Pharmaceuticals News and Research

RSS

Generex Biotechnology receives Australian patent for vaccine technology to fight cancer and pandemic influenza

Generex Biotechnology announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, has received Australian Patent No. 778115 titled "Hybrid Peptides Modulate the Immune Response." Antigen Express is designing and testing such vaccine peptides for the control of cancer and infectious diseases with a particular focus on the pandemic H5N1 influenza, which has been reported in South East Asia.

26 Apr 2005

Use of positron emission tomography may eliminate more strenuous drug development trials with animals

A number of articles explore the use of positron emission tomography (PET) and small animal imaging—nonsurgical techniques that open the door to understanding and treating human diseases—in the April issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

26 Apr 2005

Pattern of gene expression predicts multiple drug resistance, treatment failure in pediatric leukemia

The discovery of a specific pattern of gene expression linked to multiple-drug resistance of leukemic cells is giving researchers crucial information into why standard therapies fail to cure some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This finding, from investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, could lead to development of drugs that would overcome that resistance.

24 Apr 2005

Maxim Pharmaceuticals issued patent for method of identifying therapeutically effective immunosupressive agents

Maxim Pharmaceuticals have announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. patent number 6,828,091 B2, entitled "Method of Identifying Immunosuppressive Agents."

23 Apr 2005

International internet drug ring shattered

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy has announced the results of Operation “Cyber Chase”, a year-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted international Internet pharmaceutical traffickers operating in the United States, India, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. These e-traffickers distributed drugs world-wide using “rogue” Internet pharmacies.

23 Apr 2005

Sales of asthma therapies will jump from $8.4 billion in 2003 to $13.1 billion in 2013

Decision Resources, a research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, forecasts that sales of asthma therapies in the United States, Japan, and Western Europe will jump from $8.4 billion in 2003 to $13.1 billion in 2013.

23 Apr 2005

Researchers make gains in understanding antibiotic resistance

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers chiseling away at the problem of antibiotic resistance now have a detailed explanation of how the drugs' main cellular target in bacteria evolves to become resistant to some of these medications.

22 Apr 2005

Emergency contraceptive Plan B now available over the counter in Canada

The emergency contraceptive drug Plan B will now be available over the counter in all of Canada as Health Canada yesterday ended the prescription requirement for Paladin Labs Inc.'s contraceptive.

20 Apr 2005

Canada approves use of cannabis spray for MS sufferers

In a world first Canada has taken the lead in approving the use of a cannabis spray that relieves pain in multiple sclerosis sufferers.

20 Apr 2005

Breast cancer gene may play a major role in the recurrence of prostate cancer

A gene associated with breast cancer also may play a major role in the recurrence of prostate cancer, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

20 Apr 2005

Halozyme Therapeutics receives FDA clearance for Cumulase

Halozyme Therapeutics has announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cumulase for the treatment of oocytes to facilitate certain in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. The active pharmaceutical ingredient in Cumulase is the first and only recombinant human hyaluronidase approved in the United States for cumulus removal in the IVF process.

20 Apr 2005

New era drug gives hope to Gleevec resistant leukaemia sufferers

Gleevec, a drug regarded by many as having "wonder drug" capabilities in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) and other cancers, has been revealed as having shortcomings in that some patients have undergone a relapse after building a resistance to the drug. For others with the advanced stage of the disease, the drug has failed to produce durable remissions.

19 Apr 2005

Searching for the right pharmaceutical agent: survival as the indicator

Tumor cells divide fast. They thus require a high supply of components for their DNA, like purines. The biosynthesis of purines could now be a new point of attack for chemotherapy. However, without a natural model, the search for an inhibitor for a cellular process is like the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. An American research team has developed a clever way to quickly conjure the desired "needle" out of the hay, presenting several candidates to act as starting points for the design of a purine synthesis inhibitor.

19 Apr 2005

New chemical reaction that could greatly accelerate pharmaceutical production

University of Toronto researchers have a developed a new chemical reaction that could greatly accelerate pharmaceutical production, while also cutting costs and toxic by-products.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Cost-effectiveness of drugs may vary across borders

A study published in the journal Value in Health reviews variations in estimates of cost-effectiveness of pharmaceuticals from country to country. Data showed that the results seen in one country are not necessarily applicable in another and that decision makers need to interpret data from other countries very carefully.

19 Apr 2005

Gene expression pattern predicts multiple drug resistance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital discovery of genetic links to multi-drug resistance gives clinicians new insight into the cause of treatment failure and suggests targets for novel anti-leukemic drugs

19 Apr 2005

Praise for Clinton Foundation plan for children with AIDS

UNICEF has praised a Clinton Foundation plan that will significantly increase the number of children receiving life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs specifically formulated for them.

12 Apr 2005

New medical uses for the Kunjin virus

Queensland Government scientists at the Department of Health Services have collaborated with scientists at the University of Queensland (UQ) and The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) to discover new medical uses for the Kunjin virus.

12 Apr 2005

Pfizer voluntarily withdraws Bextra from New Zealand market

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is voluntarily withdrawing the Cox-2 medicine Bextra from the New Zealand market following a request from Medsafe to suspend distribution and marketing, and will recall supplies of Bextra progressively from wholesale and pharmacy shelves over the next few days.

12 Apr 2005