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Bill introduced in U.S. Senate is latest push to award prizes for new drug development

"As Washington prepares for a major international AIDS conference this summer, developments on the drug front are once again elevating the subject of the continuing epidemic in the public eye," CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 May 2012

Government-supported 'Prize Funds' would help important drugs have greater social impact

"Every year, millions of people die from preventable and treatable diseases, especially in poor countries," World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate, writes in this BusinessDay opinion piece.

22 May 2012

Combination of vitamin D and BCG vaccine improves bladder cancer survival

The tuberculosis vaccine is often used as a treatment for bladder cancer, and adding vitamin D might improve the vaccine's effectiveness, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center presented today at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

22 May 2012

HSF-1 protein likely source of chemotherapy-related heart damage in mice

Blocking a protein in the heart that is produced under stressful conditions could be a strategy to prevent cardiac damage that results from chemotherapy, a new study suggests.

22 May 2012

New strategy can reactivate genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die

A team of scientists has developed a promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs.

22 May 2012

InterMune reaches definitive agreement with Vidara to sell Actimmune

InterMune, Inc. today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with Vidara Therapeutics International Limited (Vidara) to sell its rights to Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) in a cash transaction valued at $55 million plus a two-year royalty stream.

22 May 2012

Opexa's Tovaxin for MS is now Tcelna

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), announced today that the Company is rebranding its leading MS therapy with the new name Tcelna. The product, previously known as Tovaxin, will now be known as Tcelna as the company positions itself towards the treatment of patients with Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS).

21 May 2012

Study shows how a drug-lead compound suppresses tumour formation

A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Biological Sciences and Mechanobiology Institute have discovered how a drug-led compound - a compound that is undergoing preclinical trials as a potential drug - can deprive cancer cells of energy and stop them from growing into a tumour. This drug-led compound is named BPTES.

21 May 2012

HS6ST2 enzyme an important regulator of breast cancer cell-bone interactions

Researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have in collaboration with the University of Turku, Indiana University and two Finnish companies, Biotie Therapies Corp. and Pharmatest Services Ltd, discovered a novel mechanism regulating the development of breast cancer bone metastases and showed that heparin-like compounds can potentially be used to inhibit breast cancer metastasis to bone.

21 May 2012

Pernix Therapeutics introduces Omeclamox-Pak® for the treatment of H. pylori infection and duodenal ulcer disease

Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PTX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced the introduction of Omeclamox-Pak®, a ten-day therapy of omeprazole delayed-release capsules (20 mg), clarithromycin tablets (500 mg) and amoxicillin capsules (500 mg) for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and duodenal ulcer disease (active or one-year history) to eradicate H. pylori in adult patients.

21 May 2012

Dr. Reddy's launches OTC Lansoprazole delayed-release capsules in the U.S.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced today that it has launched over-the-counter (OTC) Lansoprazole delayed-release capsules in the U.S. market on May 18, 2012, following Dr. Reddy's ANDA approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration.

21 May 2012

Cobiprostone shows promise against NSAID-induced gastric mucosal injury

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical data at Digestive Disease Week 2012, in San Diego, which demonstrates the protective effect of cobiprostone against epithelial barrier dysfunction in models of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced gastric mucosal injury.

21 May 2012

Vaccination studies from Mercer University to be unveiled at AAPS’ NBC

Vaccination studies from Mercer University (Ga.) headline the groundbreaking research being unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference.

21 May 2012

RA drug effective against Entamoeba histolytica

Research by a collaborative group of scientists from UC San Diego School of Medicine, UC San Francisco and Wake Forest School of Medicine has led to identification of an existing drug that is effective against Entamoeba histolytica. This parasite causes amebic dysentery and liver abscesses and results in the death of more than 70,000 people worldwide each year.

21 May 2012

Folic acid fortification may reduce incidence of Wilms' tumor, PNET in children

Folic acid fortification of foods may reduce the incidence of the most common type of kidney cancer and a type of brain tumors in children, finds a new study by Kimberly J. Johnson, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and Amy Linabery, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.

21 May 2012

Auranofin effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies

A team of researchers from UCSF and UC San Diego has identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.

21 May 2012

Study identifies biomarkers that predict patients' response to certain colon cancer drugs

The Stem Cells and Cancer Research Group headed by Dr H-ctor G. Palmer at the Vall d'Hebr-n Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has identified the molecular mechanisms that determine patients' response to certain drugs used in clinical trials for colon cancer treatment. The study led by VHIO also benefited from the collaboration with Professor Alberto Mu-oz-s laboratory at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas Alberto Sols, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient-ficas.

21 May 2012

Panobinostat able to target and destroy triple negative breast cancer

The histone de-acetylase (HDAC) inhibitor panobinostat is able to target and destroy triple negative breast cancer, reveals a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research.

21 May 2012

FDA gives patients less-expensive option, approves first generic versions of Plavix

Patients taking the popular blood thinner Plavix now have the option of getting a less-expensive pill, following the approval Thursday of the first generic versions in the U.S. That's because the patent for Plavix, the world's second-best-selling medicine, just expired. Plavix is taken by millions of people every day to prevent heart attacks and strokes, by preventing platelets in the blood from clumping together.

19 May 2012

Modeling data shows vaccine can build on HIV/AIDS prevention tools

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) President and CEO Margaret McGlynn discusses new modeling data from IAVI and the Futures Institute, with support from USAID, which "illustrates how a safe, preventive HIV vaccine that is accessible and affordable can help us end the AIDS pandemic."

19 May 2012