Pharmaceuticals News and Research

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FDA poorly equipped to enforce off-label prescription drug marketing rules, GAO report finds

FDA takes an average of seven months to issue warnings to pharmaceutical companies that market medications for off-label uses, and those companies take an average of four months to address the violations, according to a draft report compiled by the Government Accountability Office, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

29 Jul 2008

New antibiotics to fight MRSA

A new paper by Shahriar Mobashery, Navari Family Professor in Life Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and researchers in his lab provides important insights into promising new antibiotics aimed at combating MRSA.

28 Jul 2008

Antimicrobial sutures reduce infections in brain shunt surgery

Children born with hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain" must have shunts implanted to drain the fluid away from the brain to reduce harmful pressure.

27 Jul 2008

Barr confirms Fentora tablet patent challenge

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has confirmed that its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, Inc., has initiated a challenge of the patents listed by Cephalon, Inc. in connection with its Fentora(R) Tablets (fentanyl citrate buccal tablets), equivalent to fentanyl base 100 mcg, 400 mcg, 600 mcg and 800 mcg.

24 Jul 2008

U.S. authorities seize Xiadafil VIP tablets after company refuses to recall product

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized nearly $74,000 worth of Xiadafil VIP tablets, Lots 6K029 and 6K209-SEI, distributed by SEI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Miami, Fla. Although marketed as a dietary supplement to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) and for sexual enhancement, these lots represent an illegally marketed drug containing an undeclared ingredient.

24 Jul 2008

Study shows emergency physicians have good first instincts in diagnosing heart attacks

A study out of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center demonstrates emergency room doctors are correctly identifying patients who are having a heart attack, even when laboratory tests haven't yet confirmed it.

24 Jul 2008

Raltegravir drug combo works against highly resistant strain of HIV

A study involving an international team of scientists has discovered that a new drug when combined with other anti-HIV medications, is particularly effective against a highly resistant strain of the HIV virus.

24 Jul 2008

New technique measures formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a technique to measure the formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals.

23 Jul 2008

Open access to large-scale drug discovery data

The Wellcome Trust has awarded £4.7 million (€5.8 million) to EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) to support the transfer of a large collection of information on the properties and activities of drugs and a large set of drug-like small molecules from publicly listed company Galapagos NV to the public domain.

23 Jul 2008

AstraZeneca Survey: Healthcare professionals leading source of information On company's prescription savings programs

More than a third of the people who contacted AstraZeneca to inquire about the company's prescription savings programs learned of the programs from their doctors or pharmacists, according to a year-long survey of more than 12,000 patients.

23 Jul 2008

Bioscience fund GBS invests US$6m in Xenome

Biopharmaceutical company Xenome Limited today announced it has received a convertible note placement of US$6 million from GBS Venture Partners, a Melbourne based life sciences specialist that invests in unlisted and listed high growth companies involved in innovative technologies.

23 Jul 2008

Roche starts acquisition process of ARIUS - fast tracks access to screening platform for antibody therapeutics

Roche and ARIUS Research Inc. have announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement for Roche to acquire ARIUS in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately C$191 million.

23 Jul 2008

Roche acquires Mirus to advance RNAi delivery research

Roche (Basel) and Mirus Bio Corporation (Madison, WI, USA) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Roche will acquire Mirus Bio Corporation, a privately-owned US company based in Madison, Wisconsin, that focuses on the discovery and development of innovative nucleic acid based technologies, including a proprietary RNAi (Ribonucleic Acid interference) delivery platform.

22 Jul 2008

PBS' 'News Hour' examines efforts of Baylor's Pediatric AIDS Corps to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa

PBS' "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on Thursday examined efforts from the Baylor College of Medicine's Pediatric AIDS Corps to fight HIV/AIDS among children in Malawi.

22 Jul 2008

West Virginia prescription drug program showing growth, success within first three months

West Virginia Rx, a new state-managed prescription drug program that allows uninsured state residents to obtain medications at no cost, is on track to enroll 10,000 people within its first year, the Charleston Gazette reports (Kabler, Charleston Gazette, 7/17).

22 Jul 2008

Trial of treatment of inflammatory bowel disease begins at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Anadis Ltd, a biopharmaceutical company focused on research, development and production of immune milk (colostrum)-derived polyclonal antibodies and other proteins to address major diseases, today announces the initiation of a clinical trial with top clinical scientists at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel.

22 Jul 2008

Study outlines measures to limit effects of pandemic flu on nursing homes

The greatest danger in a pandemic flu outbreak is that it could spread quickly and devastate a broad swath of people across the United States before there is much of a chance to react. The result could be a nation brought to its knees by a disease run rampant.

21 Jul 2008

Patent for Aciphex ruled valid and enforceable

PriCara, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgments of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that the patent for Aciphex (rabeprazole sodium 20 mg tablets) is valid and enforceable.

21 Jul 2008

UK's national HPV vaccination programme extended

The UK's national vaccination programme against HPV is being extended to offer protection to an additional 300,000 girls aged 17-18, starting in September, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo announced today.

21 Jul 2008

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire Barr, the fourth largest generic drug company worldwide.

18 Jul 2008

Pharmaceuticals News and Research

FDA poorly equipped to enforce off-label prescription drug marketing rules, GAO report finds

New antibiotics to fight MRSA

Antimicrobial sutures reduce infections in brain shunt surgery

Barr confirms Fentora tablet patent challenge

U.S. authorities seize Xiadafil VIP tablets after company refuses to recall product

Study shows emergency physicians have good first instincts in diagnosing heart attacks

Raltegravir drug combo works against highly resistant strain of HIV

New technique measures formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals

Open access to large-scale drug discovery data

AstraZeneca Survey: Healthcare professionals leading source of information On company's prescription savings programs

Bioscience fund GBS invests US$6m in Xenome

Roche starts acquisition process of ARIUS - fast tracks access to screening platform for antibody therapeutics

Roche acquires Mirus to advance RNAi delivery research

PBS' 'News Hour' examines efforts of Baylor's Pediatric AIDS Corps to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa

West Virginia prescription drug program showing growth, success within first three months

Trial of treatment of inflammatory bowel disease begins at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Study outlines measures to limit effects of pandemic flu on nursing homes

Patent for Aciphex ruled valid and enforceable

UK's national HPV vaccination programme extended

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals

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