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AstraZeneca and Targacept enter into agreement to develop and commercialize TC-5214

AstraZeneca and Targacept, Inc. today announced a collaboration and license agreement for the global development and commercialization of TC-5214, Targacept’s late-stage investigational product for major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Dec 2009

Research study compares genetic make-up of humans and primates

In spite of their genetic similarity to humans, chimpanzees and great apes have maximum lifespans that rarely exceed 50 years. The difference, explains USC Davis School of Gerontology Professor Caleb Finch, is that as humans evolved genes that enabled them to better adjust to levels of infection and inflammation and to the high cholesterol levels of their meat rich diets.

3 Dec 2009

VARI scientists determine the structure of receptors that plants use to sense ABA

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers have determined precisely how the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) works at the molecular level to help plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and cold.

3 Dec 2009

Researchers to publish a paper on the availability of 'Spice' drugs online

A paper to be published this month by University of Hertfordshire researchers about the availability of 'Spice' drugs online will raise new concerns about its mood altering effects.

3 Dec 2009

Majority of Australians accept teen drinking

Half of Australian adults and 63 per cent of Australians on a higher income believe 15 to 17 year olds should be allowed to consume alcohol under parental supervision at home, according to the latest MBF Healthwatch survey.

3 Dec 2009

FDA grants Fast Track designation for Keryx Biopharmaceuticals' KRX-0401

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for KRX-0401 (perifosine), the Company's novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

3 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs linked to autism-spectrum disorders

Commonly prescribed beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs for the treatment of asthma in pregnant women as well as pre-term labor may increase the incidence of autism-spectrum disorders, psychiatric pathology, cognitive problems and poor school performance in their children, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

3 Dec 2009

The Hill examines push to get more U.S. funding for malaria medicines

The Hill examines Medicines for Malaria Venture's (MMV) efforts to get more U.S. funding for its work. According to the newspaper, the group is "asking USAID and Congress to redirect more money beginning next year to drug research and development from a pot of funds used to cover the range of efforts to treat and prevent malaria, such as providing mosquito nets."

3 Dec 2009

Repeated use of ecstasy drug increases the risk of developing sleep apnea

Repeated use of the drug popularly known as "ecstasy" significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests.

2 Dec 2009

Kalbitor drug approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Kalbitor (ecallantide) on Dec. 1 to treat sudden and potentially life-threatening fluid buildup that can occur in people with a rare genetic condition known as hereditary angioedema (HAE).

2 Dec 2009

Leaders respond to World AIDS Day; South Africa to expand HIV treatment program

Marking World AIDS Day on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon "warned ... that new infections are outpacing the gains from treating people with the HIV virus" and that discrimination against HIV-positive people remains "widespread," the Associated Press reports.

2 Dec 2009

Novel approach to detect flaws in defense against breast cancer earns Era of Hope Scholar Award

A novel approach to detecting and targeting flaws in first line of defense against cancer has earned an Era of Hope Scholar Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for a scientist at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

2 Dec 2009

Champions Biotechnology and Ramot establish licensing agreement

Champions Biotechnology, Inc., a U.S. Oncology drug development company with a predictive preclinical platform aimed at accelerating the development and enhancing the value of oncology drugs, has established an exclusive licensing agreement with Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd., Tel Aviv University's wholly owned technology transfer company.

2 Dec 2009

Researchers discover ability of stem cells in brain cancer glioma to resist radiation therapy

Duke University Medical Center researchers have figured out how stem cells in the malignant brain cancer glioma may be better able to resist radiation therapy. And using a drug to block a particular signaling pathway in these cancer stem cells, they were able to kill many more glioma cells with radiation in a laboratory experiment.

2 Dec 2009

Study on the genetics of osteoarthritis

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. and NYU Langone Medical Center announced findings from a study performed in collaboration with Duke University on the genetics of osteoarthritis have been published this week in the "Online First" version of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases and is available at http://ard.bmj.com/cgi/rapidpdf/ard.2009.113043v1.pdf.

2 Dec 2009

University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded IBM SUR grant

The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which connects scientists who work on tissue engineering, cell therapies, artificial organs and biodevices, has been awarded a Shared University Research (SUR) Award from IBM ( IBM). The IBM SUR Award will provide IBM computer hardware, software and services to Pitt for its cutting-edge "in silico" biological research, which uses computer simulations to explore biological pathways and test therapeutic interventions.

2 Dec 2009

Senators consider women's insurance amendment, Medicare funding issues, with votes likely today

The New York Times: "In a day of desultory debate on sweeping health care legislation, senators appealed to two potent political constituencies ... with Democrats seeking additional medical benefits for women and Republicans vowing to preserve and protect Medicare for older Americans. The Democrats' first amendment, offered by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, would require insurers to cover more screenings and preventive care for women, with no co-payments."

2 Dec 2009

Democrats push for extension as dwindling COBRA subsidies are bad news for jobless

Subsidies to help people pay for COBRA benefits - the program that lets laid off or departing employees temporarily hang on to their health coverage - are drying up, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The subsidies, which pay for 65 percent of the often-costly premiums, became available in March as part of the economic stimulus legislation.

2 Dec 2009

Over twenty new drug metabolism assays launched by Absorption Systems

Absorption Systems, a leader in drug safety and ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) testing, today announced the introduction of a more complete series of drug metabolism assays designed to support the pharmaceutical R&D process, from early-stage discovery through late-stage clinical development.

2 Dec 2009

Consumption of addictive substances related to impulsive behaviour

A group of psychologists from the University of Almeria, lead by Dr. Pilar Flores and Flor Zaldívar have just concluded a study regarding the use of addictive substances by young university students and the manifestation of impulsive behaviour in the same group of people, on a cognitive and psychomotor level.

2 Dec 2009