World's "10 most promising" treatments

A list of the 10 most promising treatments for the world's biggest health threats has been put together by the Scientific American journal, based on products that have at least completed Phase I trials.

Alzhemed (tramiprosate), developed by Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Neurochem, is described as targeting the root of Alzheimer's disease and is possibly "the vanguard of a novel class of treatments." Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccines business of France's Sanofi-Aventis group, is developing a vaccine against dengue fever (live attenuated 17D yellow fever and dengue chimera), a disease which affects 500,000 people worldwide that currently has no cure. Inhalable insulin, such as the Technosphere Insulin system developed by the USA's MannKind Corp (Marketletter September 25, 2006), helps diabetics regulate their blood sugar without the use of needles.

Naproxcinod (HCT 3012; Marketletters passim) from France's NicOx is considered a potential replacement for Merck & Co's withdrawn COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx (rofecoxib; Marketletter passim). For lung cancer, Stimuvax (BLP25 liposome vaccine; Marketletter July 31, 2006), from Canadian cancer vaccine specialist Biomira, works by "teaching" the body to fight the cancer without the traditional side-effects of older therapies.