Lesson plan
Dendreon
Dendreon Pharmaceuticals LLC is a biotechnology company. Its lead product, Provenge (known generically as sipuleucel-T), is an immunotherapy for prostate cancer. It consists of a mixture of the patient's own blood cells (autologous, with dendritic cells thought to be the most important) that have been incubated with the Dendreon PAP-GM-CSF fusion protein. Phase III clinical trial results demonstrating a survival benefit for prostate cancer patients receiving the drug were presented at the AUA meeting on April 28, 2009. After going through the approval process, Provenge was given full approval by the FDA on April 29, 2010. Dendreon's stock value fell 66% on August 4, 2011, after abandoning its forecast for its debut drug Provenge. In November 2014, Dendreon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shortly afterwards announced that it had reached agreements on the terms of a financial restructuring with certain bond holders. On February 20, 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals received approval to purchase all Dendreon assets. On January 9, 2017, Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group agreed to acquire Dendreon from Valeant for $820 million, with the transaction successfully closing in June 2017.
Article summary
Dendreon Pharmaceuticals LLC is a biotechnology company. Its lead product, Provenge (known generically as sipuleucel-T), is an immunotherapy for prostate cancer. It consists of a mixture of the patient's own blood cells (autologous, with dendritic cells thought to be the most important) that have been incubated with the Dendreon PAP-GM-CSF fusion protein. Phase III clinical trial results demonstrating a survival benefit for prostate cancer patients receiving the drug were presented at the AUA meeting on April 28, 2009. After going through the approval process, Provenge was given full approval by the FDA on April 29, 2010. Dendreon's stock value fell 66% on August 4, 2011, after abandoning its forecast for its debut drug Provenge. In November 2014, Dendreon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shortly afterwards announced that it had reached agreements on the terms of a financial restructuring with certain bond holders. On February 20, 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals received approval to purchase all Dendreon assets. On January 9, 2017, Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group agreed to acquire Dendreon from Valeant for $820 million, with the transaction successfully closing in June 2017.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.