Drugs News and Research

RSS

NSCLC gene fusion testing, targeted crizotinib – not yet cost effective

Genomic fusion testing for echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 and anaplastic lymphoma kinase genes plus targeted first-line crizotinib is not a cost effective treatment strategy for patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer, shows a Canadian analysis.

20 Mar 2014

GHIT Fund announces grants to speed up innovative drug development for neglected diseases

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, a new public health partnership that is bringing Japanese know-how and investment to the global fight against infectious diseases, today announced three grants worth a total of US$6.8 million to speed the development of innovative drugs for some of the world’s most neglected diseases—schistosomiasis, Chagas disease and parasitic roundworms.

20 Mar 2014

New study provides first ever reliable data on antibiotic use in non-EU countries

A new study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, provides the first ever reliable data on antibiotic use in non-European Union southern and eastern European countries and newly independent states.

20 Mar 2014

MRI magnetic fields may diagnose, treat balance disorders and dizziness, say researchers

Expanding on earlier research, Johns Hopkins researchers report that people with balance disorders or dizziness traceable to an inner-ear disturbance show distinctive abnormal eye movements when the affected ear is exposed to the strong pull of an MRI’s magnetic field.

20 Mar 2014

LSTM and University of Liverpool receive GHIT Fund to target lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis

The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) together with colleagues at the Department of Chemistry (University of Liverpool (UoL)) and Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund to develop new drugs to target lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis.

20 Mar 2014

Concordia Healthcare enters into definitive agreement to acquire Donnatal

Concordia Healthcare Corp., announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Donnatal®, an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome ("IBS") and acute enterocolitis, from a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company carrying on business as Revive Pharmaceuticals ("Revive Pharmaceuticals").

20 Mar 2014

Daiichi Sankyo files NDA for development and marketing of Methylene Blue medicinal product in Japan

Provepharm, a French company specialized in the development of pharmaceutical applications, today announces that Daiichi Sankyo, Co. Ltd., a global pharmaceutical firm, has filed an NDA (New Drug Application) for the development and marketing of the injectable Methylene Blue medicinal product in Japan, made out of Provepharm’s Proveblue Methylene Blue active substance.

20 Mar 2014

Tamiflu cuts H1N1 pandemic deaths by 25%, shows study

Adults hospitalised with H1N1 influenza during the 2009–2010 pandemic were 25% less likely to die from the disease if they were given antiviral drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) such as Tamiflu, according to a large meta-analysis involving more than 29 000 patients from 38 countries, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. The findings also indicate that treatment within 2 days of flu symptoms developing halved the risk of death compared with later treatment or no treatment.

20 Mar 2014

Simvastatin may slow progression of multiple sclerosis

Results of a phase 2 study published in The Lancet suggest that simvastatin, a cheap cholesterol lowering drug, might be a potential treatment option for the secondary progressive, or chronic, stage of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is currently untreatable.

20 Mar 2014

Novel method for evaluating treatment of obesity-related food behavior

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a novel method for evaluating the treatment of obesity-related food behavior. In an effort to further scientific understanding of the underlying problem, they have published the first peer-reviewed video of their technique in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments.

20 Mar 2014

New technology uses nano-flares to catch metastatic breast cancer cells early on

When cancer spreads from one part of the body to another, it becomes even more deadly. It moves with stealth and can go undetected for months or years. But a new technology that uses "nano-flares" has the potential to catch these lurking, mobilized tumor cells early on.

20 Mar 2014

New drug for patients with leukaemia and lymphoma puts an end to chemotherapy

Patients with terminal forms of leukaemia and lymphoma who have run out of treatment options could soon benefit from a new drug, which not only puts an end to chemotherapy and has virtually no side effects but also improves a patient's life expectancy and quality of life.

20 Mar 2014

Study: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on rise in U.S. children

Infections caused by a concerning type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise in U.S. children, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and available online.

20 Mar 2014

Genetic testing may help select women with ER+ breast cancer for extended hormone therapy

Genetic analyses of results from 1125 postmenopausal women being treated for oestrogen responsive breast cancer have shown that some of them are more likely than others to have a late recurrence of their cancer and might benefit from ten years of hormone therapy rather than five.

19 Mar 2014

State highlights: Electronic health record adoption lags; Maine's health problems; Minn. insurance costs

A selection of health policy stories from Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Missouri, Massachusetts, Georgia and Florida.

19 Mar 2014

Genomic analysis to study cancer in dogs can help develop new therapies for human cancers

Using genomic analysis to study cancer in dogs can help develop new therapies for humans with cancer, according to a proof-of-concept study led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

19 Mar 2014

Scientists step in with new way to determine drug safety without using animals

As some countries and companies roll out new rules to limit animal testing in pharmaceutical products designed for people, scientists are stepping in with a new way to test therapeutic drug candidates and determine drug safety and drug interactions — without using animals.

19 Mar 2014

Novan Therapeutics reports positive results from SB204 Phase 2 study for treatment of acne vulgaris

Novan Therapeutics, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on advancing nitric oxide therapies for a number of diseases, announced today positive Phase 2 study results of its topical SB204 drug candidate for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

19 Mar 2014

Non-academic contemporaries take brain stimulants more often than students

Three per cent of young men in Switzerland take cognitive enhancement drugs at least once each year. Students hope this consumption will improve their exam performance, while their non-academic contemporaries seek primarily to remain awake for longer.

19 Mar 2014

Many community hospitals prescribe ineffective antibiotics for patients with bloodstream infections

Growing drug resistance, a high prevalence of S. aureus bacteria and ineffective antibiotics prescribed to one in three patients are among the challenges facing community hospitals in treating patients with serious bloodstream infections, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

19 Mar 2014

Drugs News and Research

NSCLC gene fusion testing, targeted crizotinib – not yet cost effective

GHIT Fund announces grants to speed up innovative drug development for neglected diseases

New study provides first ever reliable data on antibiotic use in non-EU countries

MRI magnetic fields may diagnose, treat balance disorders and dizziness, say researchers

LSTM and University of Liverpool receive GHIT Fund to target lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis

Concordia Healthcare enters into definitive agreement to acquire Donnatal

Daiichi Sankyo files NDA for development and marketing of Methylene Blue medicinal product in Japan

Tamiflu cuts H1N1 pandemic deaths by 25%, shows study

Simvastatin may slow progression of multiple sclerosis

Novel method for evaluating treatment of obesity-related food behavior

New technology uses nano-flares to catch metastatic breast cancer cells early on

New drug for patients with leukaemia and lymphoma puts an end to chemotherapy

Study: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on rise in U.S. children

Genetic testing may help select women with ER+ breast cancer for extended hormone therapy

State highlights: Electronic health record adoption lags; Maine's health problems; Minn. insurance costs

Genomic analysis to study cancer in dogs can help develop new therapies for human cancers

Scientists step in with new way to determine drug safety without using animals

Novan Therapeutics reports positive results from SB204 Phase 2 study for treatment of acne vulgaris

Non-academic contemporaries take brain stimulants more often than students

Many community hospitals prescribe ineffective antibiotics for patients with bloodstream infections

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News