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Meda opens China affiliate based in Beijing

Meda has established an affiliate in Hong Kong. At the end of last year, Meda opened its China affiliate based in Beijing. Meda will begin by commercializing two of its well-established products in Hong Kong; Elidel for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema) and azelastine for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

3 Apr 2012

Combination treatment effective against melanoma

Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows that a coordinated effort to block signaling pathways that promote cancer cell growth and survival enhances programmed cell death in melanoma.

3 Apr 2012

UCB receives FDA approval for Neupro to treat idiopathic Parkinson's, RLS

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neupro (Rotigotine Transdermal System) for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of advanced stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and as a treatment for moderate-to-severe primary Restless Legs Syndrome.

3 Apr 2012

PET allows survival predictions in sarcoma after initial cycle of neoadjuvant chemo

An early Positron Emission Tomography (PET) response after the initial cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be used to predict increased survival in patients with soft tissue sarcomas, according to a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

3 Apr 2012

New preclinical data on ARIAD's ponatinib and AP26113 study presented at AACR meeting

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of new preclinical data on its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor, ponatinib, and its investigational dual EGFR-ALK inhibitor, AP26113, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago.

3 Apr 2012

CovalentMedical makes Focus MaculaPro available to general public

Focus MaculaPro is a leading macular health vitamin in the United States and is sold in more retina specialists' offices than any other eye vitamin on the market. Focus MaculaPro up until now has only been available to patients through their retina specialist. Now, however, Covalent Medical has made Focus MaculaPro available to the general public.

3 Apr 2012

New guidelines offer guidance on how and when to switch between RA drug classes

A trend toward more aggressive treatment in patients just starting to develop rheumatoid arthritis is among the most important changes in treatment guidelines for the disease, according to updated American College of Rheumatology recommendations published today in the journal Arthritis Care & Research. The trend may proceed from emerging opinions that joint damage caused by RA is irreversible, and that early, intensive therapy better preserves physical function, quality of life and capacity to work.

2 Apr 2012

Combination of Avastin and Metformin may effectively reduce melanoma growth

COMBINING the experimental drug Avastin (bevacizumab) with the diabetes drug Metformin almost doubles its ability to reduce skin cancer growth, according to a study in Cancer Discovery.

2 Apr 2012

Vaccines for measles may not increase risk of febrile seizures in 4-6 year olds

Vaccines for measles were not associated with an increased risk of febrile seizures among 4-6 year olds during the six weeks after vaccination, according to a study by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center that appears in the current issue of Pediatrics.

2 Apr 2012

MEK1 mutation does not necessarily make BRAF mutant melanomas resistant to inhibitors

A second mutation found in the tumors of patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma does not contribute to resistance to BRAF inhibitor drugs, a finding that runs counter to what scientists expected to be true.

2 Apr 2012

Metformin prevents primary liver cancer in animal models

Metformin, a drug widely used to treat Type II diabetes, may help to prevent primary liver cancer, researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center report in the April 2012 issue of Cancer Prevention Research.

2 Apr 2012

Teva launches generic Avalide and Avapro Tablets

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has commenced commercial launch of both Irbesartan and Irbesartan-Hydrochlorothiazide Tablets, the Company's generic versions of Sanofi Aventis' high blood pressure treatments, Avapro and Avalide Tablets.

2 Apr 2012

Nasal spray to prevent fat and plaque built up in the heart on the horizon

Researchers found a treatment that was much more effective in removing fat from arteries than established methods. The vaccine can be given as an injection or in a slightly different form as a nasal spray. A trial on 144 heart disease sufferers is under way in the US and Canada.

1 Apr 2012

Obesity drugs need more heart safety scrutiny: FDA panel

According to federal advisors last Thursday, obesity drugs should undergo clinical trials to ensure that they do not cause heart attacks. This would make it harder for these drugs to receive approval.

1 Apr 2012

New ACR guidelines recommend use of topical NSAIDs for older patients with knee OA

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Subcommittee on Osteoarthritis Guidelines has approved and issued several updates to clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA).

31 Mar 2012

Best Practices develops Pharmaceutical Launch Excellence Services

The launch landscape for new pharmaceutical products has shifted dramatically, with physician access and payer influence two of the biggest changes facing launch teams. At the same time, the pressure for successful new products has never been greater with the pharmaceutical industry facing pipeline deficits, patent expirations and increasing development costs.

31 Mar 2012

'Large-scale action' needed in Myanmar to prevent spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria parasites

In this New York Times opinion piece, Frank Smithuis, director of Medical Action Myanmar in Yangon, and Nick White, professor of tropical medicine at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok, recount a brief history of the development of anti-malaria drugs and their contribution to "a significant global reduction in malaria" and note that this progress "is now threatened by the emergence of malaria parasites that are resistant to artemisinin on the Cambodia-Thailand border ..., the same place where chloroquine resistance emerged 50 years ago and spread across Asia and Africa to claim millions of lives."

31 Mar 2012

Modern delivery practices contribute to increase in labor duration

Women take longer to give birth today than did women 50 years ago, according to an analysis of nearly 140,000 deliveries conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The researchers could not identify all of the factors that accounted for the increase, but concluded that the change is likely due to changes in delivery room practice.

31 Mar 2012

Teva introduces generic Provigil

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces the launch of the authorized generic of Provigil (modafinil).

31 Mar 2012

IMS supports new guidance on glucocorticoid use

The International Osteoporosis Foundation, along with the European Society for Calcified Tissue, launched new guidance on glucocorticoid use at the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (which took place in Bordeaux from March 21 - 24, 2012). Given the special relevance to postmenopausal women, the International Menopause Society (IMS) is supporting the publication of the guidance.

31 Mar 2012