Pharmaceutical News

RSS

Older patients less likely to receive pain medication in hospital EDs

A new study finds that people 75 years old or older are less likely to receive any pain medication in hospital emergency departments than middle aged people - those between 35 and 54 years old.

13 Nov 2011

IVI receives WHO prequalification for new oral cholera vaccine

Shanchol-, a new oral cholera vaccine developed through the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization established by the United Nations and based in Seoul, recently received prequalification from the World Health Organization.

13 Nov 2011

Opioid-dependent patients have worse outcomes before knee replacement surgery

Patients who are dependent on opioids (narcotic pain relievers) for pain management before knee replacement surgery have much more difficulty recovering, a study recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) has found.

13 Nov 2011

Brazilian Ministry of Health, Bristol-Myers Squibb sign technology transfer agreement for Reyataz

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced a technology transfer agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Health to expand access to Reyataz (atazanavir sulfate) in Brazil.

13 Nov 2011

NICE refuses AstraZeneca breast cancer drug on NHS

Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has refused another breast cancer drug from routine NHS use. This was not met with enthusiasm by the cancer charities which said that drugs of this type are “particularly valuable”.

13 Nov 2011

Inflammatory arthritis or autoimmune disease ruled out as cause for joint pain associated with AIs

Researchers exploring why some women who take a common breast cancer drug develop serious joint pain have eliminated two possible causes: inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease.

11 Nov 2011

Actavis begins shipping Morphine Sulfate Extended-Release Capsules

Actavis, an international generic pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has begun shipping Morphine Sulfate Extended-Release Capsules, USP CII, an authorized generic of KADIAN.

11 Nov 2011

Vaccination dramatically reduces incidence of Hib disease in young children

Vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, once the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in children, has dramatically reduced the incidence of Hib disease in young children over the past 20 years, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

11 Nov 2011

Worm model to evaluate drugs for Parkinson's disease

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a simple test, using dopamine-deficient worms, for identifying drugs that may help people with Parkinson's disease.

11 Nov 2011

New process allows for more rapid and cheaper separation of enantiomers

Enantiomers are pairs of molecules built in a mirror-inverted manner. They differ from each other like a left and a right glove. This property of the molecules that is referred to as chirality is of particular relevance to biosciences and pharmaceutics. "While many, especially smaller, molecules like carbon dioxide or methane are not chiral, many biologically relevant molecules, such as tartaric acid have this property," explains Professor Christof W-ll, Head of the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces.

11 Nov 2011

Pharmaceutical industry should invest more in NTDs

In this Forbes opinion piece, contributor Sarika Bansal examines "what needs to happen for the pharmaceutical industry, academic researchers, and other key players to begin investing more seriously in" neglected tropical diseases.

11 Nov 2011

N-acetylcysteine plus cortisone shows promise against acute alcoholic hepatitis

Acute alcoholic hepatitis is one of the most serious forms of alcoholic liver disease, affecting individuals with chronic excessive alcohol consumption, which generally equates to more than 50 grams of alcohol per day, over a period of more than three to six months. The disease is characterized by liver failure and acute jaundice (icterus), which may induce a coma through liver failure and an ensuing death rate of between 40-45% within the first six months.

11 Nov 2011

Watson receives FDA approval for generic Kadian ANDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for morphine sulfate extended-release capsules USP, the generic equivalent of Actavis' Kadian.

11 Nov 2011

Intelligent Fingerprinting launches prototype of hand-held drug testing device

The world's first prototype of a hand-held fingerprint drug testing device has been created by UK technology company Intelligent Fingerprinting.

11 Nov 2011

Novartis files suit against Watson over generic Exelon

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market rivastigmine transdermal system patches, 4.6 mg/24 hr and 9.5 mg/24 hr.

11 Nov 2011

CCCBD scientist to receive 2011 V Foundation Translational Research Grant

Scientists at the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases (CCCBD) and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, have been awarded a highly competitive translational research grant of $600,000 from The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

10 Nov 2011

Mylan acquires rights to Pfizer's inhalation technology platform

Mylan Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Pfizer for the exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize Pfizer's generic equivalent to GlaxoSmithKline's Advair Diskus and Seretide Diskus incorporating Pfizer's proprietary dry powder inhaler delivery platform.

10 Nov 2011

HFHP now able to offer two stand-alone prescription drug plans statewide

It began in 1996 as a local, community-based alternative to out-of-state insurance mega-giants, but now it is venturing out beyond the Space Coast for the first time. In what has become a real Space Coast business success story, Health First Health Plans (HFHP), which prides itself on its reputation for being community oriented and 100% dedicated to serving the specific needs of Floridians, is now able to offer two stand-alone prescription drug (PDP) plans from the Panhandle to the Keys.

10 Nov 2011

APS supports CDC's call for multifaceted approach to address prescription drug misuse

As reported by the U.S Centers for Disease Control, some 15,000 deaths occurred in the U.S. in 2008 from overdoses of prescription pain medications, and demand for treatment of prescription opioid addiction increased almost six fold between 1999 and 2009.

10 Nov 2011

Aristolochic acid leads to kidney failure, upper urinary tract cancer

Aristolochic acid, a component of a plant used in herbal remedies since ancient times and still used in certain herbal medicines worldwide, leads to kidney failure and upper urinary tract cancer in individuals exposed to the toxin.

10 Nov 2011