Pharmaceuticals News and Research

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Drug firms in the business of 'diseasemongering'

Australian scientists have accused drug companies of inventing diseases to sell more of their products.

12 Apr 2006

Single dose of stem cells produce robust behavioral recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy

A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say.

11 Apr 2006

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

St. John's wort and Echinacea, two widely-used herbal preparations, have been found to increase activity of a specific enzyme in the liver and intestine, an enzyme involved in the metabolization of roughly one in every four pharmaceutical drugs on the market today, reports a clinical pharmacologist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2006

Researchers unravel structure of important new drug target that could potentially treat SARS-infected patients

Mesecar said that the knowledge gained from this new atomic structure - the first-ever reported on this class of proteases - has the potential to go beyond the treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus that causes SARS.

11 Apr 2006

Colorimetric screening detects DNA, small molecules and proteins

Using the unusual color properties of gold at the nanoscale, scientists at Northwestern University have developed a "litmus test" for DNA and small molecule binding that eventually could be used by pharmaceutical companies to rapidly identify promising candidates for new anti-cancer drugs.

11 Apr 2006

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

11 Apr 2006

Guidelines for medication withdrawal

Although thousands of scientific papers evaluate and compare new and established drugs each year, providing evidence to help doctors prescribe safe and effective doses, almost no studies focus on when or how to stop these medications, even late in life.

11 Apr 2006

New approach to treating hepatitis C virus

Last year Peter Sarnow, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, identified a previously unknown mechanism that the hepatitis C virus uses to replicate, yielding a promising new approach to combating the disease-causing virus.

10 Apr 2006

New therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRS

Cosmetic considerations and a perceived lack of patent opportunities could be stopping the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries from investing in the development of a new therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRSA.

6 Apr 2006

High levels of HDL cholesterol more important than low levels of LDL in protecting against heart attack

The researchers looked at the history of heart disease, age, sex, race, weight and other heart disease risk factors in almost 7,000 patients. The patients were predominately inner city residents and included a large number of African Americans, women, smokers and overweight people.

4 Apr 2006

Enzyme released by cardiac mast cells during heart attack contributes to arrhythmia

In times of cardiac crisis, mast cells in the heart secrete a powerful enzyme, renin, that indirectly triggers dangerous arrhythmias, according to a team of researchers at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City.

4 Apr 2006

Clear evidence that elephantiasis can be eliminated

Clear evidence that Lymphatic Filariasis (LF, commonly known as elephantiasis) can be eliminated is reported in The Lancet. LF is one of the world's most disfiguring and disabling parasitic diseases, and the target of one of the largest global public health programs using mass drug administration (MDA).

28 Mar 2006

New information about the molecular pathway used by ubiquitin

Because ubiquitin plays a key role in cell survival, scientists have already begun to develop drugs to target parts of the ubiquitin pathway in treating diseases such as cancer.

28 Mar 2006

Researchers find environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol

As the effective cancer-treatment drug Taxol enters its next generation, Michigan State University announces discoveries which point to both environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol, and ultimately innovations to produce a more potent second-generation drug.

28 Mar 2006

Flu vaccination program could save more than 6,500 lives

To increase influenza vaccinations rates among the elderly - those ages 65 and over who are at high risk for influenza-related mortality - the federal government could consider borrowing a page from the pharmaceutical companies' prescription drug advertising campaigns.

27 Mar 2006

Latest diabetic medications more costly, but users have fewer hospital visits

Diabetics who were prescribed newer medications to control their illness were more likely to take these drugs as instructed than were other patients who were prescribed drugs that have been on the market for several decades.

22 Mar 2006

First evidence that dendritic cells show unprecedented sensitivity to thimerosal

A team of cell biologists, toxicologists and molecular bioscientists at UC Davis has published a study connecting thimerosal with disruptions in antigen-presenting cells known as dendritic cells obtained from mice.

22 Mar 2006

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals receives U.S. orphan drug designation for Ceflatonin

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug status for the company's most advanced drug, Ceflatonin, for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

21 Mar 2006

PR Pharmaceuticals issued U.S. patent covering 2-methoxyestradiol for the treatment of diabetes

The patent which is assigned to the University of Pittsburgh has been exclusively licensed to PRP. The drug, known as PulmoLAR, containing 2ME as active ingredient, is currently developed by PRP for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

21 Mar 2006

Early blood pressure treatment with candesartan may postpone hypertension

A new study offers intriguing insight into the possibility of postponing hypertension among the 59 million Americans whose blood pressure is slightly high.

21 Mar 2006

Pharmaceuticals News and Research

Drug firms in the business of 'diseasemongering'

Single dose of stem cells produce robust behavioral recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

Researchers unravel structure of important new drug target that could potentially treat SARS-infected patients

Colorimetric screening detects DNA, small molecules and proteins

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

Guidelines for medication withdrawal

New approach to treating hepatitis C virus

New therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRS

High levels of HDL cholesterol more important than low levels of LDL in protecting against heart attack

Enzyme released by cardiac mast cells during heart attack contributes to arrhythmia

Clear evidence that elephantiasis can be eliminated

New information about the molecular pathway used by ubiquitin

Researchers find environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol

Flu vaccination program could save more than 6,500 lives

Latest diabetic medications more costly, but users have fewer hospital visits

First evidence that dendritic cells show unprecedented sensitivity to thimerosal

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals receives U.S. orphan drug designation for Ceflatonin

PR Pharmaceuticals issued U.S. patent covering 2-methoxyestradiol for the treatment of diabetes

Early blood pressure treatment with candesartan may postpone hypertension

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