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Merck applies for approval of its new insomnia drug suvorexant

Merck & Co. announced this Monday that they would file for U.S. marketing approval of their experimental insomnia drug suvorexant in 2012.

7 Feb 2012

FDA reviews Amgen’s prostate cancer drug Xgeva

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers say that an Amgen drug slowed the spread of cancer to the bone in men with hard-to-treat prostate cancer, though the drug did not extend life and carried significant side effects.

7 Feb 2012

Antiretroviral therapy does not increase severity of psychiatric disorders

A study of more than 300 children and adolescents with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) revealed no association between specific antiretroviral therapy and the severity of psychiatric disorders.

7 Feb 2012

Proactive test-and-treat case-detection strategy can combat malaria

As researchers work to eliminate malaria worldwide, new strategies are needed to find and treat individuals who have malaria, but show no signs of the disease. The prevalence of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic malaria can be as high as 35 percent in populations with malaria and these asymptomatic individuals can serve as a reservoir for spreading malaria even in areas where disease transmission has declined.

7 Feb 2012

New blood-thinning drugs likely to replace Coumadin for patients with non-valvular AF

Within a few years, a new generation of easy-to-use blood-thinning drugs will likely replace Coumadin for patients with irregular heartbeats who are at risk for stroke, according to a journal article by Loyola University Medical Center physicians.

7 Feb 2012

DMPA intake may increase risk of periodontitis, gingivitis in women

Injectable progesterone contraceptives may be associated with poor periodontal health, according to research in the Journal of Periodontology. The study found that women who are currently taking depotmedroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injectable contraceptive, or have taken DMPA in the past, are more likely to have indicators of poor periodontal health, including gingivitis and periodontitis, than women who have never taken the injectable contraceptive.

7 Feb 2012

New scoring method helps predict functional outcomes in stroke

A new scoring method can help doctors quickly decide which stroke patients will respond well to the clot-busting drug alteplase, according to a study published in the February 7, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Feb 2012

EpiCept seeks FDA Fast Track designation for AmiKet to treat CIPN

EpiCept Corporation today announced that it has filed for Fast Track designation for AmiKet(amitriptyline 4%, ketamine 2% cream) for the treatment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

7 Feb 2012

Mylan acquires two dermatological drugs from Valeant

Mylan Inc. today announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of two dermatological products from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

6 Feb 2012

Watson, Acorda partner to introduce tizanidine hydrochloride capsules

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company has partnered with Watson Pharma, Inc., a subsidiary of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to introduce tizanidine hydrochloride capsules, an authorized generic version of ZANAFLEX CAPSULES (tizanidine hydrochloride).

6 Feb 2012

Combination of ICS and LABA appears to reduce severe asthma attacks

A Henry Ford Hospital study has found that using two types of common asthma medications in combination reduces severe asthma attacks.

6 Feb 2012

Valeant divests generic Benzaclin and Efudex to Mylan

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. today announced that it has completed the divestiture of 1% clindamycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide gel (IDP-111), a generic version of Benzaclin, and 5% fluorouracil cream, (5-FU), an authorized generic of Efudex, to Mylan Inc..

6 Feb 2012

Soligenix reports positive results from preclinical studies of vaccine thermostabilization technology

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today results from preclinical studies of its proprietary vaccine thermostabilization technology indicating that Soligenix is able to produce stable vaccine formulations using adjuvants, protein immunogens, and other components that ordinarily would not withstand long temperature variations exceeding customary refrigerated storage conditions.

6 Feb 2012

Sandoz sends Remodulin Paragraph IV Notice Letter to United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation today announced receipt of a Paragraph IV Certification Notice Letter on February 3, 2012 from Sandoz Inc. advising that Sandoz has submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requesting approval to market a generic version of the 10 mg/mL strength of Remodulin (treprostinil) injection.

6 Feb 2012

Takeda launches EDARBYCLOR in the U.S. for treatment of hypertension

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., announced EDARBYCLOR (azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone) is now available by prescription in U.S. pharmacies for the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure in adults.

6 Feb 2012

Clinuvel submits SCENESSE MAA to EMA for treatment of erythropoietic protoporphyria

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited today announced that it has submitted a marketing authorisation application (MAA) for its first-in-class drug SCENESSE (afamelanotide 16mg implant) to the European Medicines Agency.

6 Feb 2012

MSL becomes a key link between pharmaceutical industry and stakeholders

Medical Science Liaisons have become a key link between the pharmaceutical industry and key stakeholders such as thought leaders that drive marketplace success. And the role of MSLs will grow even more in the coming years as the pharmaceutical industry relies on them to build relationships across a diverse set of customers.

4 Feb 2012

New approach can solve treatment-resistant problem in cancers

Free-flowing cancer cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies.

4 Feb 2012

UTMB's international vaccine symposium to be held Feb. 7-9

An international vaccine symposium sponsored by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and scheduled for Feb. 7-9 will reflect a dramatic shift in the world of vaccinology, according to Alan Barrett, director of UTMB's Sealy Center for Vaccine Development.

4 Feb 2012

Combination of Toca 511 and 5-FC may prolong survival in glioblastoma

Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma.

4 Feb 2012