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Gene-transfer technique trial for childhood blindness under way

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

19 Nov 2007

U.S. approval of Nexavar (sorafenib) for inoperable liver cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Nexavar (sorafenib) for use in patients with a form of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma, when the cancer is inoperable.

19 Nov 2007

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell opens new section of general surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery

Opening the doors to one of the first academic medical program dedicated to surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has created a new section of General Surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery.

19 Nov 2007

MIT researchers devised novel way to create tiny colonies of living human liver cells that model full-sized organs

Liver toxicity is one of the main reasons pharmaceutical companies pull drugs off the market. These dangerous drugs slip through approval processes due in part to the shortcomings of liver toxicity tests. Existing tests rely on liver cells from rats, which do not always respond to toxins the way human cells do. Or they rely on dying human cells that survive for only a few days in the lab.

19 Nov 2007

Block buster cancer drug Avastin gives hope to brain tumor victims

According to a new study the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin has shown promising results in treating brain cancer victims.

19 Nov 2007

How inhibitor-of-apoptosis chemicals kill tumors

Chemical compounds specially designed to neutralize proteins that would otherwise allow tumor cells to cheat death have been recognized for some time by scientists as a promising new avenue for cancer therapy.

16 Nov 2007

Cethromycin achieves all endpoints in second pivotal Phase III Trial for treatment for pneumonia

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADLS), today announced positive results from Trial CL-05, the second of two pivotal phase III clinical trials designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of cethromycin, a novel once-a-day oral antibiotic for the treatment of mild-to-moderate community acquired pneumonia (CAP), the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

16 Nov 2007

GlaxoSmithKline implements changes to the US product label for Avandia

GlaxoSmithKline announced today that it is implementing changes to the US product label for Avandia(R) (rosiglitazone maleate), based on an extensive and thorough review by the FDA of myocardial ischemia data on Avandia, the most widely studied oral anti-diabetic medicine available.

15 Nov 2007

Petition aims to stem the flood of dangerous drugs reaching Americans

In a petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, an international coalition of scientists and doctors seeks to compel the agency to stem the flood of dangerous drugs reaching American consumers by mandating the use of scientifically superior non-animal testing methods when those alternatives exist.

15 Nov 2007

Understanding diversity in disease - new routes to prevention, diagnosis and treatment

The Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the health research departments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have launched a joint initiative of more than £6millon to identify small carefully defined groups of patients to help researchers detect, treat or prevent diseases.

14 Nov 2007

Sanofi Pasteur and Acambis to bring West Nile vaccine to market

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that it has signed an exclusive global collaboration agreement with Acambis plc, for the development and marketing of a West Nile vaccine to help fight against this serious, life-altering and potentially fatal disease.

14 Nov 2007

Hope on the horizon for hereditary angioedema sufferers

Although there is currently no treatment approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) - a genetic disease causing swelling of extremities, face and internal organs that can be life-threatening - hope is on the horizon according to a team of experts presenting the latest research at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Dallas.

14 Nov 2007

Smoking cessation during pregnancy is focus of study

Despite warnings from experts and media campaigns marketing healthy living techniques, approximately one-third of women of childbearing age smoke cigarettes and 25-50 percent of women smoke during pregnancy.

13 Nov 2007

CellCyte Genetics receives patent on stem cell delivery method

CellCyte Genetics Corporation has announced that is has received notice of the issuance of a U.S. patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,282,222) for its unique methods and compositions approach to deliver and direct stem cells to target organs in the body.

13 Nov 2007

New target for MS treatment found using old drug

A drug currently used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure has been found to reduce the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in mice.

13 Nov 2007

Lexicon files investigational NDA for LX2931 in rheumatoid arthritis

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for LX2931, an oral drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions.

13 Nov 2007

Trial looks at ability of insulin to limit heart-tissue damage during a heart attack

The ability of insulin to limit heart-tissue damage during a heart attack will be tested in a landmark clinical trial led by Paresh Dandona, M.D., Ph.D., University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor in the departments of Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

13 Nov 2007

FDA clears breathing tube coated with a thin layer of silver

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has cleared for marketing a breathing tube coated with a thin layer of silver. The coating, a material known to have antimicrobial properties, reduces the risk that patients on ventilators will acquire pneumonia while in the hospital.

13 Nov 2007

Study looks at cardiac resynchronization therapy

A randomized, controlled, multi-center trial has found that cardiac resynchronization therapy produced no improvement in peak oxygen uptake during exercise testing, the trial's primary endpoint, in patients with Class III heart failure, including mechanical problems that disrupt the heart's normal rhythm and a moderately prolonged QRS complex as demonstrated on EKG.

6 Nov 2007

Hepatitis C treatment reduces the virus but serious liver problems may progress

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who did not respond to previous standard therapy experienced significant decreases in their liver enzymes, viral levels, and liver inflammation following treatment with long-term pegylated interferon.

6 Nov 2007