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$Bisphosphonates drug may lead to atypical femur fractures in osteoporosis patients: Report$

Bisphosphonates drug may lead to atypical femur fractures in osteoporosis patients: Report

A widely prescribed class of drugs is highly effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, but an expert panel announced today that these same drugs - when used long term - may be related to unusual but serious fractures of the thigh bone.

14 Sep 2010

MSKCC to open new 7,745-square-foot outpatient chemotherapy center in Brooklyn

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) today celebrated a new outpatient chemotherapy center, which is scheduled to open later this month, pending approval from the State Department of Health. The 7,745-square-foot facility, called the Brooklyn Infusion Center, will provide leading-edge chemotherapy services to current MSKCC patients who live in or near Brooklyn — which amounts to more than 15 percent of MSKCC's patients currently being treated in Manhattan.

14 Sep 2010

Alice Cepeda receives National Award of Excellence in Research for Hispanic drug abuse research

The National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse awarded the National Award of Excellence in Research by a New Investigator to Alice Cepeda, sociology professor and associate director of the Center for Drug and Social Policy Research, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston. Cepeda will be honored Sept. 30 at the organization's annual conference in New Orleans.

14 Sep 2010

Structural component inside neurons dances when connections are strengthened

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have uncovered how a structural component inside neurons performs two coordinated dance moves when the connections between neurons are strengthened.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers to discuss brain's secrets at neuroscience conference

Top brain researchers from around the world will be in Milwaukee, Sept, 16-19, 2010, for a neuroscience conference focused on gaining insights into the brain's inner workings to better understand how the brain thinks, how the brain develops, and how the brain is altered by neurological diseases and how it responds to treatment.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers identify novel molecular pathway of Parkinson’s disease

A new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has identified a novel molecular pathway underlying Parkinson's disease and points to existing drugs which may be able to slow progression of the disease.

14 Sep 2010

Platinum and light together fight cancer

Researchers continue to search for cancer treatments that effectively destroy tumor cells while protecting surrounding healthy tissue and the body. One intriguing approach involves photoactivated drugs: an inactive precursor would be administered, then the diseased tissue could be irradiated to convert the drug into its cytotoxic form locally.

14 Sep 2010

Momenta Pharmaceuticals receives patent for enoxaparin

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, announced today that on September 7, 2010 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,790,466, entitled "Evaluating Mixtures of Low Molecular Weight Heparins By Chain Profiles or Chain Mapping".

14 Sep 2010

$Cell Therapeutics to appeal FDA decision on pixantrone NDA for relapsed/refractory aggressive NHL$

Cell Therapeutics to appeal FDA decision on pixantrone NDA for relapsed/refractory aggressive NHL

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it intends to appeal the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's previously disclosed decision regarding the pixantrone New Drug Application ("NDA") to treat patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ("NHL").

14 Sep 2010

Experts warn dip in antibiotic R&D could lead to treatment challenges

The 50th annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) kicked off in Boston on Sunday with experts warning that a "slowdown" in research on antibiotic development could result in treatment challenges.

14 Sep 2010

AGTC receives grant to evaluate Phase II Human Clinical Trial for LCA retinal disease

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that it has received a grant of $1 million from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA Orphan Drugs Program). The grant will fund a Phase II Human Clinical Trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a genetic retinal disease known to cause blindness at an early age.

14 Sep 2010

Study finds new therapeutic target for polycystic kidney disease

In work suggesting a new approach to treating polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a leading cause of kidney failure, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston were able to block the formation of fluid-filled cysts, the hallmark of the disease, in a mouse model. Their findings, using a compound that inhibits a receptor known as c-Met, will be published in the September 13th online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

14 Sep 2010

Complementary medicine to save millions: Report

According to a new report substituting pharmaceutical antidepressants with St John’s Wort could save the health system $50 million a year. This research was conducted by Access Economics for the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney. It showed that cost effectiveness of complementary and alternative therapies have the potential to cut costs without compromising patient outcomes.

13 Sep 2010

AstraZeneca, UCL collaborate to identify new therapeutic tools to modulate regenerative capacity of stem cells

AstraZeneca and UCL (University College London) today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to develop regenerative medicines for diabetic retinopathy (DR).

13 Sep 2010

Study finds antibiotic safe for treatment of stroke and good companion therapy for tPA

An antibiotic appears to be a safe treatment for stroke and a good companion therapy for tPA, the clot buster that is currently the only FDA-approved drug therapy, researchers report.

13 Sep 2010

Counterfeit drugs become growing problem

"Last year, nearly 1,700 incidents of counterfeit drugs were reported worldwide, triple the number in 2004, says the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), a group funded by drugmakers," USA Today reports. "Estimates for the size of the counterfeit drug market range from $75 billion to $200 billion a year. The market is likely much bigger because many cases are hard to detect.

13 Sep 2010

Genomas awarded method patent for PhyzioGenomics Technology

Genomas®, a biomedical company advancing DNA-Guided Medicine, has been awarded US Patent 7,747,392, entitled Physiogenomic Method for Predicting Clinical Outcomes of Treatment in Patients by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

13 Sep 2010

Synta expands STA-9090 Phase 2 clinical trial in NSCLC

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that it was expanding its Phase 2 clinical trial of STA-9090 in patients with Stage IIIB and Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from up to 69 patients to up to 146 patients based on encouraging activity observed in the first stage of the two stage clinical trial.

13 Sep 2010

Relypsa completes $70M Series B financing

Relypsa, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing non-absorbed polymeric drugs, today announced the completion of a Series B financing totaling $70 million. OrbiMed Advisors, LLC, led the financing with participation from existing Relypsa investors New Leaf Venture Partners, 5AM Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Sprout Group and Mediphase Venture Partners.

13 Sep 2010

FDA updates Shire's ProAmatine medicine for symptomatic orthostatic hypotension treatment

Shire, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that the United States Food and Drug Administration today posted an update on its website related to ProAmatine (known generically as midodrine), a medicine approved for the treatment of symptomatic orthostatic hypotension.

13 Sep 2010