Hepatitis B was already known to cause liver cancer and some scientists had suspected it might cause lymphoma, too. The study, published in Lancet Oncology, confirms this. Hepatitis C is also linked to lymphoma.
The blood cancer is not common and widespread vaccination against the viruses is unlikely to affect non-Hodgkin lymphoma rates much, the researchers noted. But it may be possible to treat the virus and help non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, they said.
Dr. Eric Engels of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and Sun Ha Jee of Yonsei University in Seoul studied the records of more than 600,000 people in South Korea, where hepatitis B was extremely common before a vaccination campaign began in 1995.
Of these, 53,000 or about 9 percent had evidence of hepatitis B infection. After 14 years, rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were more common among the infected people -- 19.4 cases per 100,000 people compared to 12.3 per 100,000 who did not have hepatitis B.
Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The various hepatitis viruses are not closely related -- the word hepatitis means inflammation of the liver.
An estimated 350 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B virus, which causes 340,000 cases of liver cancer a year and kills between 500,000 and 1.2 million people a year.
Researchers think both hepatitis B and C may cause lymphoma by overstimulating the immune system as it tries to fight off the liver infection.
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Saturday, August 7, 2010
Peg Interferon Launched by Pakistan Biotech: Getz Pharma to launch therapy for Hepatitis C patients
Biotechnology-based drug for hepatitis C will be manufactured by a Pakistani company for the first time
Getz Pharma would launch the Pegylated Interferon therapy for the treatment of hepatitis C in Pakistan. The new therapy would be highly cost-effective and easy to use as the manufacturer and presenters of the new therapy have considered patients' care and comfort. It would also be the first time that a biotechnology-based essential drug would be manufactured by Getz Pharma, a Pakistani company. It is pertinent to mention that approximately every 20th person in Pakistan is infected with hepatitis C.
The initiative taken by Getz Pharma to invest in the local manufacturing of Pegylated Interferon (Unipeg) in the country would substantially reduce the cost of treatment for a person suffering from hepatitis C. The company has invested in research and development to formulate this molecule with the help of a team of scientists from the Netherlands, led by Dr Ben Rademaker, a PhD-holder.
Getz Pharma Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Khalid Mehmood, during a press conference on Thursday, said the size of the country's pharmacy market is about Rs 119 billion, which is growing by 12 to 13 percent. Henceforth, they have been able to export pharmacy goods to 45 countries around the world. The pharmacy sector in the country is the largest employment provider, with around five million people employed. Pakistan's pharmacy industry meets 90 percent of the needs of pharmacy goods.
Pharmaceutical exports are at their highest as compared to other corporate sectors in the country and have achieved a 29 percent growth, which is four times of the country's textile exports. Still, the country's spending on health according to annual budgetary allocations is just 0.4 percent of the GDP, while Bangladesh is spending 0.8 percent, Khalid said.
Investment: He said Getz Pharma was set up in 1995 as a small company with only 45 employees, while today the number of its employees exceeded 2,500 worldwide, and 1,850 people in Pakistan. Getz Pharma invested Rs 4 billion in revamping existing facilities, in purchasing state-of-the-art production, quality control from 2005 to 2009. It has a plan to meet the 54 percent target of exporting medicines. According to the Federal Bureau of Revenue, Getz Pharma was the second largest taxpayer unit in terms of taxes and duties with an estimated Rs 636 million in 2009, he added.
Khalid said the company's total investment in Pakistan was Rs 4 billion in the last three years, including investment in manufacturing technology of the first locally manufactured recombinant human insulin. It plans to invest an equal amount in the coming two years in new technologies that would result in local manufacturing of drugs that are currently being imported at high costs. It may be mentioned that Getz Pharma is the single largest exporter of pharmaceutical products from the country. It was estimated that the company's exports account for approximately 40 percent of the country's total pharmaceutical exports.
Dr Bernardus Rademaker, speaking on the occasion, said the analytical, toxicological and pharmacokinetic studies for Unipeg (Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a) had been carried out in Europe, comparing it to the existing research molecule.
New era: He said in addition, bioactivity and potency had also been evaluated at the Centre for Applied Molecular Biology in Lahore, a premier institute of the Science and Technology Ministry. Specialised manufacturing and testing technology is required for manufacturing the Unipeg. He said Getz Pharma had acquired the technology at a substantial investment and a number of these tests were not currently available in the country's pharmaceutical industry. Through this molecule, Getz Pharma would herald a new biotech era in the country, he added.
To a question, Dr Rademaker said since the molecule was not available in the US, it was not necessary to seek approval form the US FDA. He also said collaboration with Getz Pharma was not business-oriented, but it had been overwhelmingly planned that the hepatitis C affected population of the country should be provided with a cost-effective and latest mode of treatment.
Dr Rademaker holds a PhD in biotechnology from the State University Utrecht, Holland. He is the founder and CEO of InProPharma, a company specialising in technology platforms for the production of biologically active proteins. Prior to setting up his own company, Rephartox BV, a contract research company for the pharmaceutical industry, he was the director of Corporate Drug Development at the Rhein Biotech NV, Maastricht and the Green Cross Vaccine Company, Seoul, Korea. He is a member of the Dutch Pharmacological Society and is a registered pharmacologist. He has authored more than 50 scientific publications, and many regulatory affairs documents.
The initiative taken by Getz Pharma to invest in the local manufacturing of Pegylated Interferon (Unipeg) in the country would substantially reduce the cost of treatment for a person suffering from hepatitis C. The company has invested in research and development to formulate this molecule with the help of a team of scientists from the Netherlands, led by Dr Ben Rademaker, a PhD-holder.
Getz Pharma Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Khalid Mehmood, during a press conference on Thursday, said the size of the country's pharmacy market is about Rs 119 billion, which is growing by 12 to 13 percent. Henceforth, they have been able to export pharmacy goods to 45 countries around the world. The pharmacy sector in the country is the largest employment provider, with around five million people employed. Pakistan's pharmacy industry meets 90 percent of the needs of pharmacy goods.
Pharmaceutical exports are at their highest as compared to other corporate sectors in the country and have achieved a 29 percent growth, which is four times of the country's textile exports. Still, the country's spending on health according to annual budgetary allocations is just 0.4 percent of the GDP, while Bangladesh is spending 0.8 percent, Khalid said.
Investment: He said Getz Pharma was set up in 1995 as a small company with only 45 employees, while today the number of its employees exceeded 2,500 worldwide, and 1,850 people in Pakistan. Getz Pharma invested Rs 4 billion in revamping existing facilities, in purchasing state-of-the-art production, quality control from 2005 to 2009. It has a plan to meet the 54 percent target of exporting medicines. According to the Federal Bureau of Revenue, Getz Pharma was the second largest taxpayer unit in terms of taxes and duties with an estimated Rs 636 million in 2009, he added.
Khalid said the company's total investment in Pakistan was Rs 4 billion in the last three years, including investment in manufacturing technology of the first locally manufactured recombinant human insulin. It plans to invest an equal amount in the coming two years in new technologies that would result in local manufacturing of drugs that are currently being imported at high costs. It may be mentioned that Getz Pharma is the single largest exporter of pharmaceutical products from the country. It was estimated that the company's exports account for approximately 40 percent of the country's total pharmaceutical exports.
Dr Bernardus Rademaker, speaking on the occasion, said the analytical, toxicological and pharmacokinetic studies for Unipeg (Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a) had been carried out in Europe, comparing it to the existing research molecule.
New era: He said in addition, bioactivity and potency had also been evaluated at the Centre for Applied Molecular Biology in Lahore, a premier institute of the Science and Technology Ministry. Specialised manufacturing and testing technology is required for manufacturing the Unipeg. He said Getz Pharma had acquired the technology at a substantial investment and a number of these tests were not currently available in the country's pharmaceutical industry. Through this molecule, Getz Pharma would herald a new biotech era in the country, he added.
To a question, Dr Rademaker said since the molecule was not available in the US, it was not necessary to seek approval form the US FDA. He also said collaboration with Getz Pharma was not business-oriented, but it had been overwhelmingly planned that the hepatitis C affected population of the country should be provided with a cost-effective and latest mode of treatment.
Dr Rademaker holds a PhD in biotechnology from the State University Utrecht, Holland. He is the founder and CEO of InProPharma, a company specialising in technology platforms for the production of biologically active proteins. Prior to setting up his own company, Rephartox BV, a contract research company for the pharmaceutical industry, he was the director of Corporate Drug Development at the Rhein Biotech NV, Maastricht and the Green Cross Vaccine Company, Seoul, Korea. He is a member of the Dutch Pharmacological Society and is a registered pharmacologist. He has authored more than 50 scientific publications, and many regulatory affairs documents.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Cholesterol gene discovered
US researchers have found that a recently discovered gene regulates HDL (high density lipoproteins) cholesterol, also known as 'good' cholesterol. The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to new therapies for heart disease, said lead author Dr Thomas Quertermous.
"This is a significant and unexpected finding, and the gene is going to be a real target for the prevention and treatment of heart disease," said Quertermous, the William G. Irwin Professor and chief of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. "This type of thing doesn't happen every day."
HDL cholesterol, often referred to as the 'good' cholesterol, has been proven to impact a person's risk of developing heart disease. "HDL cholesterol is an independent predictor of one's risk," said Quertermous. "If you have a high level of HDL cholesterol your chance of getting heart disease is very low."
Researchers know that levels of HDL cholesterol are regulated in part by members of the lipase gene family. Three years ago, Quertermous' team and a laboratory on the east coast simultaneously discovered the newest member of that family and found that its protein was expressed in a variety of tissues. Subsequent studies showed that the new gene - the endothelial lipase gene (LIPG) - played a role in lipid metabolism.
"It was a striking, if not dramatic, finding that this gene that we found in the blood vessel walls appeared to regulate HDL cholesterol levels," said Quertermous.
Quertermous' team sought to examine the gene's exact role in regulating HDL cholesterol level by examining genetic models with altered levels of endothelial lipase (EL) expression. Working with mouse models, the researchers increased EL expression in one group by inserting copies of the human gene and decreased EL expression by knocking out the LIPG gene in another group.
Quertermous reports that the findings were striking: altering the genes showed a clear and significant inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol level and EL expression. Levels of HDL cholesterol decreased by 19 per cent in the first group and increased by 57 per cent in the group whose gene was knocked out.
"When we overexpressed the human gene in the mice, the HDL cholesterol levels dropped," said Quertermous. "Conversely, when we knocked out the gene in mice, the levels were much higher."
Quertermous said that his team lacks insight into the mechanism by which EL impacts HDL cholesterol levels, and that this is something his team will explore. The group will also further study mouse models, and a group of human patients, to see if changes in HDL cholesterol levels directly correlate with heart disease. "My hypothesis - and strong suspicion - is that if you knock out the gene, your chance of disease development is decreased," said Quertermous.
Quertermous said a greater understanding of this gene's role in HDL cholesterol's formation and metabolism will help researchers regulate this risk factor.
"This is a significant and unexpected finding, and the gene is going to be a real target for the prevention and treatment of heart disease," said Quertermous, the William G. Irwin Professor and chief of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. "This type of thing doesn't happen every day."
HDL cholesterol, often referred to as the 'good' cholesterol, has been proven to impact a person's risk of developing heart disease. "HDL cholesterol is an independent predictor of one's risk," said Quertermous. "If you have a high level of HDL cholesterol your chance of getting heart disease is very low."
Researchers know that levels of HDL cholesterol are regulated in part by members of the lipase gene family. Three years ago, Quertermous' team and a laboratory on the east coast simultaneously discovered the newest member of that family and found that its protein was expressed in a variety of tissues. Subsequent studies showed that the new gene - the endothelial lipase gene (LIPG) - played a role in lipid metabolism.
"It was a striking, if not dramatic, finding that this gene that we found in the blood vessel walls appeared to regulate HDL cholesterol levels," said Quertermous.
Quertermous' team sought to examine the gene's exact role in regulating HDL cholesterol level by examining genetic models with altered levels of endothelial lipase (EL) expression. Working with mouse models, the researchers increased EL expression in one group by inserting copies of the human gene and decreased EL expression by knocking out the LIPG gene in another group.
Quertermous reports that the findings were striking: altering the genes showed a clear and significant inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol level and EL expression. Levels of HDL cholesterol decreased by 19 per cent in the first group and increased by 57 per cent in the group whose gene was knocked out.
"When we overexpressed the human gene in the mice, the HDL cholesterol levels dropped," said Quertermous. "Conversely, when we knocked out the gene in mice, the levels were much higher."
Quertermous said that his team lacks insight into the mechanism by which EL impacts HDL cholesterol levels, and that this is something his team will explore. The group will also further study mouse models, and a group of human patients, to see if changes in HDL cholesterol levels directly correlate with heart disease. "My hypothesis - and strong suspicion - is that if you knock out the gene, your chance of disease development is decreased," said Quertermous.
Quertermous said a greater understanding of this gene's role in HDL cholesterol's formation and metabolism will help researchers regulate this risk factor.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Gene VIII Ebook Download
LEWIN BENJAMIN , GENES 8
Prentice-Hall | ISBN 0131239244 | Edition 8 | PDF | 67Mb
For courses in Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, and Gene Regulation. Two decades ago Benjamin Lewin's Genes revolutionized the teaching of molecular biology and molecular genetics by introducing a unified approach to bacteria and higher organisms. Genes has remained at the cutting edge of molecular biology, covering gene structure, organization, and expression. Originally the text opened with the genetic code and worked toward genome structure. Genes VIII changed the approach to begin with the sequence of the human and other genomes and starts with complete coverage of recent advances in genomics. The coverage of genomics is then integrated throughout the text. In striving to maintain currency, the new edition has updated coverage on genome organization, DNA replication, gene regulation and many other new topics.
Prentice-Hall | ISBN 0131239244 | Edition 8 | PDF | 67Mb
For courses in Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, and Gene Regulation. Two decades ago Benjamin Lewin's Genes revolutionized the teaching of molecular biology and molecular genetics by introducing a unified approach to bacteria and higher organisms. Genes has remained at the cutting edge of molecular biology, covering gene structure, organization, and expression. Originally the text opened with the genetic code and worked toward genome structure. Genes VIII changed the approach to begin with the sequence of the human and other genomes and starts with complete coverage of recent advances in genomics. The coverage of genomics is then integrated throughout the text. In striving to maintain currency, the new edition has updated coverage on genome organization, DNA replication, gene regulation and many other new topics.
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