Metformin News and Research

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Metformin is the active ingredient in a drug used to treat diabetes mellitus (a condition in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood). It is also being studied in the treatment of cancer. It decreases the amount of glucose (a type of sugar) released into the bloodstream from the liver and increases the body’s use of the glucose. Metformin is a type of antidiabetic agent.

Vitamin E effective against severe fatty liver disease in some children

A specific form of vitamin E improved the most severe form of fatty liver disease in some children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the April 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A previous study found vitamin E effective in some adults with the disease.

28 Apr 2011

Children, adolescents with liver disease may not benefit from vitamin E or metformin

In contrast to previous preliminary data, use of vitamin E or the diabetes drug metformin was not superior to placebo on a measured outcome for treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Apr 2011

New approach links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome

Identifying gene mutations in cancer patients to predict clinical outcome has been the cornerstone of cancer research for nearly three decades, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have invented a new approach that instead links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome. This approach can now be applied to virtually any type of human cancer cell.

15 Apr 2011

Shionogi launches CUVPOSA for pediatric chronic severe drooling

Shionogi Inc., the U.S.-based group company of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., today announced the U.S. commercial availability of CUVPOSA™ (glycopyrrolate) oral solution, the first and only FDA-approved treatment to reduce chronic severe drooling in patients aged 3 to 16 with neurologic conditions associated with problem drooling, such as cerebral palsy.

7 Apr 2011

Patients with type 2 diabetes can benefit from metformin than other drugs

New research suggests that several commonly prescribed drugs for type 2 diabetes may not be as effective at preventing death and cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and stroke, as the oral anti-diabetic drug, metformin.

7 Apr 2011

Metformin therapy may protect PCOS women against endometrial cancer

Research led by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that Metformin, a drug treatment used to treat diabetes and also in women with Polycystic vary syndrome, may potentially provide protection against endometrial cancer.

5 Apr 2011

Merck submits Erbitux indication extension to EMA for NSCLC treatment

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that it has submitted an indication extension to the European Medicines Agency for the approval of Erbitux in combination with standard 1st line platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with high epidermal growth factor receptor expression.

30 Mar 2011

Sitagliptin drug can slow onset of diabetes

Diabetes type 2 is caused by insufficient levels of insulin to keep blood glucose under control. Excessive levels of another hormone, glucagon, can also contribute to diabetes type 2 by causing the liver to flood the body with stored glucose.

25 Mar 2011

Type 2 diabetes drug less likely to cause weight gain, raise cholesterol levels

An inexpensive type 2 diabetes drug that has been around for more than 15 years works just as well and has fewer side effects than a half-dozen other, mostly newer and more expensive classes of medication used to control the chronic disease, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

15 Mar 2011

Positive results from exenatide phase 2 study in patients with type 2 diabetes

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive results from a phase 2 study evaluating the effects of a once-monthly injectable suspension formulation of exenatide on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

10 Mar 2011

Santarus commences SAN-300 Phase I clinical study to treat inflammatory diseases

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has initiated a Phase I clinical study with SAN-300, its anti-VLA-1 antibody.

10 Mar 2011

European Commission approves BMY's ONGLYZA to treat type 2 diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission has approved a label update for ONGLYZA in the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes who have moderate or severe renal impairment. The approved dosage for the patient group is a new once-daily 2.5 mg dose.

4 Mar 2011

Depomed completes patient enrollment in Breeze 3 Serada Phase 3 trial to treat menopausal hot flashes

Depomed, Inc. announced today that it has completed enrollment of Breeze 3, the company's pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Serada for the non-hormonal treatment of menopausal hot flashes.

3 Mar 2011

Pharming, Santarus receive FDA refusal to file letter for RHUCIN BLA

Specialty biopharmaceutical company Santarus, Inc.and biotech company Pharming Group NV today announced the receipt of a "refusal to file" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the RHUCIN Biologics License Application submitted by Pharming.

28 Feb 2011

FDA approves ONGLYZA to treat type 2 diabetes patients with renal impairment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the inclusion of data from two clinical studies in an update to the ONGLYZA U.S. Prescribing Information for adult type 2 diabetes patients.

24 Feb 2011

Pharming, Santarus begin RHUCIN Phase IIIb study in patients with Hereditary Angioedema

Specialty biopharmaceutical company Santarus, Inc. and biotech company Pharming Group NV (NYSE Euronext: PHARM) today announced that Pharming has begun an international, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIIb clinical study evaluating the investigational drug RHUCIN for the treatment of acute attacks of angioedema in patients with Hereditary Angioedema.

22 Feb 2011

Deactivation of CRTC1 protein increases lifespan

Substantial evidence suggests that lifespan is increased if an organism restricts its daily calorie intake, a spartan regime that some say works by just making life seem longer. A team of scientists from the Salk Institute of Biological Studies has discovered a molecular switch flipped by hunger that could not only make longevity more appetizing but identify drug targets for patients with aging-related diseases such as type II diabetes or cancer.

17 Feb 2011

Genetic proof for anti-cancer properties of antioxidants and autophagy inhibitors

Researchers from Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center have genetic evidence suggesting the antioxidant drugs currently used to treat lung disease, malaria and even the common cold can also help prevent and treat cancers because they fight against mitochondrial oxidative stress-a culprit in driving tumor growth.

16 Feb 2011

Merck reports GAAP net income of $861 million for 2010

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2010. The company reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of $0.88, which excludes purchase accounting adjustments, restructuring costs and merger-related expenses.

4 Feb 2011

Sanofi-aventis announces GetGoal-X Phase III study of lixisenatide against type 2 diabetes

Zealand Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative peptide drugs, is pleased to announce that its partner, sanofi-aventis, today announced that the GetGoal-X Phase III study of lixisenatide, a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist licensed from Zealand Pharma, achieved its primary endpoint of non-inferiority in HbA1c reduction from baseline, compared with exenatide twice-daily.

2 Feb 2011