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TSRI scientists identify small subset of immune cells that play major role in development of Crohn's disease

Two-thirds to three-quarters of the estimated 700,000 Americans living with Crohn's disease, an autoimmune condition that can disrupt the entire gastrointestinal tract, will require surgery at some point during their life.

9 Jan 2014

GSK receives FDA approval for combination of Mekinist with Tafinlar for treatment of melanoma

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Mekinist® (trametinib) for use in combination with Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable melanoma (melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery) or metastatic melanoma (melanoma which has spread to other parts of the body) with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations.

9 Jan 2014

UMMS assistant professor recognized with Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

University of Massachusetts Medical School Assistant Professor Thomas G. Fazzio, PhD, was recognized as a rising scientific star by President Obama with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

9 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Health law debate on contraceptive coverage; Cuccinelli: No investigators for Medicaid fraud; 50 years after the famed report on smoking

The Little Sisters of the Poor, an organization of Roman Catholic nuns that runs nursing homes around the country, is testing the contraceptive coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Last week, we're sorry to say, the nuns won a temporary reprieve from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Under the law, most employers are required to provide their employees with health insurance that covers birth control. But the Obama administration agreed to a compromise for nonprofit religious groups that object to contraception, exempting them from paying for such coverage. Instead, insurers agreed to absorb the cost. All the religious organization has to do is fill out a simple form attesting to its situation. Unfortunately, even that was too much for the Little Sisters of the Poor (1/7).

9 Jan 2014

Study identifies risk factors linked with non-fatal overdose among HIV-infected Russians

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have identified that injection frequency and taking anti-retroviral therapy for HIV are risk factors for nonfatal drug overdoses among Russians who are HIV positive and inject drugs.

9 Jan 2014

Researchers use stem cells to study bone disorders from patients afflicted with genetic bone disease

Researchers have developed a new way to study bone disorders and bone growth, using stem cells from patients afflicted with a rare, genetic bone disease.

9 Jan 2014

Merck announces FDA approval of ISENTRESS for oral suspension

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved ISENTRESS for oral suspension, a new pediatric formulation of Merck's integrase inhibitor. With this approval, ISENTRESS is now indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in patients four weeks of age and older.

9 Jan 2014

Research: New target for treating Huntington's and Parkinson's disease

Research from Western University (London, Canada) has revealed a possible new target for treating movement disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD) and Parkinson's disease. Stephen Ferguson, PhD, a scientist at Western's Robarts Research Institute, and Fabiola Ribeiro, PhD, of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil found a definite improvement in motor behaviors in a HD mouse model when one of the major neurotransmitters in the brain, called Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (mGluR5) was deleted.

9 Jan 2014

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals initiates RX-3117 Phase Ib trial in cancer patients with solid tumors

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today the initiation of a Phase Ib clinical trial to study the safety and efficacy of RX-3117 in cancer patients with solid tumors.

9 Jan 2014

Health industry insiders analyze, predict and prescribe

Kaiser Health News checks in with former HHS chief Michael Leavitt while CQ HealthBeat details insights from another insider, Robert Laszewski.

9 Jan 2014

NYSCF and ISMMS scientists successfully generate stem cell model of familial Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai successfully generated a stem cell model of familial Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jan 2014

Epilepsy drug taken during pregnancy not linked with development problems for preschoolers

A new study finds that the epilepsy drug levetiracetam appears not to be associated with thinking, movement and language problems for preschool children born to mothers who took the drug during pregnancy, although the drug valproate was associated with some difficulties in preschoolers.

8 Jan 2014

Hebrew University research could lead to efficient and fast-acting antidepressant drugs

The World health Organization calls depression "the leading cause of disability worldwide," causing more years of disability than cancer, HIV/AIDS, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases combined.

8 Jan 2014

Forest Laboratories enters into definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis

Forest Laboratories, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis, a privately held U.S. based specialty Gastrointestinal and Cystic Fibrosis company, for $2.9 billion in cash from its shareholders, including TPG, the global private investment firm. The acquisition, which requires review by anti-trust authorities in the US and Canada, is expected to be accretive to Forest's FY2015 non-GAAP EPS.

8 Jan 2014

C. parvum and cryptosporidiosis: an interview with Dr. Momar Ndao, McGill University

Cryptosporidium parvum is one of the most common enteropathogens to affect humans in the world. The protozoan parasite causes a gut infection referred to as cryptosporidiosis.

8 Jan 2014

Immunocore, MedImmune sign oncology research collaboration and licensing agreement

Immunocore Limited, the Oxford-based biotechnology company developing novel biological drugs to treat cancer and viral disease, today announced that it has entered into an oncology research collaboration and licensing agreement with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca. Both companies will research and develop novel cancer therapies using Immunocore’s Immune Mobilising Monoclonal T-Cell Receptor Against Cancer technology.

8 Jan 2014

No added benefit from aflibercept, shows study

For the third time in one year, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) dealt with the drug aflibercept. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the Institute now examined whether aflibercept (trade name: Eylea) offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy in visual impairment due to macular oedema following occlusion of the central retinal vein.

8 Jan 2014

Apitope-led consortium awarded FP7 Health Innovation funding to develop Graves' disease vaccine

Apitope, the drug discovery and development company focused on treating the underlying cause of autoimmune diseases, today announces that the consortium, led by Apitope, which includes GSK Vaccines, Quintiles and KWS Biotest Limited, has been awarded prestigious Framework Programme 7 Health Innovation funding by the European Commission to develop its Graves' disease therapeutic vaccine, including a Phase I first-in-man study in Graves' disease patients.

8 Jan 2014

Study raises hopes for new drugs to treat brain disorders associated with neurotransmitter imbalance

Although drugs have been developed that inhibit the imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain - a condition which causes many brain disorders and nervous system diseases - the exact understanding of the mechanism by which these drugs work has not yet been fully understood.

8 Jan 2014

IDMC recommends early stopping of Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in treatment of CLL/SLL

Janssen-Cilag International NV today announced the early stopping of PCYC-1112-CA, the Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma, based on the recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee, which concluded that the study showed a significant difference in progression-free survival as compared to the control, the primary endpoint of the study.

8 Jan 2014

Drugs News and Research

TSRI scientists identify small subset of immune cells that play major role in development of Crohn's disease

GSK receives FDA approval for combination of Mekinist with Tafinlar for treatment of melanoma

UMMS assistant professor recognized with Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Viewpoints: Health law debate on contraceptive coverage; Cuccinelli: No investigators for Medicaid fraud; 50 years after the famed report on smoking

Study identifies risk factors linked with non-fatal overdose among HIV-infected Russians

Researchers use stem cells to study bone disorders from patients afflicted with genetic bone disease

Merck announces FDA approval of ISENTRESS for oral suspension

Research: New target for treating Huntington's and Parkinson's disease

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals initiates RX-3117 Phase Ib trial in cancer patients with solid tumors

Health industry insiders analyze, predict and prescribe

NYSCF and ISMMS scientists successfully generate stem cell model of familial Alzheimer's disease

Epilepsy drug taken during pregnancy not linked with development problems for preschoolers

Hebrew University research could lead to efficient and fast-acting antidepressant drugs

Forest Laboratories enters into definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis

C. parvum and cryptosporidiosis: an interview with Dr. Momar Ndao, McGill University

Immunocore, MedImmune sign oncology research collaboration and licensing agreement

No added benefit from aflibercept, shows study

Apitope-led consortium awarded FP7 Health Innovation funding to develop Graves' disease vaccine

Study raises hopes for new drugs to treat brain disorders associated with neurotransmitter imbalance

IDMC recommends early stopping of Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in treatment of CLL/SLL

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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