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New insight into Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Armed with a zebrafish model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a library of 1,200 chemicals already approved for human use, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have identified a compound that reverses the loss of muscle structure and function associated with DMD, seemingly by compensating for the loss of a critical protein.

19 Mar 2011

Cortex reports net loss of $0.01 per share for quarter ended December 31, 2010

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported a net loss applicable to common stock of $984,000, or $0.01 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 compared with a net loss of $1,599,000, or $0.02 per share for the corresponding prior year period.

18 Mar 2011

Science journal publishes CYTK preclinical cardiac myosin activation research results

Cytokinetics, Incorporated announced today the publication of preclinical research in the March 18, 2011 issue of the journal Science regarding the activation of cardiac myosin by an investigational drug candidate, omecamtiv mecarbil, and the potential therapeutic role that this novel mechanism may play for patients with systolic heart failure.

18 Mar 2011

Modified mRNA raises hope for safe and effective cancer drugs

Modern gene therapies raise hopes of combating many diseases until now considered terminal. Nowadays, however, the methods are expensive and carry a risk of severe complications.

18 Mar 2011

Anacor Pharma, MMV enter agreement to develop AN3661 for malaria treatment

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has entered into a development agreement with Medicines for Malaria Venture to develop Anacor's compound AN3661 for the treatment of malaria.

18 Mar 2011

Vitamin A may play key role in sperm cell formation and development of central nervous system

In a recently-published study mapping the structure and function of the so-called "orphan" nuclear receptor TR4, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators suggest that Vitamin A may play a more direct role than was previously known in certain physiological functions including sperm cell formation and the development of the central nervous system.

18 Mar 2011

Low calorie diet may delay or prevent aging and neurodegenerative diseases

Cells, which employ a process called autophagy to clean up and reuse protein debris leftover from biological processes, were the original recyclers. A team of scientists from Paul Greengard's Rockefeller University laboratory have linked a molecule that stimulates autophagy with the reduction of one of Alzheimer's disease's major hallmarks, amyloid peptide.

17 Mar 2011

China Botanic first quarter net sales increase 32.1% to $22.6 million

China Botanic Pharmaceutical Inc., a developer, manufacturer and distributor of botanical products, bio-pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicines ("TCM") in China, today announced financial results for the three months ended January 31, 2011, and reaffirmed guidance for its full fiscal year ending October 31, 2011.

17 Mar 2011

Cortex enters agreement with Biovail to regain AMPAKINE assets and rights

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Biovail Laboratories International SRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., to regain the AMPAKINE® assets and rights related to respiratory depression.

16 Mar 2011

Decades-old FDA approved hypertension drug may delay onset and reduce severity of MS

People suffering from multiple sclerosis may benefit if patent-pending research conducted at Purdue University shows that a decades-old drug approved by the FDA to treat hypertension also delays the onset and reduces the severity of MS symptoms.

16 Mar 2011

Plexxikon selects Clinipace to manage 4 clinical trials for RA treatment

Clinipace Worldwide, a global digital clinical research organization, announced today that Plexxikon Inc., a leader in the structure-guided discovery and development of novel small molecule pharmaceuticals to treat human disease, has selected Clinipace to manage all aspects of four clinical trials comprising a Phase 1 healthy volunteer study, a Phase 1b rheumatoid arthritis study, and two phase 2 oncology studies.

16 Mar 2011

Bruker launches GC CARE gas chromatography columns

At Pittcon 2011, Bruker has significantly expanded its gas chromatography solutions with the release of Bruker GC CARE gas chromatography columns.

16 Mar 2011

iTherX commences ITX-5061 Phase 1b study in patients with HCV

iTherX, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing a new class of therapies for hepatitis C, today announced that it has commenced patient recruitment in an open-label, proof-of-concept Phase 1b study of its lead compound ITX-5061 in liver transplant patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

16 Mar 2011

Anavex to commence phase I clinical trial in Alzheimer’s disease

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex”) (OTCBB: AVXL) has announced that its clinical trial application (CTA) for ANAVEX 2-73, the company’s lead compound for Alzheimer’s disease, has been approved by the German regulatory health authority, BfArM. The Phase I trial of ANAVEX 2-73, which includes testing in healthy human volunteers, will commence immediately. In this Phase I program Anavex will assess the safety, maximally tolerated dose, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ANAVEX 2-73.

15 Mar 2011

Medidata fourth quarter net revenue is $47.4 million for 2010

Medidata Solutions, a leading global provider of SaaS-based clinical technology solutions that enhance the efficiency of clinical development, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter 2010 and full year ended December 31, 2010, as well as provided financial guidance for the first quarter and full year 2011.

15 Mar 2011

InhibOx and COSMIC discoveries align to deliver full service drug discovery offering

InhibOx Ltd (spin-out of Oxford, UK) and the COSMIC Discoveries (the independent service arm of the Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad, India) today announce that they have formed a close strategic partnership to deliver a full service drug discovery service offering, incorporating expert computational, medicinal and synthetic chemistry design capabilities. Both commercial organizations, linked to world-leading academic institutes, have built their services on advanced proprietary science and technology. Together, they offer unique capabilities that are able to address the most demanding drug discovery challenges on behalf of biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

15 Mar 2011

USPTO grants second patent to Angiochem's EPiC drugs

Angiochem, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, today announced that its second patent has been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. Patent number 7,902,156, is entitled "Aprotinin Polypeptides for Transporting a Compound Across the Blood-Brain Barrier".

15 Mar 2011

Omthera to fund Epanova Phase 3 development with $33.9 million in Series B funding

Omthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, announced today that it has raised $33.9 million in a Series B funding round, led by new investor, New Enterprise Associates ("NEA"), one of the world's leading venture capital firms. Existing investor, Sofinnova Partners, also participated in the financing.

14 Mar 2011

Omthera commences dosing in pivotal Epanova Phase III EVOLVE trial in patients with very high triglycerides

Omthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held emerging specialty pharmaceuticals company, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in its pivotal Phase III EVOLVE (EpanoVa fOr Lowering Very high triglyceridEs) trial for Epanova™, the Company's lead compound for the treatment of patients with very high triglycerides. Epanova is an Omega-3 fatty acid containing a novel formulation of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

14 Mar 2011

Anacor completes enrollment in AN2728 Phase 2b trial in psoriasis

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2b trial of AN2728, a topical anti-inflammatory product candidate for the treatment of psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects approximately 7.5 million people in the United States and over 100 million people worldwide.

14 Mar 2011