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Frequent chlamydia screening does not reduce infection in teenage girls

Frequent testing and treatment of infection does not reduce the prevalence of chlamydia in urban teenage girls, according to a long term study by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

8 Jan 2010

Rituximab treatment reduces patients' response to pneumonia vaccine

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University determined that immune responses to the tetanus vaccine were not changed when rituximab in combination with methotrexate (MTX) was compared with MTX alone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

7 Jan 2010

Flu vaccine safe but ineffective for RA patients treated with rituximab

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are partially protected by the influenza vaccine 6-10 months after treatment with rituximab. Researchers determined that while the flu vaccine is safe, it is ineffective for RA patients in the first 6 months following rituximab treatment.

7 Jan 2010

Ensemble Discovery initiates strategic alliance with Pfizer

Ensemble Discovery today announced the initiation of a strategic alliance with Pfizer Inc. to discover and develop drug candidates of a novel class against a number of high-value pharmaceutical targets.

6 Jan 2010

Ambit Biosciences and Astellas Pharma to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors

Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that they have entered into a worldwide agreement to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors in oncology and non-oncology indications.

18 Dec 2009

Regulus Therapeutics wins exclusive rights to modulate microRNAs

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., founded by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that it has obtained exclusive rights from the California Institute of Technology to inventions made in the laboratory of David Baltimore, Ph.D. covering methods and compositions for modulating microRNA-146 and microRNA-155.

18 Dec 2009

ChemoCentryx commences enrollment in CCX354 Phase 2 clinical trial for RA

ChemoCentryx, Inc. today announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of CCX354, an orally-bioavailable, novel, small molecule drug designed to specifically target the CCR1 chemokine receptor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

16 Dec 2009

Genocea Biosciences to develop Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine with UPMC grant

Genocea Biosciences, a leading vaccine discovery and development company, today announced it has been awarded a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Cooperative Research Center for the development of vaccines for Chlamydia trachomatis.

15 Dec 2009

Phase 2 pivotal trial of AC220 initiated by Ambit Biosciences

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today the enrollment and dosing at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center of the first patient in the ACE (AC220 Monotherapy Efficacy) Phase 2 pivotal trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

11 Dec 2009

Cequent Pharmaceuticals' IND application for CEQ508 approved for clinical trial

Cequent Pharmaceuticals, a pioneer in the development of novel products to deliver RNAi-based treatments to prevent and treat human disease, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) approved Cequent's first IND (investigational new drug) application yesterday.

10 Dec 2009

Roche launches new automated clinical laboratory system for HPV and CT/NG tests

Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today the launch of a new clinical laboratory system designed to increase laboratory testing efficiency and to accommodate current and long-term molecular diagnostic needs.

10 Dec 2009

Second pivotal Phase 3 trial to evaluate investigational Lp-PLA2 inhibitor darapladib initiated

Attached is a press release issued earlier this morning by GlaxoSmithKline, announcing that GSK has initiated its second pivotal Phase 3 trial to evaluate the efficacy of long-term treatment with the investigational Lp-PLA2 inhibitor darapladib in men and women with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

10 Dec 2009

Ambit Biosciences presents study results of its AC220 FLT3 inhibitor for AML

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today that preliminary results from a clinical trial of its lead product candidate, AC220, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans. AC220 is a novel, orally available, small molecule that was expressly optimized as a FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitor for the treatment of AML.

8 Dec 2009

BD Diagnostics receives FDA clearance on Amplified DNA Assays

BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to utilize its BD ProbeTec(TM) Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) Qx and BD ProbeTec(TM) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) Qx Amplified DNA Assays with samples collected during women's routine liquid-based Pap testing for cervical cancer screening.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 8 Dec 2009

Social isolation and stress can raise breast cancer risk

Social isolation and related stress could contribute to human breast cancer susceptibility, research from a rat model designed at the University of Chicago to identify environmental mechanisms contributing to cancer risk shows.

8 Dec 2009

Results of preclinical studies evaluating AC220 to be presented at ASH annual meeting

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today the presentation of two posters presenting the results of preclinical studies evaluating AC220 at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans.

8 Dec 2009

Initial positive data from Amira Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1 clinical study of AM461 DP2 antagonist

Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today initial positive data from a Phase 1 clinical study of AM461, the Company's second oral selective antagonist of the DP2 (also known as CRTH2) receptor.

3 Dec 2009

Lung disease linked to the use of contaminated well water in a CPAP machine

Many people rely on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines as a safe and effective treatment for sleep apnea. But a new case report describes a rare complication—a lingering inflammatory disease of the lungs, apparently related to the use of contaminated well water in a CPAP machine. The report appears in the December Southern Medical Journal, official journal of the Southern Medical Association.

3 Dec 2009

New approach to identify molecules that prevent immune cells from attacking body

A study led by a Scripps Research Institute scientist describes a new, highly pragmatic approach to the identification of molecules that prevent a specific type of immune cells from attacking their host. The findings add a powerful new tool to the ongoing search for potential treatments for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as blood cancers, such as myeloid leukemia.

2 Dec 2009

Ambit Biosciences presents data evaluating FLT3 inhibitor in AML at the 51st ASH meeting

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today that there will be multiple presentations evaluating AC220, a novel second generation FLT3 inhibitor, in AML at the 51st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) to be held in New Orleans, LA ,December 5-8, 2009. An oral presentation will highlight results from an ongoing clinical Phase I monotherapy safety study in adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

25 Nov 2009