A cancer research company co-founded by an MSU professor has been acquired by the New York biotechnology firm Lodo Therapeutics Corp. in a move that holds potential for the development of innovative drugs that treat cancerous tumors.
The acquisition of Hibiskus BioPharma was announced Sept. 3. Co-founded by André Bachmann of Michigan State University and MichaelPirrung of the University of California, Riverside, the company was established with support from Spartan Innovations and Red Cedar Ventures, both wholly owned subsidies of the MSU Foundation.
Neuroblastoma is a rare form of tumor that develops in immature nerve cells, called neuroblasts, found near the kidneys. Thus, children are the most susceptible to developing them, with neuroblastoma representing 7 to 10 percent of pediatric cancers.
The treatments are much like any other cancer. Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy can help shrink and kill neuroblastoma cells. But these treatments are harsh for adults; for children they can be their own kind of illness.
African American and Hispanic children admitted to pediatric intensive care units for cancer treatment have significantly higher death rates than do Caucasian patients, a study led by two Michigan State University and Spectrum Health researchers found.
Nationwide, 8.5% of African American and 8.1% of Hispanic children with cancer died after admission to pediatric intensive care units, compared with 6.3% of non-Hispanic Caucasian children.
Felicia Wu, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, and David Hennessy, Elton R. Smith Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, were recently awarded a $478,000 USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, grant of for their project "Aflatoxin Reduced By Bt Corn? Examining Crop Insurance Claims for Real World Impacts of Technologies for Food Safety."