Pennington Patent Makes National News

For more information, contact our Media Relations Manager, Ted Griggs, 225-763-2862 or our Communications Director, Lisa Stansbury, at 225-763-2978. Our news email box is also available at news@pbrc.edu.

Released: Tuesday, October 21, 2003

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center will be issued a patent for a new cancer treatment that will fight the most common forms – prostate, breast, ovarian and testicular cancer. This new treatment has killed cancerous tumors on laboratory mice while leaving normal cells unaffected. The treatment also destroys mestacized cells which spreads throughout the body and eventually results in death.

According to Pennington research experts, it is difficult to predict exactly when clinicals trials would start, if the drug makes it to that level; perhaps 1 to 3 years. When the drug would be available on a large scale is also difficult to predict. If research is funded, the drug passes all lab and clinical trials and is approved by the FDA, 10 to 12 years is a reasonable estimate.

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The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.