Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

Living Cell Technologies xenoimplants first patients in Argentina trial

Living Cell Technologies Limited has implanted the first two patients taking part in a Phase II DIABECELL® clinical trial in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

22 Aug 2011

FDA clears Inhibikase IkT-001 Phase II trial to treat JCV infection in multiple sclerosis patients

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc., an emerging leader in infectious disease, announced today that it has received FDA clearance to commence a Phase II proof-of-concept trial for its lead compound IkT-001. IkT-001, a host-directed kinase inhibitor, is intended to clear JC polyomavirus (JCV) infection, the causative agent of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Aug 2011

Researchers clarify role of two proteins key to T-cell development

In the latest issue of Nature, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania clarify the role of two proteins key to T-cell development.

9 Aug 2011

Pre-emptive insulin therapy reduces risk of diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation

Up to 30 percent of all patients develop diabetes mellitus within the first year after a kidney transplantation. This high rate could soon fall rapidly. A Medical University of Vienna research team at Vienna General Hospital's University Department of Internal Medicine III has discovered in the context of a study that pre-emptive insulin therapy drastically reduces this rate.

8 Aug 2011

Microencapsulated cell transplant can help treat chronic illnesses more effectively

Chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's could be treated more effectively in the future, by means of the transplant of microencapsulated cells. The researcher from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Dr Ainhoa Murua has presented a number of proposals for optimising this technique.

21 Jul 2011

Serum-free media with growth factors can improve MSCs' cell fate regulation

Mensenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotent cells identified in bone marrow and other tissues, have been shown to be therapeutically effective in the immunosuppression of T-cells, the regeneration of blood vessels, assisting in skin wound healing, and suppressing chronic airway inflammation in some asthma cases.

30 Jun 2011

Flamel, Digna Biotech enter joint development agreement for multiple products

Flamel Technologies SA and Digna Biotech SL today announced that the two companies have entered into a joint development agreement for the pre-clinical and clinical development of multiple products.

27 Jun 2011

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs reduce risk of diabetes from RA, psoriasis

In a study that included nearly 14,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, the use of certain disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs was found to lower the risk of diabetes, according to a study in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA.

22 Jun 2011

Positive results from LCP-Tacro Phase III trial in stable kidney transplant recipients

LifeCycle Pharma A/S today reported that the company's lead product candidate, LCP-Tacro, successfully demonstrated non-inferiority compared to tacrolimus in its Phase III trial, Study 3001.

21 Jun 2011

FDA approves NULOJIX

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved NULOJIX, the first selective T-cell costimulation blocker indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a kidney transplant, in combination with basiliximab induction, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and corticosteroids.

18 Jun 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb receives FDA approval for Nulojix to prevent organ rejection after kidney transplant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nulojix to prevent acute rejection in adult patients who have had a kidney transplant. The drug is approved for use with other immunosuppressants -- specifically basiliximab, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids.

16 Jun 2011

Article reports on bright future and enormous need for stem cell therapeutics

An article in the current issue of Technology & Innovation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors - reports on the bright future and enormous need for stem cell therapeutics that may offer hope for those suffering from debilitating and deadly diseases.

9 Jun 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease continues to be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States accounting for nearly 50% of all liver transplants. Recurrence is universal in patients viremic at the time of transplantation with histological hepatitis developing in the majority of patients. Although the natural history of recurrent HCV is difficult to predict, it is widely accepted that cirrhosis from recurrent HCV occurs in up to 30% of patients within five years of transplantation.

8 Jun 2011

New positive Cimzia phase IIIb study data on rheumatoid arthritis presented at EULAR meeting

UCB today announced data which showed that the addition of Cimzia to current therapy was associated with a rapid and consistent clinical response in a diverse group of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

30 May 2011

Alemtuzumab as effective as other more expensive immune suppressants for kidney transplants

In the first head-to-head comparison of the three most common drugs used at the time of a kidney transplant to prevent organ rejection, researchers found that the least expensive drug - at one-half to one-fifth the price - is as safe and effective as the other two, according to a paper published by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in the May 19, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 May 2011

SYMBICORT long-term comparative study data in African American asthma patients presented at ATS 2011

AstraZeneca today announced results from a long-term study comparing SYMBICORT Inhalation Aerosol 160/4.5 mcg with budesonide pressurized metered-dose inhaler 160 mcg in self-reported African American patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma.

17 May 2011

Journal of Rheumatology publishes positive results from Cimzia Phase III trial in RA

UCB announced today results from a post hoc analysis of the RAPID 1 study published in the Journal of Rheumatology. The results suggest moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with Cimzia, the only approved PEGylated anti-TNF, together with methotrexate, achieved a rapid response associated with improved long-term outcomes one year after treatment began.

11 May 2011

Two DIFICID Phase 3 study data in C. difficile presented at ECCMID conference

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of two abstracts at the 21st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases conference in Milan, Italy highlighting additional analyses of the Phase 3 data of DIFICID for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection.

11 May 2011

Diabetes cell implant company approved for Argentina clinical trial

Living Cell Technologies Limited, a company pioneering the development of a cell implant to treat diabetes, has obtained approval to commence a Phase II DIABECELL clinical trial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, DIABECELL's third jurisdiction to date which has approved human trials. Up to eight adult patients with Type 1 diabetes, including those with unstable diabetes and severe hypoglycaemia, will each receive two implants of DIABECELL, three months apart with a dose seeking component. The trial is expected to begin in the second half of this year.

3 May 2011

Hospital patients with AUDs are at increased risk of developing HAIs: Study

Hospital patients with alcohol use disorders are at an increased risk of developing healthcare-associated infections, which affect 1.7 million patients annually in the United States. HAIs are infections that patients acquire during their hospitalization and that were not present at the time of admission to the hospital.

16 Apr 2011