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Abbott to resolve all outstanding issues related to Depakote

Abbott has reached a settlement with U.S. federal and 49 state authorities, plus the District of Columbia, to resolve all outstanding issues regarding a previously disclosed investigation of past sales and marketing practices relating to its neurologic medication Depakote.

8 May 2012

Campaign announces search for Arizona teens to participate in Addicteen

Arizona's anti-smoking youth campaign, Venomocity Brought to You by Addiction announces a search for Arizona teens to participate in Addicteen, a documentary about addiction. The film will examine activities which teenagers have defined as being addictive including, texting, social media and the use of tobacco. Filmmakers seek to draw out the similarities, differences and impacts of these behaviors on the lives of today's youth.

8 May 2012

NCPIE launches three acetaminophen safe use modules

The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) today launched three customized, online educational modules to promote safe use of acetaminophen products.

8 May 2012

T2M cells play a crucial role in treatment-resistant asthma

For most people with asthma, a couple of puffs from an inhaler filled with steroids makes breathing easy. But if their lungs become resistant to the calming effect of that medicine, they live in fear of severe asthma attacks that could send them to the hospital - or worse. Now, new research from the University of Michigan Health System may help explain what's going on in the lungs of these steroid-resistant individuals. The findings could aid the development of new treatment options, and of better ways to identify people at risk of becoming steroid-resistant.

8 May 2012

Health Canada announces labelling update for Cipralex

Health Canada is informing Canadians of a labelling update for the prescription drug Cipralex (the brand name of the drug escitalopram) regarding a dose-related risk of abnormal heart rhythms. Cipralex is used to treat depression and belongs to a family of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

7 May 2012

Children's vaccine for pneumococcal disease does not offer full protection

The vaccine given to children to immunise against serious pneumococcal disease does not offer full protection, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, finding that the number of cases diagnosed has tripled over the past 50 years.

7 May 2012

Positive long-term outcome data for chronic ITP patients treated with rituxamab

A new analysis concludes that rituximab, a drug commonly used to treat blood cancers, leads to treatment responses lasting at least five years in approximately one quarter of patients with low platelet counts and a risk of bleeding due to chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

7 May 2012

Vertex reports interim data from VX-809 and KALYDECO combination Phase 2 study for cystic fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today an interim analysis of data from an ongoing Phase 2 study of VX-809 and KALYDECO (ivacaftor) that showed significant improvements in lung function (FEV1) among adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have two copies.

7 May 2012

TOKU-E introduces faster dissolving dust-free grade Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

TOKU-E Company has announced availability of their newly developed, innovative, ultra-safe, faster dissolving dust-free grade (DF) Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS).

7 May 2012

Nuvo receives BfArM positive opinion for Pliaglis

Nuvo Research Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to building a portfolio of products for the topical treatment of pain and the development of its immune modulating drug candidate WF10, today announced that it has received notice of a positive opinion from the European Decentralized Procedure for the approval of Pliaglis from the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the reference member state.

7 May 2012

Keryx, Aeterna Zentaris execute perifosine license termination and technology transfer agreement

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company and Aeterna Zentaris Inc. have executed a License Termination and Technology Transfer Agreement, whereby the KRX-0401 (perifosine) license agreement has been terminated and all license rights have reverted back to Aeterna Zentaris.

7 May 2012

No functional difference in effects of Lucentis and Avastin on preventing vision loss

The one year results from a study into whether two drug treatments (Lucentis and Avastin), are equally effective in treating neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), have been reported today at an international research meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The findings will also appear online shortly in the leading journal Ophthalmology.

7 May 2012

Oral nutriceutical restores vision to otherwise hopeless patients facing permanent loss

There may be new found hope for patients whose vision is threatened when medicine injected directly into the eyes fails to cause abnormal blood vessels to recede. While injectable drugs called angiogenesis (an-gee-oh-jen-esis) inhibitors are considered a modern miracle and have become the standard of care for patients with the fast-progressive form of macular degeneration, they are not foolproof.

7 May 2012

Study reveals steepest decline in HPV vaccine completion among girls

The proportion of insured girls and young women completing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among those who initiated the series has dropped significantly - as much as 63 percent - since the vaccine was approved in 2006, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.

5 May 2012

MicroRNAs in breast cancer play a role in development of resistance to tamoxifen

Many breast cancer patients are treated with a drug called tamoxifen. The substance blocks the effect of estrogen and thus suppresses the growth signals of this hormone in cancer cells. When resistance to the drug develops, tumor cells change their growth program: They change their behavior and shape, become more mobile and also adopt the ability to invade surrounding tissue. Scientists working with PD (Associate Professor) Dr. Stefan Wiemann of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now also observed these changes in tamoxifen resistant breast cancer cells.

5 May 2012

Breckenridge finalizes agreement with Huahai to market Nevirapine Tablets

Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. announced today that it has finalized its agreement with Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Huahai) to market Nevirapine Tablets. Nevirapine 200mg Tablets are AB rated to Viramune a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) used to treat HIV-1 infection and AIDS, which is marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim.

5 May 2012

Growing role of body image drugs

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Kanayama et al. analyse the growing role of body image drugs.

4 May 2012

Scanning the evidence for evidence in RTIs: NPS webinar

Next week NPS will host its inaugural webinar for GPs looking at medical imaging in respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Forming part of the NPS campaign on antibiotic resistance, the webinar on 10 May enables GPs to engage with imaging experts in real-time and gain insights into when imaging is appropriate for RTIs.

4 May 2012

Aspirin versus warfarin for heart failure patients

In a new study on more than 2,000 patients, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that aspirin was as effective as the commonly prescribed drug warfarin. It said each drug had risks, but they had similar benefits overall.

4 May 2012

GOS prompts body's natural killer cells to ward off colon cancer

Researchers at Michigan State University have shown a prebiotic may help the body's own natural killer cells fight bacterial infection and reduce inflammation, greatly decreasing the risk of colon cancer.

4 May 2012