Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Lilly, Avid receive FDA approval for Amyvid to treat Alzheimer's

Eli Lilly and Company and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Amyvid, a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for brain imaging of beta-amyloid plaques in patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline.

7 Apr 2012

Teva's ANDA for Provigil entitled to 180-day exclusivity

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces that the FDA has decided that its wholly owned subsidiary, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, is sole first-to-file for both Orange Book patents listed for Provigil (modafinil) and therefore Teva's ANDA alone is entitled to 180-day exclusivity.

6 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 6, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the Obama administration's response to a federal court about the Supreme Court's power.

6 Apr 2012

Poultry producers still use FDA-banned antibiotics

In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the U.S. government for poultry production is still in use. Results of the study were published March 21 in Environmental Science & Technology.

6 Apr 2012

Regeneron, Sanofi announce clinical and regulatory update for ZALTRAP

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for the investigational agent ZALTRAP (aflibercept) concentrate for solution for infusion in combination with the irinotecan-fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) previously treated with an oxaliplatin-containing regimen.

6 Apr 2012

Methylphenidate may help induce recovery from propofol anesthesia

The ability of the commonly used stimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin) to speed recovery from general anesthesia appears to apply both to the inhaled gas isoflurane, as previously reported, and to the intravenous drug propofol. Members of the same Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team that reported the isoflurane study are publishing similar results for propofol in the May issue of Anesthesiology, and their paper has been issued online.

6 Apr 2012

Medicaid news: Oregon competitors working together; Calif. 'duals' project launches

A new push to reshape health care in greater Portland is reminiscent, its biggest booster says, of the race to land a man on the moon. Erstwhile health care competitors hope to set aside their differences to care for the region's 200,000 Oregon Health Plan members, says Legacy Health CEO George Brown. The task is happening in a timeline -- Brown snaps his fingers -- "that's like that long. It's a moon shot for sure. What we're trying to do, to my knowledge, has not been attempted any place in the country."

6 Apr 2012

Tonix completes TNX-102 pharmacokinetic study on fibromyalgia syndrome

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing therapies for challenging disorders of the central nervous system completed a pharmacokinetic (PK) study of the first formulation of its lead drug, TNX-102, for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome.

6 Apr 2012

Sucampo announces positive results from lubiprostone phase 3 trial on OBD

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from an open-label phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of lubiprostone in opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) patients with chronic, non-cancer-related pain.

6 Apr 2012

Positive effect of tafamidis on neurological degeneration

Tafamidis meglumine was approved in November 2011 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis in adults. This rare disorder is caused by a defective gene and is associated with progressive nerve damage (neurological degeneration) that tafamidis is supposed to delay.

6 Apr 2012

Zalicus' cHTS platform identifies synergistic drug combinations for treatment of cancer

Adenosine A2A and beta-2 adrenergic receptor agonists are highly synergistic and selective novel agents that enhance glucocorticoid activity in B-cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma and, importantly, can synergize in combination with current multiple myeloma treatment regimens such as melphalan, lenalidomide, bortezomib and doxorubicin.

6 Apr 2012

Purdue Pharma launches Intermezzo for middle-of-the-night insomnia

Purdue Pharma L.P. announced today that Intermezzo (zolpidem tartrate) sublingual tablet CIV is now available in 1.75 mg and 3.5 mg dosage strengths by prescription in retail pharmacies nationwide.

6 Apr 2012

Majority of female kidney failure patients on dialysis may experience sexual problems

The vast majority of female kidney failure patients on dialysis may experience sexual problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Additional studies are needed to understand how sexual dysfunction affects dialysis patients' quality of life and psychological wellbeing.

6 Apr 2012

Evergreen Healthcare employs transanal endoscopic microsurgery for colorectal tumor removal

Evergreen Healthcare today announced that it has successfully integrated a colorectal procedure called transanal endoscopic microsurgery to its growing suite of minimally invasive surgical options, reducing the need for major surgery and providing patients with faster recovery times.

6 Apr 2012

Ameritox, Ridge Diagnostics partner to develop MDDScore test

Ridge Diagnostics, Inc., a neurodiagnostic company, announced today it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Ameritox, Ltd., a leader in medication monitoring, for the license rights to its proprietary developmental blood test MDDScore, a multiple biomarker analysis for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) for primary care and pain physicians.

6 Apr 2012

Uterine cancer up by 43% in UK over last two decades

Figures show that the number of diagnoses remained static for many years, but has increased by 43% since the 1990s. As the number of womb cancer cases have increased over the last decade, so have the number of womb cancer deaths. However, survival has also improved during that period, with 77% of women who are diagnosed with womb cancer now surviving for five years or more.

5 Apr 2012

Physician groups identify unnecessary procedures

The list of 45 tests and procedures was pulled together by nine medical speciality groups to help reduce spending and improve patients' health.

5 Apr 2012

CCTRN selects MHI as one of seven U.S. centers of excellence

The Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN), a nationwide U.S. network funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has selected the Minneapolis Heart Institute- (MHI) as one of its seven U.S. centers of excellence.

5 Apr 2012

VCAM1 nanobodies can effectively visualize atherosclerotic lesions

In collaboration with a Brussels University team under the leadership of Nick Devoogdt and a French team from INSERM, Serge Muyldermans and his team, associated with VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, have succeeded in developing the first patient-friendly, non-invasive method for differentiating dangerous strictures in blood vessels, so-called vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques, from less dangerous ones.

5 Apr 2012

ASN participates in ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely campaign

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the world's leading kidney organization, joins the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, eight other leading national medical specialty societies, and Consumer Reports in the new Choosing Wisely campaign that helps health care professionals and patients avoid wasteful and sometimes harmful medical interventions.

5 Apr 2012