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GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

A Georgetown University Medical Center research team has been awarded a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs based on an unconventional theory about nicotine addiction. Kenneth Kellar, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at GUMC is principal investigator of the five year grant totaling $4.6 million.

22 Apr 2010

SGO white paper reviews current status of HPV typing, its benefits and deficiencies

The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists has published its second in a series of four papers on a variety of cervical cancer issues and topics that were the focus of its Forum "The Future Strategies for Cervical Cancer Prevention: What Do We Need to Do Now to Prepare."

22 Apr 2010

Swine flu vaccine blues

Exactly a year after the swine flu outbreak vigilance, newer vaccine techniques and other measures are being emphasized by researchers and key decision makers. Dr. Harvey Fineberg, chairman of the World Health Organization's pandemic review committee and President of the U.S. Institute of Medicine says, we need to look at the past to learn from it.

22 Apr 2010

Positive results from preclinical EP-302 program presented at AACR 2010

Drug discovery and development company Esperance Pharmaceuticals today presented positive results from their preclinical EP-302 program that support the initiation of IND enabling studies. EP-302 is a targeted membrane-disrupting peptide designed to selectively kill cells that express nucleolin on their surface. Nucleolin is a protein that is over-expressed in a wide range of cancers and tumor endothelial cells.

22 Apr 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered why statins -- popular drugs that lower cholesterol and appear to protect against colorectal cancer development -- work for some people, but not for all.

22 Apr 2010

Miller-McCune: 'Existing beliefs' can stand in the way of medical research

After a scientist found that runners' widespread habit of using ibuprofen before long races didn't help them, and may even cause more inflammation than doing nothing, a group of runners presented with the evidence still said they would continue using the drug, reports Miller-McCune, a Santa Barbara-based public policy magazine. The researcher who conducted the study said, "They really, really think it's helping. … Even in the face of data showing that it doesn't help, they still use it."

22 Apr 2010

Green tea catechins may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases: Scientists

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea - renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties - do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases.

22 Apr 2010

Radical prescription drug reform in New Zealand

Getting access to the latest medication may become a costly affair for New Zealanders. Talks on getting a Trans Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership between the US and New Zealand are taking place. The Researched Medicines Industry Association expects reforms from Pharmac the government’s drug buying agency if the deal is to go through. Some international drug companies have been angered by the control on drugs spending by Pharmac.

22 Apr 2010

Mail-order drug provider identifies $163B in potential prescription drug savings

A study by Express Scripts, a mail-order prescription drug provider, said Tuesday that an "estimated $163 billion in health care spending could be saved each year if patients took their medicines as prescribed, chose generic drugs and other low-cost alternatives, and had their prescriptions delivered by mail," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Express Scripts released its report at a two-day conference for clients in St. Louis.

22 Apr 2010

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress® (everolimus) oral tablets for the prevention of rejection of kidney transplants in adult patients at low-to-moderate immunologic risk. Zortress is to be given in combination with reduced doses of the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) cyclosporine, as well as basiliximab and corticosteroids.

22 Apr 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals to present MuGard clinical data at 2010 MASCC conference

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in products for cancer and supportive care, announced today that it will present data from the ongoing work involving its lead product, MuGard, and host an oral mucositis symposium at the MASCC conference being held in Vancouver, B.C. on June 24-26, 2010. MuGard is Access Pharma's FDA-approved product for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments.

22 Apr 2010

OPAL study: Fish oil supplements offer no benefits for cognitive function in older people

The largest ever trial of fish oil supplements has found no evidence that they offer benefits for cognitive function in older people.

22 Apr 2010

Simcere's diosmectite API in generic drug Biqi passes EU-GMP inspection

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, today announced that its diosmectite, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in Simcere's branded generic drug Biqi, has passed EU-GMP inspection. This enables Simcere to market diosmectite in the European Union countries.

22 Apr 2010

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "The new health care law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated, according to state and industry officials and an examination of Medicaid spending data" (Weaver, 4/20).

22 Apr 2010

FDA approves Akorn's ANDA supplement for Erythromycin

Akorn, Inc. a niche generic pharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) supplement for Erythromycin Ophthalmic Ointment USP 3.5 g. The company intends to begin shipping the product immediately.

22 Apr 2010

Celldex Therapeutics presents CDX-1127 antibody program at AACR Annual Meeting

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that CDX-1127, a preclinical therapeutic antibody program for oncology indications, is the subject of a poster presentation at the 2010 American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting in Washington DC.

22 Apr 2010

Labopharm launches INTELLITAB abuse and misuse-deterrent technology platform

Labopharm Inc. today introduced INTELLITAB(TM), the brand name for its proprietary abuse and misuse-deterrent technology platform. The INTELLITAB(TM) platform, which can deliver one or more therapeutic drugs in combination over periods of up to 24 hours, has the potential to provide a patient with a controlled release medication while minimizing the risk of intentional abuse or accidental misuse.

21 Apr 2010

ZIOP Chief Medical Officer receives grant to develop novel treatment for pediatric sarcoma

The Kristen Ann Carr Fund has awarded a grant to Jonathan Lewis, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., which will fund translational work at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, for the development of a novel treatment for pediatric sarcoma.

21 Apr 2010

Merck to market and distribute MBL's Td vaccine in the U.S.

MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement that provides Merck with exclusive rights to market and distribute MBL's tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed (Td) vaccine in the United States, with the exception of Massachusetts, where MBL will continue distributing the vaccine.

21 Apr 2010

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Abbott today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

21 Apr 2010

Pharmaceutical News

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

SGO white paper reviews current status of HPV typing, its benefits and deficiencies

Swine flu vaccine blues

Positive results from preclinical EP-302 program presented at AACR 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Miller-McCune: 'Existing beliefs' can stand in the way of medical research

Green tea catechins may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases: Scientists

Radical prescription drug reform in New Zealand

Mail-order drug provider identifies $163B in potential prescription drug savings

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

Access Pharmaceuticals to present MuGard clinical data at 2010 MASCC conference

OPAL study: Fish oil supplements offer no benefits for cognitive function in older people

Simcere's diosmectite API in generic drug Biqi passes EU-GMP inspection

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

FDA approves Akorn's ANDA supplement for Erythromycin

Celldex Therapeutics presents CDX-1127 antibody program at AACR Annual Meeting

Labopharm launches INTELLITAB abuse and misuse-deterrent technology platform

ZIOP Chief Medical Officer receives grant to develop novel treatment for pediatric sarcoma

Merck to market and distribute MBL's Td vaccine in the U.S.

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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