Breast Cancer Breakthrough: Canadian scientists pave the way for new therapies

Posted on Oct 8, 2009

The Triangle Business Journal reported yesterday that scientists from the BC Cancer Agency have decoded the DNA of metastatic lobular breast cancer, which accounts for about 10 percent of all breast cancer. The exciting breakthrough could lead to the development of new treatments that could help thousands of women who suffer from the disease

According to the director of the agency’s Genome Sciences Centre Marco Marra, advances in DNA sequencing technology are what made the new discovery possible. This study was conducted in just a few weeks, compared to the years it took to decode the first human genome, which clearly shows the rapid progress that is being made in technology and in overall efficiency.

As new breast cancer treatments enter clinical trials, it is absolutely paramount that drug developers make the same commitment to efficiency to get these new treatments to the patients who need them as quickly as possible. The key lies in improving upon currently industry processes and taking advantage of the new technologies that are available to cut timelines and reduce wasted resources.

For example, Health Decisions helped a sponsor get a metastatic breast cancer drug to market nine months early, saving the sponsor $2 million in a study involving 460 patients at 95 sites around the globe. Using the latest trial management technologies and making information available to key stakeholders in real time, the drug got to patients who needed it almost a year early, and at the same time the sponsor saw a $366 million increase in product sales, according to the New York Times.