Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has resubmitted its Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for KRYSTEXXA™ (pegloticase) as a treatment for chronic gout in patients refractory to conventional therapy. Chronic gout that is refractory to conventional therapy occurs in patients who have failed to normalize serum uric acid and whose signs and symptoms are inadequately controlled with xanthine oxidase inhibitors at the maximum medically appropriate dose or for whom these drugs are contraindicated. [More]

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics, announced results demonstrating that a murine equivalent of XOMA 052, its novel, high-affinity antibody to interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), significantly reduced adverse consequences that usually lead to the development of congestive heart failure in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). [More]

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of XOMA 052, its antibody to interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), in Type 1 diabetes patients. Funding for the trial is being provided by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the largest patient advocacy organization of Type 1 diabetes research worldwide. [More]

Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RDEA) a biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of gout, cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), today reported recent accomplishments, announced fourth quarter and full-year 2009 financial results and provided key upcoming clinical development milestones and financial guidance for 2010. [More]

BioTrends Research Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of its TreatmentTrends®: Gout and Hyperuricemia publication. The report is based on responses to online surveys completed by 120 Rheumatologists and 57 Primary Care Physicians in the US who are managing a high number of patients with gout. [More]

EnzymeRx, LLC, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, today announced completion of the enrollment of its first clinical trial of pegsitacase (formerly called Uricase-PEG 20), and the recent launch of a second clinical study. Pegsitacase is a pegylated uricase being developed by EnzymeRx for the treatment of refractory gout and for the management of hyperuricemia associated with tumor lysis syndrome. [More]

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare AG today announced that VEGF Trap-Eye showed positive results in a Phase 2 study in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). [More]

Cardiovascular disease (commonly referred to as heart disease) is the leading cause of death for women worldwide. Almost every minute, a woman in the U.S. dies from heart disease. Despite the prevalence of heart disease in women, a 2005 American Heart Association study showed that 92% of primary care physicians and 83% of cardiologists were not aware of the fact that more women than men die of heart disease each year. [More]

Women with gout are at greater risk of a heart attack than men with the disease, indicates research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. [More]

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that Phase IIIb data published in the January issue of Clinical Therapeutics confirm that CREON® (pancrelipase) Delayed-Release Capsules significantly improves a key measure of fat absorption in children aged 7-11 years who have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) due to cystic fibrosis (CF), EPI is a condition resulting from a deficiency in the production and/or secretion of pancreatic enzymes that are necessary to digest nutrients in food. [More]