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Vertex announces positive interim data from INCIVEK Phase 2 combination trial on HIV, HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced positive interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin in people who are co-infected with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus.

7 Nov 2011

IFNa-kinoid shows promise against lupus

The first study to show results using active immunotherapy against the signaling protein interferon alpha in the treatment of lupus will be presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

New data from Santaris Pharma miravirsen Phase 2a trial on HCV

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, presents new data from the Phase 2a trial showing that miravirsen given as a four-week monotherapy treatment provided robust dose-dependent anti-viral activity with a mean reduction of 2 to 3 logs from baseline in HCV RNA (log10 IU/mL) that was maintained for more than four weeks beyond the end of therapy.

6 Nov 2011

Study: Birth cohort screening for HCV is cost effective in primary care setting

According to a new study being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians, birth cohort screening for hepatitis C is cost effective in the primary care setting.

5 Nov 2011

Inhibitex third quarter revenue increases to $1.3 million

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 and provided an update on several recent corporate developments, including top-line safety and antiviral data from the first cohort in its ongoing clinical trial designed to evaluate higher doses of INX-189, an oral nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, being developed to treat chronic infections caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), administered as monotherapy or in combination with ribavirin for seven days.

4 Nov 2011

Final results from Medivir's TMC435 phase IIb study on genotype-1 hepatitis C

Medivir AB, a research-based speciality pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announces final results from the ASPIRE study.

3 Nov 2011

Ocrelizumab drug holds promise for multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug called Ocrelizumab has shown promise in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 220 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an often debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease that affects an increasing number of people in North America.

2 Nov 2011

Scientists identify genetic mutation that causes rare childhood disease

An international collaboration of scientists, including researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified a genetic mutation that causes a rare childhood disease characterized predominantly by inflammation and fat loss.

1 Nov 2011

Pharmasset initiates PSI-7977 Phase 3 program for HCV

Pharmasset, Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 program with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) nucleotide analog, PSI-7977. This pivotal program will evaluate a 12-week, all-oral, interferon-free regimen of PSI-7977 and ribavirin in patients with HCV, independent of viral genotype or their ability to take interferon therapy.

1 Nov 2011

Studies on effectiveness of new HCV therapies presented at 76th ACG meeting

Studies reporting on the effectiveness of new therapies for chronic Hepatitis C virus are among the clinical science presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 76th Annual Scientific Meeting, where investigators also presented findings from an age-based risk assessment and screening intervention for Hepatitis C among Baby Boomers, patients aged 50-65, who saw a gastroenterologist for routine colon cancer screening.

1 Nov 2011

Biogen Idec third quarter revenues increase 11% to $1.3 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its third quarter 2011 results.

28 Oct 2011

Intracellular nucleic acid sensors can trigger autoimmune disease

Bruce Beutler, MD, a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine, has coauthored an article describing a novel molecular mechanism that can cause the body to attack itself and trigger an autoimmune disease.

28 Oct 2011

Insight into role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases

Cytokines, a varied group of signaling chemicals in the body, have been described as the software that runs the immune system, but when that software malfunctions, dysregulation of the immune system can result in debilitating autoimmune diseases such as lupus, arthritis, and diabetes. Leading experts in the field of cytokine research present their most up-to-date findings and unique perspectives on the role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases in a special issue of Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed publication of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

28 Oct 2011

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 3b study called CONCISE that will evaluate the potential for treatment with INCIVEK (telaprevir) combination therapy to be shortened to 12 weeks in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who have the 'CC' variation near the IL28B gene.

24 Oct 2011

Sanofi announces new results from alemtuzumab-Rebif comparative CARE-MS I trial

Sanofi and its subsidiary Genzyme announced today new results from the CARE-MS I trial, the first of two randomized, Phase III clinical trials comparing the investigational drug alemtuzumab to Rebif (high dose subcutaneous interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

22 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim announces new data from hepatitis C virus portfolio

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that new data from its hepatitis C virus (HCV) portfolio will be presented in scientific sessions at The Liver Meeting 2011, the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), taking place November 4 - November 8 in San Francisco, CA.

22 Oct 2011

Roche to acquire Anadys Pharmaceuticals

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Roche.

18 Oct 2011

Molecular switch activates anti-viral innate immune response

When a thief breaks into a bank vault, sensors are activated and the alarm is raised. Cells have their own early-warning system for intruders, and scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have discovered how a particular protein sounds that alarm when it detects invading viruses.

15 Oct 2011

ABI provides clinical update on company activities

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) today provided an update on company activities.

15 Oct 2011

Positive data from Anadys' setrobuvir Phase IIb combination study on genotype 1 HCV

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today released interim antiviral response and safety data from an ongoing Phase IIb study of setrobuvir in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (P/R) in genotype 1 hepatitis C patients.

14 Oct 2011