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Extended steroid treatment fails to reduce pediatric nephrotic relapse

Study findings indicate that extending initial prednisolone treatment durations in patients with pediatric nephrotic syndrome from 3 to 6 months without increasing the overall dose does not reduce the number of relapses.

22 Dec 2012

BCPR, Orexigen partner to accelerate patient enrollment for Contrave obesity Light Study

Blue Chip Patient Recruitment, a division of Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, a full-service integrated marketing agency, has successfully partnered with Orexigen Therapeutics to accelerate patient enrollment of The Light Study, Orexigen's cardiovascular outcomes trial evaluating Contrave (naltrexone sustained release (SR)/bupropion SR).

21 Dec 2012

Gene therapy shows promise for severe coronary artery disease

Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels.

21 Dec 2012

Cubist seeks FDA sNDA approval for ENTEREG to accelerate GI recovery

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) today announced that it has submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting approval for the use of ENTEREG® (alvimopan) to accelerate GI recovery following any surgery that includes a bowel resection with primary anastomosis; expanded from the current indication in patients requiring surgery for colorectal disease.

21 Dec 2012

New low-cost combined therapy shows promise against malaria

Malaria brings misery and death to millions in the developing world each year, and fighting it keeps medical researchers up at night because the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of the disease, has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Resistance has cut short the useful life of nearly every therapy tried so far, experts say.

21 Dec 2012

Androgen deprivation therapies may have adverse effects in men with precancers

The use of androgen deprivation therapies to prevent precancerous prostate abnormalities developing into aggressive prostate cancer may have adverse effects in men with precancers with specific genetic alterations, according to data from a preclinical study recently published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

21 Dec 2012

Pergamum’s DPK-060 Phase II trial on acute external otitis meets primary end-point

Pergamum AB announced today that the primary end-point was met in the randomized Phase II trial of DPK-060 for treatment of acute external otitis.

21 Dec 2012

Antibiotic amoxicillin ineffective for treating cough according to European trial

The antibiotic amoxicillin, that doctors typically prescribe for common lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) such as cough and bronchitis, is no more effective at relieving symptoms than the use of no medication, even in older patients. The findings from the largest randomised placebo controlled trial of antibiotics for acute uncomplicated LRTI to date are published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

20 Dec 2012

Positive top-line results from Idera’s IMO-3100 Phase 2a trial on plaque psoriasis

Idera Pharmaceuticals today announced that 48% of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (12 of 25) treated with IMO-3100, a selective antagonist of Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) 7 and 9, demonstrated improvements in Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores of 35% to 90% from baseline at the completion of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a clinical trial of two dose levels of IMO-3100 administered for four weeks, with a four-week follow-up period.

20 Dec 2012

Top-line results from Medivir's simeprevir phase III trials on genotype 1 HCV infection

Medivir AB today announced top-line results from three pivotal phase III trials examining the one pill, once-daily, investigational protease inhibitor, simeprevir (TMC435), administered with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

20 Dec 2012

US FDA approves raxibacumab for treating inhalational anthrax

The US Food and Drug Administration have approved the monoclonal antibody raxibacumab for treatment of inhalational anthrax, caused by breathing in spores of Bacillus anthracis.

19 Dec 2012

‘Sensory’ block promise for postop knee pain

Using adductor canal block rather than femoral nerve block for analgesia after knee surgery could minimize muscle weakness and risk for falls, a study in Anesthesiology suggests.

19 Dec 2012

EMD Serono's L-BLP25 Phase III NSCLC trial does not meet primary endpoint

EMD Serono, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that the Phase III STARTa trial of its investigational product L-BLP25 (formerly referred to as Stimuvax) in patients with unresectable, locally advanced stage IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not meet its primary endpoint to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS).

19 Dec 2012

Study: Half of the benefit of taking sleeping pills comes from the placebo effect

Half of the benefit of taking sleeping pills comes from the placebo effect, according to a major new study published in the British Medical Journal.

19 Dec 2012

Study investigates biology of emotional sharing

Therapists have long known that people who've had a traumatic experience feel the need to talk about what they've been through. This process is called 'social sharing' and can take place for days, weeks, months or years after the event.

19 Dec 2012

HAL Allergy completes enrollment in SUBLIVAC FIX Phleum pratense Phase II trial

HAL Allergy B.V. today announced that it has successfully completed patient enrollment in its Phase II trial with SUBLIVAC FIX Phleum pratense.

19 Dec 2012

Pharmalink commences Nefecon Phase IIb study in primary IgA nephropathy

Pharmalink AB, a Swedish specialty pharma company, today announces it has initiated a Phase IIb study with Nefecon (Nefigan) in patients with primary IgA nephropathy at risk of developing end-stage renal disease.

18 Dec 2012

Abiraterone improves outcomes for prostate cancer prior to chemo

Treatment with abiraterone acetate, an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor, may benefit patients with progressive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have not yet undergone chemotherapy, report researchers.

17 Dec 2012

Lapatinib benefits found for HER2-positive early-stage patients

Women with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who are unable to use trastuzumab may benefit from adjuvant lapatinib treatment, suggest phase III trial findings published in Lancet Oncology.

17 Dec 2012

Lexicon receives FDA Fast Track status for development of LX1033 for irritable bowel syndrome

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced today that it has received "Fast Track" status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the development of LX1033, an orally-delivered small molecule drug candidate for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-d).

17 Dec 2012