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GHIT Fund announces new grants to tackle malaria, chagas disease and dengue

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, a new public health partnership that is bringing Japanese know-how and investment to the global fight against infectious diseases, today announced seven grant investments totaling US$15.3 million to speed the development of promising drugs and vaccines to battle three insect-borne diseases-malaria, dengue and Chagas disease.

16 Sep 2014

Amgen announces phase 3 ivabradine data for treatment of chronic HF

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) today announced data from the Phase 3 SHIFT (Systolic Heart failure treatment with the If inhibitor ivabradine Trial) study evaluating ivabradine in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) were presented at the 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) in Las Vegas.

15 Sep 2014

Three-year safety data from INTREPID study of Oraya Therapy™ for wet age-related macular degeneration results announced

Oraya Therapeutics Inc. announced that full results of three-year safety follow-up data from the INTREPID study of Oraya Therapy™ for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) further demonstrated a favorable safety profile and also showed that there was no significant difference in vision outcomes in patients treated with Oraya Therapy compared with those receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections alone.

15 Sep 2014

Gut hormone-drug combination therapy more effective at improving type 2 diabetes

Combined treatment with a drug that mimics the action of a gut hormone and basal insulin is more effective at improving blood sugar control than other anti-diabetic treatments, with similar rates of hypoglycaemia (dangerously low blood sugar levels) and greater weight loss, a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet shows.

15 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Prevention services for seniors; drug shortages

This policy brief reports the findings of a systematic review conducted by the Community Health Innovations in Prevention for Seniors (CHIPS) project. ... Clinical preventive services such as colorectal cancer screening and pneumococcal immunization can help reduce rates of premature death and disability. Yet, many older adults are not receiving the full set of clinical preventive services that have been proven effective and are considered "high value" in terms of their costs per life saved. Rates are particularly low among racial and ethnic minority older adults compared to national goals.

15 Sep 2014

New class of compounds protect brain cells from traumatic brain injury

A new class of compounds has now been shown to protect brain cells from the type of damage caused by blast-mediated traumatic brain injury (TBI).

12 Sep 2014

FDA approves Contrave extended-release tablets for chronic weight management

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. jointly announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Contrave® extended-release tablets as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese), or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition.

11 Sep 2014

Widespread use of unnecessary antibiotics drives up avoidable healthcare costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Premier, Inc. have released new research on the widespread use of unnecessary and duplicative antibiotics in U.S. hospitals, which could have led to an estimated $163 million in excess costs.

11 Sep 2014

AbbVie’s Phase 3 pivotal study shows HUMIRA is effective in reducing symptoms in HS

AbbVie today announced results from a Phase 3 pivotal study demonstrating that HUMIRA® (adalimumab) is effective in reducing common clinical signs and symptoms in moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), specifically the number of abscesses and inflammatory nodules.

11 Sep 2014

Clinical trial of stem cell-derived therapy for patients with Type 1 diabetes

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in partnership with ViaCyte, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology firm specializing in regenerative medicine, have launched the first-ever human Phase I/II clinical trial of a stem cell-derived therapy for patients with Type 1 diabetes.

11 Sep 2014

Get SET Early: New program to reduce mean age of ASD diagnosis in multiple cities

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is now estimated to impact one in every 68 children born in the United States. Yet despite its rising prevalence and the known benefits of early detection and treatment, toddlers in much of the United States are routinely not identified as possibly having ASD until well after their third birthday.

11 Sep 2014

RT with concurrent chemotherapy post surgery is effective for treating endometrial cancer

Radiation therapy with concurrent paclitaxel chemotherapy following surgery is an effective treatment for patients with high-risk endometrial cancer, according to a study published in the September 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology ● Biology ● Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

10 Sep 2014

Researchers identify non-protein-coding RNA whose expression linked to ovarian cancer

Over the years researchers have made tremendous strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer by searching genomes for links between genetic alterations and disease.

10 Sep 2014

New way to preserve flexibility and resilience of the brain

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, it kills brain cells mainly in the hippocampus and cortex, leading to impairments in "neuroplasticity," the mechanism that affects learning, memory, and thinking.

10 Sep 2014

Belgian receives research grant from Jeffrey Modell to help cure IPEX syndrome

For the first time the Jeffrey Modell Foundation is giving a research grant to a Belgian laboratory. The team of Adrian Liston from VIB-KU Leuven will use the grant to develop a gene therapy to cure children that suffer from IPEX syndrome, a rare and fatal autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues and organs.

9 Sep 2014

New discovery could help efforts to produce more effective vaccines

The best defense is a good offense, especially when it comes to the immune system. The troops that respond to an infection are split into two squadrons, and, until recently, it seemed that the two were independent, without much interaction.

9 Sep 2014

Agents targeting mitochondrial metabolism can have activity in leukemia

Results of a Phase I clinical trial showed that a new drug targeting mitochondrial function in human cancer cells was safe and showed some efficacy.

9 Sep 2014

New data from Boehringer's Phase III trial program evaluates efficacy of tiotropium in asthma patients

Boehringer Ingelheim today presented new data from the company's Phase III trial program (UniTinA-asthma®) evaluating tiotropium in asthma, including the first study assessing the efficacy and safety of tiotropium in adolescent patients with symptomatic asthma.

9 Sep 2014

FDA approves Epaned for treatment of symptomatic and asymptomatic heart failure

Silvergate Pharmaceuticals, Inc., focused on the development and commercialization of innovative and safe medicines for children, today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Epaned for the treatment of symptomatic heart failure and the treatment of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (to decrease the rate of development of overt heart failure and to reduce hospitalization for heart failure).

9 Sep 2014

Restarting infliximab therapy after drug holiday is safe for patients with IBD

Restarting infliximab therapy after a drug holiday is safe and effective for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new study1 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

8 Sep 2014