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Gleevec available to patients in post-surgical GIST study

Investigators will begin offering Gleevec(R) (imatinib mesylate)* tablets to patients receiving placebo in a major North American clinical trial after an interim analysis showed participants with Kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors treated with Gleevec following surgery were significantly less likely to experience a return of their cancer compared to those not taking this innovative therapy.

15 Apr 2007

Genmab starts HuMax-EGFr combination study

Genmab A/S has announced it has initiated a Phase II study of HuMax-EGFr (zalutumumab) in combination with chemo-radiation to treat non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

15 Apr 2007

Bacteria can barge inside immune cells

Immune cells that are the body's front-line defense don't necessarily rest quietly until invading bacteria lock onto receptors on their outside skins and rouse them to action, as previously thought. In a new paper, University of Michigan scientists describe their findings that bacteria can barge inside these guard cells and independently initiate a powerful immune response.

14 Apr 2007

Abbott opens biotech facility in Puerto Rico

"This new facility is a key milestone for Abbott as we move to focus our resources and future growth on biologic and potent-drug manufacturing," said Lawrence Kraus, vice president of manufacturing, global pharmaceutical operations, Abbott.

11 Apr 2007

Combination Lyme disease vaccine proteins patented

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University have received U.S. Patent Number 7,179,448 for developing chimeric, or "combination," proteins that may advance the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests for Lyme disease.

9 Apr 2007

Tai chi helps seniors avoid shingles

According to recent research the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai chi offers benefits beyond improving fitness and balance for older adults.

8 Apr 2007

Severe dengue infections may go unrecognized in international travelers

Severe cases of a common travelers' infection may not be recognized if doctors rely on the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines for identifying it, according to a new study published in the April 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

3 Apr 2007

Cephalon provides update on Nuvigil NDA

Cephalon has announced that it has received an approvable letter, together with draft labeling, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new drug application (NDA) for NUVIGIL (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] for the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and shift work sleep disorder (SWSD).

2 Apr 2007

FDA approves Ceprotin to treat severe congenital protein C deficiency

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today licensed Ceprotin, the first biologic treatment for patients with a rare genetic defect that can cause a potentially life-threatening clotting disorder.

30 Mar 2007

Tykerb (lapatinib) - new anti-cancer treatment approved

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tykerb (lapatinib), a new targeted anti-cancer treatment, to be used in combination with capectabine (Xeloda), another cancer drug, for patients with advanced, metastatic breast cancer that is HER2 positive (tumors that exhibit HER2 protein).

14 Mar 2007

Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella and varicella are effective in extremely preterm infants

The study, which included 16 term and 16 extremely preterm (born before about 6 months of pregnancy) infants born between May 2002 and May 2005, is the first of its kind to examine the antibody levels of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in this population before and after vaccination. It was published in this month's Pediatrics.

5 Mar 2007

FDA warns of deadly results of skin-numbing creams

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about topical anesthetics that have skin-numbing effects.

7 Feb 2007

Levetiracetam shows promise for epilepsy

People with newly diagnosed epilepsy experienced few, if any, seizures while taking the drug levetiracetam as a single therapy, giving hope to epilepsy patients who don't respond to or can't tolerate existing treatments, according to a study published in the February 6, 2007 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Feb 2007

Alphanate approved to treat Von Willebrand disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of Antihemophilic Factor/von Willebrand Factor Complex (Human), Alphanate.

4 Feb 2007

New Rosacea treatment kit

Galderma Laboratories, L.P. has announced the availability of a new MetroGel 1% Kit for the topical treatment of the inflammatory lesions of rosacea.

14 Jan 2007

Chikungunya fever rampant in Sri Lanka's north

The Sri Lankan government has confirmed that the viral fever spreading rapidly amongst people in Jaffna, is the mosquito-borne Chikungunya fever.

28 Nov 2006

Doctors say antibiotics pointless for acute bronchitis

Researchers say they have found no evidence in current literature that antibiotics are effective in treating the vast majority of patients with acute bronchitis and say doctors should stop routinely prescribing them.

16 Nov 2006

Shingles vaccine for seniors gets the green light

A government advisory panel in the United States has given it's backing for a new vaccine against shingles.

26 Oct 2006

Important first step towards designing new therapies for shingles

A team of scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a human protein that helps varicella-zoster virus, the cause of chickenpox and shingles, spread from cell to cell within the body.

20 Oct 2006

Toxic chemical found in 3 more medicines in Panama

A toxic chemical found in contaminated cough syrup suspected to have caused the deaths of 22 people in Panama, has now been found in three more medications made by a government-run factory in Panama.

19 Oct 2006