2021 Year In Review

A promising non-invasive treatment to effectively and safely destroy deadly brain tumors is being tested on human patients for the first time ever at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

The Ivy Center is pleased to announce the dosing of its first patient in a first-in-human Phase 0 clinical trial of sonodynamic therapy, a noninvasive drug-device combination developed by SonALAsense in collaboration with Insightec. This historic study aims to develop a nonsurgical treatment option for patients with recurrent glioblastoma and other high-grade gliomas.

In this Techonomy exclusive from Dr. Nader Sanai, director of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, he discusses the “fail fast” adage associated with Silicon Valley and the implications this method could have on the healthcare industry specifically, in clinical trials.

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute has announced the first patient has been treated in a Phase 0 clinical trial of pamiparib in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (nGBM) and recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). This is the first Phase 0 clinical trial open to newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients.

Governor Doug Ducey declared May to be Brain Tumor Awareness Month to promote education of the condition, recognize the medical professionals who combat the issue, highlight the significant progress in research, and honor the families who have been impacted.

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center has announced initial results from an ongoing, dual-drug Phase 0 study evaluating the tumor pharmacokinetics (PK) and tumor pharmacodynamics (PD) of abemaciclib, a selective CDK4/6-inhibitor, plus LY3214996, a selective ERK1/2 inhibitor, in recurrent glioblastoma patients.

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, the largest Phase 0 clinical trials program for aggressive brain tumors, announced its plans for a new 75,000-square-foot headquarters, with construction beginning in August. The five-story building will be the largest translational research center dedicated to brain tumor drug development in the world.

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center’s clinical trial of sonodynamic therapy provides proof of concept for this new metabolically targeted, rapidly acting technology platform for brain tumors

Published in the journal of Neuro-Oncology and presented at the European Association of Neuro-Oncology, the Ivy Brain Tumor Center announced results from their Phase 0/1 clinical trial of ribociclib plus everolimus in patients with high-grade glioma (HGG).

The Hazen’s presented a $1.5 million check to doctors, physicians and researchers at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute. Nicole is receiving treatment and care at the Ivy Center after she was diagnosed in July 2020 with glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.

The Ivy Center in collaboration with UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery is pleased to announce a new clinical trial of GSK’s niraparib (ZEJULA) – an FDA-approved drug to treat ovarian cancer – for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and recurrent high-grade gliomas.

StacheStrong, a non-profit devoted to raising funds and awareness for brain cancer research, announced they raised $340,000 for the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute.