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Omeros advances OMS103HP and OMS302 into Phase 3 clinical programs

Omeros Corporation today announced that it is advancing two of its product candidates from its PharmacoSurgery platform – OMS103HP for arthroscopic meniscectomy and OMS302 for intra-ocular lens replacement surgery – into Phase 3 clinical development programs.

19 May 2011

AVAC calls on donors, policy makers to strengthen support for AIDS vaccine research

This year HIV Vaccine Awareness Day comes at the dawn of a true prevention revolution that could finally turn the tide of the AIDS epidemic. AIDS vaccine research is a critical part of that revolution and on this day AVAC calls on donors, policy makers and others to strengthen support for AIDS vaccine research.

19 May 2011

Study: 10% of cancer patients fail to fill initial oral oncolytic prescriptions

Ten percent of cancer patients failed to fill their initial prescriptions for oral anti-cancer drugs, according to a new study published jointly today in the Journal of Oncology Practice and American Journal of Managed Care.

19 May 2011

Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

The more than 2.7 million new HIV infections recorded per year leave little doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread globally. That's why there's the need for safe, inexpensive and effective drugs to successfully block HIV transmission.

19 May 2011

Musculoskeletal pain, obesity and smoking linked to increased risk of back-related disability

Musculoskeletal pain, obesity, and smoking are among the factors associated with an increased risk of work disability due to low back disorders, reports a study in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

19 May 2011

Generic drugs to rule the market in the near future: Experts

According to the latest estimates for global drug sales, generic drug makers are going to be in for bumper profits. The growth in generics is expected to depress overall ‘pharma’ sales growth, as lower-priced copies replace top-dollar brand names. In fact, global sales growth could be reduced by half over the next five years, say experts.

19 May 2011

Stem cells from kidneys - World first from Australian scientists

According to Australian scientists, their latest stem cell research breakthrough will bring new treatments for a growing epidemic of chronic kidney disease. They are the first in the world to generate a type of stem cell from human kidney cells. The Melbourne scientists are hoping their discovery will have far-reaching effects in treating the disease.

19 May 2011

Aspirin, simvastatin not effective in combating pulmonary artery hypertension

Despite their beneficial effects in treating heart disease, neither aspirin nor simvastatin appear to offer benefit to patients suffering from pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study conducted at four U.S. medical centers. This was the first NIH-funded randomized clinical trial (RCT) in PAH.

19 May 2011

Scientists identify key protein behind drug-resistant leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is the most common form of childhood cancer. While most children treated for this disease survive, in a subgroup of patients the disease does not respond to treatment.

19 May 2011

Two genes linked to worst cases of esophageal cancer

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have pinpointed two genes that are amplified in the worst cases of esophageal cancer, providing data to support a new investigational treatment that targets those same genes.

19 May 2011

Alemtuzumab as effective as other more expensive immune suppressants for kidney transplants

In the first head-to-head comparison of the three most common drugs used at the time of a kidney transplant to prevent organ rejection, researchers found that the least expensive drug - at one-half to one-fifth the price - is as safe and effective as the other two, according to a paper published by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in the May 19, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 May 2011

New breast cancer biomarker may help identify women's response to tamoxifen

Cancer researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and an international team of collaborators have discovered a biomarker in breast cancer that may help identify which women will respond to anti-estrogen therapy.

19 May 2011

Global health partnership announces first-, second-line AIDS drugs price reductions in developing world

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, UNITAID, and the U.K.'s Department for International Development "said on Tuesday they had secured price reductions on key AIDS drugs for HIV-positive patients in poorer countries," Reuters reports.

19 May 2011

Estradiol may exacerbate tumor growth in breast cancer

A recently discovered enzyme drives the production of a potent form of estrogen in human breast cancer tissue, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found.

19 May 2011

Common gene fault triggers a ripple of molecular signals leading to more aggressive cervical cancer

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a common gene fault in cervical cancer cells triggers a ripple of molecular signals - which makes the disease more aggressive, according to research published in The Journal of Pathology.

19 May 2011

State roundup: Med schools in Texas face budget crunch

Patients would have access to detailed histories of Illinois doctors — including whether the physician has been fired, convicted of a crime or made a medical malpractice payment in the past five years — under legislation headed to the governor's desk.

19 May 2011

Fragile X syndrome may be treatable

Advancements over the last 10 years in understanding intellectual disability (ID, formerly mental retardation), have led to the once-unimaginable possibility that ID may be treatable, a review of more than 100 studies on the topic has concluded. It appears in ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

18 May 2011

Synergy expands GC-C agonist technology to lower cholesterol

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and diseases, announced today that it has successfully completed preclinical in vitro research demonstrating the inhibition of bile acid uptake by GC-C agonists and that it plans to commence animal studies shortly. Synergy believes this is the first time that GC-C agonists have been shown to potentially lower cholesterol.

18 May 2011

Pharma Two B plans to initiate P2B001 Phase II study in Parkinson's disease

Pharma Two B announced today it is planning a Phase II study of its new combination therapy, P2B001, in development as a treatment for the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Assuming regulatory approval and the necessary financing, the company plans to commence the Phase II trial in Q4 2011.

18 May 2011

Aeterna Zentaris first quarter revenues increase to $7.4 million

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy, today reported financial and operating results as at and for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

18 May 2011