Pinnacle Biologics, a pharmaceutical company specializing in revitalizing and revamping current treatments for persistent diseases, has filed paperwork seeking an Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for its new mesothelioma drug Photofrin. The drug is designed specifically to aid in the treatment of patients suffering from malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by inhalation or ingestion of airborne asbestos fibers.
The company, located in Bannockburn, Illinois, announced this next step forward in a press release on October 24th.
Photofrin (porfimer sodium) has been designated as an adjuvant therapy to coincide with surgery to remove mesothelioma tumors in patients suffering from the disease.
Guillermo Herrera, Executive Chairman of Pinnacle Biologics, said that Photofrin was created because existing ". . . treatments for mesothelioma are palliative at best, and the outcome in patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma is very poor.” In order to improve prognoses, lifespan, and quality of life for mesothelioma patients, Pinnacle petitioned the FDA to allow them to expand the approved usages of Photofrin.
The decision was made after several clinical studies showed encouraging results with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients.
Doctor Joseph S. Friedberg, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Co-Director of the Penn Mesothelioma and Pleural Disease Program at Penn Medicine, said that studies concerning photodynamic therapy as a treatment for mesothelioma have shown exciting results. "By utilizing PDT as an intraoperative treatment, we have been able to develop a technique where we can reliably preserve the patient's lung.” This is a huge advantage over other surgeries where parts of the lung or the entire organ itself must be removed. By saving the patient’s lung, doctors can effectively prolong longevity considerably and significantly improve the quality of life the mesothelioma patients can enjoy.
Friedberg went on to say that these results have shifted the focus of current research to “. . . characterizing the PDT effect and working on techniques to magnify it . . .”
Photofrin is used during photodynamic therapy, a procedure during which mesothelioma patients are injected with the solution and then exposed to specifically targeted laser light. Photofrin works because it is attracted to cancer cells. This attraction is magnified by the application of the laser. The tumor is then destroyed by chemical reaction, not through surgery or heat.
In this manner, PDT is less-intrusive, less destructive, and carries fewer side effects than other conventional mesothelioma treatments. However, doctors caution that best results occur with multimodal treatments for mesothelioma where various therapies are combined and used. PDT is not a silver bullet and it is not a cure. It is merely another weapon in the arsenal building against mesothelioma.