Expert opinion on investigational drugs
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Jul 2013
ReviewPA-824 , moxifloxacin and pyrazinamide combination therapy for tuberculosis.
New treatment regimens are urgently required for tuberculosis (TB). The existing four-drug regimen for TB is > 20 years old, with multidrug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB on the increase. ⋯ Expert opinion will be offered on the utility of this new multicomponent treatment regimen. We will highlight how this study informs the development pathway for future novel TB regimens and explore the PA-824, moxifloxacin (MOX) and pyrazinamide combination as a first step towards developing a single treatment regimen for both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant diseases.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Jul 2013
ReviewDual neurohormonal intervention in CV disease: angiotensin receptor and Neprilysin inhibition.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 30% of all deaths, with elevated blood pressure probably the most important modifiable risk factor. Worldwide, elevated blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths, about 12.8% of the total of all annual deaths. New drugs with different efficacy and effectiveness to control cardiovascular and renal disease are always welcomed. ⋯ Available data show that positive efficacy and a good tolerability profile of LCZ696 in the treatment of arterial hypertension as well as preliminary data indicate that it can also be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. These data are particularly promising in the treatment of arterial hypertension.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · May 2013
ReviewAddressing the questions of tomorrow: melphalan and new combinations as conditioning regimens before autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation in multiple myeloma.
The role of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) followed by autologous-progenitor cell transplantation (auto-HPCT) in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) continues to evolve in the novel agent era. Administration of high-dose melphalan (HDM) is considered the standard conditioning regimen. Nevertheless, several attempts have recently been made to improve the conditioning phase of the HDC procedure. ⋯ For fit MM patients, HDC followed by auto-HPCT remains the standard of care. The available data confirm that melphalan (MEL) 200 mg/m(2) should continue to be considered the gold standard conditioning regimen, with dose reduction based on age and renal function. Targeting exposure to MEL by using area under the curve is a particularly appealing approach that could be explored to maximize efficacy and minimize toxicity of this drug. Other strategies are currently being evaluated in different trials, and the most interesting areas of research involve the incorporation of newer agents like bortezomib (BOR) into conditioning regimens. Moreover, intravenous busulfan has become available and this formulation may reduce toxicity and result in greater efficacy in association with MEL-based conditioning.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Mar 2013
Multicenter StudyConcurrent celecoxib with 5-fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel for stages II - III invasive breast cancer: the OOTR-N001 study.
This prospective study aimed at investigating the efficacy and safety of the concurrent use of celecoxib (CXB) with 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (FEC), followed by docetaxel (T) in the neoadjuvant setting. ⋯ Neoadjuvant use of FEC-T with concurrent CXB is active and safe for treatment of operable invasive breast cancer. The ORR was higher, but QpCR was comparable to other studies. Most patients are still disease-free, and BCT became an option for the females. Further clinical and translational studies on the use of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors with neoadjuvant chemotherapy are warranted.
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The treatment options for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) remain limited. Immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs), such as thalidomide and lenalidomide, have changed the landscape in the treatment of patients with MM while newer IMiDs such as pomalidomide are showing promise in early clinical trials. ⋯ IMiDs have shown clinical activity as single agents and in combination. Thalidomide was the first in class drug. Lenalidomide has a better toxicity profile than thalidomide. Pomalidomide may overcome resistance to lenalidomide indicating differences in their mechanisms of action and resistance. Molecular biomarkers may allow us to identify patients who will respond to IMiDs.