Piribo Adds Cancer Stem Cells Market Report to its Specialised Catalogue

Piribo, the online destination for business intelligence for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, has now added a new market report called "Cancer Stem Cells - Emerging Therapeutic, Diagnostic and Market Opportunities".

(PRWEB) June 15, 2007 -- The last decade has seen the emergence of a new paradigm in the therapeutic strategies which may be available to target cancer. This is based on the existence of so called Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), found in small populations within the bulk of normal proliferating cancer cells, in tumours.

Many scientists believe that CSCs are responsible for the development and spread of cancer and explain why the disease is resistant to many conventional treatments and able to re-establish itself after therapy. Many researchers believe the selective targeting of these cells offers revolutionary advances in the treatment of cancer, by attacking the disease at its source. The unique identity of CSCs and their proposed causal role in the development and progression of cancer potentially make these cells an ideal target for the detection of the disease. A number of CSC-targeting candidate drugs are now in early research, 2 of which have entered Phase I clinical trials.

Key findings of the report
•Research on CSCs is revealing a unified picture on the involvement of these cells in the development and progression of cancer and this has accelerated discovery programmes to selectively target these cells, alongside normal proliferating cancer cells
•The targeting of CSCs is believed to offer revolutionary advances in cancer therapy and diagnosis
•The CSC field is seeing substantial development, investment and new company formation, as specialised groups advance new discovery programmes
•The targeting of CSCs presents several unique challenges, however a number of strategies have been proposed and are being explored.
•It is believed that diagnostic methods based on the detection of CSC's will have the potential to address key limitations of current methods
•The first CSC-targeting drug candidates have entered clinical development

This report provides a comprehensive overview of research on CSCs and the impact this is having on the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies to target cancer. More than 50 academic research teams from 13 different countries have been reviewed, together with leading discoveries in this field. This is driving new research programmes and commercial developments. This report has identified and profiled 17 companies or commercially-focused groups, which now are targeting CSCs, to develop new therapies and diagnostics. The emerging picture on CSCs is creating significant excitement and interest in the cancer field and researchers have proposed a number of drug discovery strategies, which are also reviewed. Many scientists believe that the targeting of CSC's offers important and revolutionary advances in the targeting of cancer. This report gives the reader a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of developments in this exciting field.

source : news.yahoo.com