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Paving the way for future pan-European clinical trials

Pan-European collaboration is important for many clinical trials and essential for trials that are investigating treatments for rare diseases.

10 Oct 2007

Researchers create microvascular system to nourish growing tissues

One day soon, laboratories may grow synthetically engineered tissues such as muscle or cartilage needed for transplants.

9 Oct 2007

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to acquire Haptogen

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth has announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which it has acquired Haptogen Ltd., a Scottish company based in Aberdeen that is focused on the discovery of biopharmaceutical therapies.

8 Oct 2007

Researchers tackle phantom sounds of tinnitus

For the more than 50 million Americans who experience the phantom sounds of tinnitus -- ringing in the ears that can range from annoying to debilitating -- certain well-trained rats may be their best hope for finding relief.

8 Oct 2007

Fraunhofer pharmaceutical agent speeds drug development

It takes a great deal of time and money to develop a new drug. At Biotechnica in Hanover from October 9 to 11, the Fraunhofer Life Sciences Alliance will demonstrate how a pharmaceutical agent can make its way more quickly from the research laboratory to the pharmacy.

8 Oct 2007

Bayer HealthCare clear to acquire Citracal calcium supplements in the United States

Bayer HealthCare (BHC) has announced that its Consumer Care Division has received regulatory approvals necessary to acquire the Citracal line of over-the-counter (OTC) calcium supplements in the United States.

8 Oct 2007

OxyContin drug company sued for millions

A private company in the United States is being sued by a number of counties in the state of Kentucky over the potent painkilling drug OxyContin.

7 Oct 2007

Mylan settles Levetiracetam patent case

Mylan Inc. has announced that it and its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. have entered into an agreement to settle pending litigation with UCB Societe Anonyme and UCB Pharma Inc. (collectively, UCB) relating to Levetiracetam Tablets, 250mg, 500mg and 750mg, the generic version of UCB's Keppra.

4 Oct 2007

Federal jury in Miami convicts company owner of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc

A federal jury in Miami has convicted the owner and operator of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc. of Medicare fraud, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced today.

4 Oct 2007

Osteoarthritis drug Prexige withdrawn from Canadian market

Health authorities in Canada have withdrawn the osteoarthritis drug Prexige from the market amid concerns the drug increases the risk for serious liver-related damage including hepatitis.

4 Oct 2007

New FDA program will fast forward generic drug approvals

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has a plan to fast forward it's approval process for generic drugs.

4 Oct 2007

When it comes to treatment for heart attacks white men get a better deal

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center (DCRI) in the United States say there is disparity in the treatment men and women receive for heart failure in hospitals.

4 Oct 2007

Painless microneedles in patches applied to the skin for drug delivery

Flu vaccine delivered through painless microneedles in patches applied to the skin could soon be an alternative to delivery through hypodermic needles, according to researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

4 Oct 2007

Isis Pharmaceuticals awarded $1.5 million NIH grant to improve RNAi-based therapeutics

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for up to $1.5 million to design oligonucleotide drugs that can exploit the RNA interference (RNAi) antisense mechanism for disease treatment.

4 Oct 2007

Renewed search for lupus treatments and cure

For the first time in decades, a significant number of clinical trials are being conducted to seek a treatment, perhaps even a cure, for lupus, a chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disease that affects more than 1.5 million Americans -- 10,000 in Los Angeles County alone.

4 Oct 2007

Potential new drugs for tropical disease leishmaniasis

The fight against the deadly tropical disease Leishmaniasis, also known as black fever, has been boosted by scientists at the University of Durham, whose new screening system has raised the possibility of new, safer drugs.

3 Oct 2007

Judge acquits Canadian doctors, U.S. drug company in tainted blood case

A Canadian judge on Monday acquitted New Jersey-based Armour Pharmaceutical Company and four Canadian doctors -- including the former medical director of the Canadian Red Cross and two government officials -- of charges related to blood products contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C, the New York Times reports (Austen, New York Times, 10/2).

2 Oct 2007

Infectious Diseases Society of America strongly supports the STAAR Act

With extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, life-threatening drug-resistant respiratory and skin infections, and other "bad bugs" routinely making headlines, infectious diseases physicians are applauding Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) for introducing H.R. 3697, the Strategies To Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act.

29 Sep 2007

FDA approves Lamisil for child treatment of scalp ringworm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of Lamisil Oral Granules for the treatment of tinea capitis, a fungal infection of the scalp, in children ages 4 years and older.

29 Sep 2007

Vanda Pharmaceuticals submits iloperidone NDA

Vanda Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for iloperidone, an investigational atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

27 Sep 2007