Pancreatitis News and Research

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Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and close to the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes digestive juices, or enzymes, into the duodenum through a tube called the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes join with bile—a liquid produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder—to digest food. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body regulate the glucose it takes from food for energy.

Normally, digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas do not become active until they reach the small intestine. But when the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it attack and damage the tissues that produce them.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Either form is serious and can lead to complications. In severe cases, bleeding, infection, and permanent tissue damage may occur.

Gene therapy improves chylomicron metabolism in LPLD patients

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today data demonstrating that one-time administration of the gene therapy Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) is able to markedly improve chylomicron (fat particles in the blood) metabolism following consumption of a low fat meal.

29 Mar 2012

FDA Advisory Committee to review Repligen's SecreFlo NDA on May 31

Repligen Corporation today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee will meet on May 31, 2012 to discuss the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for SecreFlo for the improved detection of pancreatic duct abnormalities in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with pancreatitis.

26 Mar 2012

Alcohol linked to 25% increase in liver disease deaths

The first report from the fledgling National End of Life Care Intelligence Network warns that the victims of liver disease are getting younger, with deaths increasing among people in their forties. Deaths rose from 9,231 in 2001 to 11,575 in 2009; some 60% of these were men, and 90% of them were under 70. Deaths are more common in England's northern regions marked by high unemployment and low educational achievement.

25 Mar 2012

European Commission grants marketing authorization for use of BYETTA with basal insulin

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization to BYETTA (exenatide twice-daily) as an adjunctive therapy to basal insulin, with or without metformin and/or Actos (pioglitazone), for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults who have not achieved adequate glycemic control with these agents.

23 Mar 2012

Repligen total revenue increases to $7,165,000 for quarter ended December 31, 2011

Repligen Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter and nine-month fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

17 Mar 2012

Endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy associated with lower risk of major complications

In a small, preliminary trial, patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis who received a less-invasive procedure, endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy, had an associated lower risk of major complications and death compared to patients who had surgical necrosectomy, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

FDA panel favors continued research on novel pain medicine

A panel of experts for the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) this Monday recommended that the federal government should allow continued testing of an experimental class of pain drugs for arthritis, despite links to bone decay and joint failure.

13 Mar 2012

Altogen launches new pancreas-targeted in vivo RNAi transfection system

Altogen Biosystems announced the launch of its new pancreas-targeted in vivo RNAi transfection system in the company's popular in vivo delivery product line for use in laboratories and research facilities for development of new medicines and testing in cells and animals.

7 Mar 2012

Repligen seeks EMA marketing approval for SecreFlo for pancreatic imaging

Repligen Corporation announced today that it has submitted a marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for SecreFlo to improve detection of pancreatic duct abnormalities in patients with pancreatitis.

5 Mar 2012

Tiny molecule might help protect pancreas from cancer

A tiny molecule might help protect the pancreas from deadly disease and cancer. Tackling a mysterious process: There is a feeling that neglected cancers need more research and Pancreatic cancer is one of the least studied. Today, the survival rate is 3% for five years. Professor Petersen, at the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, hopes his team's research can change that.

29 Feb 2012

FDA grants Priority Review for Repligen's SecreFlo NDA

Repligen Corporation announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and granted Priority Review to the Company's new drug application (NDA) for SecreFlo for the improved detection of pancreatic duct abnormalities in patients with pancreatitis.

21 Feb 2012

BYETTA-basal insulin combination therapy receives EMA CHMP positive opinion

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion in the European Union for the expanded use of BYETTA (exenatide twice-daily) as an add-on therapy to basal insulin, with or without metformin and/or Actos (pioglitazone), for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults who have not achieved adequate glycemic control with these agents.

17 Feb 2012

Merck receives FDA approval for JANUMET XR to treat type 2 diabetes

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved JANUMET XR (sitagliptin and metformin hydrochloride extended-release) tablets, a new treatment for type 2 diabetes that combines sitagliptin, which is the active component of JANUVIA (sitagliptin), with extended-release metformin.

3 Feb 2012

Websites advertising statins for sale contain poor levels of safety information

A new study published in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety reveals that internet sites selling prescription statins directly to consumers are widespread, and that most websites advertising statins for sale to the general public contain very poor levels of information relevant to safe use of the medicine and side effects.

3 Feb 2012

Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly receive FDA approval for Jentadueto to treat type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Jentadueto (linagliptin/metformin hydrochloride) tablets, a new tablet combining the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, linagliptin, and metformin.

31 Jan 2012

Scientists connect two signature characteristics of pancreatic cancer

Scientists have connected two signature characteristics of pancreatic cancer, identifying a self-perpetuating "vicious cycle" of molecular activity and a new potential target for drugs to treat one of the most lehal forms of cancer.

27 Jan 2012

Inflammation enhances pancreatic cancer cell progression

Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected.

20 Jan 2012