Statin News and Research

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Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or even blocking them.

UMPIRE trial of Red Heart Pill launched to combat cardiovascular problems

Researchers will be exploring whether a new, very low cost, one-a-day combined 'polypill' could reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems across the world, in a major new international trial that launches today.

18 May 2010

Polypill to be tested in new heart disease trial

17 May 2010

Statins may play role in lowering risk of clot-related diseases: Study

Individuals at risk for clot-related diseases may benefit from taking common cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut.

17 May 2010

Amarin reports cash balance of $44 million for first-quarter 2010

Amarin Corporation plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cardiovascular disease, today reported selected financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010 and provided a progress update of the Company's ANCHOR and MARINE trials, the two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials of its lead product candidate AMR101 for treating elevated triglyceride levels.

13 May 2010

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals provides update on REGN727, REGN475 antibody product candidates

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) provided an update on two antibody product candidates in its pipeline and scheduled its first Investor Day to be held in New York City on July 15, 2010. Both product candidates, REGN727 (SAR236553) and, REGN475 (SAR164877) are being developed with sanofi-aventis under a global, strategic collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize fully human antibodies.

13 May 2010

Optivia Biotechnology launches OptiDDI Suite for assessing transporter-related DDIs

Optivia Biotechnology Inc., a leading provider of in vitro transporter assay services, today announced the launch of the OptiDDITM Suite, a novel assay panel that assesses the most clinically significant transporter-related drug-drug interactions (DDIs), as identified by the International Transporter Consortium (ITC) in its report "Membrane Transporters in Drug Development" (Nature Reviews-Drug Discovery, March 2010).

12 May 2010

SNP biomarker could reduce guesswork associated with prescribing drugs

A tiny gene mutation in human liver cells could one day influence how high or low a dose patients need of about half of the clinically used drugs on the market, new research suggests.

11 May 2010

Iowa researcher uses new technique to verify brain's master switch

The protein that has long been suspected by scientists of being the master switch allowing brains to function has now been verified by an Iowa State University researcher.

10 May 2010

Statins may improve longevity of hip replacement surgery

The use of statins - drugs commonly prescribed to help lower cholesterol levels - may play an important role in decreasing complications among patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR), according to a study published in the May 2010 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

4 May 2010

Celera reports net loss of $12.5M for first-quarter 2010

Celera Corporation today reported net revenues of $31.4 million for the first quarter of 2010 that ended March 27, 2010, compared to $45.7 million in the prior year quarter. For the first quarter of 2010, Celera reported a net loss $12.5 million, or $0.15 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million, or $0.02 per share, for the prior year quarter.

28 Apr 2010

Expensive generic drugs cost Australia billions

Consumers and the Australian Government are paying up to 10 times more for generic cholesterol-lowering drugs compared to the United Kingdom, according to research carried out by health economists at the University of Sydney.

27 Apr 2010

Karo Bio reports net loss of MSEK 40.5 for January–March 2010

KARO BIO'S PROJECTS ARE PROGRESSING

22 Apr 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered why statins -- popular drugs that lower cholesterol and appear to protect against colorectal cancer development -- work for some people, but not for all.

22 Apr 2010

SpectraCell Laboratories introduces apolipoprotein E genotyping

Effective immediately, SpectraCell Laboratories now offers apolipoprotein E genotyping. This test determines a person's genetic risk for heart disease associated with the commonly studied gene called apoE, which is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood).

22 Apr 2010

Gene test predicts statins' effectiveness in reducing risk of colorectal cancer

A genetic test can help determine in which patients cholesterol-lowering statin drugs might have the most benefit in also reducing the risk of colorectal cancer, a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

21 Apr 2010

Statin use may increase risk of developing benign colorectal tumors: APC trial

Statins did not protect patients against colorectal adenomas, which are benign precursors of colorectal cancer, according to results of a secondary analysis of the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib trial. In a population at high-risk for developing these lesions, results of this analysis suggested statin use may increase the risk of developing benign colorectal tumors.

20 Apr 2010

Results of research study on the expression of KIF6 in mouse model

Celera Corporation and its collaborators at The University of Washington, WA, and Indiana University, IN, today announced the presentation of data from a research study that investigated the expression of KIF6 in a mouse Celera Corporation model. A key finding was that KIF6 was specifically expressed in macrophages and chondrocytes in mouse atherosclerotic lesions, but not in normal arteries.

12 Apr 2010

Are Australians popping too many pills?

These reports have emerged from a Daily Telegraph investigation. Australian Medical Association vice president, GP and former Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee member Dr Steve Hambleton said the resons for these trends may include the increasing population of the aged, newer medicines as well as a rise in chronic lifestyle ailments like diabetes and high blood pressure.

5 Apr 2010

Higher levels of CRP associated with brain changes: Study

New research shows that a high level of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the blood, is associated with brain changes that are linked to problems with executive thinking skills. The study is published in the March 30, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

30 Mar 2010

Pravastatin benefits elderly carriers of KIF6 gene variant with prior vascular disease

Celera Corporation today announced the publication of data reporting that elderly (over age 70) carriers of the KIF6 gene variant with prior vascular disease received significant benefit from pravastatin (Pravachol®) therapy. Previous research has shown that a variant of the KIF6 gene, a member of the molecular motor protein kinesin family, is associated with up to a 55% increased risk of primary and recurrent coronary heart disease (CHD) events in the placebo arms of the clinical trials, and that this increased risk is virtually eliminated with statin therapy.

26 Mar 2010