Inflammatory Bowel Disease News and Research

Latest Inflammatory Bowel Disease News and Research

Santarus, Cosmo announce positive results from budesonide MMX Phase III study in ulcerative colitis

Santarus, Inc. and Cosmo Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. today announced positive top-line results from the Phase III clinical study conducted in the U.S. and India to evaluate the safety and efficacy of budesonide MMX® for the induction of remission of mild or moderate active ulcerative colitis. The study results show that budesonide MMX 9 mg taken once daily met the primary endpoint of superiority to placebo.

30 Sep 2010

Global Health Partner acquires Stockholm Gastro Center

Global Health Partner (STO:GHP) has acquired Stockholm Gastro Center, a specialist clinic with operations within medical gastroenterology and endoscopy located at Sophiahemmet in Stockholm. "The acquisition of Stockholm Gastro Center is a good complement to the obesity surgery business that we run at Kirurgkliniken and Bariatric Center Stockholm in Sophiahemmet's facilities. This is a combination of businesses that we also have at our clinics in Lund and Prague and where we see good coordination and expansion opportunities," says Per Båtelson, Global Health Partner's CEO.

28 Sep 2010

BioSeek signs two-year agreement with Cellzome

Asterand plc, a leading provider of human tissue and human tissue-based research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in drug discovery research, today announced that its subsidiary BioSeek, LLC, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has signed a two-year agreement with Cellzome.

24 Sep 2010

Athersys presents MultiStem phase I study results at TCT Conference

Athersys, Inc. announced at its presentation at the Transvascular Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference held in Washington, D.C., updated results from its phase I clinical trial of MultiStem, its allogeneic cell therapy product, administered to individuals following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

23 Sep 2010

Phenex Pharmaceuticals announces closure of Series C financing round

Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, a drug discovery and development company headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, today announced the closure of its Series C financing round with a volume of 6 M € (7,8 M USD) bringing the total amount of funds raised to 17,2 M € (22,4 M USD).

21 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010

Pollution increases risk for sudden cardiac arrest

The fine particles of pollution that hang in the air can increase the risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study conducted by a team from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

21 Sep 2010

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

Conference to discuss frontline of immunological research, its clinical application

The immune system is evolved to protect our body against a variety of infectious agents which can cause serious and often fatal diseases. We now appreciate that the immune system is also involved in surveillance of malignant transformation of normal cells that constitute our body, as well as rejection of transplanted organs.

17 Sep 2010

Prometheus, Tarrot announce exclusive agreement for Crohn's Disease treatment

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, and Tarrot Laboratories, a business unit of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, today announced the execution of an exclusive research collaboration and license agreement. The collaboration will focus on identifying genetic or serologic markers associated with clinical responses to anti-TNF therapies such as Cimzia, Humira and Remicade utilized in the treatment of Crohn's Disease, and the subsequent development of diagnostic tests.

17 Sep 2010

Researchers identify bacteria responsible for chronic intestinal inflammation

Certain bacteria that inhabit the intestine provide the environmental trigger that initiates and perpetuates chronic intestinal inflammation in individuals who are genetically susceptible to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a study led by Harvard School of Public Health researchers has found.

17 Sep 2010

VBL Therapeutics' VB-201 candidate delays onset of EAE, shows potential for MS, CNS treatment

VBL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, today announced the publication of preclinical data in the Journal of Neuroimmunology finding that its lead development candidate VB-201 significantly delayed the onset and severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice, the commonly used Multiple sclerosis.

14 Sep 2010

Athersys signs agreement with RTI Biologics for MAPC technology access

RTI Biologics Inc., a leading provider of orthopedic and other biologic implants, and Athersys Inc. a leader in regenerative medicine and cell therapy research and development, announced today an agreement under which Athersys will provide RTI access to its Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cell (MAPC) technologies.

13 Sep 2010

Santarus expands development pipeline, adds two novel biologic drug candidates

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, has expanded its development pipeline with the addition of two novel biologic drug candidates focused on specialty markets.

13 Sep 2010

NIH announces award to improve human microbiome research

The National Institutes of Health today announced it has awarded approximately $42 million to expand the scope of eight demonstration projects designed to link changes in the human microbiome to health and disease.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers dispute study findings that show greater incidence of surgery for children with CD

A new multi-center study of 854 children with Crohn's disease shows a 5-year cumulative risk of bowel surgery is significantly lower than reported in recent studies. The findings of the study, led by Hasbro Children's Hospital, also indicate that children diagnosed between ages 13 and 16 had an increased risk of bowel surgery, and that a common treatment that begins at diagnosis, immunomodulator therapy, did not alter the risk of surgery.

2 Sep 2010

Research finds link between chronic heart failure, iron deficiency

Iron plays a key role in human homeostasis. It is essential for growth and survival, and is a vital ingredient in numerous processes including erythropoiesis, oxygen transport and storage, oxidative metabolism in the skeletal and heart muscle, synthesis and degradation of lipids, carbohydrates, DNA and RNA. Important though it is, iron metabolism must be precisely controlled because iron is insoluble and excess levels can be toxic.

2 Sep 2010

Prometheus launches Crohn's Prognostic test

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, today announced the commercial launch of its proprietary PROMETHEUS® Crohn's Prognostic test. This novel and unique diagnostic represents a significant advance in the Prometheus Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) franchise of diagnostic and prognostic tests, and complements the market-leading PROMETHEUS® IBD Serology 7.

2 Sep 2010

Plantain and broccoli fiber help in Crohn’s disease: Study

New research suggests that plant fibers in plantains and broccoli can help prevent relapses of Crohn's disease. This disease is a long term disease of the gut that is characterized by inflammation of the lining of the digestive system, with symptoms including diarrhea and abdominal pain. Crohn's disease affects between 400,000 and 600,000 people in North America. Scientists believe that rise in processed food and decrease in fibers in diet could be a reason for rise of incidence of this disease.

25 Aug 2010

Study finds occurrence of low BMD in inflammatory bowel disease patients

A thesis from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) is the first in Scandinavia to study the occurrence of low bone mineral density in children and teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease. Half of the patients in the study showed signs of low bone mineral density.

23 Aug 2010