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Avermectin family of drugs shows promise against TB

A well-established family of drugs used to treat parasitic diseases is showing surprising potential as a therapy for tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from University of British Columbia microbiologists.

26 Nov 2012

Interim GALAXY Phase 2b lung cancer study results to be presented at APLCC 2012

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. announced today that interim results of the Phase 2b portion of the GALAXY program will be presented on November 28, 2012 at 12:15 p.m. (JST) during the "Highlights of Oral Presentations" session at the Fifth Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2012) in Fukuoka City, Japan.

26 Nov 2012

Alnylam advances Tuschl II patent estate through the USPTO

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued Notices of Allowance for three patent applications from the company's exclusively held Tuschl II patent estate.

26 Nov 2012

Inovio's SynCon DNA vaccine effective at inducing CD8+ T cell responses specific to CMV

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that testing of multiple synthetic vaccine constructs for cytomegalovirus (CMV) induced robust T cells in mice, demonstrating the potential for a SynCon DNA vaccine to treat this virus that causes infant death and congenital abnormalities, is associated with cerebral palsy and brain tumors, and is the most common viral infection in organ transplant recipients. CMV is also associated with numerous inflammatory diseases and cancers, and is implicated in hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

26 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 26, 2012

Today's headlines include a range of stories regarding the future of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations as well as reports about the strategies that might now be used by health law opponents.

26 Nov 2012

AMITIZA for treatment of chronic constipation now available in Japan

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Abbott today announced the availability of AMITIZA (lubiprostone) in Japan, a prescription medicine for the treatment of chronic constipation not caused by organic diseases. AMITIZA was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan in June.

26 Nov 2012

mRNA vaccines offer protection against influenza A virus infections in various animal models

CureVac GmbH, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of therapies and vaccines based on mRNA, and the German Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Germany, today announced that mRNA vaccines (RNActive) based on the company's RNA technology platform have the potential to provide effective protection against infectious diseases.

26 Nov 2012

Altered cognition, attitudes mostly state related in bipolar disorder

Altered cognitive processes and attitudes in patients with bipolar disorder are mostly associated with symptomatology, say researchers.

23 Nov 2012

Lymphopenia driven diseases and the orphan drug industry: an interview with Damian Marron, CEO of Cytheris

Lymphopenia is when you lack the T cells of your immune system. T cells are very important for controlling infection. Probably the most known cause of lymphopenia is HIV.

23 Nov 2012

Single dose of Medicago's vaccine could offer cross-protection against flu

Researchers recently found that a single dose of a vaccine being developed by Medicago, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, could protect against not only the avian influenza (H5N1) strain it was designed for, but also another H5N1 strain and a strain of a different flu subtype, called H2N2.

22 Nov 2012

Microbiologists discover how the spread of antibiotic resistance works in pneumococcus

Antibiotic resistance results from bacteria's uncanny ability to morph and adapt, outwitting pharmaceuticals that are supposed to kill them. But exactly how the bacteria acquire and spread that resistance inside individuals carrying them is not well-established for most bacterial organisms.

22 Nov 2012

Iridoid synthase can make powerful chemicals from catnip to vinblastine

Scientists have discovered an enzyme used in nature to make powerful chemicals from catnip to a cancer drug, vinblastine. The discovery opens up the prospect of producing these chemicals cheaply and efficiently.

22 Nov 2012

FDA accepts MAP Pharmaceuticals’ resubmission of NDA for LEVADEX

MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its New Drug Application (NDA) resubmission for LEVADEX orally inhaled migraine drug for the potential acute treatment of migraine in adults has been accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

22 Nov 2012

UPR pathway helps tumor cells escape apoptosis during development of lymphoma

A pathway called the "Unfolded Protein Response," or UPR, a cell's way of responding to unfolded and misfolded proteins, helps tumor cells escape programmed cell death during the development of lymphoma.

21 Nov 2012

Rexahn's quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds receive U.S. patent

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class oncology therapeutics, today announced that it has been issued a United States patent (No. 8,314,100), titled "1-[6,7-substituted alkoxyquinoxalinyl) aminocarbonyl]-4-(hetero) arylpiperazine derivatives."

21 Nov 2012

Regorafenib able to control resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor

A new targeted drug demonstrated its ability to control metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor, an uncommon and life-threatening form of sarcoma, after the disease had become resistant to all existing therapies, report investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who led the worldwide clinical trial.

21 Nov 2012

Health care executives accused of insider-trading scheme

Secrets passed at recreational basketball games, code words and calls on a pay phone outside a Virginia K-Mart marked what prosecutors say was a five-year insider-trading scheme fueled by corporate secrets leaked by health care executives. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey have accused six men -- including former executives at pharmaceutical company Celgene Corp. and medical-technology firm Stryker Corp. and some of their high-school friends -- of passing corporate secrets about their companies and using that information to make profitable trades.

21 Nov 2012

Questions continue over state, FDA oversight of specialty pharmacies

Several news outlets analyze the hearings last week into the meningitis outbreak resulting from a New England compounding pharmacy.

21 Nov 2012

Acetylon's ective histone deacetylase inhibitors to be showcased at 54th ASH annual meeting

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leader in targeted epigenetic drug discovery and development for enhanced therapeutic outcomes, today announced that its selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors will be featured in five posters and one oral presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), taking place December 8-11, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia.

21 Nov 2012

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

21 Nov 2012