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TEVA to acquire IVAX for $7.4 billion

TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries and IVAX Corporation have jointly announced that they have signed a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of IVAX by TEVA.

26 Jul 2005

Analysis of the Phase I/II clinical trial of HIV drug candidate PA-457

V.I. Technologies (Vitex) and collaborators at the University at Buffalo's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, today presented a detailed analysis of the Phase I/II clinical trial of its HIV drug candidate PA-457 at the 3rd International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

26 Jul 2005

Direct relationship between inflammation and glucose levels

Scientists at Galileo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have demonstrated a direct relationship between inflammation and glucose levels. Through its recently established metabolic disease program, Galileo confirmed in preclinical models that inhibiting lipoxygenases, known mediators of inflammatory response, significantly lowers blood glucose levels in animal models of diabetes.

26 Jul 2005

Provectus to begin clinical trials of new cancer treatment, PV-10

Provectus Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has obtained final clearance to begin the first Phase 1 clinical trial of PV-10, the Company's lead cancer treatment.

21 Jul 2005

Role of IL-24 in regulating the immune system

Researchers at Introgen Therapeutics and their collaborators at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have published new findings on the role of IL-24 in regulating the immune system in the current online issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

21 Jul 2005

UK medical watchdog wants more proof on value of Alzheimer's drugs

In the UK the country's watchdog for cost-effectiveness in medical treatments, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has asked drug makers for more evidence about the benefits of their Alzheimer's medicines.

21 Jul 2005

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals receives notice of a U.S. patent allowance for potential drug fo ADHD

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has received from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a Notice of Allowance for its patent application for SPI-339 entitled "Methods for Treating Cognitive/Attention Deficit Disorders Using Tetrahydroindolone Analogues and Derivatives."

21 Jul 2005

New program will help fill a drug-discovery void as pharmaceutical companies have largely abandoned natural products research

The natural world has been medicine's most effective arsenal, providing life-saving antibiotics and our most potent anti-cancer drugs.

20 Jul 2005

SIRT1 gene suppresses longevity

Researchers have determined that a gene present in mouse cells limits the number of times that a cell can divide. The gene is involved in a process, called senescence, which is thought to ensure that aging cells do not pass on harmful mutations.

20 Jul 2005

Potential use of NH neurotransmitters as novel source for psychiatric drugs

Physiologists and medical researchers have long recognized the important endocrine roles played by the pituitary hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) on peripheral systems in lactation, uterine contraction and urine concentration.

19 Jul 2005

Spontaneous contractions suppressed in late-term rat pregnancy

A long-time aim of obstetrical research has been to find agents that could delay or diminish pre-term labor because even today pre-term birth is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.

19 Jul 2005

Pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity

Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have discovered two molecules from pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity in laboratory studies. One molecule called CCS blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in approximately 30% of all cancers. The other molecule called CCZ, stimulates the body's own immune system to target and kill cancer cells.

19 Jul 2005

Results demonstrate the safety and tolerability of ABthrax treatment for Anthrax infection

Human Genome Sciences has announced that results published in the current issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases demonstrate that the first investigational agent against anthrax infection to be evaluated in a clinical study since the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, is safe, well tolerated and achieves the blood levels predicted by relevant animal models as necessary to afford significant protection from the lethal effects of the anthrax toxin

19 Jul 2005

FDA fast tracks HIV protease inhibitor from Vertex and GSK

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has announced that its collaborator, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has received fast track designation for the HIV protease inhibitor (PI) 640385 (VX-385) from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

19 Jul 2005

Sigma-Aldrich licenses RNAi patent estate from Alnylam

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced today that Alnylam has granted Sigma-Aldrich a non-exclusive license to provide research products and services in RNA interference (RNAi) under the Kreutzer-Limmer patent family.

19 Jul 2005

Way now clear for FDA approval of Plan B "morning-after" pill

Now that senators Patty Murray of Washington and Hillary Clinton of New York, have dropped their objections to acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford becoming the permanent commissioner, approval for the sale of the Plan B "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription should be granted with the minimum of delay.

18 Jul 2005

Chemical sealant - poloxamer 188 can repair damage to cardiac muscle cell membrane

A common chemical used in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries can repair damage to cardiac muscle cell membranes and prevent heart failure in mice with the genetic mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School.

18 Jul 2005

New molecular insights may one day lead to opportunities to stave off old age

Delving deep into the molecular subtleties of a strain of mice engineered to age rapidly, scientists have found that an accumulation of genetic mutations prompts a cascade of programmed cell death that seems to underpin the aging process.

18 Jul 2005

Lipid helps cell wall protein fold into proper shape

A protein that provides a vital passage through a bacterium's outer cell wall will misfold and malfunction if that wall is built of the 'wrong' material, scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston report in a finding that has long-term implications for understanding diseases caused by misfolded proteins such as cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, and mad cow disease.

17 Jul 2005

Chromos Molecular Systems issued four key patents

Chromos Molecular Systems has announced that it has further expanded the patent portfolio surrounding both its ACE System and REM Technology with the issuance of four key additional patents.

15 Jul 2005