetic twist
For a few brief months earlier this year, Dendreon’s Provenge looked like it might become the first cancer vaccine approved by the FDA, despite some iffy data supporting its effectiveness. The fate of Provenge now hangs in the balance following the FDA’s controversial decision to… Continue Reading
Weekend update: That cold, cold artificial heart, Dendreon-related skulduggery, congressional earmarks, and more
(UPDATED: See below.)
Catching up on a few life-science related items you may have missed over the weekend:
If you prick a cyborg, does he not bleed? — The WaPo’s Joel Garreau brings us this fascinating story about Peter Houghton, the first permananent recipient of a “left ventricular… Continue Reading
Patients, CEOs and ideologues vs. evidence-based medicine
The first time you hear it, “evidence-based medicine” sounds like one of those goofily redundant phrases like “animated cartoon” or “past experience.” Aren’t doctors always carrying out studies of one sort or another? Isn’t medicine evidence-based already?
Well, no, not really. One of the biggest… Continue Reading
No immunity for Dendreon’s cancer vaccine
(UPDATED: See below.) For almost two months, it has seemed that the FDA might be ready to approve an entirely new attack on cancer — a “cancer vaccine” that immunizes patients with tumor fragments in order to activate the body’s immune defenses against cancerous cells.
That dream… Continue Reading