Sclerosis News and Research

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First edition: September 15, 2009

Today's headlines zero in on the soon-to-be unveiled Baucus health bill. Reports indicate it likely will address many GOP concerns but also raising new issues for some Democrats.

15 Sep 2009

Mellow Hope completes clinical trial of H1N1 vaccine, receives approval from SFDA

At the beginning of September, Mellow Hope completed the clinical trial of Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine (Split Virion). The company received the clinical approval from the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) http://eng.sfda.gov.cn/eng. Production will be started shortly.

15 Sep 2009

American Scientific Resources acquires Safeguard Medical's home needle destruction device patent

American Scientific Resources, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ASFX) (the Company), is excited to announce that it has acquired the intellectual property to the world's only FDA approved home needle destruction device (NDD), the Disintegrator(TM) and Disintegrator Plus(TM) (U.S. Patent No. 6,384,362 Patent Application No.: 09/500,504) (the "Device Technology").

15 Sep 2009

New data confirm link between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis

Over the last 40 years, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been repeatedly associated with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. During the 2nd European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009 held in Berlin, Francesca Aloisi, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, will present new data that further support the link. In the brain lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis her team found abnormal accumulation of EBV infected B lymphocytes.

14 Sep 2009

Mylan Pharmaceutical's ANDA for Teva's Copaxone accepted by FDA (Correction)

Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing Mylan Pharmaceutical Inc.'s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Glatiramer Acetate Injection (20 mg/mL), a generic version of Teva's Copaxone(R), a product indicated for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

14 Sep 2009

Data from Phase III clinical trial of TYSABRI presented at ECTRIMS

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced data presented at the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) showing the potential of TYSABRI® (natalizumab) to redefine successful multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy.

14 Sep 2009

Laquinimod study data reveals its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech today presented data further illuminating the novel, dual mechanism of action (MOA) of investigational oral, once-daily, laquinimod for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), conferring neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.

14 Sep 2009

New findings could yield effective therapies for multiple sclerosis

14 Sep 2009

Results further support the benefits of TYSABRI for multiple sclerosis patients

Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced six-month results of an ongoing, one-year longitudinal, observational, patient-reported outcomes study showing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking TYSABRI- (natalizumab) experienced an improvement in both their physical function and psychological well-being.

14 Sep 2009

Master gene could lead to new ways of cancer treatments

The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

14 Sep 2009

Obama's interview on health and fitness priorities to be published in a health magazine

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama speak candidly about health and fitness priorities for the country and their family in exclusive interviews that will appear in the October 2009 issues of Men’s Health and Women’s Health, respectively. The October issues hit newsstands on Tuesday, September 15.

14 Sep 2009

Phase 2 MS clinical trial data continues to show durable reductions in relapse rate

Genzyme Corporation reported today that four-year follow-up data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial continued to show durable reductions in relapse rate and sustained accumulation of disability three years after the majority of patients received their last course of the investigational compound alemtuzumab.

14 Sep 2009

AVONEX results in fewer injection site reactions, according to a clinical study

Data from an observational phase IV study of 499 patients entitled The Swiss MS Skin Project show that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking AVONEX (interferon beta-1a IM) reported significantly fewer injection site reactions (ISRs) compared to patients on Betaferon- (interferon beta-1b), Copaxone- (glatiramer Acetate) or Rebif - (interferon beta-1a).

13 Sep 2009

Mayo study raises hope for treating multiple sclerosis

A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009.

11 Sep 2009

Neurologists recommend oral cladribine for treating multiple sclerosis

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, owing to its infrequent dosing and positive efficacy, nearly 90 percent of surveyed neurologists indicate they will prescribe Merck Serono/EMD Serono's oral cladribine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

11 Sep 2009

CytRx granted patent for molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, today announced that it has been granted a key patent by the European Patent Office that covers through 2024 the use of its orally available molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

10 Sep 2009

Teva's COPAXONE holds promise for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) today presented data that demonstrated patients treated for 10 and 15 years with COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) had significant reduction in disease severity. These data, generated from the longest continuous prospective study of any disease modifying therapy in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), were presented today at the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

10 Sep 2009

Acceleron's Phase 1 trial of ACE-031 reveals its potential in treating neuromuscular diseases

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including red blood cells, bone, and muscle, today announced preliminary results from the ACE-031 Phase 1 single dose clinical trial demonstrating that ACE-031 increased lean body mass and muscle volume. The results from this randomized, placebo-controlled study were presented at the 14th International Congress of the World Muscle Society in Geneva, Switzerland.

10 Sep 2009

Human neural stem cells to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today that it will soon initiate with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the therapeutic potential of StemCells’ proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a myelination disorder that primarily affects infants and young children.

10 Sep 2009

BioTrends Research Group ranked by Philadelphia 100 for the second consecutive time

For the second year in a row, BioTrends Research Group, Inc. has been ranked as one of the fastest-growing, privately-held companies in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia 100, a joint project of the Wharton Small Business Development Center, the Entrepreneurs' Forum of Greater Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Business Journal.

10 Sep 2009