Pharmaceuticals News and Research

RSS

EMA acceptance of peginesatide MAA triggers $5M milestone payment to Affymax

Affymax, Inc. today announced that it will receive a $5 million development milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company as part of the companies' exclusive global agreement to develop and commercialize peginesatide.

27 Feb 2012

FDA issues complete response letter for Watson's progesterone vaginal gel 8% NDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Columbia Laboratories, Inc. today confirmed that, as expected, Watson has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its New Drug Application (NDA 22-139) for progesterone vaginal gel 8% for use in the reduction of risk of preterm birth in women with a singleton gestation and a short uterine cervical length in the mid-trimester of pregnancy.

27 Feb 2012

Savient fourth quarter net loss increases to $30.9 million

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2011, which reflect the Company's continuing investment in the U.S. launch of KRYSTEXXA(pegloticase). Savient ended the quarter with approximately $170 million in cash and short-term investments, a decrease of $33 million for the quarter.

27 Feb 2012

Aesculap, Osseon partner to distribute VCF treatment devices

Osseon Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the company has entered into an International Distribution Agreement with Aesculap AG to distribute its vertebral compression fracture (VCF) treatment devices, including its new CE-Mark approved device – Osseoflex SB (steerable balloon) in select regions of Europe and Asia.

From B. Braun Melsungen AG 27 Feb 2012

Two-target approach may effectively stop pancreatic cancer metastasis

Simultaneous targeting of two different molecules in cancer is an effective way to shrink tumors, block invasion, and stop metastasis, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found—work that may improve the effectiveness of combination treatments that include drugs like Avastin.

27 Feb 2012

The Lancet publishes Takeda's TAK-875 Phase 2 data on type 2 diabetes

Phase 2 clinical data of an investigational type 2 diabetes therapy, TAK-875 of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, were published online first in The Lancet.

27 Feb 2012

Helmholtz Association grant for research on diseases caused by protein misfolding

Professor Erich Wanker of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and of the Excellence Cluster Neurocure is to receive EUR 675 000 in funding from the Helmholtz Association over the next two years. The grant shall be used to accelerate the search for active agents to treat diseases that are caused by protein misfolding. These include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

24 Feb 2012

UCSF: 1-2 punch blocks tumor growth, invasion and metastasis

Simultaneous targeting of two different molecules in cancer is an effective way to shrink tumors, block invasion, and stop metastasis, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found-work that may improve the effectiveness of combination treatments that include drugs like Avastin.

24 Feb 2012

Evolutionary forces encourage diversity in the active surfaces of venomous toxins

For snakes, spiders, and other venomous creatures, the "business end," or active part, of a toxin is the area on the surface of a protein that is most likely to undergo rapid evolution in response to environmental constraints, say researchers from Ben Gurion University in Israel.

24 Feb 2012

Certara acquires Simcyp

Simcyp Limited announces its acquisition by Certara, a leading provider of drug discovery and development software and scientific consulting services.

24 Feb 2012

Rhei granted marketing approval for MuGard in China

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, diabetes, and RNAi, announced that its MuGard partner in China, Rhei Pharmaceuticals HK Ltd., received regulatory and marketing approval for MuGard in China from the State Food and Drug Administration, or SFDA, to treat oral mucositis in cancer patients.

24 Feb 2012

Endo fourth quarter total revenues increase 57% to $803.4 million

Endo Pharmaceuticals today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011.

24 Feb 2012

Biofund, Quintiles to expand clinical development services in Russia

Russian Venture Company Biofund, a Russian-based investment firm, and Quintiles, the world's leading biopharmaceutical services company, today announced a definitive agreement to support expansion of clinical development services within the Russian Federation, the world's ninth most populous country.

24 Feb 2012

Forest Laboratories' Colobreathe dry powder inhaler receives EMA approval

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, today announced that it has been granted European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval to market Colobreathe dry powder colistimethate sodium for inhalation for treating cystic fibrosis patients aged 6 years and older with chronic lung infection caused by P. aeruginosa.

24 Feb 2012

Workshop increases pharmacy and medical students' empathy

One year ago, a landmark study led by Mohammadreza Hojat, Ph.D., research professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Thomas Jefferson University, quantified a relationship between physicians' empathy and their patients' positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that a physician's empathy is an important factor associated with clinical competence.

24 Feb 2012

Impax announces FDA acceptance of NDA filing for IPX066

Impax Pharmaceuticals, the branded products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for IPX066 for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) submitted to the Agency on December 21, 2011.

23 Feb 2012

MRSA strain in food animals concerns experts

The strain of staph, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA CC398, most often infects farm workers who come in contact with infected pigs, turkeys, or cows. Now the strain of bacteria has been found in about half of meat samples taken throughout the country. The researchers say that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in livestock used for food is to blame for the infection's drug resistance.

23 Feb 2012

FDA, pharmaceutical companies announce solution to cancer drug shortage

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and several pharmaceutical companies said Tuesday they have reached agreements to alleviate shortages for the drugs methotrexate and Doxil. Methotrexate is used to treat children with a form of leukemia and others with tumors of the breast and lungs. Doxil is used to treat ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.

23 Feb 2012

DIRECT project to focus on stratification of patients with type 2 diabetes

Gathering experts from 21 European academic institutions and key players of the pharmaceutical industry, the DIRECT project (DIabetes REsearch for patient straTification) will focus on the stratification of patients with type 2 diabetes in order to develop personalized treatments, that would therefore be more efficient.

23 Feb 2012

Medivir reports net sales of SEK 698.6M for fiscal 2011

Today, Medivir AB, a research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, is publishing its Interim Report for the period 1 January - 31 December and its operational report for the fourth quarter of 2011.

23 Feb 2012