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World's first cancer stem cell-targeting chemical missile

Deakin University medical scientists have created the world's first cancer stem cell-targeting chemical missile, placing them a step closer to creating a medical 'smart bomb' that would seek out and eradicate the root of cancer cells.

18 Feb 2011

Loyola offers stem cell transplants to older patients with leukemia and lymphoma

As the first baby boomers turn 65, Loyola University Hospital has begun offering stem cell transplants to leukemia and lymphoma patients who previously were too old to qualify.

18 Feb 2011

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Lay health workers

"The international affairs budget does more than just keep our nation safe - it bolsters our economy by creating jobs here and developing markets for U.S. goods and services overseas. It makes sense: effective development brings stability, economic development and a demand for goods and services," according to a Politico opinion piece by Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.).

18 Feb 2011

FDA grants miRagen's MGN-4893 orphan drug designation for treatment of polycythemia vera

miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company's compound MGN-4893 for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a myeloproliferative disease characterized by an overabundance of blood cells and platelets in the body.

18 Feb 2011

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the treatment of the first patient in a multi-center Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating CTS-1027 in combination with Peginterferon Alfa-2a and ribavirin in a treatment experienced, hepatitis C null responder patient population. Safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of the triple combination will be assessed after up to 48 weeks of therapy.

18 Feb 2011

Iris Pharma announces validation of new EIU model of ocular inflammation

Iris Pharma, a world leader CRO specialized in ophthalmology, today announced the validation of the Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis model, a new model of ocular inflammation.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers discover substance that reinforces brain's self-healing functions after stroke

The only acute treatment for a stroke currently available is thrombolysis. This uses drugs that dissolve the blood clot responsible for the stroke, but it only reaches around 10 per cent of stroke patients in time to prevent lasting damage. For other patients, there are no other effective drugs that reduce the loss of brain function following a stroke.

17 Feb 2011

Experts say signs and treatment of bacterial infection often misunderstood

According to the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases, antibiotics are the second most frequently prescribed class of drugs - second only to pain relievers. Yet most people don't know the difference between a true bacterial infection, like chronic bronchitis that can be treated with antibiotics — and viruses like the common cold, which cannot.

17 Feb 2011

ICR, AB SCIEX collaborate to standardize mass spectrometry-based tissue imaging

A key research area for The Institute of Cancer Research is investigating the spread of cancer in the human body in an effort to identify new and effective treatment strategies. To help advance this research, the ICR is collaborating with scientists at AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, to standardize advanced methods of mass spectrometry-based tissue imaging.

17 Feb 2011

Rare bleeding disorder misdiagnosed

A rare bleeding disorder that can lead to life-threatening bleeding episodes is misdiagnosed in 15 per cent of cases according to findings from a new international research project led by a Queen's professor.

17 Feb 2011

Medicaid should stop paying more than Medicare for pharmacy benefits

To help reduce state Medicaid spending, the New York State Health Department yesterday proposed that the program's prescription drug benefits be managed more like those in Medicare and commercial plans. The Department's "Proposal to Redesign Medicaid" says this move would save state taxpayers $350 million though 2015.

17 Feb 2011

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Among the strategies being used are efforts to change rules, revise definitions, tighten anti-fraud efforts and cut services.

17 Feb 2011

Study: BP oil spill causes psychological impact on people living in coastal communities

The explosion and fire on a BP-licensed oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 had huge environmental and economic effects, with millions of gallons of oil leaking into the water for more than five months. It also had significant psychological impact on people living in coastal communities, even in those areas that did not have direct oil exposure, according to researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who worked in collaboration with the University of Florida, Gainesville.

17 Feb 2011

Upcoming Bangladeshi mass cholera vaccine program might shed light on strategy effectiveness

TIME reports on an oral cholera vaccination program to kick off on Thursday in Bangladesh that researchers hope will determine how good of a "weapon" the mass vaccination strategy can be "against an old disease".

17 Feb 2011

Patients with high blood pressure can benefit from 'adherence therapy' course

A high proportion of patients with high blood pressure are failing to take their medication properly and would benefit clinically from a course of 'adherence therapy', according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

17 Feb 2011

New fully human monoclonal antibodies to battle Chikungunya

The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), an institute of the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and VIVALIS, a French biopharmaceutical company, announced today the discovery of two new fully human monoclonal antibodies which could battle Chikungunya, a disease that currently has no available vaccine or specific treatment.

16 Feb 2011

Bone remodeling inflammatory protein linked to metastatic lung cancer development in mice with breast cancer

When doctors discover high concentrations of regulatory T cells in the tumors of breast cancer patients, the prognosis is often grim, though why exactly has long been unclear.

16 Feb 2011

Study explores role of proline containing peptides in inhibiting anti-apoptotic function of XIAP

Basic and translational research on cancer, and development of new cancer therapeutics, has focused on different aspects of cancer cellular function. One area of focus is the life and death of a cancer cell. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is a fundamental process of cells including cancer cells. The signal transduction pathways of apoptosis involve many different proteins and their interactions with each other.

16 Feb 2011

BARDA awards contracts for development of drugs to treat injuries associated with acute radiation syndrome

Two contracts for advanced development of drugs to treat skin and lung injuries associated with acute radiation syndrome (ARS) were awarded this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). These contracts are the first by BARDA to address the skin and lung injuries that arise from acute exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation - the type of radiation that results from a nuclear blast.

16 Feb 2011

Orexo fourth quarter net revenues increase to MSEK 109.1

Abstral continues to grow strongly and is now also approved in the USA. OX-MPI has made significant progress towards clinical trials and has received its first milestone payment. The three new programs OX219, OX51 and OX27 announced in August 2010 have now all entered the clinical phase.

16 Feb 2011

Drugs News and Research

World's first cancer stem cell-targeting chemical missile

Loyola offers stem cell transplants to older patients with leukemia and lymphoma

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Lay health workers

FDA grants miRagen's MGN-4893 orphan drug designation for treatment of polycythemia vera

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Iris Pharma announces validation of new EIU model of ocular inflammation

Researchers discover substance that reinforces brain's self-healing functions after stroke

Experts say signs and treatment of bacterial infection often misunderstood

ICR, AB SCIEX collaborate to standardize mass spectrometry-based tissue imaging

Rare bleeding disorder misdiagnosed

Medicaid should stop paying more than Medicare for pharmacy benefits

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Study: BP oil spill causes psychological impact on people living in coastal communities

Upcoming Bangladeshi mass cholera vaccine program might shed light on strategy effectiveness

Patients with high blood pressure can benefit from 'adherence therapy' course

New fully human monoclonal antibodies to battle Chikungunya

Bone remodeling inflammatory protein linked to metastatic lung cancer development in mice with breast cancer

Study explores role of proline containing peptides in inhibiting anti-apoptotic function of XIAP

BARDA awards contracts for development of drugs to treat injuries associated with acute radiation syndrome

Orexo fourth quarter net revenues increase to MSEK 109.1

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