Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Increased risk of bladder cancer linked to diabetes drug

Pioglitazone - a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes - is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

1 Jun 2012

Top-line data from Flexion‘s FX005 Phase 2 trial on osteoarthritis

Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. today reported that its lead osteoarthritis drug candidate, FX005, demonstrated significant pain relief over placebo at four weeks in a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial. Top-line data showed FX005, delivered intra-articularly to the knee, was well-tolerated and resulted in prolonged improvement in joint pain and function throughout the 12-week duration of the study.

31 May 2012

AssureRx closes $12.5M Series C financing

AssureRx Health, Inc. today announced the closing of a $12.5 million Series C financing. The personalized medicine company, which provides clinically-relevant information to help physicians select the right drug for individual neuropsychiatric patients, will use the funds to increase commercial activities for its two flagship pharmacogenomic products, GeneSightRx Psychotropic and GeneSightRx® ADHD, as well as next generation product development activities.

31 May 2012

Positive results from Alkermes’ ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study on MDD

Alkermes plc today presented positive results from the phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461, a novel drug compound for major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients who have an inadequate response to standard therapies for clinical depression, in an oral session at the 52nd Annual New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (NCDEU) Meeting in Phoenix.

30 May 2012

EPO issues patent to Cytune’s CYP0150 for treatment of cancer

Cytune Pharma, an emerging leader in innovative immunomodulatory agents against cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it will attend the BIO2012 to present its major achievements over the last 12 months and to foster partnering discussions.

30 May 2012

Lung in Oncology models for drug discovery launched by PRECOS

Preclinical Oncology Services Limited (PRECOS), a leading pre-clinical research and development service provider with a specific focus on oncology, has launched its Lung In ONcology model atlas (LION).

29 May 2012

Fluxion Biosciences announces launch of Discovery Services business

Fluxion Biosciences, a privately held drug discovery tools and services company, announced today that it is launching a Discovery Services business to support growing demand for assay support on Fluxion's unique cell analysis platforms.

From Fluxion Biosciences 29 May 2012

Scientists identify new reason why some curry dishes might be good for you

Scientists have just identified a new reason why some curry dishes, made with spices humans have used for thousands of years, might be good for you.

25 May 2012

NIH Consortium selects UBM among 11 CoEPEs

With more Americans than ever living with chronic pain, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pain Consortium wants the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and 10 other health professional schools to teach the next generation of health care providers to be better equipped to manage and treat such patients.

25 May 2012

Nevro to initiate Senza HF-SCS System study for chronic pain

Nevro Corp., a medical device company focused on achieving improved pain relief for patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for initiation of its SENZA-RCT study, a U.S. prospective, randomized, controlled pivotal clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Nevro's high-frequency spinal cord stimulation system for the treatment of chronic pain.

24 May 2012

Researchers identify novel biomarkers that could confirm exposure to radiation

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin have identified novel biomarkers that could be used to confirm exposure to damaging radiation in large groups of people potentially exposed to unknown and variable doses for the purpose of triage and treatment.

23 May 2012

Inhibition of PBEF could be potential therapeutic target for pulmonary hypertension

Inhibition of pre-B Cell Colony-Enhancing Factor (PBEF) could be a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary hypertension (PH), according to a preclinical study in an animal model of PH.

23 May 2012

NIEHS renews funding for SRP at UCSD

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has renewed funding for the Superfund Research Program (SRP) at the University of California, San Diego. Over the next five years, the $15 million grant will fund continued research on the molecular and genetic consequences of exposure to uncontrolled toxicants from Superfund and other hazardous waste sites.

23 May 2012

Excessive alcohol intake may increase of cognitive dysfunction, dementia in the elderly

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia are most common in the very elderly, and are associated with huge health costs. With a rapidly ageing population throughout the world, factors that affect the risk of cognitive decline and dementia are of great importance. A review paper by Kim JW et al published in Psychiatry Investig 2012;9:8-16 on the association between alcohol consumption and cognition in the elderly provides an excellent summary of the potential ways in which alcohol may affect cognitive function and the risk of dementia, both adversely and favourably as alcohol may have both a neuro toxic and neuro protective effect, depending on the dose and drinking pattern.

23 May 2012

NIH Pain Consortium selects 11 health professional schools as CoEPEs

The National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium has selected 11 health professional schools as designated Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPEs).

23 May 2012

Inexpensive sleep disorder drug appears to be potent inhibitor of cancer cells

An inexpensive "orphan drug" used to treat sleep disorders appears to be a potent inhibitor of cancer cells, according to a new study led by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

22 May 2012

Liposuction surgery reduces risk of ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer

Is it possible that liposuction or other fat removal procedures are beneficial for treating obesity and reducing the risk of cancer? When it comes to humans, scientists can't answer that question. They know that obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But there have not been clinical studies to determine if the surgical removal of fat tissue would decrease cancer risk in humans.

22 May 2012

Pernix Therapeutics introduces Omeclamox-Pak® for the treatment of H. pylori infection and duodenal ulcer disease

Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PTX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced the introduction of Omeclamox-Pak®, a ten-day therapy of omeprazole delayed-release capsules (20 mg), clarithromycin tablets (500 mg) and amoxicillin capsules (500 mg) for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and duodenal ulcer disease (active or one-year history) to eradicate H. pylori in adult patients.

21 May 2012

Vaccination studies from Mercer University to be unveiled at AAPS’ NBC

Vaccination studies from Mercer University (Ga.) headline the groundbreaking research being unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference.

21 May 2012

Experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes

For the first time, scientists at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute have shown that an experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes.

21 May 2012