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Aspirin can reduce acute migraine attacks

A single dose of 900-1000 mg aspirin can substantially reduce migraine headache pain within two hours, for more than half of people who take it. It also reduces any associated nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound (photophobia or phonophobia).

15 Apr 2010

Drug company payments to doctors: Continuing controversy

The New York Times has two stories on pharmaceutical industry payments to physicians and experts.

15 Apr 2010

Risks and benefits of anti-aging hormones

In an editorial appearing in the Future Medicine journal Aging Health, Dr. Perls applauds the courage and example displayed by the AMA in its recently published assessment of the risks and benefits of growth hormone, testosterone, estrogen and DHEA for anti-aging.

15 Apr 2010

Alkermes submits VIVITROL sNDA for opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval as a treatment for opioid dependence. The company requested a priority review for its sNDA and if granted by the FDA, it would mean a six month review timeline.

13 Apr 2010

Provista, ARMSRx form partnership to provide pharmacy benefit services

Provista, LLC announced today that it has partnered with Administered Risk Management Services Rx, LLC (ARMSRx), a pharmacy benefit consulting firm that specializes in delivering superior results and ongoing support to the administration and management of prescription drug benefit programs and afford Provista members with the highest-quality pharmaceutical care at the lowest possible cost.

13 Apr 2010

Mersana Therapeutics, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries sign research and license agreement

Mersana Therapeutics, a platform-based cancer therapeutics company, today announced that it has entered into a research and exclusive license agreement with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to develop and commercialize XMT-1107, a novel fumagillin analog, for the treatment of all indications, including cancer.

13 Apr 2010

Researchers discover two synthetic small molecule drugs to prevent death of human stem cell

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the decade-old mystery of why human embryonic stem cells are so difficult to culture in the laboratory, providing scientists with useful new techniques and moving the field closer to the day when stem cells can be used for therapeutic purposes.

13 Apr 2010

Immunomedics' progress in cancer therapy product candidates to be presented at AACR 2010

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer and other serious diseases, today announced that eight presentations reporting on the Company's progress in diverse cancer therapy product candidates will be given at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 17 – 21, 2010, in Washington, DC.

13 Apr 2010

Copaxone achieves one million patient years of experience in treatment of RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. announced today that Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate injection), has now achieved one million patient years of experience in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This analysis is based on internal data submitted annually to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

13 Apr 2010

Boston Globe examines how PEPFAR budget pressures are affecting AIDS clinics in Africa

"U.S. officials have asked some AIDS clinics overseas to stop enrolling new patients in a U.S.-sponsored program that provides lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, in a bid to stem the rising costs of one of the most ambitious US assistance programs, according to interviews with doctors and official correspondence," the Boston Globe reports.

13 Apr 2010

ABRAXANE accepted for restricted use within Scotland NHS

Abraxis BioScience, Inc., a fully integrated biotechnology company, welcomes the announcement today that following a full submission, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted ABRAXANE® (paclitaxel albumin) for restricted use within the National Health Service (NHS) for Scotland in patients who would otherwise receive docetaxel or 3-weekly solvent-based paclitaxel as second-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

13 Apr 2010

MS drug TYSABRI to be highlighted at 62nd AAN Annual Meeting

Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc today announced 15 company-sponsored platform and poster presentations at the American Academy of Neurology's (AAN) 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010. The AAN Annual Meeting is the world's largest gathering of neurologists.

13 Apr 2010

Antidepressants and mood stabilizers may benefit stroke victims

A study in rodents shows the growth of new neurons, also known as neurogenesis, lessens the severity of stroke and dramatically improves function following a stroke. The research, undertaken at the Buck Institute for Age Research, suggests that drugs shown to promote neurogenesis in rodents could have benefits for human stroke victims and that those drugs-which include antidepressants and mood stabilizers such as lithium-may be suitable for study in human clinical trials.

13 Apr 2010

Vitamins touted in skin care products reduce signs of sun-damaged skin: Study

While everyone knows that getting an adequate daily dose of vitamins and minerals is important in maintaining one's overall health, many question whether or not the vitamins touted in skin care products work in reducing the signs of sun-damaged skin.

13 Apr 2010

Oragenics signs distribution agreement with RICCI PHARMA

Florida-based biotechnology company Oragenics, Inc., and RICCI PHARMA, a recognized health products company with offices in Rome and Slovakia, have entered into a distribution agreement that the parties anticipate will provide Oragenics' proprietary oral care probiotic products, EvoraPlus® and EvoraKidsTM, to RICCI PHARMA. RICCI PHARMA will have exclusive distribution rights through Duc in Altum, a foundation whose humanitarian projects are inspired by the social teachings of the late Pope John Paul II.

13 Apr 2010

U.S. seeks to constrain global AIDS program costs

The Boston Globe: "US officials have asked some AIDS clinics overseas to stop enrolling new patients in a US-sponsored program that provides lifesaving antiretroviral drugs" in an effort to stem the rising costs of this assistance program. This step has triggered concern among some AIDS advocates "that the Obama administration is curtailing its commitment to a program that provides lifesaving drugs for 2.4 million people and that many view as President Bush's most successful foreign policy legacy.

13 Apr 2010

New tool for retrieving accurate drug side-effect information

It's not uncommon for individuals to take as many as a dozen different prescriptions, each with its own set of possible side effects. If a patient experiences one of the potential hundreds of different adverse reactions such as nausea, headaches, insomnia or heart palpitations, how does the physician quickly and accurately determine which drug is the culprit?

13 Apr 2010

Physicians warn parents on dangers of prescription drug abuse among children

With reports of increased prescription drug overdoses in emergency departments, the nation's emergency physicians are issuing a strong warning to parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, which are now the second most abused drugs, after marijuana. Hospital visits caused by accidental and unintentional prescription drug overdoses went up 37 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to new data released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

13 Apr 2010

Increase in circulating stem cells can be achieved through Stem-Kine: Study

A study published in the peer reviewed Journal of Translational Medicine demonstrated administration of Stem-Kine, a commercially available nutritional supplement, significantly elevated levels of two types of stem cells in circulation.

13 Apr 2010

Decrease in manic symptoms severity influences prescribing decisions for bipolar mania

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that surveyed psychiatrists say that the decrease in severity of manic symptoms is the attribute that most influences their prescribing decisions in bipolar mania. Clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders indicate that Eli Lilly's Zyprexa (olanzapine) has advantages in this attribute over AstraZeneca/Astellas's Seroquel (quetiapine), the sales-leading agent in the bipolar disorder drug market.

13 Apr 2010