Drugs News and Research

RSS

Walgreens collaborates with Caterpillar to provide transparent prescription drug pricing for employers

Walgreens today announced an agreement with Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) that establishes a direct relationship for the purchase of prescription drugs using a transparent pricing model.

27 Aug 2009

Significant drop in prevalence of rheumatoid vasculitis between 2000 and 2001

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health examined records of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from the national Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system to determine the prevalence of rheumatoid vasculitis (RV) in this population. The study found a downward trend in the number of RA patients who go on to develop RV, with a significant drop of 53% among inpatients and 31% among outpatients between 2000 and 2001.

27 Aug 2009

Study reveals effectiveness of BioElectronics' ActiPatch therapy device for treating heel and foot pain

BioElectronics Corp. (PINKSHEETS: BIEL), the maker of inexpensive, disposable drug-free anti-inflammatory devices, today announced the completion of an important clinical study on heel and foot pain, which was led by David Genecov, M.D. FACS FAAP.

27 Aug 2009

$201,339 grant offered to a professor for developing a database on enzyme functions

Since the advent of the Human Genome Project an explosion of data has sent the science world scrambling. There is a growing demand to fine-tune genomic codes, which list the "ingredients for life," but do not adequately explain how those ingredients function. A Rutgers University-Camden biochemist is addressing this knowledge gap through the creation of a database for quick "background checks" on all known enzyme functions. Thanks to a National Institute of Health grant, Peter Palenchar, an assistant professor of chemistry at Rutgers-Camden, will categorize decades-worth of scholarship on enzymes into a database, beginning with those that bind to molecules that contain adenosine.

27 Aug 2009

FDA releases consumer health information updates

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released its latest listing of consumer health information updates. All articles can be accessed from the agency's Web page for consumers. You can sign-up for e-mail notices of new consumer updates on an immediate, weekly, or monthly basis. A Consumer Update RSS feed is also available.

27 Aug 2009

FDA advisory panel recommends ban of pain medications Vicodin and Percocet

An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently recommended limiting sales of acetaminophen products like Tylenol and also recommended banning prescription pain medications Vicodin and Percocet. This recommendation will prompt more people to change their habits and focus on joint pain remedy and pain relievers found in the natural vitamin supplements industry for arthritis treatment.

27 Aug 2009

New technique for diabetes treatment may be in the offing

An exploration of the molecular links between insulin resistance and inflammation may have revealed a novel target for diabetes treatment, say scientists at the John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Their findings were published earlier this month in the online version of Diabetes, one of the journals of the American Diabetes Association.

27 Aug 2009

Waxman seeks to save money on Medicare drugs

The New York Times: "Representative Henry A. Waxman is on a crusade to save Medicare billions of dollars — in a way that he says would end up helping the elderly."

27 Aug 2009

Viral polymerase may provide a new therapeutic target for host-adapted avian influenza

Current research suggests that viral polymerase may provide a new therapeutic target for host-adapted avian influenza. The related report by Gabriel et al, "Spread of Infection and Lymphocyte Depletion in Mice Depends on Polymerase of Influenza Virus" appears in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

26 Aug 2009

Cannabis chemicals halt prostate cancer growth

Active chemicals in cannabis have been shown to halt prostate cancer cell growth according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

26 Aug 2009

Lack of imagination and aversion to commercial risk are the biggest threats to Australia’s medical innovation

Australia could be a world leader in medical innovation but commercial risk aversion and parochialism are holding the industry back, a leading venture capitalist will argue at a public lecture and debate at the University of New South Wales next week (Monday, 31 August).

26 Aug 2009

Japanese health care: Lower costs and nearly no bankruptcy

The New York Times, in a series of ongoing stories about health care delivery in other countries, interviewed John Creighton Campbell, of the University of Michigan and visiting researcher at the Tokyo University Institute of Gerontology who has studied Japan's health care system.

26 Aug 2009

Herbalscience research throws light on causes of allergic rhinitis

Most people might think of nettle as simply a common and aggressive weed that can sting and cause skin irritation. But nettle has also been used for hundreds of years to treat seasonal allergies and other inflammatory diseases, although the precise nature of its anti-inflammatory effect was unknown. Now, scientists with HerbalScience have identified specific bioactives in nettle leaf extracts that inhibit in vitro receptors and enzymes known to be key in generating symptoms of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever.

26 Aug 2009

Consumer Reports covers issues pertaining to the efficacy and safety of prescription and non-prescription drugs

Consumer Reports and ConsumerReportsHealth.org cover issues pertaining to the efficacy and safety of prescription and non-prescription drugs (including natural medicines), mental health, diet and nutrition, food safety, and fitness.

26 Aug 2009

SIRO Clinpharm and CambReg Regulatory Services announces their alliance

SIRO Clinpharm, a leading Indian MNC CRO, and CambReg Regulatory Services, a UK-based pan-European regulatory services provider, announced today the formation of an exclusive strategic alliance to help companies register their products in the European market.

26 Aug 2009

Program to help sex workers to go off the streets

Dallas prostitutes are getting a chance to change their lives, thanks to a collaboration among the Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff's Office, Dallas County Commissioner's Office, courts, Dallas County Health Department, Adult Probation Department, Parkland Hospital and Homeward Bound, which serves as the lead for more than 40 social service and faith-based organizations. The program offers prostitutes a comprehensive, multi-step, in-patient and out-patient treatment program as an alternative to further victimization and continued involvement in the criminal justice system.

26 Aug 2009

Parents' drinking habits influence teenagers to use alcohol and drugs

Compared to teens who have not seen their parent(s) drunk, those who have are more than twice as likely to get drunk in a typical month, and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents, the 14th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

26 Aug 2009

DAS181 inhibits H5N1 Influenza lung virus infection of human lung tissues

NexBio, Inc. announced today the publication "DAS181 Inhibits H5N1 Influenza Lung Virus Infection of Human Lung Tissues" in the September, 2009 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (AAC).

26 Aug 2009

Morria Biopharmaceuticals receives approval to commence its Phase II clinical trial on MRX6

Morria Biopharmaceuticals Plc, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, announced today that it has received written approval to commence its Phase II clinical trial on its leading topical Multi-Functional Anti Inflammatory Drug (MFAID) MRX6.

26 Aug 2009

Urologix announces fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results

Urologix®, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULGX), a medical device company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing Cooled ThermoTherapy™ systems, a durable and effective catheter based in-office alternative to drugs or surgery for patients suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2009 and for fiscal year 2009.

26 Aug 2009