Pharmaceuticals News and Research

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Resveratrol type drug mimics low-cal diet to ward off weight gain

A drug designed to specifically hit a protein linked to the life-extending benefits of a meager diet can essentially trick the body into believing food is scarce even when it isn't, suggests a new report in the November Cell Metabolism.

5 Nov 2008

New drug tricks the body into burning off fat

French scientists have found a drug they say tricks the body into burning off fat - and it even works on a high-fat diet.

5 Nov 2008

Mylan receives final approval for generic version of antiepileptic Keppra

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Levetiracetam Tablets, 250 mg, 500 mg and 750 mg. Levetiracetam Tablets are the generic version of UCB Pharma's Keppra.

4 Nov 2008

SurModics acquires drug delivery assets of PR Pharmaceuticals

SurModics, Inc. announced today that it has acquired a portfolio of intellectual property and collaborative drug delivery projects from PR Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a drug delivery company specializing in injectable, biodegradable sustained release formulations.

4 Nov 2008

Urgent need for research into medication overuse headaches

There is a critical need to review current treatment strategies for the increasingly common problem of medication overuse headaches (MOH), according to a series of international papers in the November issue of Cephalalgia.

4 Nov 2008

Targeting epigenetic changes helps tackle MLL-AF4 leukemias

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on.

4 Nov 2008

Survey finds health care in the U.S. must be fundamentally reformed

Leaders in health care and health care policy feel strongly that the way we pay for health care in the U.S. must be fundamentally reformed.

4 Nov 2008

Titan Pharmaceuticals updates on Probuphine patent application

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received an Office Action from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rejecting the claims in the Company's method of use patent application for the use of Probuphine in the treatment of opioid addiction and chronic pain.

31 Oct 2008

Pulsed ultrasound used to remote control brain circuits

In a twist on nontraditional uses of ultrasound, a group of neuroscientists at Arizona State University has developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity.

29 Oct 2008

FDA grants tentative approval for 75th generic anti-retroviral drug

The Food and Drug Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reached the milestone of the 75th anti-retroviral generic drug approved or tentatively approved as part of President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

29 Oct 2008

Starpharma's VivaGelR patent approved in Japan

Starpharma Holdings Limited today announced that one of its key patents relating to the use of dendrimers to protect against sexually transmitted infections has been approved in Japan.

29 Oct 2008

New signpost to clinical trial expertise

A new comprehensive online resource listing national expertise in the design and conduct of clinical trials is launched today. The UKCRC Registered Clinical Trials Units website provides, for the first time, centralised information on Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) in the UK - including the Bristol Randomised Trials Collaboration (BRTC) at the University of Bristol.

28 Oct 2008

Protect yourself from flu by wearing a mask and washing your hands

In what has been termed a landmark new study, it is suggested that wearing masks and washing hands prevents the spread of flu-like symptoms.

28 Oct 2008

How drug companies covertly promote off-label drug use

Off-label prescription of a drug is generally legal, but promotion of off-label uses by a drug manufacturer is illegal. In an article in this week's PLoS Medicine, two physician researchers describe the techniques that drug companies use to covertly promote off-label use, even when such promotion is illegal.

28 Oct 2008

Griffith University and Pfizer in new partnership to unlock nature's cure for infections

In the quest to develop the next generation of anti-infective medicine, Griffith University and Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, announced a leading partnership today.

27 Oct 2008

Improved communication about medications reduces complications among patients using common blood thinner

Patients who report receiving written and verbal instructions on the proper way to take the blood thinner warfarin are significantly less likely to suffer the serious gastrointestinal and brain bleeding problems that are associated with misuse of the drug, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

27 Oct 2008

Nanocort demonstrates safety and good response in phase I/II trial for rheumatoid arthritis

Galapagos NV has announced that Nanocort has demonstrated safety as well as a faster and more pronounced decrease in rheumatoid arthritis disease symptoms compared to reference medication.

27 Oct 2008

Memory Pharmaceuticals issued key U.S. patent for series of nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonists

Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,429,664, which provides composition of matter patent protection for a series of nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonists.

27 Oct 2008

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals updates clinical data on Voreloxin in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced a presentation of updated interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating that the Company's lead product candidate, voreloxin, shows promising efficacy and safety as a single agent in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

27 Oct 2008

New gout drug offers hope for those who have exhausted treatment options

Researchers in the U.S. say a new drug effectively treats serious cases of gout - the drug called pegloticase mimics a blood-clearing enzyme missing in humans and helps remove the build up in uric acid, which causes the painful, needle-like crystals to collect around fingers, toes and other joints.

27 Oct 2008