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TIR-199 shows promise in fighting renal cancer

Chemists at the University of California, Riverside have developed a compound that holds much promise in the laboratory in fighting renal (kidney) cancer.

20 Feb 2013

Scientists create new strain of polio to protect vaccine factory workers

"Scientists have created new strains of polio intended to protect workers in factories that make polio vaccine," the New York Times reports.

20 Feb 2013

Gilead to resolve Viread patent litigation case with Teva

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that Gilead and Teva Pharmaceuticals have reached an agreement in principle to settle the ongoing patent litigation concerning the patents protecting Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), a treatment for HIV infection and chronic hepatitis B. Under the terms of the settlement, Teva will be allowed to launch a generic version of Viread on December 15, 2017.

20 Feb 2013

Study evaluates effectiveness of H1N1 vaccine in pregnant women against adverse infant outcomes

Pregnant women who received the H1N1 influenza vaccine during the 2009 pandemic were less likely to have premature babies, and their babies weighed more on average.

20 Feb 2013

Meloxicam recognizes and treats osteoarthritis in cats

Scientists at the University of Montreal's Quebec Research Group in Animal Pharmacology have found a way to recognize and treat osteoarthritis in cats - a condition that the owner might not notice and that can make even petting painful.

20 Feb 2013

New coronavirus could potentially be treated with immunotherapy

The new coronavirus that has emerged in the Middle East is well-adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with immunotherapy, according to a study to be published on February 19 in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

20 Feb 2013

SARS-linked virus well adapted to infect humans, could be treated with drugs to boost immune system, study shows

"A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday," Reuters reports, noting, "The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, is from the same family as the common cold and as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome."

19 Feb 2013

EMA designates Osiris as Orphan Drug title holder for Prochymal

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., the leading stem cell company developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions in inflammatory, cardiovascular, orthopedic and wound healing markets, announced today that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has designated Osiris as the Orphan Drug title holder for Prochymal (remestemcel-L).

19 Feb 2013

Sucampo's RESCULA 0.15% now available by prescription across the U.S.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that RESCULA (unoprostone isopropyl ophthalmic solution) 0.15% is now available by prescription across the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a sNDA for RESCULA for the lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension on December 7, 2012.

19 Feb 2013

Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

An antidepressant drug used since the 1960s may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a surprising new finding made in mice and human red blood cells by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School.

19 Feb 2013

Data from Eleven Biotherapeutics' EBI-005 preclinical study on ocular diseases

Eleven Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company creating novel and differentiated protein-based biotherapeutics, has published preclinical data in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showing beneficial effects of EBI-005, the first rationally-designed topically administered IL-1 protein for the treatment of ocular diseases.

19 Feb 2013

Chiasma, Roche enter agreement to develop and commercialize Octreolin

Roche and Chiasma Inc., a privately held biopharma company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Chiasma's proprietary product Octreolin, initially for acromegaly and subsequently for neuroendocrine tumors.

19 Feb 2013

Researchers design molecules that can stop colon cancer progression

A Basque research consortium has managed to halt the progress of colon cancer and its metastasis in the liver in an experimental model with mice. This advance, that may open a new path for the future treatment of such pathologies, has been achieved by creating molecules which interfere with the adhesion of tumour cells to other cells of the organism. In this way, the molecules halt both the growth of the tumour and the dissemination of the tumour to and its proliferation in other organs.

19 Feb 2013

Study describes pharmacological action of TZDs directly on pancreas

A scientific study published on the journal Diabetes, edited by the American Diabetes Association, describes for the first time the pharmacological action of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) —anti-diabetic drugs— directly on pancreas, the organ which produces insulin.

18 Feb 2013

'Vaccine patch' could make immunizations cheaper, easier

"An innovative new way to deliver vaccines could drastically improve the health of the third world, and even the first world, by making vaccines cheaper and easier to distribute and use," Business Insider reports, adding, "The 'vaccine patch' would be as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, and would be stable for weeks at room temperature."

16 Feb 2013

Research involves new, safer ways to deliver biomedical agents against tumors

Jeremy L. Steinbacher, PhD, is among a new generation of scientists trying to improve their aim and approach to killing cancer cells. The Canisius College professor of chemistry/biochemistry is working to develop biomedical agents that more accurately target and attack tumors.

16 Feb 2013

Gut microbes can affect severity of kidney disease brought on by melamine poisoning

Microbes present in the gut can affect the severity of kidney disease brought on by melamine poisoning, according to an international study led by Professor Wei Jia at the University of North Carolina in collaboration with the research group of Professor Jeremy Nicholson at Imperial College London.

16 Feb 2013

Overall rise in drug costs is less than in previous years

Even though costs for medications will continue to rise in 2013 by as much as 4 percent, the increase is projected to be less than in previous years, according to a report in the advance online publication of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, the journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

16 Feb 2013

TSG might be novel compound for treatment of Alzheimer's and dementia with Lewy body

Administration of the active compound tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG) derived from the Chinese herbal medicine Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, reversed both overexpression of α-synuclein, a small protein found in the brain, and its accumulation using a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

16 Feb 2013

Patients with untreated depression are poorly protected by shingles vaccination

Results from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest a link between untreated depression in older adults and decreased effectiveness of the herpes zoster, or shingles, vaccine.

16 Feb 2013