FREIBURG, Germany, 1-Jul-2021 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer. According to the American Cancer Association, 1 in every 8 men will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime. In 2018 around 1.2 million men were diagnosed and there were 360,000 deaths. In Europe alone, 450,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. But there could be a cure on the horizon.
B66, a new company in Germany and a spin-off from the University of Freiburg, Germany, has strong preclinical evidence that its research has made a significant breakthrough after 6 years of dedicated work. Professors Roland Schule, Manfred Jung and Dr Eric Metzger have pioneered research into inhibitors of the histone methyltransferase KMT9 that controls the growth of castration and enzalutamide resistant prostate tumours. These small molecular inhibitors are superior to current state-of-the-art Gold Standard drugs in preclinical models. This new treatment has the prospect of increasing survival in the normally fatal outcome of castration-resistant prostate cancer and becoming the universal therapeutic agent. In addition, the research team’s work shows that their new therapeutic agent has potentials in other cancers including colorectal, breast, bladder and the biggest of all killers, lung cancer.
Professor Roland Schule, one of the B66 founders, and a professor of Biochemistry in the University Medical Centre of Freiburg said “Our findings and approach to treatment is far in advance of anything that is going on in the world at the moment.â€
Fellow founder, Professor Manfred Jung, added “many cancer treatments cause damage to the patient’s normal cells but the B66 inhibitor does not target normal cells indicating that our treatment will have minimum side effectsâ€.
Although focused on prostate cancer right now, the B66 team’s long-term objective is to create a world-class development platform that will work on the defeat of many other types of cancer. The Freiburg region, thanks to the University, is a unique centre of leading medical knowledge. B66 will expand their work and draw in some of the skilled scientists from the area to help them work towards building a leading medical development hub.
The B66 team is already seeking commercial partners in order to forward their breakthrough work and advance as quickly as possible to defeat this major cancer.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN / SANTA BARBARA, CALIF., USA, 15-Jun-2020 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — Palette Life Sciences, a fully integrated global life sciences company dedicated to improving patient outcomes, today announced global distribution expansion for two of Palette’s products, Deflux and Solesta. The expansion provides commercial access to more than 20 countries through five distributors around the globe, while adding direct sales in four additional countries: Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and Portugal.
KEBOMED, a leading European distributor of medical devices and equipment, will distribute the products in France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. Stratarium Sarl, will commercialize the products in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland leveraging their urology focused subsidiary, RA Distribution. CJ Medical, a UK-based distributor of innovative technologies specializing in surgical and medical devices, will distribute the products in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Grifols, one of the leading companies in the production and sale of plasma-derived medicines and a top distributor of a broad range of products within their country will cover Spain, and GP Dermal, a specialist with deep ties across urology and pediatric call points will serve as the distributor in Italy and Malta.
“This enhanced distribution network allows Palette to ensure our customer and patient needs are adequately met across Europe,†said James Leech, Head of Corporate Development at Palette Life Sciences. “We have selected strong partners with deep experience and relationships in the urology and pediatric setting who will help us serve the product and education needs of physicians and hospitals. Palette and its network of partners are making significant investments within local markets to improve physician access to Palette resources, best management and treatment practices, and renewed product training.â€
For more information or to place an order, please contact a Palette Life Sciences representative at eusales@palettelifesciences.com. Contact information for product orders or inquires by distributor are as follows:
KEBOMED: ordre@kebomed.dk
Stratarium Sarl: deflux-solesta@stratarium.com
CJ Medical: office@cjmedical.com
Grifols: jose.sagales@grifols.com
GP Dermal: luigi.galandini@gpdermal.com
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, 21-Sep-2018 — /EPR HEALTHCARE NEWS/ — The latest study published in the World Journal of Urology (Comparison between erbium‑doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser therapy and sling procedures in the treatment of stress and mixed urinary incontinence – https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-018-2445-x) provides further confirmation that Fotona SMOOTH® laser technology is a safe, effective and minimally-invasive solution for stress and mixed urinary incontinence (SUI and MUI). The article, written by Dr. Nobuo Okui, compares Fotona’s minimally invasive IncontiLase® Er:YAG laser therapy with the more conventional TVT and TOT surgical sling procedures.
Asian Study Confirms Favorable Results of Fotona SMOOTH® Laser Therapy for Urinary Incontinence
In the study performed by Dr. Okui, 50 Japanese women were treated either surgically (tension-free vaginal tape – TVT or transobturator tape – TOT) or with a Fotona laser. The 1-h pad test, ICIQ-SF, and overactive bladder-symptom score were used to assess the patients before and 12 months after treatment. Laser therapy was performed by first applying a local anesthetic to the vaginal wall and then inserting a probe into the vagina. Laser irradiation was performed for 20 min with an Er:YAG wavelength of 2940 nm (Dynamis XS, Fotona) for a total of three treatments (alternating every month). Results of the 1-h pad test and ICIQ-SF showed comparable improvements in SUI in the sling and laser therapy groups, while some of the patients with MUI in the TVT and TOT groups showed exacerbation. In conclusion, the TVT and TOT procedures and the laser therapy are comparable for SUI; however, laser therapy is superior in terms of MUI and complications. The study thus once again confirms the safety and efficacy of Fotona SMOOTH® laser therapy for urinary incontinence.
Urinary Incontinence Treatment Options
Conventional treatment options for urinary incontinence are surgical, and include TVT or TOT sling procedures, which involve inserting a synthetic material. Problems often arise with artificial meshes that require new treatment methods. With the Fotona SMOOTH® Er:YAG laser thermotherapy (also known as IncontiLase®), the goal is to provide a minimally invasive therapy based on vaginal collagen hyperthermia followed by collagen remodeling and new collagen synthesis, which results in overall regeneration of aged or stressed vaginal tissues and subsequently greater support to the bladder.
Unique Fotona SMOOTH® Technology for Maximum Safety
Patient safety is the primary concern and, for this reason, the patented Fotona SMOOTH® technology holds a very unique position within the spectrum of gynecological treatment options. It is a non-surgical procedure (no incisions) and without implants or appliances. The Fotona SMOOTH® method of dual-tissue regeneration is completely non-ablative and therefore minimally invasive to the vaginal wall. The treatment involves an additional superficial heat-shocking mechanism of tissue regeneration, and a unique self-regulating safety feature. These dual-tissue regeneration characteristics of the Fotona SMOOTH® Er:YAG laser allow for an exceptionally high degree of safety and efficacy in thermotherapy of the vaginal wall. This is what makes Fotona SMOOTH® a significantly safer alternative to many widely used and more-invasive procedures.
Evidence-Based Laser Medicine
Over the past few years numerous (over 35) other studies on Fotona SMOOTH® laser therapy have been published by distinguished gynecologists from around the globe in some of the most trusted and renowned international scientific journals, all with favorable results (https://www.laserandhealthacademy.com/en/practitioners/recommended-reading/gynecology/). One such noteworthy clinical paper published in March 2018 by Dr. Adolf Lukanovic and Dr. Mija Blaganje is the first randomized controlled trial study (on 114 premenopausal parous women) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of non-ablative Er:YAG laser therapy as an alternative non-invasive treatment of SUI and the improvement of sexual gratification (published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 2018 (224): 153-158). The results from this study indicate that a single session of IncontiLase® treatment improves the impact of SUI symptoms on quality of life and sexual function in premenopausal parous women significantly better than placebo.
In another Asian study, Dr. Yi-Wen Tien et al. from the Chang-Hua Hospital in Taiwan examined the effects of laser treatment for female SUI on pad weight, urodynamics, and sexual function in 35 women (published in the International Urogynecology Journal. 2017; 28(3): 469-476). The study reveals that the effect of IncontiLase® treatment for mild SUI was moderate at the 6-month follow-up. Moreover, it improved LUTS, quality of life, and the sexual function of both partners. The authors conclude that the IntimaLase® procedure is very effective in the treatment of SUI and is not associated with any severe adverse effects.
Similarly, Dr. Yi-Hao Lin et al. from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan obtained favorable results. Their study investigated the effects of non-ablative laser treatment on overactive bladder (OAB) syndromes, SUI and sexual function in 30 women with urodynamic stress incontinence (published in the Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2017 (56): 815-820). The results showed that IncontiLase® treatment can resolve SUI and coexistent OAB symptoms three months after therapy, while repeated laser therapy may be necessary after six months. The results also revealed that sexual gratification improved, while no major adverse effects were noticed.
The quantity and quality of the studies performed with Fotona SMOOTH® laser therapy is such that Fotona’s Dynamis has been cleared in the European Union for SUI (IncontiLase®), vaginal laxity – vaginal relaxation syndrome (IntimaLase®), genitourinary syndrome of menopause – GSM (RenovaLase®) and pelvic organ prolapse (ProlapLase®), giving women the option to choose a safer and less-invasive treatment alternative. In Asia, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration has already cleared Fotona Dynamis for mild to moderate SUI, and the Singapore Health Sciences Authority has cleared the Dynamis for the treatment of SUI and GSM.
