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Our commitment
to cancer
In the fight against cancer,
oncologists and patients are looking
for improved treatments, more therapeutic
options and commitment by drug companies
to continual development. To meet
these expectations, our scientists
are working hard to develop innovative
therapies for the treatment of certain
types of cancer, as well as for chronic
cancer pain and fatigue in chemotherapy
cancer patients.
Early developments
in the treatment of cancer
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Recent
developments in the treatment of cancer
Our current research is exploring
new approaches to cancer treatment.
Having gained new insights into the
natural molecules that stimulate or
suppress tumour growth, our researchers
are developing innovative drugs to treat
several of the most common human cancers
and associated diseases. The mission
of Janssen-Cilag's oncology programme
is embraced in the slogan 'The Art of
Living'. This emphasises the optimism
that, with better treatments, patients
with cancer will be able to regain control
of their own life.
Chronic cancer pain
DUROGESIC™ is used
for the management of chronic, intractable
pain due to cancer. It is delivered
by means of a special skin patch,
which releases the active product
(fentanyl) continuously into the body's
circulation over a three-day period.
The development of this drug has increased
the number of treatment options available
to patients requiring analgesia for
continuous cancer pain.
Fatigue in cancer
The world's most successful
therapeutic biotechnology product,
EPREX (epoetin alfa) is used in the
treatment of fatigue in cancer chemotherapy
patients. EPREX increases the number
of red blood cells gradually, thereby
countering the fatigue and improving
quality of life.
Hairy cell leukaemia
(HCL)
Janssen-Cilag has a strong R&D
commitment to haematology, resulting,
among other things, in LEUSTATIN™
(cladribine), a new drug for hairy-cell
leukaemia (HCL), developed by RWJPRI
and the Scripps Research Institute.
Before that, HCL was often fatal.
In addition, because HCL affects only
3,000 patients worldwide, little was
known about it.
Cladribine has now been available
in several markets for several years.
A single course of treatment
is usually sufficient; encouraging
results have also been seen in patients
with other, more common types of haematological
cancers and other diseases.
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