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KINAXO, Daiichi Sankyo enter long-term partnership in cancer research

KINAXO Biotechnologies GmbH and Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited entered a long-term partnership in cancer research. Under the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo will employ KINAXO's technology platform to support the development of Daiichi Sankyo's targeted cancer drugs.

29 Sep 2010

Intrauterine devices for treatment of endometrial cancer

Intrauterine devices, originally developed as contraceptives, can also be used to treat and cure cancer of the endometrium according to new research published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today (Wednesday 29 September). The finding opens the way for young women with the disease, which affects the lining of the womb, to be treated without the need for a hysterectomy, thus preserving their fertility until they have had all the children they want.

29 Sep 2010

Computer-assisted decisions can sometimes cause problems for prescribing

Experts hoped computers could help doctors make treatment safer for patients, but it turns out they have side effects, too. The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog reports, for one study,the anti-clotting drug warfarin and a certain antibiotic can produce hazardous effects when taken together.

29 Sep 2010

Critical piece of puzzle in treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

University of Missouri researchers believe they have found a critical piece of the puzzle for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - the leading genetic cause of infantile death in the world. Nearly one in 6,000 births has SMA, and it is estimated that nearly one in 30 to 40 people have the trait that leads to SMA.

29 Sep 2010

CRP levels vary between ethnically-diverse populations: Study

C-reactive protein (CRP) levels vary between ethnically-diverse populations, and are only partly due to known differences in heart risk among these groups.A single risk level of CRP at 2 mg/L may over or under estimate the need for statin medication in different ethnic groups, especially if other risk factors are not considered.

29 Sep 2010

Tamir's compounds perform better than Ganciclovir for Cytomegalovirus disease: Study

Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported test results confirming two of our lead compounds outperformed market leader Roche's drug Ganciclovir in cell culture and plaque reduction assay (the gold standard) for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Additionally, antiviral activity was also apparent against other human herpesviruses, namely, HSV-1 (cold sores), HSV-2 (genital herpes), and Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) (chicken-pox and shingles).

29 Sep 2010

Combination therapy reduces radiographic evidence of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis: Study

A study conducted at Copenhagen University Hospital showed that treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids, biologic agents, or a combination of agents significantly reduced radiographic evidence of joint destruction, with a relative effect of 48%-72% as compared with placebo.

29 Sep 2010

Pieris enters multi-year collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis and Sanofi Pasteur for Anticalin technology

Pieris AG announced today the signature of a collaboration and license agreement with both Sanofi-Aventis and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, under which Pieris will apply its proprietary Anticalin technology to discover novel Anticalin drugs against multiple targets, with further development undertaken by Sanofi-Aventis and Sanofi-Pasteur. The collaboration will initially involve two targets nominated by Sanofi-Aventis and Sanofi-Pasteur, and includes the option for four additional targets.

29 Sep 2010

Research: SorCS1 gene is linked to Alzheimer's disease, Type 2 diabetes

A research team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine has identified the mechanism behind a single gene linked to the causes of both Alzheimer's disease and Type 2 diabetes.

29 Sep 2010

Triple-negative breast cancer patients may have unique biomarker to receive targeted therapy: Research

Patients with triple negative breast cancer, one of the hardest subtypes to treat, may have a unique biomarker that would enable them to receive more targeted therapy, according to data presented at the Fourth AACR International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

29 Sep 2010

Hypertension drug market to decline by $3 billion in 2019: Decision Resources

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues finds that, owing to increasing generic availability of antihypertensive agents, the hypertension drug market will decline from $26 billion in 2009 to $23 billion in 2019 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan.

29 Sep 2010

ADLS receives $1.5M from exercise of unit warrants

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced it has received $1.5 million of proceeds from the exercise of the unit warrants issued in the public offering of securities announced on July 1, 2010.

29 Sep 2010

SGC releases 1000th high resolution protein structure

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an international public private partnership that aims to determine three dimensional structures of medically important proteins, announced today the release into the public domain of its 1000th high resolution protein structure.

29 Sep 2010

PolyMedix begins PMX-30063 Phase 2 clinical trial for bacterial infections

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial in Canada with its novel defensin-mimetic antibiotic, PMX-30063.

28 Sep 2010

Researchers find genetic variants that cause arthritis in breast cancer patients taking aromatase inhibitors

Mayo Clinic researchers and their international colleagues have discovered genetic variants that lead to severe arthritis for a subset of women when taking aromatase inhibitors to treat their breast cancer. This serious side effect is so painful that many women halt their lifesaving medication. The findings appear today in the online issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology.

28 Sep 2010

Endo Pharmaceuticals to acquire Qualitest Pharmaceuticals

Endo Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, a leading, privately held generics company in the U.S., for approximately $1.2 billion in cash.

28 Sep 2010

PharMerica signs asset purchase agreement to acquire Chem Rx Corporation

PharMerica Corporation, a national provider of institutional pharmacy and hospital pharmacy management services, today announced that it has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Chem Rx Corporation for $70.6 million.

28 Sep 2010

Health Council of Canada releases report on how physicians' decisions affect healthcare services in Canada

A report released today by the Health Council of Canada, Decisions, Decisions: Family Doctors as Gatekeepers to Prescription Drugs and Diagnostic Imaging in Canada, calls for better management of prescription drugs and diagnostic imaging services in this country.

28 Sep 2010

HCC report supports implementation of medical imaging guidelines for physicians

The Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) recently contributed to a report produced by the Health Council of Canada (HCC) entitled “Decisions, Decisions: Family Doctors as Gatekeepers in the Use of Prescription Drugs and Diagnostic Imaging in Canada.” This report, which was released today, supports one of the CAR’s main objectives: to implement medical imaging guidelines at a national level to guide physicians in selecting the most effective diagnostic imaging exam the first time.

28 Sep 2010

Venous thromboembolism drugs to experience robust growth by 2019

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, driven primarily by the launch and widespread uptake of novel oral anticoagulants, the combined markets for drugs used in the treatment and prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism will experience robust growth, increasing from $2.9 billion in 2009 to more than $5 billion in 2019 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan.

28 Sep 2010