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Merck's two pivotal boceprevir Phase III registration studies for chronic HCV meet primary endpoint

Merck reported that two pivotal Phase III registration studies for boceprevir, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, have been completed and met the primary endpoints: in both studies in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection, the addition of boceprevir to treatment with PEGINTRON® and REBETOL® significantly increased the number of patients who achieved sustained virologic response, compared to control groups that received Peg/riba plus placebo.

5 Aug 2010

Merck signs non-exclusive license agreement with LabCorp for commercialization of genetic test

Merck announced a non-exclusive license agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings for the commercialization of a genetic test that may help predict the response of patients with Hepatitis C virus infection to peginterferon alpha-based therapy.

28 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010: Obama, Clinton vow U.S. support to global fight against HIV/AIDS

During the closing ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, President Barack Obama "on Friday pledged to redouble efforts to fight HIV and AIDS through his Global Health Initiative, despite dealing with economic hard times in the wake of a global recession," Reuters reports. According to the news service, "Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said their focus was on a broad, sustainable and effective approach to the global epidemic" (Kelland, 7/23).

26 Jul 2010

New model for scaling up treatment, prevention of HIV amongst IDUs

Against the backdrop of some of the globe's fastest growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a report launched today at the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna makes the case for a new model for scaling up treatment and prevention of HIV amongst Injecting Drug Users.

23 Jul 2010

HIV – Rising menace

Nevirapine is considered to be an effective drug that can prevent HIV infection in babies born to mothers with HIV. However a new study shows that only about half of babies born to mothers with HIV receive the drug. The study appeared in the July 21 HIV/AIDS themed issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Jul 2010

Abbott presents 48-week PROGRESS study results at 28th International AIDS Conference

Abbott today presented 48-week findings comparing an HIV regimen of its protease inhibitor (PI), Kaletra® (lopinavir/ritonavir), and Merck's integrase inhibitor, Isentress® (raltegravir), to a traditional HIV regimen of Kaletra and the nucleotide/nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in Truvada® (tenofovir and emtricitabine) in antiretroviral-naive adult patients. Efficacy data were collected over the first 48 weeks of the 96-week PROGRESS (PROtease/InteGRasE Simplification Study) study.

20 Jul 2010

Treatment admissions for abuse of prescription pain relievers increases by over 400%: Study

The proportion of all substance abuse treatment admissions of those aged 12 and older involving abuse of prescription pain relievers rose by over 400 percent from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 9.8 percent in 2008 according to a new study be the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This dramatic rise in the proportion of admissions associated with the abuse of these drugs occurred among nearly all segments of the population regardless of age, gender, educational level and employment status.

16 Jul 2010

IAS, NIDA announce recipients of second annual joint research fellowships

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their second annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance the scientific understanding of the linkage between illicit drug use and HIV, while fostering multinational research.

13 Jul 2010

Science special section examines HIV/AIDS in Russia, Ukraine

In a special section in advance of the International AIDS Conference, Science examines the "state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than 90% of HIV infections in Eastern Europe."

12 Jul 2010

Study recommends women to avoid drug abuse during prenatal and breastfeeding periods

Give up smoking, do not drink more than three cups of coffee per day, do not take any kind of drug, or if you do, take it as long as possible before feeding your baby. These are some of the recommendations contained in a study produced by Spanish researchers on methods for detecting medicines and drugs in breast milk. The study shows that the risk from substances such as alcohol is still not well understood.

24 Jun 2010

TheraQuest launches new analgesic product pipeline

TheraQuest Biosciences, Inc., a clinical stage pain management company today unveiled its analgesic product pipeline. TheraQuest also announced the launch of its new corporate website at http://www.theraquestinc.com.

23 Jun 2010

Study confirms Azilect as a selective MAO-B inhibitor

Teva Neuroscience Inc. today announced the publication of a study demonstrating the selectivity of Azilect® (rasagiline tablets) for inhibition of MAO-B (monoamine oxidase-B) at the maximum approved dose of 1 mg/day. The data was published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology OnlineFirst on May 5, 2010.

4 Jun 2010

CRC Health first-quarter consolidated net revenue increases 1.1% to $104.0 million

CRC Health Corporation, a leading provider of substance abuse treatment and adolescent youth services through its wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries, announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

15 May 2010

Sucampo presents phase 3 trial results of lubiprostone in non-cancer pain patients with OBD at DDW 2010

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of results from a phase 3 clinical trial investigating the use of lubiprostone in non-cancer pain patients with Opioid-induced Bowel Dysfunction (OBD). These results were the subject of an oral presentation at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2010 conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 5, 2010.

11 May 2010

Sucampo reports $0.3M net loss, $14.8M total revenue for first-quarter 2010

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

11 May 2010

Health outcomes explored at DDW 2010

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which may soon be the leading indication for liver transplant, is found to be significantly associated with worse transplant outcomes. In addition, a new tool for diagnosing NAFLD represents an alternative to liver biopsy, which is more expensive and prone to complications, and ultrasound and alfafeprotein blood test screening are an effective alternative to CT scan and MRI for patients with cirrhosis at high risk for hepatocellular cancer.

3 May 2010

Prescription overdoses are second leading cause of unintentional deaths in US

"Unintentional poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional death in the US," reports Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben of West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown. Among people 35 to 54 years old, unintentional poisoning surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional death in 2005.

6 Apr 2010

Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic proportions

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years.

6 Apr 2010

CRC Health's 2009 consolidated net revenue down 5.4%

CRC Health Corporation, a leading provider of substance abuse treatment and youth services through its wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries, announced its results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2009.

27 Mar 2010

Study finds most HIV prevention, treatment, care efforts overlook IDUs

A systematic review of HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (IDUs) throughout the world, published Monday in the journal Lancet, found that international efforts to fight the disease are largely overlooking this population, the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 3/1).

2 Mar 2010