Abraxane instead coats the drug molecules in albumin, one of the main proteins in egg white.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
Investors also got a contingent value receipt that would pay off if Abraxane hit certain milestones.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Nor has Abraxis finished the studies required to get Abraxane approved for use in any other cancer.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
But doctors and insurers may want proof that Abraxane actually slows the progression of disease, a different measure.
There was a 28% reduction in the risk of death during the trial for patients who got Abraxane.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
For some investors, the downside to Abraxis shares has not come from Abraxane but from the man who invented it.
Soon-Shiong said he would get Abraxane approved via an FDA rule that would let him use just one clinical trial.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
He used profits from that company, American Pharmaceutical Partners, to fund Abraxane's development in breast cancer. app went public in 2001.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
At the end of the year, 35% of those that received Abraxane were still alive, compared to 22% of those that received gemcitabine.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Celgene had previously disclosed that the study, designed to get marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Abraxane in pancreatic cancer, was positive.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
He later built companies that developed anti-cancer drugs like Abraxane.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong: Meet Los Angeles' Billionaire Would-Be NFL Stadium Owner
Celgene moves into solid tumors, and gets control of Abraxane, a breast cancer drug that might sell better with a new set of executives guiding it.
By studying whether Abraxane works in pancreatic cancer, where many cells are churning out Sparc, he will be able to help solve the mystery of metastasis.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
Patients on a combination of Abraxane and gemcitabine, another chemotherapy, lived for a median 8.5 months, compared to 6.7 months for those that received gemcitabine alone.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
One idea, put forth by Soon-Shiong himself, was that when cancer cells metastasize they secrete a protein called SPARC, which also leads them to absorb Abraxane.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Soon-Shiong argues that when a cell starts making Sparc, suggesting it's about to spread, it also starts sucking in albumin-soaked Abraxane, which, he says, will kill the tumor.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
Results in non-small cell lung cancer show that Abraxane does shrink tumors 31% better than Taxol, which the company says should be enough for an FDA approval in that disease.
Patients whose cancers are churning out the Sparc protein usually have a worse prognosis than those who aren't Sparc-positive, but with Abraxane they may do just as well, Soon-Shiong argues.
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
Von Hoff says that the next steps for Abraxane in pancreatic cancer could include testing it in less sick patients to see if it can shrink tumors enough to remove them surgically.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Von Hoff, who was an early proponent of testing the drug, says that he was convinced that Abraxane might be a better drug when it helped patients who had not responded to Taxol.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
FORBES: Patrick Soon-Shiong and one of cancer's biggest riddles.
Abraxane, a cancer chemotherapy made by Celgene, slowed tumor growth and cut the risk of death in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to results that will be presented at a conference on gastrointestinal tumors being held by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
FORBES: Celgene's Abraxane Extends Life By 1.8 Months In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
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