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MS Society-funded Study Unlocks Part Of The Mystery Of Remyelination In MS
Researchers working in Cambridge and San Francisco have discovered clues about how stem cells promote myelin repair.
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Advocates Eager To Learn More About Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor's Abortion-Rights Views
Abortion-rights groups on Wednesday offered their support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor but said that they were eager to learn more about her views on abortion rights, an issue on which she has made few major rulings in her time as a judge, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, groups on both sides of the abortion-rights debate tend to believe that Sotomayor would uphold Roe v. Wade because she was nominated by President Obama, who supports abortion rights. However, when asked on Tuesday if Obama questioned Sotomayor about her views on abortion rights before the nomination, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the president "did not ask that specifically." In addition, none of her rulings has directly dealt with the underlying issues of constitutional privacy that are the foundation for the Roe decision, according to the Times. The abortion-related cases Sotomayor has handled in the past have "turned on other legal issues," rather than privacy, and they have resulted in rulings in favor of abortion-right opponents, the Times reports. For example, in 2002, she wrote an opinion upholding the Bush administration"s "global gag rule" policy banning federal funding of international groups that offer abortion information or services. "The Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the antiabortion position over the pro-choice position and can do so with public funds," Sotomayor wrote in the opinion. In 2004, she said that antiabortion-rights protesters were permitted to sue police who they claimed used excessive force in stopping a demonstration at a clinic. Sotomayor also has ruled on several immigration cases related to people fighting deportation orders to China over its family planning policies, the Times reports. Because of the limited information on Sotomayor"s abortion-rights views, advocates have stressed that senators ask questions about her views during her confirmation hearing. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan in a letter to supporters urged them to press senators to ask Sotomayor about privacy rights. Keenan wrote, "Discussion about [Roe] will -- and must -- be part of this nomination process. As you know, choice hangs in the balance on the Supreme Court as the last two major choice-related cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that she would be surprised if an Obama nominee did not support abortion rights but added that "other presidents have been surprised before" when their nominees" views did not align with their assumptions. Northup said that "no one has been able to give us an assurance" of Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights, adding that she would be "very concerned if the question is not asked and answered during the Senate hearings." Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal said, "What we know about [Sotomayor] we like, but I don"t know that answer on abortion rights" (Savage/Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 5/28). The New York Times reports that more about Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights could come to light if a past writing on the subject surfaces, as was the case during Justice Samuel Alito"s confirmation process. Steven Waldman, editor in chief of beliefnet.com, said, "Everyone is just assuming that because Obama appointed her, she must be a die-hard pro-choice activist, but it"s really quite amazing how little we know about her views on abortion" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Thomas Goldstein, a leading appellate attorney and founder of scotusblog.com, said that the "fact that she hasn"t gone off on these sorts of questions" on contentious topics like abortion rights and gay marriage, "I think shows that honestly she"s not a dyed in the wool liberal." He added that there are issues on which Sotomayor could prove to be more conservative than retiring Justice David Souter (Lerer, Politico, 5/27).According to the Washington Post, many antiabortion-rights supporters are critic
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Protein In The Envelope Enclosing The Cell Nucleus A New Piece Of The Puzzle In Research On Cancer And Stem Cells?
A research team led by Professor Einar Hallberg at the Department of Life Sciences at Sç¶dertç¶rn University in Sweden has discovered a new protein in the inner membrane of the cell nucleus. This protein may play an important role in cell division and now provides a new piece of the puzzle to study in cancer research.
Public Health

CuraGen To Present CR011-vcMMAE Data At ASCO

CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) announced plans for three data presentations from its ongoing clinical trials of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets GPNMB, in patients with advanced breast cancer and melanoma at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida. The titles, dates, and times of the presentations are as follows: #9032 A phase I/II study of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting glycoprotein NMB in patients with advanced melanoma. Sunday, May 31, 2009, poster presentation from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM with a discussion session from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. #9063 Pharmacokinetics of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate, in a phase I study of patients with advanced melanoma. Monday, June 1, 2009, poster presentation from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM. #1067 A phase I/II study of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Monday, June 1, 2009, poster presentation from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM. About CR011-vcMMAE CR011-vcMMAE is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) being developed by CuraGen that consists of a fully-human monoclonal antibody, CR011, linked to a potent cell-killing drug, monomethyl-auristatin E (MMAE). The ADC technology, comprised of MMAE and a stable linker system for attaching it to CR011, was licensed from Seattle Genetics, Inc. The ADC is designed to be stable in the bloodstream. Following intravenous administration, CR011-vcMMAE targets and binds to GPNMB, a specific protein that is predominantly expressed on the surface of cancer cells, including melanoma, breast cancer and gliomas. Upon internalization into the targeted cell, CR011-vcMMAE is designed to release MMAE from CR011 to produce a cell-killing effect. CR011-vcMMAE is currently in two Phase II trials assessing the safety and efficacy in the treatment of melanoma and for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and in a Phase I trial to evaluate the safety and activity of alternate dosing schedules. About Breast Cancer Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and a leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 180,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2009 with more than 40,000 deaths attributed to this disease. Despite recent advances in therapy, the median survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer is 2 to 3 years, while patients with "triple-negative" or "basal-like" breast cancer have limited treatment options and poorer outcomes. Therefore, a significant unmet need remains for novel therapeutic approaches for patients with locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer who have failed other therapies. About Melanoma According to the American Cancer Society, it is expected that approximately 60,000 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed, including nearly 11,000 patients diagnosed with Stage III or Stage IV disease, and an estimated 8,000 people in the U.S. will die of the disease during 2009. The prognosis for patients with advanced melanoma is poor, and studies have shown that the median survival is less than nine months. About CuraGen CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing promising approaches for the treatment of cancer. CuraGen Corporation is headquartered in Branford, Connecticut. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release regarding management"s future expectations, beliefs, intentions, goals, strategies, plans or prospects, including statements relating to CuraGen"s development program for CR011-vcMMAE, including CuraGen"s ability to advance CR011-vcMMAE through Phase II clinical trials for melanoma and metastatic breast cancer, to explore additional doses and schedules of this antibody-drug conjugate, and to explore the potential of CR011-vcMMAE in a patient population in need of new therapies may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "could increase the likelihood," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is planned," "may," "should," "will," "will enable," "would be expected," "look forward," "may provide," "would" or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including the risk that any one or more of CuraGen"s drug development programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons or due to patient enrollment issues or based on new information from nonclinical or clinical studies or from other s, the success of competing products and technologies, CuraGen"s stage of development as a biopharmaceutical company, government regulation and healthcare reform, technological uncertainty and product development risks, product liability exposure, uncertainty of additional funding, CuraGen"s history of incurring losses and the uncertainty of achieving profitability, reliance on research collaborations and strategic alliances, competition, patent infringement claims against CuraGen"s products, processes and technologies, CuraGen"s ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to commercialization rights, as well as those risks, uncertainties and factors referred to in CuraGen"s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the section "Risk Factors," as well as other documents that may be filed by CuraGen from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks, uncertainties and factors, CuraGen"s actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. CuraGen is providing the information in this press release as of this date and assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CuraGen Corporation


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