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Progesterone gel can reduce preterm birth in women with short cervix

A groundbreaking clinical study of a new method for preventing premature birth in millions of women each year, published in the medical journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, shows that the rate of early preterm delivery in women can be reduced by 45 percent - simply by treating pregnant women at risk with a low-cost gel of natural progesterone during the midtrimester of pregnancy until term.

7 Apr 2011

Brazil's Ministry of Health, PharmaPraxis sign deal to manufacture biologic drugs

PharmaPraxis, from Axis Biotec, Cryopraxis, Silvestre Labs and CellPraxis Group, announces the formalization of an agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Health to manufacture biologic drugs.

7 Apr 2011

Study: New cancer drug shrinks tumors in mouse model with few side effects

A study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center showed in animal studies that new cancer drug compounds they developed shrank tumors, with few side effects.

7 Apr 2011

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for vandetanib to treat medullary thyroid cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved vandetanib to treat adult patients with late-stage (metastatic) medullary thyroid cancer who are ineligible for surgery and who have disease that is growing or causing symptoms.

7 Apr 2011

Nuron Biotech announces acquisition of Wyeth's HibTITER vaccine assets

Nuron Biotech Inc., a specialty biologics and vaccines company, today announced that it has acquired assets relating to the vaccine HibTITER from Wyeth LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, for the U.S. and many other markets, including Japan and Korea. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

7 Apr 2011

Lupin grants Salix exclusive worldwide rights to rifaximin

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced that as of March 31, 2011 Lupin Ltd. granted Salix exclusive worldwide rights (except for India) to exploit Lupin technology and technology jointly developed by Lupin and Salix for all rifaximin products for human use. This agreement expands the collaboration that Salix and Lupin entered into as of September 30, 2009.

6 Apr 2011

BioWa, OBT enter license agreement to advance ADCC programs

BioWa, Inc. and Oxford BioTherapeutics Ltd today announced that they have entered into a license agreement to provide OBT with access to BioWa's patented POTELLIGENT Technology platform for the development of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity enhanced antibodies.

6 Apr 2011

Optimer, Cubist sign deal to market DIFICID for CDI treatment in the U.S.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the signing of an exclusive two-year co-promotion agreement to market DIFICID, in the United States.

6 Apr 2011

FDA reports dramatic increase in adverse drug events

In recent years, U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports of adverse events related to drugs have increased dramatically.

6 Apr 2011

WSPA, BAWA partner for anti-rabies campaign in Bali

The World Society for the Protection of Animals, along with the Bali Provincial Authorities and WSPA partner the Bali Animal Welfare Association, is celebrating an important milestone in Bali's historic campaign to eradicate rabies.

6 Apr 2011

Experts welcome World Health Day on antibiotic resistance as timely

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) welcomes the focus on drug resistance for this year’s World Health Day as it is an issue that the Society has been proactively working on for the past 25 years.

6 Apr 2011

Novartis' TOBI Podhaler receives Health Canada NOC for Pa treatment in CF patients

Novartis Canada announced today that it has received Health Canada Notice of Compliance for TOBI Podhaler, a fast and convenient inhaled therapy for cystic fibrosis patients aged six and over.

6 Apr 2011

Shire files lawsuit against Watson over ADDERALL XR patent infringement

Shire plc, announces that its subsidiary Shire LLC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries Watson Laboratories, Inc.-Florida, Watson Pharma, Inc., Andrx Corporation, and Andrx Pharmaceuticals, L.L.C. for infringement of Shire's U.S. Reissue Patent No. RE 41,148, U.S. Reissue Patent No. RE 42,096 and U.S. Patent No. 6,913,768 and also for breach of contract.

6 Apr 2011

TZDs might serve as new agents for addiction treatment

Thiazolidinediones are a class of medications that are commonly prescribed to treat type-2 diabetes, while fibrates are a structurally-related class of medications that are prescribed to modulate lipid levels in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

6 Apr 2011

Two reports show drastic increase in opioid prescriptions in America

Two reports by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show a drastic shift in prescribing patterns impacting the magnitude of opioid substance abuse in America.

6 Apr 2011

PQM program launches new public medicine database

In the growing global battle against substandard and counterfeit medicines, the Promoting the Quality of Medicines program has launched a new, public database of medicines collected and analyzed in collaboration with stakeholders from countries in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

6 Apr 2011

NIAID awards Aragen Bioscience with three subcontracts to advance preclinical studies

Aragen Bioscience, Inc., today announced it is a subcontractor on a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases contract for the preclinical development of monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

6 Apr 2011

R&D Directions names Novavax VLP influenza vaccine as one of top '100 great investigational drugs in development'

Novavax, Inc. announced that its virus-like particle (VLP) influenza vaccine has been named by the editors of R&D Directions magazine as one of the top "100 great investigational drugs in development" today. In its tenth annual list of promising clinical compounds, R&D Directions cited Novavax's virus-like-particle technology as a promising new approach to producing vaccines to prevent seasonal, H1N1 and avian influenza. The list reflects the current interests of industry observers and analysts and is described in the magazine's March 2011 issue.

5 Apr 2011

La Jolla acquires GliaMed's novel class of compounds

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company today announced that it has acquired the rights to a novel class of compounds known as Regenerative Immunophilin Ligands from privately held GliaMed, Inc.

5 Apr 2011

Majority of customers highly satisfied with neighborhood independent drugstores

New drugstore Ratings published in the May issue of Consumer Reports and available online at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org reveal that the overwhelming majority (94%) of readers are highly satisfied with their experiences at neighborhood independent drugstores. While customers said they were generally satisfied with their pharmacies, some were irked by long waits and lagging service at some big box stores.

5 Apr 2011