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Grapefruit juice boosts efficacy of drug rapamycin

In a small, early clinical trial, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center have found that combining eight ounces of grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can increase drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given.

20 Apr 2009

Safety of bird flu drug Tamiflu in children questioned

A prominent Japanese researcher reporting on the bird flu drug Tamiflu says the drug may not be safe for children.

20 Apr 2009

Vion Pharmaceuticals' NDA for Onrigin accepted for FDA review

Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for its lead oncology therapeutic Onrigin (laromustine) Injection has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

16 Apr 2009

Somanetics announces new FDA 510(K) clearance

Somanetics Corporation has announced a new 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand the labeling for its INVOS(R) Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter.

16 Apr 2009

GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer team up to form HIV company

Pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer today announced an "innovative agreement" to pool their HIV assets creating a new world-leading, specialist HIV company.

16 Apr 2009

Experts say propylthiouracil should not longer be used as first-line treatment for Graves' disease in children

Of the 4000 children with Graves' disease treated in the U.S. annually, 40 percent are routinely treated with the drug propylthiouracil.

16 Apr 2009

Slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery could change pain management

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, and may also have a large impact on chronic pain management.

15 Apr 2009

OncoGel: New system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer

Gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center are studying the safety and efficacy of a new system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer, a rare, but deadly disease that attacks the throat.

15 Apr 2009

Vaccine for Coeliac disease could mean the end of gluten free diets

Australian scientists have developed an experimental vaccine to treat coeliac disease. The team at the Walter and Eliza Hall (WEHI) Institute in Melbourne are hoping a phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine, due to begin this month, will eventually lead to an effective clinical treatment for the disease.

15 Apr 2009

FDA grants Oasmia's Paclical orphan drug designation for ovarian cancer in U.S.

Oasmia Pharmaceutical, Uppsala, Sweden, has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the USA FDA of Paclical for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

14 Apr 2009

NextBio receives phase II SBIR grant to add new genomic and proteomic content

NextBio has announced the receipt of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

14 Apr 2009

Vaccine for Enterotoxigenic E. coli developed

A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world.

14 Apr 2009

FDA imposes restrictions on Coast IRB due to violations

The U.S Food and Drug Administration has announced that Coast IRB, LLC of Colorado Springs, Colo., has agreed to voluntarily halt some aspects of its clinical trial oversight operations due to serious concerns about the company's ability to protect human subjects participating in clinical trials.

14 Apr 2009

Medicare payments for outpatient prescription medications jumped $38 billion between 2005 and 2006

Medicare payments for outpatient prescription medications increased by more than $38 billion when comparing 2005 and 2006 data, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Apr 2009

Health Canada approves Simponi (golimumab) for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. and Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that Health Canada has granted approval of Simponi (golimumab) as a once-monthly, subcutaneous therapy for the treatment of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

13 Apr 2009

Safety of Bitter orange herbal weight loss product questioned

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is reportedly examining whether there are any risks associated with an over-the-counter (OTC) herbal weight loss programme sold in Australia.

13 Apr 2009

PPI prescribed for asthma ineffective and too expensive

According to researchers in the U.S. millions of asthma patients taking the drug Nexium, (esomeprazole), or a similar drug are doing so unnecessarily.

13 Apr 2009

Tolera Therapeutics granted orphan drug status for organ transplant rejection lead candidate drug

Tolera Therapeutics, Inc., was granted orphan drug status by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its initial lead candidate, TOL101, for prophylaxis of acute rejection of solid organ transplantation.

12 Apr 2009

FDA stops Neilgen Pharmaceuticals and Advent Pharmaceuticals from making unapproved drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it had obtained a permanent injunction barring Neilgen Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Westminster, Md., its parent company, Advent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Advent), of East Windsor, N.J., and two of their officers, Bharat Patel and Pragna Patel, from manufacturing and distributing any unapproved, adulterated or misbranded drugs.

12 Apr 2009