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Kava tea may cause kidney failure and muscle breakdown

When a 34-year-old bicyclist was found collapsed on a roadside and rushed to the University of Rochester Medical Center emergency room on the verge of kidney failure and muscle breakdown, doctors were surprised to discover that a trendy tea derived from the kava plant was the cause of his ills.

28 Apr 2011

Brain-derived protein in colorectal cancer

Tumor progression is usually ensured by more than one proliferative mechanism. When one of these is shut down by a specifically targeted drug, other mechanisms may emerge. While these events may lead to treatment failure, they may also become an opportunity for researchers to identify novel targets to be further explored.

27 Apr 2011

Signaling pathway reveals mechanism for B cell differentiation in immune response

An article in Science Signaling by researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) has clarified for the first time the mechanism governing differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells. The finding establishes a role for the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway in B cell differentiation, a key step toward the development of B cell-targeted drugs for treatment of autoimmune diseases and allergies.

25 Apr 2011

Kadmon Pharmaceuticals and Nano Terra announce worldwide licensing agreement

Kadmon Pharmaceuticals LLC, and Nano Terra, Inc., today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Kadmon has been granted a perpetual, worldwide exclusive license to three novel, clinical-stage product candidates owned by Nano Terra as well as rights to Nano Terra’s drug discovery platform, Pharmacomer™ Technology. The product candidates and technology platform will be transferred to a newly formed joint venture, NT Life Sciences (“NT Life”), co-owned by Kadmon and Nano Terra, which will act as the licensor and recipient of any licensing or royalty fees subject to the agreement. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

25 Apr 2011

AstraZeneca announces U.S. availability of vandetanib for rare medullary thyroid cancer

AstraZeneca today announced that the orphan drug vandetanib is now available to U.S. patients for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or that has spread to other parts of the body.

25 Apr 2011

Nano Terra, Kadmon sign deal to license novel product candidates

25 Apr 2011

Valuable insight into immune response

An article in Science Signaling by researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology has clarified for the first time the mechanism governing differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells.

22 Apr 2011

Discovery of cancer drugs to kill malaria parasite could open up new strategies for treatment

Ahead of World Malaria Day (25 April), EU-funded researchers have discovered that drugs originally designed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells can also kill the parasite that causes malaria. They believe this discovery could open up a new strategy for combating this deadly disease, which, according to World Health Organisation statistics, infected around 225 million and killed nearly 800 000 people worldwide in 2009.

21 Apr 2011

Merrimack initiates dosing in MM-111 combination Phase 1 study in advanced HER2 positive patients

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that five patients have received therapy in a Phase I clinical study combining MM-111 with multiple standard treatment regimens for patients with advanced HER2 positive (HER2+) solid tumors.

21 Apr 2011

Hanmi granted exclusive rights to Kinex KX01 Src kinase/pretubulin dual mechanism inhibitor for oncology indications

Kinex Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today the execution of a license agreement granting Hanmi Pharmaceuticals exclusive rights to their lead compound, KX01, for all oncology indications in selected Asian Territories.

21 Apr 2011

Clontech releases iDimerize inducible dimerization systems

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., today announced the release of the iDimerize inducible dimerization systems. Based on the widely used ARGENT™ technology developed by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the iDimerize systems enable precise, real-time control of protein-protein interactions using specific cell-permeable chemical ligands, called dimerizers.

20 Apr 2011

Positive results from first human masitinib phase 2 study in Alzheimer's disease published in peer-reviewed journal

AB Science SA, a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and commercialization of protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs), announces the publication of results from the first human phase 2 study of masitinib carried-out in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Apr 2011

New biomarker-based test more effective for early acute kidney injury detection

A new biomarker-based diagnostic test is more effective than the current best practice for early detection of adverse outcomes after acute kidney injury, which can be fatal for an estimated 50 percent of the critically ill patients who get the condition.

19 Apr 2011

FDA panel votes in favour of Sunitib (Sutent) for pancreatic tumors

Pfizer Inc. announced this Tuesday that its oral multi-kinase inhibitor Sutent was determined as having a favorable benefit-risk profile by an oncology advisory committee of the FDA for the treatment of unresectable pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The panel voted 8-2 in favor of Sutent – generically called Sunitib malate.

12 Apr 2011

Insight into neurodegenerative diseases

For years, researchers in genome stability have observed that several neurodegenerative diseases-including Huntington's disease-are associated with cell-killing proteins that are created during expansion of a CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeat.

12 Apr 2011

Novel drug holds potential against resistant chronic myeloid leukemia

A study from Tufts Medical Center researchers published today finds that a novel drug shows promise for treating leukemia patients who have few other options because their disease has developed resistance to standard treatment.

12 Apr 2011

Hypericin may treat recurrent malignant brain tumors

Researchers have found that a synthetic version of hypericin, a compound naturally found in St. John's wort, may be a promising treatment for patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors. Their findings were published online on March 31, 2011 in the journal Cancer.

12 Apr 2011

AstraZeneca's vandetanib receives FDA approval in medullary thyroid cancer

AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the orphan drug vandetanib for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or that has spread to other parts of the body.

7 Apr 2011

Avila announces successful completion of AVL-292 Phase 1a clinical studies for B-cell cancers

Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel targeted covalent drugs, today announced that it has successfully completed two Phase 1a clinical studies for AVL-292, its orally-available, selective inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk).

6 Apr 2011

Aeterna Zentaris presents AEZS-131 data against cancer at AACR meeting

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. today announced that a poster on its highly selective Erk 1/2 inhibitor anticancer compound, AEZS-131, was presented at the 102nd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research currently held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

6 Apr 2011