Pharmaceutical News

RSS

Long-term smoking cessation success possible with treatment philosophy and individualized information

A recently completed randomized trial compared three ways to deliver a behavioral smoking cessation program using varenicline (Chantix®): by phone, web, or both. Although phone counseling had greater treatment advantage for early cessation and appeared to increase medication adherence, no differences in abstinence outcomes were seen at six months.

19 May 2010

Use of life-ending drugs without explicit patient request occurs in hospital, among elderly patients

Despite fears to the contrary, the use of drugs to end life without patient request has not increased since euthanasia was legalized in Belgium, states an article in CMAJ.

19 May 2010

Study presents new technique that makes drug testing possible through exhaled air

A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet presents a new technique that makes drug testing possible through exhaled air for the first time. By examining people who had received emergency care for an amphetamine overdose, the researchers found that in all cases there were traces of amphetamine and metamphetamine in the exhaled breath.

19 May 2010

Vaccinations recommended for adults

Yearly vaccinations aren't just for kids any more. You probably heard a lot about a seasonal or H1N1 flu shot last fall, but you should know that a battery of other adult vaccinations might also become part of your health care routine. Pneumonia and shingles vaccines are preventive-care essentials for older adults, and meningitis and tetanus shots are now college rites of passage. Even the vaccines of childhood—measles, mumps and rubella, and whooping cough—are recommended for adults who missed out in their younger years.

19 May 2010

Experts accelerate discovery and development of new TB drugs: Lancet article

According to a paper published today in the Lancet, there is unprecedented progress in the development of the global tuberculosis drug pipeline with 10 drug candidates currently in clinical development. The paper was written by a team of renowned international experts led by Zhenkun Ma, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for the TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs.

19 May 2010

Studies suggest potent therapeutic effects of rufinamide in bipolar disorder, depressive and anxiety disorders

This study formulates the hypothesis that rufinamide, a drug so far used against epilepsy, may also be effective in bipolar disorder, depressive and anxiety disorders, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. It is just an hypothesis based on two cases that needs to be confirmed by specific studies.

19 May 2010

Opinions: Gender-based violence and HIV; AIDS vaccine; Global NTDs; Responses to NYT HIV/AIDS articles

"Gender-based violence is a world-wide pandemic and directly affects the spread of HIV/AIDS. Fear of violence limits the ability of women and girls to choose their partners; to find out about a partner's HIV status or disclose their own; and to get medical or counseling services," according to a U.S. government editorial in VOA News.

19 May 2010

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

BMJ News looks at how lack of access to drugs and resistance are undermining the fight against malaria.

19 May 2010

NAC therapy shows promise for patients with mild IPF

A new therapy shows promise for patients with mild idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. According to researchers in Japan, inhaled N-acetylcysteine monotherapy preserves more lung function in some idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients than no therapy.

19 May 2010

AARP: Cost of brand name drugs rose 9.7% last year

"The AARP says that manufacturer prices for brand-name prescription drugs commonly used by people on Medicare rose 9.7% for the year ending in March — the biggest annual jump since the group started tracking prices in 2002," The Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports.

19 May 2010

Report released on pharmaceutical mail-back pilot program funded by EPA

Through a grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University of Maine’s Center on Aging has completed the first statewide mail-back pilot program for managing pharmaceutical waste from consumers.

18 May 2010

Senesco to present preclinical data of SNS-01 at ASGCT Annual Meeting

Senesco Technologies, Inc. today announced that preclinical data for the Company's lead drug candidate, SNS-01, will be presented on May 20, 2010 at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Meeting being held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. from May 17 to 22.

18 May 2010

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Immunetics, Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.

18 May 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation to pralatrexate for treatment of advanced TCC of urinary bladder

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to pralatrexate for the treatment of advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, a form of bladder cancer. The Company is currently investigating pralatrexate in a Phase 2 clinical study in patients with advanced or metastatic relapsed TCC of the urinary bladder.

18 May 2010

Columbia Laboratories renews license and supply agreement with Merck Serono

Columbia Laboratories, Inc. has renewed its license and supply agreement with Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for CRINONE (progesterone gel) for an additional five-year term. Under the existing agreement and the renewal, Merck Serono has marketing rights worldwide, except the United States.

18 May 2010

KemPharm enters Supply Agreement with Johnson Matthey for KP201 hydrocodone prodrug for acute pain

KemPharm, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an exclusive Supply Agreement with Johnson Matthey Inc., for the manufacture of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), KP201, KemPharm's novel hydrocodone prodrug for acute pain. KP201 was identified utilizing KemPharm's proprietary ligand activated therapy (LAT) approach.

18 May 2010

Vect-Horus accentuates its leadership in delivering drugs to the central nervous system

Vect-Horus is a biotechnology company based on the scientific work of Dr. Michel Khrestchatisky and specializes in the development of peptide and pseudo-peptide-based vector molecules for drug targeting and delivery to the central nervous system (CNS).

18 May 2010

Vidazorb Belly Boost probiotic supplement relieves children from eczema

May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month and, though many parents deal with their kids' allergies year-round, it's a time for education on the subject. One allergic reaction to food, fabric, grass, pollen, environmental factors, etc. is eczema, which recent statistics show develops in one out of ten children before the age of five.

18 May 2010

Immunizations Across the Lifespan campaign launched to educate adults on current vaccinations

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is urging adults to ensure they are up-to-date on all needed vaccinations.

18 May 2010

Combination therapy proves to be effective treatment for lethal form of leukemia: Research

New research discovers a combination of drugs that may prove to be a more effective treatment for a lethal form of leukemia. The study, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Cancer Cell, reports that the new therapeutic strategy effectively targets notoriously intractable leukemia stem cells that often escape standard treatment and are a main factor in disease relapse.

18 May 2010

Pharmaceutical News

Long-term smoking cessation success possible with treatment philosophy and individualized information

Use of life-ending drugs without explicit patient request occurs in hospital, among elderly patients

Study presents new technique that makes drug testing possible through exhaled air

Vaccinations recommended for adults

Experts accelerate discovery and development of new TB drugs: Lancet article

Studies suggest potent therapeutic effects of rufinamide in bipolar disorder, depressive and anxiety disorders

Opinions: Gender-based violence and HIV; AIDS vaccine; Global NTDs; Responses to NYT HIV/AIDS articles

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

NAC therapy shows promise for patients with mild IPF

AARP: Cost of brand name drugs rose 9.7% last year

Report released on pharmaceutical mail-back pilot program funded by EPA

Senesco to present preclinical data of SNS-01 at ASGCT Annual Meeting

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

FDA grants orphan drug designation to pralatrexate for treatment of advanced TCC of urinary bladder

Columbia Laboratories renews license and supply agreement with Merck Serono

KemPharm enters Supply Agreement with Johnson Matthey for KP201 hydrocodone prodrug for acute pain

Vect-Horus accentuates its leadership in delivering drugs to the central nervous system

Vidazorb Belly Boost probiotic supplement relieves children from eczema

Immunizations Across the Lifespan campaign launched to educate adults on current vaccinations

Combination therapy proves to be effective treatment for lethal form of leukemia: Research

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

Latest News