Thalidomide, a drug originally prescribed as a sedative to women but banned because it caused birth defects, is now being tested in phase III studies in 194 newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer found in the bone marrow, for 240 patients with renal cell cancer and for 200 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, which is another form of bone marrow cancer.

Thalidomide targets VEGF, TNF and bFGF. It also blocks an enzyme called COX2, which scientists now know acts as a switch that turns on VEGF. COX2 also is involved in arthritis. (The blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex is a COX2 inhibitor. Researchers are beginning to study Celebrex in cancer patients.)

Neovastat is in phase III studies for 760 people with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer and 280 patients with renal cell cancer. A pivotal phase II study, similar to phase III in that data will be used to apply for approval, is underway for 125 patients with multiple myeloma.