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Researchers engineer nanoparticles that show great promise for MM

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have engineered nanoparticles that show great promise for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.

16 Jun 2012

Study unveils crystal structure of H. pylori's acid receptor

University of Oregon scientists have discovered how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori navigates through the acidic stomach, opening up new possibilities to inactivate its disease-causing ability without using current strategies that often fail or are discontinued because of side effects.

15 Jun 2012

Antibody that blocks programmed cell death benefits cancer patients

A national research collaboration of senior researchers, including a researcher from Moffitt Cancer Center, has found that 20 to 25 percent of "heavily pre-treated" patients with a variety of cancers who enrolled in a clinical trial had "objective and durable" responses to a treatment with BMS-936558, an antibody that specifically blocks programmed cell death 1 (PD-1).

14 Jun 2012

Single protein determines persistence of viral infection

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown a single protein can make the difference between an infection clearing out of the body or persisting for life. The results also show where the defects occur in the immune system without the protein and offer the possibility that targeting this signaling pathway could be beneficial for treatment of persistent viral infections in humans.

14 Jun 2012

Cancers often recur after treatment with single drugs that “target” tumor cells’ genetic pathways

Targeted cancer cell therapies using man-made proteins dramatically shrink many tumors in the first few months of treatment, but new research from Johns Hopkins scientists finds why the cells all too often become resistant, the treatment stops working, and the disease returns.

14 Jun 2012

Innovimmune receives $600,000 NIH grant to develop MIF inhibitors for RA

Specialty drug discovery company, Innovimmune Biotherapeutics, Inc. has been awarded a $600,000 Advanced Technology Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

14 Jun 2012

Investigational Insomnia Medicine from Merck improved patients’ ability to fall and stay asleep according to new phase III Data

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data from two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. In the studies, suvorexant significantly reduced the time it took patients to fall asleep and increased the time that patients stayed asleep as early as the first night and at the three-month time point compared to placebo. The investigational medicine met statistical significance for all primary endpoints except for one measurement at Month 3 in one of the trials. These late-breaking data were presented here today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

13 Jun 2012

Compounds related to curcumin receive U.S. patent

A U.S patent issued today to the University of Rochester and two other entities for the use of compounds related to a popular spice in the fight against cancer, acne, baldness, and other medical conditions.

13 Jun 2012

14-3-3 zeta protein involved in generating chronic pain

Researchers in France and Sweden have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results, which also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain, are reported in The EMBO Journal.

13 Jun 2012

VaxInnate commences VAX161 Phase I trial in pandemic avian influenza

VaxInnate Corporation today announced that enrollment has commenced in a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate VAX161, its novel H5 vaccine candidate in development for the prevention of pandemic avian influenza or bird flu. VaxInnate is a biotechnology firm pioneering breakthrough technology for developing novel vaccines.

13 Jun 2012

Promising preliminary data for axitinib in metastatic kidney cancer

Preliminary study data show that axitinib may be an effective first-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, particularly in patients with high therapeutic drug exposure and a rise in blood pressure during the first 2 weeks of treatment, researchers report.

12 Jun 2012

NMDA antibodies increased in mania patients

Patients with bipolar disorder show increased levels of antibodies to the NR2 subunits of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor during periods of acute mania, researchers report.

12 Jun 2012

CRT, BioInvent partner to identify new therapeutic antibodies in oncology

BioInvent International AB and Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT), the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, announced today that they have entered a collaboration with Queen Mary, University of London, to identify new therapeutic antibodies in oncology.

12 Jun 2012

RGS proteins play an essential role in night blindness

In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified several proteins that help regulate cells' response to light-and the development of night blindness, a rare disease that abolishes the ability to see in dim light.

12 Jun 2012

Investigational drug slows metastatic breast cancer progression

Trastuzumab emtansine significantly delays disease progression compared with standard therapy in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-positive metastatic breast cancer, show study data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

11 Jun 2012

Diabetes linked to increased blood cancer risk

Patients with Type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk for developing lymphoma, suggest findings from a US study.

11 Jun 2012

Polymorphism ’protective in pneumococcal disease’

Patients with invasive pneumococcal disease who have the FcyRIIa-R/R131 polymorphism may have better survival outcomes than those without the genotype, suggest study findings.

11 Jun 2012

FDA accepts Avanir IND for AVP-923 to treat agitation in patients with AD

Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the study of AVP-923, an investigational drug for the treatment of agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Jun 2012

Distinct cancer 'signatures' may help predict response to estrogen-lowering therapy

Decoding the DNA of patients with advanced breast cancer has allowed scientists to identify distinct cancer "signatures" that could help predict which women are most likely to benefit from estrogen-lowering therapy, while sparing others from unnecessary treatment.

11 Jun 2012

Biomarkers predict progressive spinal damage in ankylosing spondylitis

German researchers have discovered five biomarkers that may predict the progression of structural damage in the spine of patients with ankylosing spondylitis who are already at high risk for disease progression.

8 Jun 2012