Drugs News and Research

RSS

CMAJ: Canada needs national pharmacare program

Canada needs a national pharmacare program and federal leaders must commit adequate funding, states an editorial in CMAJ.

27 Apr 2011

New discoveries on polycystin-1 can lead to novel kidney disease treatment

Two discoveries at UC Santa Barbara point to potential new drug therapies for patients with kidney disease. The findings are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Apr 2011

MSF letter criticizes Johnson & Johnson for not joining Medicines Patent Pool

Medecins Sans Frontieres recently sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson criticizing the pharmaceutical company for "refusing to make patents on three HIV drugs available to a program that would reduce the cost of the medicines in developing countries," the Star-Ledger reports.

27 Apr 2011

RegenceRx supports DEA program to raise awareness on unused prescription drugs

In a nationwide effort to clear homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, RegenceRx is supporting the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day taking place on Saturday, April 30.

27 Apr 2011

AACN to host annual NTI conference for nurses

Emerging trends in patient care combine with advances in healthcare technology as thousands of nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients gather in Chicago this month.

27 Apr 2011

Karo Bio reports net loss of MSEK 47.7 for January - March 2011

Karo Bio: The January - March 2011 period in brief. Net sales amounted to MSEK 0.0.

27 Apr 2011

Biologists determine molecular structure of GluN2D receptor subunit

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells.

27 Apr 2011

Brain-derived protein in colorectal cancer

Tumor progression is usually ensured by more than one proliferative mechanism. When one of these is shut down by a specifically targeted drug, other mechanisms may emerge. While these events may lead to treatment failure, they may also become an opportunity for researchers to identify novel targets to be further explored.

27 Apr 2011

Blueberries may help fight obesity

Recently a study out of the Texas Women's University looked at whether blueberries with their high polyphenol content could help in fighting obesity. Blueberries after all have already been cited as having positive health effects on other conditions like cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The study was conducted in Petri dishes (not live animals) using a blueberry polyphenol extract and tissue cultures from mice.

27 Apr 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates enrollment in BI 201335 Phase 3 clinical trial for chronic HCV

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that enrollment has commenced at North American sites in its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial program for BI 201335, the Company's investigational, oral protease inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV).

27 Apr 2011

Heparan sulfate may have a key role in tumor-spurred lymphatic vessel growth

Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.

27 Apr 2011

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may help clot-busting drugs treat strokes

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may help clot-busting drugs treat strokes, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

27 Apr 2011

Tarix begins patient enrollment for TXA127 Phase 1 study in DCBT

Tarix Pharmaceuticals today announced enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of TXA127, a pharmaceutical grade formulation of a naturally occurring peptide known to stimulate early hematopoietic precursor cells in the bone marrow.

27 Apr 2011

Columbia requests FDA Priority Review for PROCHIEVE progesterone gel NDA

Columbia Laboratories, Inc., and Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that Columbia has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PROCHIEVE® (progesterone gel) for the reduction of risk of preterm birth in women with short uterine cervical length in the mid-trimester of pregnancy.

27 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Shortsighted fight against fund to prevent disease; strengthening regulators' control of premium increases

House Republicans are so bent on blocking any and all aspects of health care reform that they have passed a bill that would eliminate a farsighted program — the Prevention and Public Health Fund — intended to help states and communities prevent diseases. Eliminating the fund would save roughly $16 billion over the course of a decade. … The loss to states and local communities would be considerable.

27 Apr 2011

Lilly and Medtronic’s joint venture in Parkinson’s disease therapy

Lilly has already developed a protein called GDNF (glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor) known to preserve the function of neurons and Medtronic will provide a system that carries the medicine to a key area of the brain.

From Medtronic 26 Apr 2011

Hair transplant robot gets FDA nod

The United States regulator, Food and Drugs Administrator (FDA) has approved a machine called the Artas System for commercial use. According to manufacturers Restoration Robotics, Artas is “an interactive, computer assisted system utilizing image-guided robotics to enhance the quality of hair follicle harvesting” by combining “several features including an interactive, image-guided robotic arm, special imaging technologies, small dermal punches and a computer interface.” Artas can be used only on patients with straight brown or black hair at this stage.

26 Apr 2011

FDA rules e-cigarettes as tobacco products and plans regulations

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that electronic cigarettes should be considered tobacco products. E-cigarettes are small plastic or metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating a vapor that is then inhaled. They are marketed as a way to help smokers quit by addressing their addiction and the behavioral aspects of smoking.

26 Apr 2011

FDA supports new Hepatitis C drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex pharmaceuticals jumped 10 percent in value on the Nasdaq after U.S. regulators FDA said the company’s experimental hepatitis C drug cures more patients than current therapies.

26 Apr 2011

Diabetes and prediabetes are on the rise: New medication in research trials

As the newest statistics from the CDC show, diabetes is an ever increasing problem for Americans. Almost 26 million adults in this country now have diabetes, an increase of 9% since 2008. Ninety to 95% of cases are type 2 diabetes, marked by a gradual inability of the body’s cells to respond to insulin, and eventually an inability to produce enough insulin. In addition, almost 79 million people in this country have prediabetes. The CDC has warned that if diabetes continues on its current course, it could affect a third of all adult Americans by 2050.

26 Apr 2011