General Discussion Forum Added To The Myeloma Beacon Forums – The Beacon forums have been expanded to include a forum for general discussion not specifically related to multiple myeloma.  This new area of the forums is called “The Burgundy Café” and allows those within the Beacon community to get to know each other better through discussions about a wide variety of topics.  Feel free to discuss within the Burgundy Café whatever may be on your mind, as long as the conversation remains respectful and courteous.

Senesco Technologies Submits Application To FDA For Investigational Myeloma Drug SNS01-T – Senesco Technologies announced today that it filed an “Investigational New Drug” application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company’s compound SNS01-T, which has shown potential for treating multiple myeloma.  Approval of this application would allow Senesco to initiate clinical testing of the compound.  For more information, see the Senesco press release.

John Theurer Cancer Center Receives $2 Million To Improve Safety Of Donor Transplants For Myeloma Patients – Dr. Thea Friedman from the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack, NJ, received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute to support her research over the next five years.  Dr. Friedman has been studying ways to improve the outcomes of multiple myeloma patients undergoing allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplants. She plans to start a Phase 1 clinical trial near the end of the year.  For more information, see the John Theurer Cancer Center website.

MMRF And Synta Pharmaceuticals Collaborate To Develop Ganetespib For Myeloma – The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and Synta Pharmaceuticals established a joint collaboration to develop Synta’s compound ganetespib (STA-9090) for the treatment of multiple myeloma.  The MMRF will provide $1 million to fund a Phase 1 clinical trial studying ganetespib alone and in combination with Velcade (bortezomib) in relapsed multiple myeloma patients.  Ganetespib belongs to a class of drugs known as Hsp90 inhibitors, which includes tanespimycin and several other compounds that have shown promise in myeloma clinical trials.  Hsp90 inhibitors promote the degradation of proteins that are critical for myeloma cell growth, survival, and drug resistance.  For more information, see the MMRF website.