Polymerase News and Research

RSS

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 1b clinical trial of VX-222

In conjunction with an oral presentation at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced results from a Phase 1b clinical trial of the investigational oral hepatitis C virus polymerase inhibitor, VX-222. In the trial, treatment with VX-222 for three days was well-tolerated, with all adverse events being mild to moderate in severity.

16 Apr 2010

Universal screening test for CMV infection is not effective, says study

DNA analysis of dried blood samples routinely collected from newborns did not effectively identify an infection that is a major cause of hearing loss in children, according to a study in the April 14 issue of JAMA.

15 Apr 2010

New Supramap web-based application to track and stop disease outbreaks

Pathogens can now be easily tracked in time and space as they evolve, an advance that could revolutionize both public health and inform national security in the fight against infectious diseases. Developed by researchers that include scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, Supramap is a new, powerful, web-based application that maps genetic mutations like those among the different strains of avian influenza onto the globe.

13 Apr 2010

Phase 1 SAD study of PSI-938 for HCV initiated

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today that dosing has initiated in a phase 1, single ascending dose study in healthy volunteers with PSI-938, a third generation purine nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor of hepatitis C virus. Pharmasset recently filed an Investigational New Drug Application with the Food and Drug Administration.

8 Apr 2010

Avastin approval to drive ovarian cancer drug market to $1.5 billion in 2018

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the ovarian cancer drug market -- driven by the approval and rapid uptake of Roche/Genentech/Chugai's Avastin -- will more than triple from $449 million in 2008 to just under $1.5 billion in 2018 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan.

7 Apr 2010

New DNA test to detect Lyme disease spirochete infection

Many of the more than 30,000 people a year in the United States with suspected cases of Lyme disease spirochete (bacterial) infection can now take a DNA test developed by a Connecticut scientist/physician and his team that can quickly determine if they test positive for Lyme spirochetes in their blood.

30 Mar 2010

DIATHERIX GI test panel can detect nine types of GI infections

DIATHERIX Laboratories adds a gastrointestinal panel to its lineup of highly sensitive, rapid response diagnostic tests. In a single result, the DIATHERIX GI panel can detect and differentiate nine types of GI infections so physicians can quickly identify patients who have severe, life-threatening infections.

30 Mar 2010

Presence of PARP protein in tumours can help predict their response to chemotherapy

The presence of the protein poly polymerase in tumours can help predict their response to chemotherapy, a German scientist will tell the seventh European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona tomorrow (Saturday 27 March).

27 Mar 2010

Presence of protein PARP in tumours may help predict response to chemotherapy

The presence of the protein poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in tumours can help predict their response to chemotherapy, a German scientist will tell the seventh European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC7) in Barcelona tomorrow (Saturday 27 March). Professor Gunter von Minckwitz, from the German Breast Group Forschungs GmBH, Neu-Isenburg, says that, contrary to current belief that PARP is associated with a limited number of tumours, he and his team found for the first time that PARP expression exists across all breast cancer subtypes, and that such tumours were highly sensitive to chemotherapy.

26 Mar 2010

Novel test may help identify newborns with fragile X syndrome

A newly developed test appears highly accurate in identifying newborns with fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited cause of cognitive impairment—as well as identifying couples who are carriers of the causative gene, reports a study in the March issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

25 Mar 2010

Inhibitex announces net loss of $4.7M for fourth-quarter 2009

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009 and provided an update on various corporate developments.

23 Mar 2010

Researchers devise simple water test to check for herbicide clomazone

University of California, Davis, scientists are helping rice farmers in Uruguay stop polluting their waterways -- including drinking-water sources and a globally valuable nature reserve.

23 Mar 2010

Survey unveils impact of gene regulation on human health

Researchers are only beginning to understand how individual variation in gene regulation can have a lasting impact on one's health and susceptibility to certain diseases. Now, an ambitious survey of the human genome has identified differences in the binding of master regulators called transcription factors to DNA that affect how genes are expressed in different people.

19 Mar 2010

Vertex Pharmaceuticals' telaprevir and VX-222 HCV inhibitor abstracts accepted for presentation at 45th EASL meeting

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that multiple abstracts related to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor telaprevir and the HCV polymerase inhibitor VX-222 were accepted for presentation at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in Vienna, Austria, April 14-18, 2010.

17 Mar 2010

Kettering Health Network licenses DIATHERIX Laboratories' TEM-PCR testing process

Kettering Health Network is the nation's first health system to use a new testing process developed by DIATHERIX Laboratories, which dramatically reduces the time it takes to detect H1N1, methicillin resistant staphylococcus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C-diff) and other infectious diseases. Kettering Medical Center will be the first hospital in the network to use the testing system and DIATHERIX will maintain an onsite lab at the facility.

16 Mar 2010

Gene defects could become targets for new personalised treatments for bowel cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have discovered that the gene defects that cause some bowel cancers could become the targets for new personalised treatments. Their research is published in Cancer Cell today (Monday).

16 Mar 2010

Medivir AB announces license agreement with Daewoong Pharmaceutical for MIV-210 drug

Medivir AB (Sweden) today announced a license agreement with Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., (South Korea) for its hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase inhibitor drug, lagociclovir valactate (MIV-210).

12 Mar 2010

Thermo Fisher Scientific acquires Finnzymes

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Finnzymes. The business is a well-recognized provider of integrated tools for high-performance polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including reagents, instruments, consumables and kits that make the PCR process faster and more accurate for applications including basic genomic research, genetic testing, forensics and food safety.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 5 Mar 2010

Abbott enters into agreement with GSK to develop molecular diagnostic test for skin cancer treatment

Abbott announced today that it has entered into an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop a molecular diagnostic test intended for use as an aid in selecting patients who may benefit from a skin cancer treatment in development by GSK.

4 Mar 2010

Enanta Pharmaceuticals nominates EDP-239 lead development candidate from NS5A HCV inhibitor program

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the nomination of lead development candidate, EDP-239, from its NS5A hepatitis C virus (HCV) inhibitor program. EDP-239 has demonstrated picomolar potency against multiple genotypes of the virus and a preclinical pharmacokinetic profile amenable to once-a-day dosing.

3 Mar 2010