Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

DSPA's lurasidone NDA accepted for FDA review

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently accepted for review the lurasidone New Drug Application (NDA) for the treatment of patients with acute schizophrenia. The NDA was submitted to FDA on December 30, 2009 and will receive a standard review.

10 Mar 2010

Stason Pharmaceuticals to market Unilife's Unitract 1mL safety syringe in Japan, China and Taiwan

Unilife Corporation today announced that it has signed an exclusive five-year agreement with Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, to market the Unitract™ 1mL safety syringe in Japan, China and Taiwan. Stason's Taiwan-based strategic alliance affiliate, Standard Chem. and Pharm. Co., LTD, will act as the primary distributor of the product within these designated territories.

10 Mar 2010

Childhood bad behaviour linked to chronic widespread pain in adult life

Bad behaviour in childhood is associated with long-term, chronic widespread pain in adult life, according to the findings of a study following nearly 20,000 people from birth in 1958 to the present day.

10 Mar 2010

Augmentation with ketone bodies improves cognitive function in AD patients

Accera, Inc., a biotechnology company delivering breakthrough therapies in central nervous system diseases, announced data which showed that augmentation with ketone bodies significantly improved cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

10 Mar 2010

Relaxation therapy as effective as massage therapy

A new randomized trial shows that on average, three months after receiving a series of 10 massage sessions, patients had half the symptoms of anxiety.

10 Mar 2010

Abbott announces definitive agreement to acquire Facet Biotech

Abbott and Facet Biotech Corporation announced today a definitive agreement for Abbott to acquire Facet, enhancing Abbott's early- and mid-stage pharmaceutical pipeline.

9 Mar 2010

Omeros obtains exclusive license to compounds from Asubio Pharma for use in its PDE7 program

Omeros Corporation today announced that it has obtained an exclusive license to compounds from Asubio Pharma Co., Ltd. for use in its PDE7 program, which is focused on the treatment of movement disorders.

9 Mar 2010

Orexigen Therapeutics reports net loss of $15.0M for three months ended December 31, 2009

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of obesity, today announced financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2009.

9 Mar 2010

Novel protein haditoxin in King Cobra's venom discovered

The King Cobra continues to weave its charm with researchers identifying a protein in its venom with the potential for new drug discovery and to advance understanding of disease mechanisms.

9 Mar 2010

Clinical and scientific advances made in the field of neuro-oncology

Many important clinical and basic scientific advances have been made in the past five years in the field of neuro-oncology, according to an editorial and several articles in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Mar 2010

Abused children more likely to suffer abdominal pain and nausea

Children who have been abused psychologically, physically or sexually are more likely to suffer unexplained abdominal pain and nausea or vomiting than children who have not been abused, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

9 Mar 2010

Positive results from INSYS Therapeutics' phase III trial for Fentanyl SL Spray

INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. announces positive results from the pivotal phase III efficacy trial for patients utilizing the Fentanyl Sublingual Spray technology to treat breakthrough cancer pain. All primary and secondary endpoints were achieved in the study, and the drug is the first product to ever show statistically significant pain relief when measuring the summary of pain intensity difference at five minutes in a phase III breakthrough cancer pain trial using Fentanyl.

9 Mar 2010

MS Awareness Week: Time for nation to go orange and move it to end MS

MS Awareness Week March 8-14 is the time for the nation to go orange and move it to end multiple sclerosis, a disease where someone is newly diagnosed every hour of every day. Supported by a Congressional resolution, this year MS Awareness Week and the state of MS research aptly coincide. Move it to create a world free of MS!

8 Mar 2010

UCB Rheumatoid Arthritis Family Scholarship applications open until March 19, 2010

Applications are being accepted until March 19, 2010 for the UCB Rheumatoid Arthritis Family Scholarship. These scholarships are for rheumatoid arthritis patients or their immediate family members. Winners are awarded up to $10,000 to continue their studies at an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.

6 Mar 2010

NAF to hold third annual Ataxia Investigators Meeting in Rosemont

The National Ataxia Foundation, in conjunction with the University of Chicago program in pathobiology and translational neuroscience, will hold its third annual Ataxia Investigators Meeting March 9-11, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, in Rosemont, Ill. A three-day meeting for patients, caregivers and families will follow at the same location.

6 Mar 2010

Adults with depression and diabetes face increase risk of dementia

Adults who have both diabetes and major depression are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, compared to adults with diabetes only, according to a study published in the recent Journal of General Internal Medicine.

6 Mar 2010

Saladax Biomedical announces closing of $8.4M Series C Preferred offering

Saladax Biomedical, Inc. announced today the close of an $8.4 million Series C Preferred offering led by Excel Venture Management of Boston. Participants included Golden Seeds LLC, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania, as well as a number of angel investors. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and expand clinical support of Saladax’s MYCARE™ line of diagnostic tests, which measure blood levels of cancer and Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder drugs, providing physicians with guidance to personalize patient dosing for optimal efficacy.

5 Mar 2010

Researchers discuss the synergy between nanoscience and neuroscience

Is it possible to build supercomputers that can replicate the human brain, or to develop nanotechnology that can lead to an implantable chip for interfacing with neurons and other types of cellular networks?

5 Mar 2010

Phase 1 clinical study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with Lou Gehrig's disease commenced

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with an inherited, aggressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease also known as familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

5 Mar 2010

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from chronic inflammation of the gut leading to gastrointestinal motility alterations with symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea that profoundly affect their quality of life. The lack of exposure to worm infections, as a result of improved living standards and medical conditions, might have contributed to the increased incidence of IBD in the Western world.

5 Mar 2010