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Four-year kala azar treatment study launched in India, Bangladesh

"A four-year test of drugs to treat a widespread parasitic disease called kala azar was announced on Monday by the governments of India and Bangladesh, Doctors Without Borders, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative [DNDi] and other groups," the New York Times reports.

9 Nov 2011

Celgene to initiate apremilast Phase III placebo-controlled trial for ankylosing spondylitis

Celgene International Sàrl, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, today announced data from a Phase II study of apremilast, its investigational oral immunomodulatory compound, in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were presented at the American College of Rheumatology Scientific Meeting in Chicago, IL.

9 Nov 2011

Salix to acquire Oceana Therapeutics

Oceana Therapeutics LLC, a privately owned global company focused on commercializing best-in-class specialty therapeutics, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its operating subsidiary, Oceana Therapeutics, Inc. to Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. of Raleigh, NC.

9 Nov 2011

Financial strain may induce alcohol use and smoking among older adults

During financial hard times, some older adults may turn to alcohol or cigarettes as a way to cope, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

9 Nov 2011

Salix third quarter total product revenue increases 81% to $146.2 million

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 and other business updates.

9 Nov 2011

U.N. Foundation honors Exxon Mobil chairman with Global Leadership Award

Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Global Leadership Award by the United Nations Foundation.

9 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Today's 'personhood' vote in Miss.; reactions to Romney's health care plan

What about in vitro fertilization, a process that both creates and discards embryos? What new rights would be afforded to a fetus, and how would those rights affect or compete with the rights of the woman who carries it? Would a woman who has an abortion be guilty of murder and subject to capital punishment? ... In their quest to ban abortion in Mississippi, the amendment's drafters appear to have rushed past such concerns.

9 Nov 2011

Omeros third quarter net loss decreases to $6.5 million

Omeros Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous system, today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2011.

9 Nov 2011

University of Houston to enhance cancer research facilities

Thanks to almost $1 million in new funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), the University of Houston (UH) will soon be enhancing its cancer research facilities.

9 Nov 2011

'Second hit' determines immune response against developing Burkitt's lymphoma

The human c-myc gene encodes a transcription factor (MYC) involved in the regulation of a vast number of other genes - it has been estimated that the transcription of about one in six genes is somehow under the control of MYC.

9 Nov 2011

Scripps scientist receives Novo Nordisk grant for research into diabetes

Andrew Butler, an associate professor in The Scripps Research Institute's Department of Metabolism and Aging, has been awarded one million dollars in funding over the next two years to further his research into a novel protein with the potential to improve the understanding and future treatment of diabetes.

9 Nov 2011

RNS system offers significant relief to patients with intractable seizures

Brain stimulation, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, has now been shown to offer significant relief to patients with intractable seizures for whom drugs and other treatments have not worked.

9 Nov 2011

Clinton expected to urge U.S., other countries to intensify HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in speech on Tuesday

In a speech to be delivered at the NIH, "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to call Tuesday for a new push by the U.S. and other countries to harness recent science to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic," the Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Nov 2011

State roundup: Kansas Medicaid announcement; pilot projects for nursing homes, C-sections; Calif. marijuana clinics

Gov. Sam Brownback, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and three Cabinet officials have scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday to describe details of their plan for making over the Kansas Medicaid program. ... The plan is expected to include a significant expansion of managed care.

9 Nov 2011

Lapatinib drug could also treat head and neck cancers

A class of drugs used to treat breast cancers which overproduce a protein called HER2 could also treat other types of cancer - particularly head and neck cancers, according to research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool this week.

8 Nov 2011

FDA grants Fast Track designation to Opexa's Tovaxin for treatment of SPMS

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that its lead drug candidate Tovaxin® has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

8 Nov 2011

New breast and ovarian cancer vaccine in the pipeline: Study

A new vaccine is being tried clinically to combat tumor cells in a small study of advanced breast and ovarian cancer patients. The results show that there is improvement in overall survival times and stopping the disease for a handful of breast cancer patients.

8 Nov 2011

Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s

U.S. researchers have finally found a way to overcome difficulties in coaxing human embryonic stem cells to become the neurons killed by Parkinson's disease.

8 Nov 2011

Two decades since Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement

It is 20 years since basket ball legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, now 52 years-old, retired from the Lakers basketball team while announcing his diagnosis of HIV, a virus that causes AIDS.

8 Nov 2011

Racial/ethnic disparities among adolescents with substance-related disorders

Substance use is widespread among adolescents in the United States, particularly among those of Native American, white, Hispanic and multiple race/ethnicity, and these groups are also disproportionally affected by substance-related disorders, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Nov 2011