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Rose Bengal (PV-10), a cheap industrial chemical that turns yarn and food bright red, has been used as a diagnostic staining agent for some time. Now, some scientists are looking at its potential to fight various forms of cancer...Provectus Biopharmaceuticals...is testing a reformulated version of the industrial dye on melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer...Rose Bengal’s potential against cancer was discovered by accident. The salt was first patented in 1882 as a wool dye and has been used for years as a diagnostic stain in tests for jaundice in newborns and to detect eye damage...In 1998, scientists....were looking for a safe photoreactive agent to use in an investigation of lasers against cancer. Rose Bengal fit the bill...As it turned out, the Rose Bengal solution appeared to work on its own to dissolve tumors when directed injectly (directly injected) into them...Provectus executives say the small development tab—along with relatively low manufacturing costs and easy handling requirements—could make PV-10 a less expensive new treatment...Provectus plans to put itself up for sale once its drug is approved...

2015 was a record year for personalized medicine approvals, according to a new analysis from the Personalized Medicine Coalition. This news confirms the growing role of personalized medicine as an approach to treatment that can improve outcomes for patients and also create important efficiencies in the health care system. Personalized medicine is an emerging field of medicine that uses diagnostic tools to identify specific biological markers to help assess which medical treatments and procedures will be best for each patient. Personalized medicine also takes into account patients’ medical history, circumstances and values in developing targeted treatment and prevention plans...45 novel new drugs approved in 2015, the new analysis indicates that 28 percent of novel new drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration...were personalized, or precision, medicines...Some of the personalized medicine highlights from 2015 include:

• Two new medicines for patients with different forms of non-small cell lung cancer;
• A new combination therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis;
• Two new medicines to help patients with a difficult-to-treat form of high cholesterol; and
• A new targeted therapy for melanoma.

New cancer drug cocktails set to reach the market in the next few years will test the limits of premium pricing for life-saving medicines, forcing…fresh market strategies…reluctance …to fund very expensive drugs – even remarkably effective ones – points to a showdown as manufacturers mix and match therapies that harness the immune system to fight tumors.