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Psoriasis trial enters final stage

Solbec Pharmaceuticals Ltd today announced the successful completion of the first two stages of the Phase I clinical trial of its lead compound, CoramsineTM (SBP002), for the treatment of psoriasis.

4 Nov 2004

Generic drugs are still a good buy

A new AARP study found that manufacturers' prices for some generic drugs experienced a rapid rise over the past three years. However, these increases would have added only a few dollars per year to consumers' costs for any one of these products.

4 Nov 2004

Patent litigation the most commonly used generic defense strategy among pharmaceutical companies

Patent litigation remains the most commonly used generic defense strategy among pharmaceutical companies. 71% of drug companies have used legal battles to defend their patents in the past three years, according to research from pharmaceutical business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.

4 Nov 2004

Wyeth shows new Phase III data about its investigational antibiotic, tigecycline

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals recently presented exciting new Phase III data about its investigational antibiotic, tigecycline, based on a clinical trial in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI).

4 Nov 2004

Maxim Pharmaceuticals to withdraw NDA for advanced malignant melanoma

Maxim Pharmaceuticals has announced that based upon the negative outcome of it's confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial (M0104) studying Ceplene(TM) (histamine dihydrochloride) in combination with Interleukin-2 (IL-2) in advanced malignant melanoma patients with liver metastases, it plans to close the treatment protocol approved by the FDA earlier this year.

2 Nov 2004

High-dose statin therapy for aggressive cholesterol-lowering outperforms typical care

Patients treated with high doses of atorvastatin had about a one percent lower annual rate of heart attacks than similar patients receiving usual care, according to a new study in the Nov. 2, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Nov 2004

Researchers find that berries inhibit growth of harmful intestinal bacteria

A research project carried out by VTT Biotechnology and the University of Helsinki has found that cloudberries and raspberries contain a phenol, ellagic tannin, that inhibits the growth of intestinal bacteria.

2 Nov 2004

Possible treatment for the fatal lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

They found that the anti-cancer drug imatinib mesylate — commercially known as Gleevec and produced by Novartis Pharmaceuticals — can target a gene critical to controlling the disease process. Previously, there had been no treatment and patients usually did not survive beyond three years of diagnosis. Now the treatment is undergoing clinical trials at Mayo Clinic.

2 Nov 2004

Study results suggest that metronidazole and clindamycin differ in their effects on microbes in women with bacterial vaginosis

In the first study to directly compare the emergence of antibiotic resistance following topical treatment between two antibiotics routinely prescribed for a common vaginal infection, researchers from the Magee-Womens Research Institute have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria more likely to develop with the drug clindamycin than metronidazole.

1 Nov 2004

Tentative approval of testosterone gel product

Par Pharmaceutical Companies today announced that its partner, Paddock Laboratories, has been granted tentative approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for testosterone gel 1%.

1 Nov 2004

No evidence that Glatiramer acetate slows multiple sclerosis progression

In this week's issue of the Lancet Neurology, glatiramer acetate, known as Copaxone(R), was subjected to an independent review. The systematic review, called a Cochrane Review, performed by Dr. Luca Munari and colleagues, challenges the claims of benefit from previous industry- based publications.

1 Nov 2004

New treatment option for patients who have moderately active ulcerative colitis

Results of a study presented today by a Mayo Clinic physician at the 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) in Orlando, Fla., offer a new treatment option for patients who have moderately active ulcerative colitis.

1 Nov 2004

Hormone therapy findings suggest a complex relationship between marketing, scientific evidence and prescribing patterns

Pharmaceutical companies slashed their promotional spending for hormone therapies by more than a third following reports in July 2002 of health risks associated with the drugs, but within the year they beefed up their marketing efforts to promote lower-dose forms of the medications

1 Nov 2004

First home-testing device for phenylketonuria (PKU) patients

Home-testing kits have made it easier for diabetics and hypertension patients to track their conditions, but such self-monitoring hasn’t been possible for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).

1 Nov 2004

FDA approves Nastech vitamin B-12 deficiency nasal spray

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company has announced receipt of an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Nascobal (Cyanocobalamin, USP) Nasal Spray for the treatment of vitamin B-12 deficiency.

1 Nov 2004

Gel significantly increases sexual activity in surgically menopausal women

BioSante Pharmaceuticals today announced the presentation of new Phase II clinical data on LibiGel™ (transdermal testosterone gel) at the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

1 Nov 2004

New therapy under development for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

A new therapy under development for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea predominance appears to provide significant improvements in measures of quality of life, according to a study presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.

1 Nov 2004

Uterine fibroid treatment option 'safe and effective'

Boston Scientific Corporation today welcomed an announcement by the Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee (IPAC) of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), confirming the safety and efficacy of uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), an innovative treatment for fibroids.

1 Nov 2004

Scientists decode the genome sequence of Cryptosporidium hominis, one of the most common causes of waterborne diseases in humans

A team of scientists at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine has helped decode the genome sequence of Cryptosporidium hominis, an insidious parasite identified as one of the most common causes of waterborne diseases in humans and classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a potential bioterrorist agent.

29 Oct 2004

Trojan horse technique offers potential new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer's disease

A potential new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer's disease protects brain cells in culture by drastically reducing the neurotoxic amyloid protein aggregates that are critical to the development of the disease.

29 Oct 2004