Pharmaceuticals News and Research

RSS

EMA CHMP recommends approval of AMAG’s ferumoxytol

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a positive opinion for the approval of ferumoxytol, an intravenous (IV) iron therapy, for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in adult patients with chronic kidney disease.

21 Apr 2012

LifeMap Sciences, BioTime to acquire XenneX

BioTime, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary LifeMap Sciences today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to acquire XenneX, Inc. through a merger of XenneX into LifeMap Sciences. The acquisition is expected to close within thirty days.

21 Apr 2012

Positive results from Alnylam’s ALN-PCS Phase I trial on severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today positive results from its Phase I clinical trial of ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

21 Apr 2012

New data from descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis

New data from a descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis show that up to 43 percent of genotype-1a (GT1a) and up to 71 percent of GT1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients achieved sustained viral response (SVR12). SVR12 has been highly correlated with SVR24, which is a recognized indicator of viral cure.

20 Apr 2012

Fingertip Formulary launches iPad apps at AMCP annual meeting

Fingertip Formulary, the leading provider of access and insight into formulary data, announced the launch of their iPad applications today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) annual meeting.

20 Apr 2012

Depomed, Valeant file suit against Watson over generic Glumetza

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc. – Florida, filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Metformin Hydrochloride Extended-release Tablets USP, 1000 mg.

20 Apr 2012

SK Biopharmaceuticals receives FDA Orphan Drug status for carisbamate

SK Biopharmaceuticals, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, announced today that it was granted special status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for carisbamate for the management of patients with infantile spasms (IS), a form of epilepsy associated with increased risk of death or mental retardation.

20 Apr 2012

Clinical study to evaluate high-dose vitamin D supplements for MS

Doctors at several centers across the U.S. are recruiting people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) to determine the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin D supplements for reducing MS disease activity.

20 Apr 2012

Anti-tobacco television advertising helps reduce adult smoking

Anti-tobacco television advertising helps reduce adult smoking, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy -- but some ads may be more effective than others.

20 Apr 2012

Shionogi, Watson introduce authorized generic version of FORTAMET

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has launched an authorized generic version of FORTAMET (metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets) as part of an agreement with Shionogi, Inc.

20 Apr 2012

Inform Genomics completes first phase in oral mucositis risk prediction study

Inform Genomics, Inc., a private company focused on developing novel platforms of personalized medicine products for cancer supportive care and inflammatory diseases, today announced the completion of the first phase of product development to predict a patient's risk of developing oral mucositis after receiving high dose chemotherapy prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

19 Apr 2012

Final data from Santaris’ miravirsen Phase 2a trial on HCV to be presented at ILC 2012

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, will present final data from a Phase 2a trial showing that miravirsen given as a four-week monotherapy treatment provided robust dose-dependent anti-viral activity with a mean reduction of 2 to 3 logs from baseline in HCV RNA (log10 IU/mL) that was sustained well beyond the end of therapy.

19 Apr 2012

U.S. Marshals seize contaminated ultrasound gel of Pharmaceutical Innovations

U.S. Marshals, acting at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, have seized Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel located at Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc. in Newark, N.J., after an FDA analysis found that product samples contained dangerous bacteria. The seizure included all lots of the gel product manufactured between June 2011 and December 2011.

19 Apr 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen expand TMC435, BMS-986094 clinical collaboration agreement

Medivir AB, the research-based speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the development of high-value treatments for infectious diseases, announces that its development partner, Janssen R&D Ireland has broadened its clinical collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

19 Apr 2012

Poor ART adherence, understanding threatening to undermine gains against HIV/AIDS in Nepal

Though HIV prevalence in Nepal has dropped from 0.45 percent in 2005 to 0.3 percent in 2012, according to a new report (.pdf) from the government, "poor understanding of antiretroviral therapy (ART) amongst health officials, clinicians and patients in Nepal could undermine those gains ... and threaten future progress in lowering the number of new infections," PlusNews reports.

19 Apr 2012

Perampanel drug may significantly reduce seizure frequency

A new type of anti-epilepsy medication that selectively targets proteins in the brain that control excitability may significantly reduce seizure frequency in people whose recurrent seizures have been resistant to even the latest medications, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

19 Apr 2012

GSK, Epizyme and Constellation to develop next generation of epigenetic drugs for cancer

Scientific insights that expand on the teachings of Mendel, Watson and Crick, and underpinnings of the Human Genome Project are moving drug companies along the path to development of new medicines based on deeper insights into how factors other than the genetic code influence health and disease. That's the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.

19 Apr 2012

Results from Presidio’s PPI-668 Phase 1a-1b trial on chronic HCV

Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced results today from a Phase 1a-1b clinical trial of PPI-668, a potent, pan-genotypic HCV NS5A inhibitor being developed for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

19 Apr 2012

Fluorescent fish shows oestrogenic chemicals’ impact on human body

Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.

19 Apr 2012

Myomatrix 2012 conference to take place from April 22-24

The nation's leading scientists and clinicians exploring treatment breakthroughs for congenital muscular dystrophy will convene April 22-24 on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, where research by Dean Burkin has led to a potential therapy.

19 Apr 2012