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New treatment center opened to overcome alcoholism

Michael Jackson. Heath Ledger. DJ AM. It seems that each new week brings news of another celebrity struck dead due to alleged drug abuse -- which represents only the tip of the iceberg of the epidemic of addiction. Our society is bombarded with advertisements hawking all varieties of alcohol and even prescription drugs -- but what can be done to stem the tragic growth of this disease?

14 Sep 2009

FDA to consider an additional labelling claim for Noveko's masks and respirators

Noveko International Inc. ("the Company") is pleased to announce that further to its request, the Food and Drugs Administration (the "FDA") accepted to meet with the Company, to consider an additional labelling claim for its Noveko(TM) masks and respirators.

14 Sep 2009

Centre of consciousness may lead to new coma treatments

A new understanding of how anesthesia and anesthesia-like states are controlled in the brain opens the door to possible new future treatments of various states of loss of consciousness, such as reversible coma, according to Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists.

14 Sep 2009

Schizophrenia: A major public health problem

Schizophrenia is a major public health problem. Affecting almost 1% of the world's population, it takes an enormous economic and social toll in addition to the distress, dysfunction, disability and mortality for those afflicted with this disease. Elements of the disease are present from birth, other aspects emerge during developmental years, and the illness becomes fully expressed in early adulthood with long-lasting implications for most patients.

14 Sep 2009

Trabedersen granted orphan drug designation from both FDA And EMEA for treating pancreatic carcinoma

The biopharmaceutical company Antisense Pharma GmbH has announced today that it has received orphan drug designation from both the European Medicines Agency EMEA and the US Food and Drug Administration FDA for its investigational drug trabedersen in the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma.

14 Sep 2009

Clinical study results of DAS181 against H1N1 influenza presented

NexBio, Inc. announced today the presentation of two studies of DAS181 activity against H1N1 influenza and NAI-resistant influenza at the 2009 Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) meeting on Sunday, September 13, 2009, in San Francisco, CA.

14 Sep 2009

PTH therapy could prevent osteoarthritis

An existing osteoporosis drug is the first ever found to prevent cartilage loss from osteoarthritis following injury to a joint, and may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to an early study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver.

14 Sep 2009

Improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered

New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide not just a structure but also a suggested mechanism for how cells sense and regulate zinc, an element that is essential for life, but which must be kept at a steady state to avoid problems like seizures, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer's disease.

14 Sep 2009

TCAD therapy shows potency against seasonal and novel H1N1 influenza viruses

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that a multi-center in vitro study of its proprietary triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy showed substantially greater potency against seasonal and novel H1N1 influenza viruses than currently recommended single or double therapy and that the triple combination is active against drug-resistant flu strains.

14 Sep 2009

FAB Pharma to develop new class of anti-MRSA drugs

FAB Pharma today announced the completion of a €2.3 million round of series A funding led by CDC innovation and co-led by Bioam Gestion.

14 Sep 2009

Scientific program to treat and prevent mental disorders

Mental disorders are a global problem and represent one of the biggest challenges for health care systems. In the world, there are some 500 million people suffering from mental disorders, and in the European Union, mental disorders range as one of the leading causes of disease burden.

14 Sep 2009

Oral NKTR-118 has low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions

Nektar Therapeutics presented clinical study data today demonstrating that the oral tablet formulation of NKTR-118 has favorable systemic bioavailability and a low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions.

14 Sep 2009

Monoamine oxidases responsible for personality and behaviour

Antisocial and aggressive behaviours represent a widespread and expensive social problem. Recent research has convincingly shown that there is a strong interaction between genetic inheritance and environment for development of personality and behaviour.

14 Sep 2009

IRIN examines report on varying cost of ARVs for countries with similar socioeconomic status

IRIN examines a recent report (.pdf) that found varying price rates countries pay for antiretrovirals (ARVs) - with "some nations … paying up to three times more for the life-prolonging medicines than others with similar HIV prevalence and income levels."

11 Sep 2009

Scientists to get funding from The European Research Council

The European Research Council (ERC) expects to fund some 240 top researchers in its second prestigious ERC Starting Grant competition. This new wave of grantees follows the 299 researchers who received grants in the first Starting Grant competition in 2007.

11 Sep 2009

Federal court's approval clears the way for pricing rollback of pharmaceutical drugs

Purchasers of pharmaceutical drugs including consumers and health plans will soon enjoy a rollback of benchmark prices of some of the most common prescription medications after a Federal Appeals Court last week affirmed the approval of a settlement with two leading drug-pricing publishers, First DataBank, Inc. and Medi-Span, a division of Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

11 Sep 2009

HIV/AIDS patients in U.S. have no long-term treatment options: ATAC report card

With the estimated 1.2 million people with HIV/AIDS in the United States expected to live close to a normal life span, the majority of pharmaceutical companies are not developing innovative, new long-term treatment options that offer improved efficacy, safety and tolerability when taken for decades, according to a report card on the pharmaceutical industry released today by the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition's (ATAC) Drug Development Committee.

11 Sep 2009

Elderberry extract prevents H1N1 infection in vitro

A recent research study has given new scientific evidence to the long-held empirical belief that elderberries possess antiviral activities. The research involved a specific, reproducible elderberry extract developed by HerbalScience Group LLC, and succeeded in identifying key chemical components of the extract that inhibited in vitro infection and were shown to bind directly to Human Influenza A (H1N1) virus particles. The binding blocked the ability of the viruses to enter host cells, and thereby effectively preventing H1N1 infection in vitro.

11 Sep 2009

USPTO allows Isis an additional patent for single-stranded RNAi technology

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed an Isis patent application that further expands the scope of the "Crooke" patent estate. The newly allowed patent broadly covers methods of cleaving a target RNA via a double-stranded ribonuclease mechanism, including the RNAi mechanism, with chemically modified, single-stranded RNA-containing drugs.

11 Sep 2009

PCMA stresses on improving affordability in the health care system

“Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) share the President’s goal of improving affordability as a central tenant to reforming the health care system. Tools pioneered by PBMs – including those which increase the use of generic medicines – have accomplished this goal by lowering costs and expanding access to prescription drugs for consumers and payers.

11 Sep 2009