Central Nervous System News and Research

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Biopharmaceutical company announces initial public offering

Omeros Corporation today announced the launch of its initial public offering of 6.82 million shares of its common stock. Omeros is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system.

18 Sep 2009

Rexahn to sign licensing and stock purchase agreements with Teva Pharmaceutical

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, today announced that it has reached an agreement to close on its previously announced licensing and stock purchase agreements with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.

18 Sep 2009

New therapies boost obesity drug market

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the uptake of novel therapies will drive the obesity drug market to increase more than six-fold, from $512 million in 2008 to more than $3.2 billion in 2018 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan.

16 Sep 2009

Biocryst signs agreement with three partners to represent its anti-viral peramivir outside U.S.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX) today announced that it has signed binding letters of intent with three partners who will exclusively represent BioCryst and its anti-viral peramivir for influenza stockpiling opportunities, as well as for marketing and distribution of peramivir for seasonal influenza upon local regulatory approval, within their territories outside the U.S.

15 Sep 2009

Alnylam and Medtronic announce pre-clinical research findings from their Huntington’s disease program

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), the world’s leading developer of medical devices, announced today the presentation of new pre-clinical research findings from their Huntington’s disease program at the 2009 World Congress on Huntington’s Disease held September 12-15, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

15 Sep 2009

Neurologix to showcase novel gene transfer approach to Parkinson’s disease

Neurologix, Inc. (OTCBB: NRGX), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of innovative gene therapies for the brain and central nervous system, announced today that the company will showcase its novel gene transfer approach to Parkinson’s disease.

15 Sep 2009

New data confirm link between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis

Over the last 40 years, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been repeatedly associated with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. During the 2nd European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009 held in Berlin, Francesca Aloisi, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, will present new data that further support the link. In the brain lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis her team found abnormal accumulation of EBV infected B lymphocytes.

14 Sep 2009

Phase IIa clinical data of EHT 0202 released

Top-line Phase IIa clinical data released today demonstrate that EHT 0202, ExonHit’s lead candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, is safe and generally well tolerated in patients and that it could potentially enhance cognition in Alzheimer’s disease patients.

14 Sep 2009

New findings could yield effective therapies for multiple sclerosis

14 Sep 2009

Mayo study raises hope for treating multiple sclerosis

A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009.

11 Sep 2009

CytRx granted patent for molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, today announced that it has been granted a key patent by the European Patent Office that covers through 2024 the use of its orally available molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

10 Sep 2009

Human neural stem cells to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today that it will soon initiate with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the therapeutic potential of StemCells’ proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a myelination disorder that primarily affects infants and young children.

10 Sep 2009

Medical liability reforms will hold down defensive medicine costs

President Obama, in his address to a joint session of Congress tonight, stated that “defensive medicine” does contribute to unnecessary costs in healthcare and will now explore options for medical liability reform. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) applaud the President’s inclusion of this key element as lawmakers move forward with an overall healthcare reform plan.

10 Sep 2009

Neuralstem's patent on neural stem cell transplantation approved

Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that it has received notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent entitled “Transplantation of Human Neural Cells For Treatment Of Neurodegenerative Conditions,” number 11/281,640.

9 Sep 2009

Protalix receives orphan drug designation for prGCD

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE-Amex:PLX), announced today that it has received notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development has granted orphan drug designation to prGCD, the Company’s proprietary plant cell expressed recombinant form of glucocerebrosidase (GCD) for the treatment of Gaucher disease.

8 Sep 2009

RONA MS Bike Tour organized for the benefit of the Quebec Division of the MS Society a huge success

The 20th edition of the RONA MS Bike Tour, organized for the benefit of the Quebec Division of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, ended last weekend in a glow of unbelievable generosity. Together, the 1,500 cyclists raised $1,450,000, which will fund research and services for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their families. Participants got together in the Victoriaville area on August 22 and 23, and in the Levis region on August 29 and 30.

8 Sep 2009

Recruitment for the Phase IIa clinical trial to assess CNS 7056 sedative completed by PAION

The biopharmaceutical company PAION AG (ISIN DE000A0B65S3; Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Prime Standard: PA8) today announces the successful completion of the Recruitment for the Phase IIa clinical trial assessing the new short-acting intravenous anesthetic/sedative CNS 7056 in patients undergoing endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

8 Sep 2009

Regurin XL capsule for the treatment of OAB launched in UK

Regurin(R) XL (trospium chloride), a once-daily, prolonged-release capsule to treat patients with overactive bladder (OAB) has been launched in the UK. Regurin(R) XL provides rapid, significant and consistent improvements in the symptoms of OAB1 and has a reduced potential for central nervous system (CNS) side effects(2-7).

7 Sep 2009

Advisory company focused on the development of personalized medicine launched

Elixior Limited, the advisory company focused on the development and growth of innovative personalized medicine businesses, announced today its launch by the founder and former CEO of Curidium, Dr Anne Bruinvels.

7 Sep 2009

Alzheimer’s disease researcher joins UBC's European Scientific Advisory Board

United BioSource Corporation (UBC) announced this summer at ICAD 2009 that Bengt Winblad, MD, PhD has joined its European Scientific Advisory Board for CNS Clinical Trials. Professor Winblad is one of the world’s leading Alzheimer’s disease researchers and currently serves as Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Chief Physician at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

5 Sep 2009