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FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval of dabigatran etexilate for stroke prevention in AFib patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee today voted 9 to 0 in favor of approving dabigatran etexilate for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib). An estimated 2.3 million Americans have AFib and the prevalence is expected to increase 2.5 fold to 5.6 million by 2050, reflecting the growing population of elderly individuals.

21 Sep 2010

Clemson biochemist receives grants to study DNA repair pathways

A Clemson biochemist has received grants totaling $787,000 to study how cells repair damaged DNA, which can cause cancer and genetic illnesses. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Weiguo Cao three-year funding to investigate two DNA repair pathways.

21 Sep 2010

Crestor suppressed human cancer cells transplanted to mice

A drug commonly prescribed for people with high cholesterol may also be effective in treating prostate cancer, according to new research by Dr. Xiao-Yan Wen at St. Michael's Hospital.

20 Sep 2010

Boston Scientific announces acquisition of Asthmatx

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement, under which Boston Scientific will acquire Asthmatx, Inc., a privately held company in Sunnyvale, California. Asthmatx designs, manufactures and markets a less-invasive, catheter-based bronchial thermoplasty procedure for the treatment of severe persistent asthma in the 6 to 8 million patients 18 years and older worldwide whose asthma is not well controlled with drugs (inhaled medications).

20 Sep 2010

Lisofylline drug effective for Type 2 diabetes

Australian scientists, in association with US pharmaceutical company DiaKine Therapeutics, have shown that a drug candidate, Lisofylline, could be useful in treating Type 2 diabetes.

20 Sep 2010

URB937 drug boosts natural painkiller level: Study

A new study has shown how a novel compound boosts levels of a natural painkiller at the site of an injury. The ground-breaking study published today in Nature Neuroscience shows how the potential drug URB937 acts in peripheral tissue and may have the potential to relieve pain without the side effects associated with many current painkillers that act centrally on the nervous system.

20 Sep 2010

Researchers discover HIV-1 resists AZT drug

Rutgers researchers have discovered how HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, resists AZT, a drug widely used to treat AIDS. The scientists, who report their findings in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, believe their discovery helps researchers understand how important anti-AIDS treatments can fail and could help AIDS researchers develop more effective treatment for the disease.

20 Sep 2010

PNNL, 59th Medical Wing collaborate to improve drug tests for illicit usage

A new collaboration between the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Air Force's 59th Medical Wing hopes to improve on drug tests for illicit drug use and abuse. Not only are the researchers looking for a better indicator of current or past use, but they'd like to be able to identify people prone to abusing drugs in the first place.

18 Sep 2010

Study examines effects of AEDs on nicotine metabolite levels in smokers

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School researchers have determined that carbamazepine and oxycarbamazepine, medications commonly used to treat neurologic and psychiatric conditions, increase nicotine metabolism in smokers. As nicotine metabolism increases, cravings for nicotine return more quickly which could lead to more frequent cigarette consumption among individuals who also take these medications.

18 Sep 2010

Proposal by WHO to eliminate AIDS in South Africa is flawed, model shows

In 2008, Reuben Granich and his colleagues at the World Health Organization published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet that proposed a new strategy for combating HIV in South Africa, a country staggered by the virus, with as much as 18 percent of the population estimated to be infected.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers suggest potentially valuable role for minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine to treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

Lawmakers debate action on stem cell research, public health bills

Sen. Arlen Specter said at a Senate hearing Thursday that Congress should move on allowing the government to fund human embryonic stem cell research "to avoid giving a final say on the issue to a conservative Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports.

18 Sep 2010

Arizona State University and Quintiles sign new drug development deal

Arizona's contribution to the accelerated development of new, safe and effective medicines to help treat suffering patients in the US and around the world, will become greater following the signing of new deal between Arizona State University and Quintiles (www.quintiles.com), a global integrated biopharmaceutical services company which is a leader in managing clinical research.

18 Sep 2010

CBO finds generic drugs save Medicare $33 billion in 2007

A new government report finds that the use of generic medications saved the Medicare program and its beneficiaries about $33 billion in 2007, The Associated Press/BusinessWeek report. The Congressional Budget Office report "says an additional $14 billion is expected as first-time generics enter the market through 2012. Medicare Part D is Medicare's prescription drug program" (9/15).

18 Sep 2010

Minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine may help treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers identify new target for cystic fibrosis

The lab of Kevin Foskett, PhD, the Isaac Ott Professor of Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has found a possible new target for fighting cystic fibrosis (CF) that could compensate for the lack of a functioning ion channel in affected CF-related cells. Their finding appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

18 Sep 2010

FDA reviews Actos drug for bladder cancer risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has begun a safety review of the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone), after receiving preliminary results from a long-term observational study designed to evaluate the risk of bladder cancer associated with use of this drug.

18 Sep 2010

BARDA awards contract to Emergent BioSolutions for anthrax vaccine development

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a $51 million contract to Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., of Rockville, Md., for the development of a new anthrax vaccine using the protective antigen (rPA) to stimulate a protective immune response that neutralizes the anthrax toxins.

18 Sep 2010

Eddingpharm closes US$24 million Series B financing

Eddingpharm Inc., a leading specialty pharmaceutical marketing company focused on the China market, today announced the closing of a US$24 million Series B financing, co-led by OrbiMed Advisors Caduceus Asia Partners Fund and Domain Associates.

17 Sep 2010

New iPhone application tracks drug safety updates

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Children's Hospital Boston have developed a new iPhone application to encourage health-care professionals and patients to send and receive information about the use and side effects of prescription medications.

17 Sep 2010