November 18, 2005 -- Few people remember that Onyx Pharmaceuticals was founded to commercialize a novel approach for cancer, based on p53 and a genetically engineered cold virus that would kill cells deficient in p53. Cancer cells are deficient in the gene, and the deficiency is highly specific. Although early results were positive, it did not work out for Onyx. However, a Chinese company has won Chinese approval for the medication, and it intends to bring the drug, a treatment for head and neck cancer, to the US and Europe. We look at the history of Onyx-015, now known as H101, and what it says about drug regulation in the US...
