Headache News and Research

Latest Headache News and Research

Merck to appeal against jury verdict in retrial of federal FOSAMAX case

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it will appeal a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that reduced the jury verdict from $8 million to $1.5 million but denied Merck's request for judgment in its favor or a new trial in the case of Boles v. Merck, a retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case.

5 Oct 2010

J&JPRD receives FDA Complete Response Letter for tapentadol ER tablets NDA

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD) announced today that it received a Complete Response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for tapentadol extended release tablets.

4 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 4, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News column, Louis Saccoccio, executive director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, makes a case for including health plans' investments in fraud-fighting activities in the medical loss ratio definition. "While the federal government is investing heavily in anti-fraud efforts, private insurers should be given the incentive to do the same. Only through a cooperative and concentrated effort to root out health care fraud can we effectively protect Americans' quality of health care" (Kaiser Health News).

4 Oct 2010

Merck's boceprevir Phase III studies for HCV to be presented at 61st AASLD

Merck today announced that final results from two pivotal Phase III studies of boceprevir, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented in oral plenary sessions at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), which is taking place from Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 in Boston. Results for boceprevir in response-guided therapy strategies, which evaluated treatment durations shorter than current standard therapy, will be presented during the meeting.

4 Oct 2010

Neupro improves quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients

People with Parkinson's disease who used once-daily Neupro® (rotigotine) in the RECOVER trial achieved improvements in quality of life, in addition to previously reported beneficial effects on motor and non-motor symptoms.

4 Oct 2010

Advances in treatment and management of neurological disorders

The latest advances in treating neurologic disorders such as stroke, headache, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders are detailed in a special issue of the journal Neurologic Clinics.

4 Oct 2010

New American Therapeutics acquires U.S. rights to market Denavir drug

New American Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that it acquired all U.S. rights to manufacture, market and sell the antiviral topical drug Denavir owned by Novartis.

4 Oct 2010

Benicar better than Cozaar in reducing blood pressure: Study

New study results show that patients treated with Benicar® (olmesartan medoxomil) 40 mg once daily had significantly greater reductions in blood pressure and higher rates of goal attainment than patients receiving Cozaar® (losartan potassium) 100 mg once daily at week 8, according to findings of a new head-to-head study presented today at the late breaker session at the 23rd Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) in Vancouver, Canada.

1 Oct 2010

Headaches, back pain and arthritis cost companies more than $61 billion per annum

Headaches, back pain, arthritis and other aches distract employees and cost companies more than $61 billion a year in lost productive time, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

1 Oct 2010

APhA urges consumers to discuss proper medication usage with pharmacists

In honor of American Pharmacists Month, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) encourages consumers to hold an open dialogue with their pharmacists about a growing problem in the United States, the proper usage of and adherence to medications.

1 Oct 2010

Neurologic Clinics journal publishes latest advances in neurologic disorders

The latest advances in treating neurologic disorders such as stroke, headache, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders are detailed in a special issue of the journal Neurologic Clinics.

1 Oct 2010

Zyclara 3.75% more effective than cryotherapy alone in treatment of Actinic Keratoses: Study

Results from a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicentred study just published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology shows that treating Actinic Keratoses (AK) with imiquimod 3.75% (Zyclara®) following cryotherapy was more effective than cryotherapy alone in reducing total AK lesion count and achieving complete clearance of AK.

30 Sep 2010

Austrian AGES approves Baxter's PREFLUCEL vaccine for seasonal influenza

Baxter International Inc. today announced the first approval of PREFLUCEL by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). The vaccine was shown to be effective in preventing seasonal influenza and is indicated for prophylaxis of influenza in adults and the elderly. PREFLUCEL is manufactured using Baxter's proprietary advanced Vero cell technology.

From Baxter International Inc. 30 Sep 2010

Ready-to-Use Cardene I.V. lowers acutely elevated blood pressure: CLUE study

Results from the CLUE study, a head-to-head comparison between Ready-to-Use Cardene I.V. (nicardipine) and labetalol in the emergency room, showed that Ready-to-Use Cardene I.V. lowers acutely elevated blood pressure more effectively than labetalol. These data were presented today at the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

29 Sep 2010

Tamir's compounds perform better than Ganciclovir for Cytomegalovirus disease: Study

Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported test results confirming two of our lead compounds outperformed market leader Roche's drug Ganciclovir in cell culture and plaque reduction assay (the gold standard) for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Additionally, antiviral activity was also apparent against other human herpesviruses, namely, HSV-1 (cold sores), HSV-2 (genital herpes), and Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) (chicken-pox and shingles).

29 Sep 2010

Study indicates majority of children suffering from chronic headache may outgrow the condition

Most children who suffer from chronic daily headache may outgrow the disabling condition, according to research published in the July 15, 2009, online issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Sep 2010

PGIC analysis indicates tapentadol ER tablets provide significant improvement in pain intensity

Phase 3 safety and efficacy data comparing tapentadol extended release (ER) tablets, an investigational pain medication, to placebo in patients with moderate to severe chronic low back pain have been published online by Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. In addition, this study compared oxycodone controlled-release (CR) to placebo as an active control.

28 Sep 2010

Bayer’s new oral contraceptive receives FDA approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new oral contraceptive, Beyaz (drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol / levomefolate calcium tablets and levomefolate calcium tablets).

28 Sep 2010

Scientists identify gene associated with common migraines

An international study led by scientists at Universit- de Montr-al and University of Oxford, has identified a gene associated with common migraines. Their findings show that a mutation in the KCNK18 gene inhibits the function of a protein called TRESK. TRESK normally plays a key role in nerve cell communication. Published today in Nature Medicine, this study may have implications for people who suffer from recurrent headaches, which include more than six million Canadians.

28 Sep 2010

Clinical Data announces Stedivaze agonist data at ASNC2010 meeting

Clinical Data, Inc., today presented data from Phase I studies of Stedivaze (apadenoson), which demonstrated overall safety and tolerability in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

27 Sep 2010