Judge Moves Johnson & Johnson Closer to Potential Reorganization
Johnson & Johnson is closer to unloading its talc-related liabilities onto a new subsidiary that could subsequently declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy and dramatically alter the thousands of lawsuits the company is facing.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in the District of Delaware declined requests last week from a panel of personal injury lawyers to prohibit Johnson & Johnson from exercising that option.
J&J is facing more than 34,000 lawsuits that link its talc-based products to cancer, the majority of which are ovarian cancer. A small fraction of those lawsuits involve malignant mesothelioma.
Most of the ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 31, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Researchers Study New Immunotherapy Combination for Mesothelioma
The immunotherapy combination of tremelimumab and durvalumab has shown surprising efficacy, particularly as a second-line treatment option for patients with pleural mesothelioma, according to a recent study.
Its effectiveness, comparable to a similar combination which was approved in 2020 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, further illustrated the new direction for future treatment of mesothelioma.
Chemotherapy will no longer be the stand-alone, standard-of-care treatment for most patients.
“Promising results have emerged on the use of targeted treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), particularl...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 30, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Olaparib Clinical Trial Targets Genetic Mutation
The mesothelioma program at University of Chicago Medicine is recruiting patients for its latest clinical trial involving olaparib, an oral chemotherapy drug targeting cancer-driven genetic mutations.
This single-center, phase II clinical trial is open to patients with either pleural mesothelioma or peritoneal mesothelioma.
Olaparib, also known by the brand name Lynparza, works by repairing or controlling specific gene mutations. It is known as a protein inhibitor and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use with breast and ovarian cancers.
Mesothelioma, a rare malignancy caused by exposu...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 24, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Social Security Adds Pericardial Mesothelioma to Disabilities List
The U.S. Social Security Administration has added pericardial mesothelioma to its Compassionate Allowances list, accelerating the disabilities application process for this very rare cancer.
Its decision was prompted by the work of Missy Miller, medical outreach director at The Mesothelioma Center. She made the request with the Social Security disability office almost a year ago on behalf of a patient.
The Compassionate Allowances program is reserved for severe medical diseases and conditions that automatically meet Social Security standards for disability benefits. It cuts short the often drawn-out application proces...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 18, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Duke Study Suggests Radiation Does Not Extend Mesothelioma Survival
A dual registry analysis by the esteemed Duke University Medical Center has concluded that adjuvant hemithoracic radiation does not improve survival when combined with aggressive surgery for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Although the U.S. National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the European Society for Medical Oncology recommend the adjuvant radiation – as do many specialists – the Duke research team has challenged the conventional treatment with this report.
“The receipt of adjuvant hemithoracic radiation was not associated with improved survival when compared to no radiation,” the authors ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 9, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Study: Treatment at Academic Facilities Extends Mesothelioma Survival
More than half of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer in the United States are being treated at community hospitals, sacrificing the chance to extend survival at an academic/research facility.
Too many die sooner than they should.
A medical research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has shown that median survival is more than twice as long for patients treated at an academic facility compared to those at a community hospital.
“Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma patients may be better served at experienced, academic centers,” the authors concluded in...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 4, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
J & J Facing Scrutiny from Congress, Black Women ’s Organization
Plaintiff attorneys and congressional leaders have renewed their push against Johnson & Johnson and its allegedly toxic, talc-based powder products, questioning motives and demanding answers, according to various media outlets.
A committee of attorneys filed a restraining order in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, July 27, hoping to prevent J&J’s potential plan to unload its talc-related liabilities on a new subsidiary that would subsequently file for bankruptcy.
The next day, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform delivered a letter to J&J’s chief executive dem...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 2, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Novel Mesothelioma Treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to ONCOFID-P for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a step toward another potential therapy option for patients.
ONCOFID-P is an innovative drug conjugate already in advanced clinical development for the treatment of invasive bladder cancer. The mesothelioma designation is based on preclinical data showing high antitumor activity in laboratory and mice models.
Fidia Farmaceutici, a multinational research company based in Italy, announced the latest FDA designation, which is designed to encourage the development of novel drugs, par...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 28, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Researcher Hopes to Improve Tumor Treating Fields for Mesothelioma
Dr. Maurizio D’Incalci already has seen Tumor Treating Fields working for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, and applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the treatment in 2019.
He also knows the therapy is only scratching the surface of its vast potential and could be even more effective. He wants to help improve it.
D’Incalci, a heralded biomedical science professor at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy, has begun a study exploring various drug combinations that could have a positive, synergistic effect with Tumor Treating Fields for mesothelioma.
“There may be a ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 27, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
CAR T-Cell Therapy Showing Promise with Pleural Mesothelioma
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center continues its drive toward a future that may involve innovative CAR T-cell therapy as part of standard-of-care treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
The latest step was a clinical trial exploring a first-in-human, intrapleural-administered CAR T-cell therapy used in combination with pembrolizumab, a well-known immunotherapy drug also known by the brand name Keytruda.
Results were impressive, including a 23.9-month median overall survival and an 83% one-year survival rate for patients. Cancer Discovery published the single-center study results July 15.
“There is more...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 22, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Chris Elkins Source Type: news
Johnson & Johnson Weighs Options for Talc Liabilities
Johnson & Johnson is considering the creation of a new subsidiary to absorb its widespread asbestos liabilities, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.
The J&J subsidiary would then declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy, potentially saving the multinational corporation billions of dollars.
Reuters News Service also reported the subsidiary possibility, citing unnamed personal injury attorneys who learned of the option while negotiating their current claims with J&J officials.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson would not confirm the reports.
“Johnson & Johns...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 22, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Chris Elkins Source Type: news
New Drug Combination Shows Promise for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have uncovered a new, promising treatment option for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, potentially filling a gaping void that exists today.
The immunotherapy drug combination of Tecentriq and Avastin, known generically as atezolizumab and bevacizumab, respectively, showed unusual efficacy in a recent study of 20 patients with this rare cancer.
Although some patients have previously found significant success and extended survival with the cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy combination, or HIPEC, those with unresectable disease ha...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 21, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Medicare Collection Agency Sets Sights on Asbestos Trusts
A prominent Medicare services collection agency is taking aim at an estimated 60 viable asbestos trust funds, citing a failure to divulge settlement payments and deliver reimbursement to providers for health care services.
Asbestos trusts are designed to compensate victims of diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, most notably malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer with no definitive cure.
MSP Recovery LLC, a leading Medicare/Medicaid recovery specialist, filed the first lawsuit last week against the J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
J.T. Thorpe Inc. is a former indus...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 20, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Research Grants Focus on Immunotherapy
This study will start with comparisons in tumor-bearing animals treated with immunotherapy. Future drug targets will be based on the differences that are found.
The goal is to find drugs that can prevent side effects while preserving robust anti-tumor response.
The post Mesothelioma Research Grants Focus on Immunotherapy appeared first on Mesothelioma Center - Vital Services for Cancer Patients & Families. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 12, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
GPS Vaccine Plus Opdivo Shows Promise for Pleural Mesothelioma
A novel, targeted cancer vaccine combined with the immunotherapy drug Opdivo has shown surprising efficacy for mesothelioma patients whose disease no longer responds to standard chemotherapy.
In a phase I clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the galinpepimut-S vaccine, also known as GPS, has produced an impressive, anti-tumor synergy with Opdivo, based upon early data.
GPS targets the WT1 protein, which is expressed in high levels of various cancers but rarely seen in normal adult cells. The protein has been especially resistant to standard chemotherapy.
The vaccine works by inducing a powerfu...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 29, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
