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New drug approved for COPD by the FDA

The U.S. FDA has approved a new treatment for people with worsening symptoms of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD affects smokers and the elderly and leads to severe difficulty in breathing, chronic cough and excessive mucus production. An exacerbation can last up to several weeks and result in a decline in lung function and increased risk of death, and it may be associated with severe anxiety, the FDA says.

1 Mar 2011

New therapeutic strategy improves superior renal function after kidney transplantation

Researchers at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, together with 16 other transplant centers in Germany and Switzerland successfully tested a new therapeutic strategy that allows for superior renal function after kidney transplantation. The results were published online in the journal "The Lancet".

1 Mar 2011

FDA approves Forest Labs' Daliresp to treat COPD

Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced today that Daliresp was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment to reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations.

1 Mar 2011

Anti-AIDS gel shows promise

Dr. Ian McGowan, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh who is leading a second-phase study of the gel said, “These are early results, but [they] help set the stage for current and future trials of rectal microbicides and the development of a rectal-specific formulation of tenofovir gel.” Researchers have focused on the use of microbicides such as tenofovir, as a preventive treatment to be used in vaginal sex. However, scientists think unprotected anal sex is much more risky.

1 Mar 2011

Medical experts propose six-point framework for safe production and use of Kava plant

Medical and scientific experts propose a global framework for the safe production and use of the medicinal plant Kava, including further clinical testing In Australia.

1 Mar 2011

Decision Resources: 52% of surveyed cardiologists identify furosemide as efficacious acute heart failure therapy

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the highest proportion of surveyed cardiologists identify furosemide as the most efficacious agent for the treatment of acute heart failure when compared to other available therapies.

1 Mar 2011

Excella achieves SafeBridge Potent Compound Safety Certification

SAFEBRIDGE® CONSULTANTS, INC., headquartered in Mountain View, California, has announced that Excella GmbH in Feucht, Germany has met the criteria established under the SafeBridge program for "Potent Compound Safety Certification" and has been deemed competent and proficient in the safe handling of potent active pharmaceutical ingredients ("APIs") and potent drug products.

1 Mar 2011

Meda launches Medivir's cold sore treatment Xerese in the U.S.

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announces that the Company's commercialization partner, Meda AB, has launched Medivir's unique cold sore treatment Xerese in the United States.

1 Mar 2011

Sweden's TLV confirms reimbursement for Qutenza patch for treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain

Patients in Sweden living with peripheral neuropathic pain are set to gain access to a new treatment option which can provide pain relief for up to three months following a single 30- or 60-minute application. The new treatment patch uses capsaicin - the substance found in chilli peppers which gives them their 'heat' - to change the function of pain sensing nerves in the area of skin affected.

1 Mar 2011

Santaris licenses miR-33 from MGH to treat cardiovascular disorders

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of mRNA and microRNA targeted therapies, today announced that the Company has obtained an exclusive license from Massachusetts General Hospital for intellectual property related to the regulation of miR-33 for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders.

1 Mar 2011

Novavax announces agreement to license VLP vaccine technology to LGLS

Novavax, Inc. announced today an agreement to license its proprietary, recombinant virus-like-particle vaccine technology to LG Life Sciences, Ltd.

1 Mar 2011

HP announces innovative drug research application for its inkjet technology

HP today announced an innovative drug research application for its inkjet technology that enables pharmaceutical companies to more efficiently develop better drugs through vastly more precise dispensing of dosages.

1 Mar 2011

AFFiRiS announces significant progress in collaboration with GSK for Alzheimer's vaccine development

AFFiRiS AG announced today significant progress in their collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals for the development of an active vaccination programme against Alzheimer's disease.

1 Mar 2011

Nile plans to develop novel therapeutics for ADHF

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for cardiovascular disease, announced plans to pursue a new indication in the field of heart failure.

1 Mar 2011

HHS awards two contracts to accelerate flu vaccine availability

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded two contracts today to help make vaccine available more quickly for seasonal flu outbreaks and pandemics. The contracts for advanced development of new types of vaccine and new ways to make flu vaccine known as next-generation recombinant influenza vaccine total $215 million.

28 Feb 2011

CellSeed, LA BioMed enter two-year research agreement to study core technology in regenerative medicine

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and CellSeed Inc., a Japanese biotechnology firm, have entered into a two-year research agreement to study CellSeed's proprietary core technology in regenerative medicine, "Cell Sheet Engineering," LA BioMed President and CEO David I. Meyer, PhD, announced today.

28 Feb 2011

AFFiRiS AG - Alzheimer's vaccines generate further cash flow

AFFiRiS AG announced today significant progress in their collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK) for the development of an active vaccination programme against Alzheimer´s disease. While the lead vaccine candidate AD02 is currently in phase II clinical testing, two additional preclinical programmes have been completed successfully. The second programme was related to alternative vaccine candidates generated by AFFiRiS´ AFFITOME® technology, including candidate AD03. Based on the promising preliminary results of this programme, GSK exercised its option for the alternative vaccine candidates which triggered a EUR 2.5 million payment to AFFiRiS. An additional EUR 1 million payment became due simultaneously for the successful completion of tests of alternative vaccine formulations.

28 Feb 2011

UCSF collaborates with Zcube to develop new ways to deliver drugs

A pill filled with microscopic, drug-laden adhesive squares is at the center of an agreement between UCSF and Zcube srl, the research corporate venture arm of Italian pharmaceutical leader Zambon Co., SpA, to license UCSF-developed microtechnology and support early research into new ways to deliver oral medications directly to a targeted site in the body.

28 Feb 2011

TCD announces first patient treated in its TCD-717 Phase I trial

Traslational Cancer Drugs Pharma, S.L. (“TCD”) announced today that the first patient was treated on Friday the 18th of February with TCD-717 in a Phase I study performed in patients with advanced solid tumors. TCD-717 is a first-in-class, small molecule that precisely inhibits Choline Kinase Alpha, an enzyme heavily involved in the carcinogenic process. A total of 30 patients are planned to be treated in the trial, which will be conducted in accordance with FDA approval, in two leading medical centers in the U.S. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Julie Brahmer at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; and Dr. Patricia LoRusso at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

28 Feb 2011

Rexahn's novel anti-cancer quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds granted European patent

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the European Patent Office has granted European patent No. 1819698 to Rexahn for its novel anti-cancer quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds.

28 Feb 2011