There may be new hope for many cancer patients, their caregivers and loved ones.
That's because America's research-based pharmaceutical companies are today developing nearly 400 new medicines to treat cancer, according to a survey of ongoing research conducted by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Many of the medicines now in development represent potential breakthrough cancer treatments, while others involve possible new uses for existing medicines.
The medicines in development are all either in clinical trials or under review by the Food and Drug Administration. They include:
• 62 for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States;
• 49 for breast cancer, which is expected to strike more than 200,000 American women this year;
• 50 for prostate cancer, which is expected to kill more than 30,000 American men this year; and
• 35 for colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in both men and women in the U.S.
Other potential medicines target kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer and others. In addition, companies are working on new treatments to improve the quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatment.
"Anyone fighting cancer or anyone who has beaten it knows the importance of these medicines and this research," said Billy Tauzin, PhRMA president and CEO who is also a cancer survivor. "Sometimes, the hope that one of these new medicines will work for you is what keeps you fighting the disease."
Recent cancer research efforts have resulted in several new treatments. For example, a medicine to treat metastatic colorectal cancer is the first treatment approved that prevents the formation of new blood vessels that provide tumors with oxygen and nutrients. There's also a medicine for the treatment of nonsmall-cell lung cancer that inhibits the formation and growth of tumor cells.
Research into possible new cancer cures and treatments is today being conducted by as many as 178 biopharmaceutical companies as well as by the National Cancer Institute.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies.