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Outsourcing the way to control spiraling R&D budgets in drug industry

Companies developing new drugs for the global market must deal with the rising costs of the R&D process – and outsourcing may well be the best route. That's the verdict of Dr Faiz Kermani, a specialist in outsourcing and research development for the pharmaceutical industry.

14 Jun 2004

Cannabis extract drug may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The multi centre double blind, randomised, parallel group study in 58 patients assessed the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Sativex®, a whole plant medicinal cannabis extract, compared with placebo for the treatment of pain caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. Study medication was administered by means of a spray into the mouth as an evening dose only and measures were assessed the following day.

11 Jun 2004

Sirolimus-based therapy following early cyclosporine withdrawal improves transplanted kidney structure and function

Kidney histology and function three years after transplantation are better in kidney-transplant patients who remain on sirolimus-based therapy following early withdrawal of cyclosporine than in patients who continue on this calcineurin inhibitor, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

11 Jun 2004

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

European Union funding is helping to find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours using small marine animals. European researchers are using chemical agents extracted from a type of Caribbean sea squirt, named Ecteinascidia turbinata, to treat some tumours.

11 Jun 2004

Docetaxel decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinicians were among those at leading institutions that have completed a three-year international study showing that docetaxel, a drug made from yew tree needles, decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy.

11 Jun 2004

Australian government to provide free pneumococcal disease vaccinations

The Commonwealth Government will provide free vaccines to protect newborn babies and older people from pneumococcal disease, as well as a catch up program for toddlers.

11 Jun 2004

UK pharmacists to become more hands on

Pharmacists already help in areas such as stopping smoking, sexual health advice and substance misuse. The government would like them to do even more and get involved in aspects of care such as checking people's blood pressure and even measuring blood glucose.

11 Jun 2004

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are launching a clinical trial to determine whether a drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects 350,000 Americans.

10 Jun 2004

Common weeds may be better than herbal cousins for preventing and curing a host of diseases

Unwanted, pulled or poisoned, the lowly weed is sometimes better than its highly touted “herbal” cousins for preventing and curing a host of diseases, according to University of Florida research.

10 Jun 2004

Schering-Plough has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Schering-Plough Corporation today reported that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle issues related to compliance with the books and records and internal accounting control provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by a Schering-Plough subsidiary in Poland.

10 Jun 2004

Higher generic drug use in 2003 slowed the rising cost per prescription to a 7.9% increase

Generic drug use increased to a record 48% among Express Scripts' 50 million members during 2003, spurred by the use of several prominent new generics, fluoxetine, omeprazole and lisinopril.

9 Jun 2004

Researchers win Kaye prize for gastro-retentive sustained release drug delivery system

Despite advances made in "sustained delivery" drug delivery technologies in recent years, a problem still persists in trying to obtain controlled release of a wide variety of medications that have only a "narrow absorption window" in the upper part of the intestines. That is, these drugs are absorbed rather quickly after being swallowed, negating the beneficial effects of "once-a-day" medication.

9 Jun 2004

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

A chemotherapy regimen commonly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer is both more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients, researchers reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.

7 Jun 2004

Australian scientists have developed a tool that acts as a pregnancy test for the detection of anthrax

Once a deadly disease associated with animals, anthrax is now used as a bioterrorist weapon. While infection can be controlled with antibiotics, in a bioterrorism attack people will not know they have been infected until symptoms develop, at which stage drugs are useless.

7 Jun 2004

Australia's CSIRO to exhibit major display at the world's largest biotechnology conference

CSIRO is mounting a major display of technologies this week at BIO 2004, the world's largest biotechnology conference, being held in San Francisco, USA, from 6-9 June.

7 Jun 2004

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

A new multi-targeted anticancer drug called SU11248 has shown very promising results in the treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer, one of the most chemotherapy resistant of all cancers.

6 Jun 2004

Velcade major improvement over standard therapy for relapsed multiple myeloma

Early results from a major, international Phase III clinical trial decisively show that recurrent multiple myeloma is more effectively treated with the drug bortezomib (trade name: Velcade TM) than with dexamethasone, a drug that for decades has been the standard therapy for relapsed disease, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report.

6 Jun 2004

Exenatide shows significant improvements in glucose control for people With type 2 diabetes

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Eli Lilly and Company have presented detailed 30-week data from two of the three pivotal Phase 3 studies of exenatide during a late-breaking session at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 64th Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida.

5 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Five major prescription drug manufacturers make drugs available to Medicare discount cardholders

The Pharmacy Care Alliance (PCA) today announced that AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Merck and Novartis will make many prescription drugs available to qualifying PCA Medicare discount cardholders free of charges from the manufacturer plus a nominal amount to cover dispensing, processing and other costs.

5 Jun 2004

Pharmaceuticals News and Research

Outsourcing the way to control spiraling R&D budgets in drug industry

Cannabis extract drug may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sirolimus-based therapy following early cyclosporine withdrawal improves transplanted kidney structure and function

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

Docetaxel decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy

Australian government to provide free pneumococcal disease vaccinations

UK pharmacists to become more hands on

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Common weeds may be better than herbal cousins for preventing and curing a host of diseases

Schering-Plough has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Higher generic drug use in 2003 slowed the rising cost per prescription to a 7.9% increase

Researchers win Kaye prize for gastro-retentive sustained release drug delivery system

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

Australian scientists have developed a tool that acts as a pregnancy test for the detection of anthrax

Australia's CSIRO to exhibit major display at the world's largest biotechnology conference

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

Velcade major improvement over standard therapy for relapsed multiple myeloma

Exenatide shows significant improvements in glucose control for people With type 2 diabetes

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Five major prescription drug manufacturers make drugs available to Medicare discount cardholders

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