Corticosteroid News and Research

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Corticosteroids are any steroid hormones made in the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the adrenal gland). They are also made in the laboratory. Corticosteroids have many different effects in the body, and are used to treat many different conditions. They may be used as hormone replacement, to suppress the immune system, and to treat some side effects of cancer and its treatment. Corticosteroids are also used to treat certain lymphomas and lymphoid leukemias.

Ultrasound needle guidance improves performance and outcomes of knee injections

The use of ultrasound needle guidance improves the performance, outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of knee injections in people with osteoarthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010

Santarus's budesonide MMX drug shows positive result for active ulcerative colitis

Santarus, Inc. a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive top-line results from a second Phase III clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of budesonide MMX for the induction of remission of mild or moderate active ulcerative colitis.

8 Nov 2010

4SC's vidofludimus Phase IIa study in IBD meets primary endpoint

4SC AG, a drug discovery and development company focused on autoimmune and cancer indications, today announced positive preliminary results of a Phase IIa study in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with its lead autoimmune compound vidofludimus, an oral inhibitor of interleukin-17 (IL-17) release.

4 Nov 2010

USPTO reconfirms Hovione's patent claims to flumethasone, reverses rejection

Hovione and Dickstein Shapiro LLP are pleased to announce that the U.S. Patent and Trademark's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has reconfirmed Hovione's patent claims to a method of making flumethasone and its 17-carboxyl androsten analogue, two key intermediates on the synthesis of fluticasone, an important corticosteroid used in asthma medications, reversing a rejection by the reexamination examiner.

4 Nov 2010

Acton submits Manufacturing Supplement to FDA for AEROSPAN Inhalation Aerosol

Acton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a Manufacturing Supplement to the previously approved AEROSPAN Inhalation Aerosol NDA.

4 Nov 2010

SYMBICORT improves lung function in African American asthma patients compared to budesonide alone

AstraZeneca announced today that results from TITAN, a 12-week study of SYMBICORT® (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol in African American patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma, showed significant improvement in lung function for patients taking SYMBICORT compared with those using budesonide alone.

3 Nov 2010

Soligenix completes enrollment in RiVax Phase 1B ricin toxin clinical trial

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported today that it has completed enrollment of its Phase 1B clinical trial of RiVax™, a ricin subunit vaccine, in healthy volunteers. Preliminary results indicate that RiVax™ appears safe at all doses tested in volunteers. This trial is designed to assess the duration of immune responses using an adjuvant formulation of RiVax™ over a period of more than one year after vaccination.

2 Nov 2010

Teva third quarter net sales increase 20% to $4.3 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2010.

2 Nov 2010

Merck reports $342 million net income for 2010 third quarter

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2010. The company reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter of $0.85, which excludes purchase accounting adjustments, restructuring costs, merger-related expenses and a $950 million legal reserve.

29 Oct 2010

Soligenix reports Phase 2 clinical trial results of orBec for GVHD

Soligenix, Inc. a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, today reported preliminary results from its Phase 2 "proof-of-concept" exploratory clinical trial of orBec for the prevention of acute Graft-versus-Host disease (GVHD) in patients undergoing myeloablative conditioning regimens with initiation of dosing prior to hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and continuing through the post-transplantation period.

25 Oct 2010

Celtic Pharma receives US patent for methods to treat breast, colon cancer

Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. today announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued U.S. patent 7,816,323, for novel methods to treat breast and colon cancers using a combination therapy of Xerecept with Avastin.

22 Oct 2010

New data on Merck’s odanacatib for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women presented at 32nd ASBMR

New data on odanacatib, an investigational cathepsin-K (Cat-K) inhibitor in development for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, were presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) in Toronto, Canada.

19 Oct 2010

IBD patients with Vitamin D deficiency at greater risk of osteoporosis, osteopenia

Vitamin D deficiency puts patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) at greater risk of osteoporosis, osteopenia and an overall higher rate of abnormal bone density, according to the results of a new study unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 75th Annual Scientific meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

18 Oct 2010

Fluticasone gets rid of eosinophils in the esophagus, but does not improve symptoms

A group of Mayo Clinic researchers conducted the first controlled trial of swallowed fluticasone nasal spray (also known as Flonase) on people with the allergic esophageal condition called eosinophilic esophagitis. Research showed that the aerosolized swallowed allergy drug helped treat the cause of the throat condition, but symptoms lingered. The researchers' findings were presented today at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in San Antonio.

18 Oct 2010

Alimera Sciences obtains $32.5M senior secured credit facility

Alimera Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has obtained a $32.5 million senior secured credit facility to help fund its working capital requirements. The credit facility consists of a $20 million revolving line of credit provided by Silicon Valley Bank and a $12.5 million term loan provided by MidCap Financial, LLC and Silicon Valley Bank.

15 Oct 2010

Acceleron announces ACE-031 Phase 1b study results

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced preliminary results from a Phase 1b study to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamic (PD) activity of ACE-031 following multiple ascending doses in healthy postmenopausal volunteers.

14 Oct 2010

Alimera to present Iluvien Phase 3 clinical trial data at AAO annual meeting

Alimera Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, today announced that data from its Phase 3 (FAME) clinical trials for Iluvien will be presented this month at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in Chicago.

12 Oct 2010

Abiraterone acetate improves survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have progressed after chemotherapy live significantly longer if treated with the drug abiraterone acetate compared to placebo, the results of a large Phase-III clinical trial confirm.

11 Oct 2010

Eli Lilly presents ALIMTA Phase III trial results at ESMO Annual Meeting

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that its global Phase III trial evaluating ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) in combination with cisplatin in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) did not meet its primary endpoint for overall survival. Data were presented for the first time today at the 35th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

11 Oct 2010

Merck to appeal against jury verdict in retrial of federal FOSAMAX case

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it will appeal a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that reduced the jury verdict from $8 million to $1.5 million but denied Merck's request for judgment in its favor or a new trial in the case of Boles v. Merck, a retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case.

5 Oct 2010