Abbott reports ‘optimism’ on cancer

Abbott has reported that the general public is optimistic regarding the struggle to treat cancer, following a nationwide survey in the US. According to the questionnaire, 64 per cent of people believe that scientists are “winning the war” against the disease.

The population appears to believe in the efficacy of efforts to tackle cancer in the long term, with 42 per cent believing key advances will be made in the fight against the disease over the next decade and 82 per cent expecting major breakthroughs over the next 25 years.

Abbott announced the results of this survey ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, where the firm presented data on a number of its investigational anti-cancer drugs.

These include ABT-888, a PARP inhibitor to enhance existing therapeutics, ABT-869, a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor and ABT-751, a potential paediatric neuroblastoma treatment, among others.

Stephen Fesik, vice-president of cancer research at Abbott, said: “Abbott has several promising anti-cancer compounds in its oncology pipeline that may prove to be very effective in the fight against cancer.”

He added that the firm was dedicated to exploring modern therapies to extend patient life and improve health, with its strategy focused on identifying the differences between cancer cells and normal human cells.

Last month, Abbott announced the presentation of data on a number of compounds at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer in Los Angeles.