Pharmaceuticals News and Research

RSS

Allowing greater access to drug safety data would enable researchers to better evaluate risks

For years, pharmaceutical companies have sought to restrict public access to drug safety data collected in clinical trials on the basis that it is proprietary information, arguing that competitors could use that information in the development of their own products.

8 Mar 2007

House panel requests marketing documents from pharmaceutical companies regarding off-label drug promotion

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked two stent manufacturers and three drug manufacturers to provide documents regarding the marketing of their products as part of the committee's investigation into the off-label use of drug-coated stents and prescription drugs, the Wall Street Journal reports.

8 Mar 2007

Prescription drug prices for U.S. residents ages 50 and older increased at about twice inflation rate

Manufacturers' prices for the 193 prescription drugs most commonly used by U.S. residents ages 50 and older increased at about twice the rate of inflation in 2006, according to an annual report released on Tuesday by AARP, Cox/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

8 Mar 2007

Healthy health advice online

When searching for health advice online, consumers often reject websites with high quality medical information in favour of those with a human touch, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

7 Mar 2007

Tekturna new hypertension drug - first in a decade

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given it's approval for the use of a new drug to treat hypertension.

7 Mar 2007

Inhaled Celecoxib shows new promise for lung cancer treatment

In recent years, Cycloxygenase (COX)-2 has emerged as a therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of various types of cancers.

6 Mar 2007

FDA approves Tekturna for the treatment of high blood pressure

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the approval of Tekturna (aliskiren) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure, or hypertension, which affects an estimated 25 percent of Americans and causes increased risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure and death.

6 Mar 2007

CMS Administrator Norwalk says releasing data on Medicare prescription drug benefit discounts would undermine negotiations

CMS Administrator Leslie Norwalk in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday said that the agency will not disclose information on discounts obtained by pharmacy benefit managers for Medicare prescription drug plans, CQ HealthBeat reports.

5 Mar 2007

New drug delivery method incorporates drug molecules in fat

Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

5 Mar 2007

Lilly to acquire neuroscience drug discovery co. Hypnion

Eli Lilly and Company and Hypnion, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement whereby Lilly will acquire Hypnion, a privately held neuroscience drug discovery company focused on sleep disorders.

5 Mar 2007

Increasing numbers of blood collection centers in parts of China contributing to spread of HIV

The increasing number of blood-collection centers in parts of China is posing a threat to vulnerable populations and placing them at an increased risk of HIV transmission, some Chinese HIV/AIDS advocates have said recently, the Boston Globe reports.

4 Mar 2007

Drug-enriched salt could prevent elephantiasis

Though little known outside the developing world, the disease called lymphatic filariasis wreaks havoc on millions of people by causing their limbs and genitals to fill with fluid and swell monstrously - the symptom commonly known as elephantiasis.

1 Mar 2007

New insight into brain disorders

The function of an enzyme in the brain - strongly linked to a number of major brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder - has been identified for the first time by researchers at the University of Bristol.

1 Mar 2007

Sunitinib halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer

Research has shown the efficacy of a pharmaceutical drug known as sunitinib which halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer.

1 Mar 2007

Antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A and E may increase risk of death

Contradicting claims of disease prevention, an analysis of previous studies indicates that the antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase the risk of death, according to a meta-analysis and review article in the February 28 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

28 Feb 2007

Industry funded studies on breast cancer treatments more likely to have positive results

Industry-funded clinical trials of breast cancer medications report more favorable results than nonindustry supported research, according to a study published in the Feb. 26 online edition of the journal Cancer, the New York Times reports (Bakalar, New York Times, 2/27).

28 Feb 2007

AHF launches ad campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb over antiretroviral pricing in Mexico

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation recently launched an advertisement campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb over the price of the pharmaceutical company's antiretroviral drugs Reyataz and Videx in Mexico, the AP/Forbes reports.

28 Feb 2007

Campaign seeks to counter influence of pharma sales reps

The Boston Globe on Monday examined the Independent Drug Service project, a $1 million campaign in Pennsylvania that sends consultants to inform physicians about the effectiveness of different medications based on scientific evidence to "combat the sales pitches" of pharmaceutical companies.

28 Feb 2007

Cancer Research UK secures fenretinide orphan drug licence

A previously shelved drug could prove effective for treating a group of rare childhood cancers, and Cancer Research UK today announced it has been granted exclusive marketing rights for the drug in these indications by the European Commission and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

27 Feb 2007

Drug industry influences breast cancer research

Breast cancer treatment trials supported by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to report positive results than non-sponsored studies, according to a study to be published in the April 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

27 Feb 2007

Pharmaceuticals News and Research

Allowing greater access to drug safety data would enable researchers to better evaluate risks

House panel requests marketing documents from pharmaceutical companies regarding off-label drug promotion

Prescription drug prices for U.S. residents ages 50 and older increased at about twice inflation rate

Healthy health advice online

Tekturna new hypertension drug - first in a decade

Inhaled Celecoxib shows new promise for lung cancer treatment

FDA approves Tekturna for the treatment of high blood pressure

CMS Administrator Norwalk says releasing data on Medicare prescription drug benefit discounts would undermine negotiations

New drug delivery method incorporates drug molecules in fat

Lilly to acquire neuroscience drug discovery co. Hypnion

Increasing numbers of blood collection centers in parts of China contributing to spread of HIV

Drug-enriched salt could prevent elephantiasis

New insight into brain disorders

Sunitinib halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer

Antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A and E may increase risk of death

Industry funded studies on breast cancer treatments more likely to have positive results

AHF launches ad campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb over antiretroviral pricing in Mexico

Campaign seeks to counter influence of pharma sales reps

Cancer Research UK secures fenretinide orphan drug licence

Drug industry influences breast cancer research

Oxygen Measurement eBook - Easily Understand Dissolved Oxygen Measurement eBook

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

Latest Life Science News