Developing an Oncology Portfolio of Anticancer Drugs: The Experience of one Pharmaceutical Company

Abstract

For a company or institute that wishes to develop new anti-cancer agents, it is necessary to establish a portfolio of agents to reduce the risk of failure. Success rates for developing new agents are low and therefore different biological effect areas should be explored to ensure that at least one agent targeting cancer or a specific histological sub-type of cancer is effectively developed. This paper describes how one pharmaceutical company has developed a range of different agents with the ultimate aim of developing as many of these as is technically feasible into useful new medicines for the treatment of cancer.

Zusammenfassung

Für ein Unternehmen oder Institut, welches Anti-Tumor-Therapien entwickeln möchte, ist es nötig ein Portfolio der Therapien zu erstellen, um das Risiko des Misserfolges zu minimieren. Die Erfolgsraten für Entwicklungen neuer Therapien sind niedrig; deshalb müssen verschiedene physiologische Wege und Wirkmechanismen erforscht werden um sicherzustellen, dass wenigstens eine Tumortherapie oder ein spezieller Tumoruntertyp effektvoll entwickelt werden kann. Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Entwicklung verschiedener Tumortherapien durch eine pharmazeutische Firma. Das ultimative Ziel hierbei war, so viele Therapien wie möglich zu entwickeln und diese auch als neue, nützliche Medizin für die Behandlung von Brustkrebs einzusetzen.

Key words

oncology drug development - anti-proliferative agents - anti-angiogenesis agents - anti-invasion - hormonal therapy of cancer

Schlüsselwörter

Onkologische Medikamentenentwicklung - anti-proliferative Substanzen - anti-angiogenetische Substanzen - Anti-Invasion - hormonelle Krebstherapie

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