New York University

London: Widely used GLP-1 drugs for type 2 diabetes such as Novo Nordisk 's Ozempic may modestly reduce the risk of obesity-related cancers, especially colorectal cancer , according to data released on Thursday ahead of a major medical meeting. Among more than 85,000 people with type 2 diabetes and obesity treated between 2013 and 2023 and followed for an average of nearly four years, 2,501 obesity-related cancers developed in those taking GLP-1 diabetes drugs , compared with 2,671 such cancers in those treating their diabetes with drugs from a class known as DPP-4 inhibitors . After accounting for individual risk factors, those taking GLP-1 drugs had a 7 per cent lower risk of developing an obesity-related cancer and an 8 per cent lower risk of death from any cause compared to those who took a DPP-4 inhibitor, a brief summary of data to be presented at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago showed. The effect was only statistically significant in women, researchers said. Other GLP-1 drugs for improving blood glucose control taken by patients in the study include Eli Lilly's Trulicity and Novo's Victoza and Rybelsus, among others. These drugs deliver a lower dose of their main ingredient compared to GLP-1 drugs designed to induce weight loss. DPP-4 inhibitors include Merck & Co's Januvia and Nesina from Takeda Pharmaceuticals. While a modestly reduced risk for 14 obesity-related cancers was evident with GLP-1 drugs, the suggestion of a protective effect was particularly strong for colorectal malignancies. There were 16 per cent fewer colon cancer cases and 28 per cent fewer rectal cancer cases in the group prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists. Observational studies like this cannot prove that the GLP-1 drugs caused lower cancer rates. "These data are reassuring, but more studies are required to prove causation," lead study author Lucas Mavromatis, a medical student at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York, said in a statement. (Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday backed Johnson & Johnsons Darzalex for people with an asymptomatic form of multiple myeloma that often progresses into more severe blood cancer.Members of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 6-2 that the benefits of Darzalexs use in high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma outweighed its risks. However, panelists wrestled with some controversial aspects of the Phase 3 trial J&J is using to ask for an expanded approval. Namely, FDA staff had flagged the trials inclusion of patients that could be classified as having a lower risk of progression, as well as an unclear survival benefit following disease progression.The FDA isnt required to follow the advice of its outside expert panels, but usually does.Darzalex, cell therapies and a type of drug called bispecific antibodies have transformed treatment for people with symptomatic multiple myeloma over the last decade, adding years to average survival. But no treatment exists for those diagnosed with the early, smoldering form of the disease, which is marked by a high level of abnormal plasma cells or antibodies, but no symptoms like anemia or bone lesions.Those with the highest levels of those biological markers are at greatest risk of progression, with as many as 85% becoming symptomatic within five years under some models that predict prognosis.In testing Darzalex in smoldering multiple myeloma, J&J sought to prove treatment could delay progression into symptomatic disease, with secondary goals of showing it could help patients stabilize on follow-up treatments as well as live longer. In the AQUILA study, Darazalex hit that main goal, reducing the risk of progression by 51% in people who received a shot once every 28 days for up to three years compared with those who were actively monitored.But Darazalex has not yet shown a benefit on the trials secondary goals. No statistically significant difference could be seen in progression-free survival on a first-line treatment after a diagnosis of active multiple myeloma, nor on overall survival. However, there was a numerical difference on both endpoints that favored those who received Darzalex during the smoldering phase of the disease.J&J continues to conduct follow-up on survival among participants in the study, Mark Wildgust, J&Js head of global oncology medical affairs, said in an interview ahead of the vote.FDA reviewers questioned the validity of some of the findings, pointing out that J&J had used some outdated definitions of high-risk disease in its enrollment criteria. This meant 60% some trial volunteers could be classified as intermediate or low risk under different guidelines. The criteria could have artificially inflated its benefit and unnecessarily exposed study participants to Darzalex side effects like infections or nerve pain.Wildgust noted that, regardless of the criteria used to stratify risk, the chances of disease progression by two years remains roughly a coin flip. The question is, is the criteria that you're using able to identify a group of patients who have a high likelihood of going to full-blown symptomatic myeloma? he said.In casting their votes, the advisory committee acknowledged they were struggling with the mixed data and the downsides of Darzalexs use in people at lower risk.There's a group of patients that were overtreating, and a group of patients that we're undertreating, said committee member Neil Vasan, a New York University oncologist, who voted no. We don't really have great data right now to understand who those people are.Mark Conaway, a public health professor at the University of Virginia, voted yes despite acknowledging the uncertainty. I don't think there's any doubt that there is a high-risk population for whom the benefits outweigh the risks, even if we don't know exactly what that population is, he said. At the moment, I'm confident that there will be some resolution of that.J&J asked for FDA approval in smoldering multiple myeloma in November 2024. Standard review of a drug application takes up to 10 months from the date the FDA accepts it. '

The Blavatnik Family Foundation's Longtime Support of Pioneering Researcher Evgeny Nudler's Work Holds Promise for Advances in Cancer Therapy, Antibiotic Resistance, and Anti-Aging NEW YORK, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NYU Langone Health today announced a $15 million gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation to support research led by Evgeny Nudler, PhD, the Julie Wilson Anderson Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Continue Reading Linda G. Mills, PhD, president of New York University; Fiona B. Druckenmiller, co-chair and board chair designate of the NYU Langone Health Board of Trustees; Robert I. Grossman, MD, CEO of NYU Langone Health and dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and Dr. Evgeny A. Nudler flank Len Blavatnik, founder of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Photo credit: Majid Aliyev for David DuPuy The gift will enable ongoing work in research areas that have yielded decades of discoveries by Dr. Nudler's team, including revelations on how genes are expressed and regulated, how bacteria resist antibiotics, and how cells execute continual DNA repair to prevent cancer and delay aging. "Len Blavatnik cares deeply about advancing health and is willing to invest in the people and institutions he believes have the most potential to effect change — and to reinvest in them over time as their impact grows," said Dr. Nudler, who was a 2010 recipient of the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists and has received significant research support from the Blavatnik Family Foundation in the past. "This kind of support allows us to attract and retain top talent — the most precious resource in our lab — and gives us the investigative freedom to drive discoveries that could transform people's lives." "It is essential to support brilliant young scientists like Dr. Nudler who are advancing our understanding of science through their discoveries while simultaneously challenging the scientific community to think bigger and more creatively," said Len Blavatnik, founder of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. "Meaningful advances in health and science depend on top talent working in an environment that bolsters them and removes roadblocks to their success," said Robert I. Grossman, MD, CEO of NYU Langone Health and dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "Thanks to incredible partners like the Blavatnik Family Foundation, we have been able to both recruit outstanding leaders in research and create our culture of exceptionalism, where they can truly thrive." Dr. Nudler has played a pivotal role in biomedical breakthroughs for decades. Research in his lab has illuminated how cells control their genes — for example, through RNA sensors known as riboswitches, which his team discovered in 2002 — and how cells rapidly detect and repair damage to their macromolecules (DNA and proteins). A recent study published in Molecular Cell showed that a molecular event called backtracking represents a widespread form of cellular regulation, influencing thousands of human genes. Along with its useful functions, persistent backtracking could result in DNA damage that contributes to cancer risk or the aging process. Targeting when and where backtracking occurs could lead to better interventions. This study built on earlier work. In 1997, Dr. Nudler published the paper that revealed the existence of backtracking, where the protein "machine" called RNA polymerase sometimes slips backward along the chain it is reading. Backtracking has since been shown to play a pivotal role in gene regulation and DNA repair across all organisms. Another recent study from Dr. Nudler's team, reported in the journal Nature, used a new technology to inventory genetic differences (mutations) in Escherichia coli at the site where the antibiotic rifampicin attaches to and disables RNA polymerase. The findings were a boon to chemists seeking to engineer more effective antibiotics — ones that bind more tightly to their targets to overcome treatment resistance. The Blavatnik Family Foundation's very generous contributions have supported investigations like these in the past and will powerfully advance ongoing work in Dr. Nudler's lab. About the Blavatnik Family Foundation The Blavatnik Family Foundation provides many of the world's best researchers, scientists, and future leaders with the support and funding needed to solve humankind's greatest challenges. Led by Sir Len Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, the Foundation advances and promotes innovation, discovery, and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Over the past decade, the Foundation has contributed more than US$1 billion to more than 250 organizations. About NYU Langone Health NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone the No. 1 comprehensive academic medical center in the country for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise. Contact: Arielle Sklar, [email protected] SOURCE NYU Langone Health System WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED