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Discovery of mechanism that allows hepatitis C virus to remain in the body for decades

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that the virus blocks the actions of a specific ion channel in the cell membrane that would usually trigger apoptosis - the cell's self-destruct programme - and in doing so, has evolved another way of protecting itself from being eliminated from the body.

19 Aug 2009

Orient Pharma granted commercialization rights for a drug candidate by DURECT

DURECT Corporation today announced that it has signed a development and license agreement with Orient Pharma Co., Ltd., a diversified multinational pharmaceutical, healthcare and consumer products company with headquarters in Taiwan, under which DURECT has granted to Orient Pharma development and commercialization rights in selected Asian and South Pacific countries to a drug candidate based on DURECT's ORADUR(R) Technology and one specified active pharmaceutical ingredient for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

19 Aug 2009

Compete rates Healthgrades.com number one doctor-ratings web site

HealthGrades.com is the #1 doctor-ratings Web site – by an enormous margin – according to an analysis of Web traffic by Compete, a TNS Media company. HealthGrades.com, long known for its hospital-quality ratings, is the public Web site of the leading healthcare ratings company, featuring quality reports and ratings of every practicing doctor, hospital and nursing home in the country.

19 Aug 2009

Medicare Part D premiums to rise slightly

Medicare Part D drug premiums are expected to increase slightly while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services details which states have the highest rates of prescription drug use.

19 Aug 2009

Efforts to create treatment guidelines are often complicated

The development of treatment guidelines for illnesses such as diabetes is a complicated process.

19 Aug 2009

Low-dose estrogen effective for metastatic breast cancer

When estrogen-lowering drugs no longer control metastatic breast cancer, the opposite strategy might work. Raising estrogen levels benefited 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-estrogen treatment, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

19 Aug 2009

Xceleron to acquire an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry instrument under agreement with GlaxoSmithKline

XCELERON, a leader in the field of ultra-sensitive bioanalytical studies supporting clinical research, today announced that it has signed a second Master Service Agreement with GlaxoSmithKline. Under the terms of this agreement, Xceleron will provide analytical support to GlaxoSmithKline and its affiliated research organizations. As part of the deal, Xceleron will increase capacity through the acquisition of an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) instrument.

19 Aug 2009

Custom-tailored anti-cancer drugs

Cancer remains a deadly threat despite the best efforts of science. New hopes were raised a few years ago with the discovery that the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells could be thwarted by blocking the action of proteasomes. Biochemists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have illuminated a reaction pathway that does just that, in collaboration with researchers from Nereus Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, California. In the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, they report insights that could potentially lead to the development of custom-tailored anti-cancer drugs.

19 Aug 2009

Medical fraud creates unknown amount of waste

Lawmakers seek a reduction in the amount of money lost each year to medical fraud. Meanwhile, two Miami doctors are convicted of Medicare fraud.

19 Aug 2009

Bloomberg reports on HIV-treatment failure in China; New York Times examines ARV shortage in Romania

An analysis of 48,785 HIV-positive patients enrolled in China's National Free Antiretroviral Treatment Program over a five-year period revealed that "[h]alf of China's AIDS patients stopped responding to treatment over five years and didn't have access to the back-up drugs available in developed nations," according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study, Bloomberg reports.

19 Aug 2009

SFDA approves China Pharma Holdings' generic Omeprazole Sodium injection

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., which develops, manufactures, and markets specialty pharmaceutical products in China, today announced that it has received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA) for the production of generic Omeprazole Sodium injections.

19 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Boehner blasts PhRMA on deal with White House

KHN reports that Minority Leader John Boehner is taking issue with "the drug industry's decision to agree to $80 billion in concessions to the White House."

19 Aug 2009

Amarex joins OmniComm Systems' CRO Preferred Program

OmniComm Systems, Inc., a leader in integrated electronic data capture (EDC) solutions for clinical trials, announced today that it has been selected by Amarex, a Mid-Atlantic based Contract Research Organization (CRO) to provide eClinical solutions for an upcoming Phase III trial investigating the use of a medical device for wound healing.

19 Aug 2009

Beveragette Ventures launches all-natural beverage to minimize common PMS and menopause symptoms

Seattle-based, women-owned, Beveragette Ventures LLC, developers of the innovative, wellness beverage line, GEM, announced today the launch of Keep it Cool(TM), an all-natural, low-calorie, peach-pineapple flavored beverage, with clinically proven ingredients to minimize the many symptoms of menopause; hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irritability and sleeplessness.

19 Aug 2009

Two American Oriental Bioengineering products bag China's Top Branded Drugs of 2009 award

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. today announced that two of AOBO's branded products, Jinji Capsules and Boke Nasal Spray, were awarded the designation of "China's Top Branded Drugs of 2009" at an award ceremony held in Shanghai on August 11, 2009.

19 Aug 2009

George Rehm and David Mahoney joins Adamas' Board of Directors

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has closed a $40 million Series D round of funding led by aeris CAPITAL AG and DAG Ventures. Earlier investors MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures and Northgate Capital also participated in the round. In conjunction with the financing, the company announced the election of George M. Rehm, Managing Partner of aeris CAPITAL AG, and David L. Mahoney, a private equity investor, to the company's Board of Directors.

19 Aug 2009

Gloucester Pharma announces FDA Advisory Committee Meeting to discuss Romidepsin NDA

Gloucester Pharmaceuticals will discuss the New Drug Application for romidepsin to treat patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) at the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) meeting on September 2, 2009.

18 Aug 2009

Disrupting the DNA-repair process

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have uncovered the mechanism behind a promising new approach to cancer treatment: damaging cancer cells' DNA with potent drugs while simultaneously preventing the cells from repairing themselves.

18 Aug 2009

New colon cancer target

New research led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a drug target that suggests a potent way to kill colon cancers that resist current drugs aimed at blocking a molecule found on the surface of cells.

18 Aug 2009