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TransTech Pharma to complete TTP054 Phase 2 trial on type 2 diabetes

TransTech Pharma, Inc., announced today that recruitment of patients for its recently initiated, multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial of TTP054 in type 2 diabetics, is exceeding expectations with initial top line results available in early 2013. The 90-day proof of concept study is being conducted in type 2 diabetics not well controlled with approved oral anti-diabetic agents.

2 Nov 2012

Malarial drug shows promise in stopping breast cancer

A malarial drug is showing promise in stopping breast cancer before it starts, Mason researchers are discovering during a clinical trial.

2 Nov 2012

Apolipoprotein E plays a major role in maintaining arterial softness

Arterial stiffening has long been considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Keeping arteries soft and supple might reduce disease risk, but the mechanisms of how arteries stave off hardening has remained elusive.

2 Nov 2012

Multiple sclerosis disease activity reduced by leukaemia drug, even when first-line treatment has failed

A drug which was originally developed to treat leukaemia and other cancers of the immune system offers substantial improvements over existing treatments in reducing relapse rates for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), even when they have not responded well to first-line treatment, according to the results of two phase 3 trials published Online First in The Lancet.

1 Nov 2012

Blocking hyaluronidase activity can help repair brain damage associated with MS

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that blocking a certain enzyme in the brain can help repair the brain damage associated with multiple sclerosis and a range of other neurological disorders.

1 Nov 2012

AP examines future of AMFm following conflicting reports on program's success

The Associated Press examines the debate over the future of the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), after the recent release of two papers evaluating the program's effectiveness. AMFm was established in 2010 as "a pilot project to subsidize artemesinin combination drugs, the most effective malaria treatment," the AP writes, noting the $460 million program is managed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

1 Nov 2012

Proposing standards and guidelines for Rett syndrome research

There is an urgent need for new drugs to treat Rett syndrome, a rare and severe neurological disease mainly affecting girls. A bottleneck in drug development for this syndrome is a lack of clarity at the level of preclinical research. Key researchers in this field now tackle this issue, proposing standards and guidelines for Rett syndrome research, in an Open Access review article published on Oct. 31, 2012 in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM).

1 Nov 2012

New track-and-trace proposal advanced to combat drug counterfeiting, gray market

The bipartisan track and trace draft legislation released last week would allow drugs to be authenticated throughout the supply chain, which could help combat counterfeiting as well as the so-called gray market that's been highlighted in the drug shortage crisis, Democratic staffers who worked on the draft said.

1 Nov 2012

Single dose of etanercept can improve chronic neurological dysfunction from stroke or TBI

A new ground-breaking study about to be published in the Adis journal CNS Drugs provides clinical evidence that, for the first time, chronic neurological dysfunction from stroke or traumatic brain injury can rapidly improve following a single dose of a drug that targets brain inflammation, even years after the stroke or traumatic event.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists discover first selective inhibitors of DAGL enzymes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered the first selective inhibitors of an important set of enzymes. The new inhibitors, and chemical probes based on them, now can be used to study the functions of enzymes known as diacylglycerol lipases (DAGL), their products, and the pathways they regulate.

1 Nov 2012

Isis announces preliminary data from ISIS-STAT3 Phase 1 study on cancer

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that preliminary data from the Phase 1 study of ISIS-STAT3Rx in patients with cancer were presented today at the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society in Boston.

1 Nov 2012

Roundup: Dallas approves stipend for gay, unmarried employees; Federal judge says Milwaukee can raise retiree contribution

Dallas County will give a stipend to unmarried and gay employees who provide health care benefits to their partners. County commissioners approved the new program in a narrow 3-2 vote, which was split along party lines. Democratic commissioners hailed the move as a way to attract and retain talent, embrace the county's diversity and compete against private companies who already provide domestic partner benefits.

1 Nov 2012

FDA: Ameridose voluntarily recalls all unexpired drug products in circulation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that Ameridose, LLC, based in Westborough, Mass., is voluntarily recalling all of its unexpired products in circulation.

1 Nov 2012

Affordable Medicines Facility improves access to anti-malarials

The Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria has resulted in significant improvements in the availability and price of quality-assured artemisinin-based combination therapies in seven African countries after 1 year, show study findings published in The Lancet.

31 Oct 2012

Access to malaria drugs transformed by new global subsidy

A new international scheme providing lifesaving antimalarial drugs at cheap subsidised prices has rapidly transformed access to effective artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) in seven African countries accounting for a quarter of the world’s malaria cases, and could save millions of lives.

31 Oct 2012

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

Elevated risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complications and possible longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism, suggest that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) should only be prescribed with great caution and with full counseling for women experiencing depression and attempting to get pregnant, say researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center.

31 Oct 2012

Pins made of single atoms to fight cancer

Answers are often elusive in the fight against cancer, and Rice University chemist Zachary Ball is hoping to pin one down -- with pins made of single atoms. The work, which aims to create a drug that's effective against an "undruggable" protein, is one of the first 50 proposals funded under the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Provocative Questions Project.

31 Oct 2012