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Stallergenes granted European approval to market Oralair

Stallergenes has been granted European approval to market Oralair(R) in both adults and children through a Mutual Recognition Procedure. Germany, the first country where Oralair(R) has been marketed, was the reference Member state.

27 Nov 2009

European Commission approves MICARDIS medication for CV protection

MICARDIS® is the first treatment in its class to be approved for this indication. The EMEA approval is the second major milestone for MICARDIS® in cardiovascular protection. It follows the approval by the US FDA for the reduction of the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, or death from cardiovascular (CV) causes in patients 55 years of age or older at high risk of developing major CV events who are unable to take ACE inhibitors.

27 Nov 2009

Health Canada announces recent changes made to heparin manufacturing standards

Health Canada is informing health care professionals and Canadians of recent changes to heparin manufacturing standards in the United States that will result in a decrease in the potency of certain heparin products by about 10 per cent.

27 Nov 2009

NCKU, ScinoPharm Taiwan sign MOU to establish university-industry cooperation

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan signed a MOU with ScinoPharm Taiwan Ltd. on Nov. 24th.

27 Nov 2009

Copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate shown to be effective in treating Wilson disease

The copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of Wilson disease, a disease caused by an overload of copper, and certain metastatic cancers.

27 Nov 2009

Risk of postnatal transmission can be reduced with HAART in HIV-positive mothers

Researchers conducting clinical trials in Rwanda have concluded that the risk of postnatal transmission is minimal in HIV-positive mothers undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) while breastfeeding.

27 Nov 2009

ALDA Pharmaceuticals and Shoppers Drug Mart sign distribution agreement

ALDA Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:APH)(OTCBB:APCSF) ("the Company" or "ALDA") announces that it has entered into an agreement with Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation ("Shoppers") that will make the Company's T36® Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer available in over 1,170 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores across Canada.

26 Nov 2009

MICARDIS receives Health Canada approval to reduce the risk of non-fatal stroke

MICARDIS(R) (telmisartan) has received Health Canada approval to reduce the risk of non-fatal stroke or non-fatal myocardial infarction in patients 55 years or older at high risk of developing major cardiovascular events who cannot tolerate an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor.

26 Nov 2009

OSEO awards fund for Galapagos NV's antibody therapeutics program

Galapagos NV announces that its antibody therapeutics program with MorphoSys and SARM program have been awarded funding by the French governmental organization OSEO.

26 Nov 2009

Prescriptions for cholestrol therapy filled after the release of Arbiter 6-HALTS study results

In the week ending Friday, Nov. 20 – after the American Heart Association and New England Journal of Medicine released results of the Arbiter 6-HALTS study on Saturday, Nov. 14 – patients new to Niaspan filled 13,255 prescriptions for the cholesterol therapy, an increase of 41% from the week ending Nov. 13.

26 Nov 2009

MUHC's innovative treatment for HIV patients passes first clinical trial successfully

An innovative treatment for HIV patients developed by McGill University Health Centre researchers has passed its first clinical trial with flying colours. The new approach is an immunotherapy customized for each individual patient, and was developed by Dr. J-P. Routy from the Research Institute of the MUHC in collaboration with Dr. R. S-kaly from the Universit- de Montr-al.

26 Nov 2009

Merck, Idera Pharmaceuticals extend their vaccine research collaboration

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Merck & Co., Inc., through an affiliate, has extended its research collaboration with Idera for a fourth year. In December 2006, the companies entered into an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement to research, develop, and commercialize vaccine products containing the Company’s investigational agonist compounds targeting Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) 7, 8, and 9 in the fields of oncology, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease.

26 Nov 2009

New article discusses the balance between pain management and drug safety

An article by Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, titled "A Difficult Balance - Pain Management, Drug Safety, and the FDA," appears in the Nov. 26, 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Nov 2009

Dermatologists express strong interest in Stelara, despite concerns

BioTrends Research Group, Inc. released Wave 1 of its LaunchTrends(TM): Stelara report, the first in a multi-phase syndicated market research project tracking the launch of Centocor Ortho-Biotech's Stelara, from product launch through the first six months of availability. Each wave of the report provides quantitative information from 75 unique Dermatologists and qualitative information from a subset of 20.

26 Nov 2009

Patients may not benefit from e-samples of prescription drugs, says UW

Search the Internet to learn about your asthma, high cholesterol or other common disorder, and odds are you'll be directed to a pharmaceutical company-sponsored Web homepage. There you'll often find an offer for a free sample or a one-time discount on a top-selling prescription medication.

25 Nov 2009

Erbitux drug can reverse rare stomach disorder, report researchers

A drug used to treat colorectal cancer also can reverse a rare stomach disorder and should be considered first-line therapy for the disease, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center report this week.

25 Nov 2009

Tibotec Therapeutics' INTELENCE granted FDA traditional approval

The FDA granted traditional approval for INTELENCE® (etravirine) tablets, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). INTELENCE is the only NNRTI specifically indicated for use in treatment-experienced adults who are experiencing virologic failure with HIV-1 strains resistant to an NNRTI and other antiretroviral (ARV) agents.

25 Nov 2009

Lethality of H1N1 virus has dropped from its peak of 3.7, shows new data

Biotech firm Replikins Ltd., which has analyzed the H1N1 virus' genomic data from the 1918 pandemic through the prediction, outbreak, and progress of the current H1N1 pandemic, today issued its latest biochemical analysis of the virus.

25 Nov 2009

No evidence of improved survival for epinephrine administered patients during ACLS

Patients with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who received intravenous (IV) drug administration during treatment, recommended in life support guidelines, had higher rates of short term survival but no statistically significant improvement in survival to hospital discharge or long-term survival, compared to patients who did not receive IV drug administration, according to a study in the November 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Nov 2009

Data miners can inform drug companies of doctors' prescribing habits

The Baltimore Sun reports: "[P]harmaceutical companies that make … prescription drugs are also looking over the doctor's shoulder, keeping track of how many prescriptions for whose drugs the individual physician is writing."

25 Nov 2009