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CTI announces final pixantrone clinical trial design for treatment of DLBCL

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the final clinical trial design of a randomized pivotal trial of pixantrone for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma following discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Division of Hematologic Products.

10 Mar 2011

Experimental drug effectively shuts off MCL1 gene and induces apoptosis

Predictive Biomarker Sciences (PBS-Bio) has uncovered how the experimental drug UNBS1450, produced by Unibioscreen, kills cancer cells.

10 Mar 2011

Blood biomarker may help decide intake of aspirin or NSAIDs for reduction of cancer risk

The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be confined to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a particular inflammatory factor in the blood.

10 Mar 2011

Novel sortase-based techniques allow modification of a large variety of different proteins

Whitehead Institute scientists have created a method that site-specifically modifies proteins to exert control over their properties when administered therapeutically. The technique should be useful to increase potency, slow metabolism, and improve thermal stability of therapeutically useful proteins, such as interferon alpha 2 (IFN-alpha 2), which is used to treat variety of diseases, including leukemia, melanoma, and chronic hepatitis C.

10 Mar 2011

CRT, ICR sign deal with ZoBio to discover and develop cancer drugs

Cancer Research Technology and The Institute of Cancer Research have signed a deal with Dutch drug discovery company, ZoBio BV, to discover and develop drugs to block a DNA repair target which may play a role in cancer cell survival.

10 Mar 2011

Opinions: Investing in science, technology; Indian public-private partnership for NTDs; U.S. global food security investments; Clinton's statements on PEPFAR; U.S. foreign aid; primary care

"Now is the time to support science and technology - especially in difficult economic times. It is the right thing to do, and it makes good economic sense," Alex Dehgan, science and technology adviser to the USAID administrator, and Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition, write in an opinion piece appearing on The Hill's "Congress Blog."

10 Mar 2011

ITCs in vegetables appear to target and block p53 gene linked with cancer

Scientists are reporting discovery of a potential biochemical basis for the apparent cancer-fighting ability of broccoli and its veggie cousins. They found for the first time that certain substances in the vegetables appear to target and block a defective gene associated with cancer.

10 Mar 2011

Israel grants patent to Kamada's Transferrin for use in Pharmaceutical Compositions

Kamada, a biopharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and marketing specialty life-saving therapeutics, announced today it has received an Israeli Patent for its Ultrapure Transferrin to be used in Pharmaceutical Compositions.

10 Mar 2011

NCPA encourages patients on safe disposal of unwanted medications

In recognition of Patient Safety Awareness Week, the National Community Pharmacists Association encourages patients to properly dispose of expired or unwanted medications at a local independent community pharmacy as part of its Dispose My Meds program.

10 Mar 2011

Illicit drug users may face increased risk of microbial infections

Illicit drug users are at increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens and are more susceptible to serious infections say physicians writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

10 Mar 2011

Lowering cholesterol could help fight infections

British researchers have found that lowering cholesterol levels could help the body’s immune system fight infections. The team at the University of Edinburgh conducted the experiments on mice and found a direct link between the workings of the immune system and cholesterol levels.

9 Mar 2011

U.S. FDA approves Hospira's docetaxel to treat variety of cancers

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of docetaxel. The medication is a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis's Taxotere, and Hospira expects to launch the product later this month.

9 Mar 2011

Roundup: Legislatures pressured on health cuts, malpractice laws; Mass. Blue Cross board salaries; pension costs

This week, the Assembly and Senate will debate the final package of budget reductions. Among the $6 billion in health-related cuts is the elimination of the Maddy Fund, a $55 million attempt to reimburse emergency departments for indigent care.

9 Mar 2011

Human Genome Sciences receives FDA approval for Benlysta to treat lupus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Benlysta to treat patients with active, autoantibody-positive lupus who are receiving standard therapy, including corticosteroids, antimalarials, immunosuppressives, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

9 Mar 2011

Adamis submits APC-100 IND to FDA for treatment of prostate cancer

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that it has recently submitted to the FDA an Investigational New Drug application for APC-100 to treat prostate cancer.

9 Mar 2011

The American Journal of Medicine focuses on the continuing healthcare reform debate

As the debate about healthcare in the United States rages, four insightful articles in the March 2011 issue of The American Journal of Medicine strive to add reasoned arguments and empirical research findings to the dialog.

9 Mar 2011

Variation in exposure to sunlight may affect sensitivity of individuals to drugs

A study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has shown that the body's ability to break down medicines may be closely related to exposure to sunlight, and thus may vary with the seasons.

9 Mar 2011

Prolonged exposure to antidepressants can induce tardive dysphoria

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a new important side effect of antidepressant drugs is described: tardive dysphoria.

9 Mar 2011

Overall survival rate for ovarian cancer have increased over last 30 years

Survival from ovarian cancer has almost doubled over the last 30 years according to new figures from Cancer Research UK released today.

9 Mar 2011

NCCN, SNM enter cancer imaging research collaboration

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network- (NCCN-), and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) are pleased to announce a collaboration to advance research for cancer imaging and therapies. Specifically, NCCN will work with SNM to qualify imaging sites for upcoming research projects utilizing molecular imaging in clinical trials.

9 Mar 2011