Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Slitrk5 gene linked to development of OCD-like behaviors

Researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute and the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College discovered that mice missing a single gene developed repetitive obsessive-compulsive-like behaviors. The genetically altered mice, which behaved much like people with a certain type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), could help scientists design new therapies for this debilitating condition.

27 Apr 2010

CocE exhibits potential for clinical treatment of cocaine toxicity

Cocaine toxicity due to drug overdose results in more than half a million emergency room visits annually. Despite these alarming statistics, there is no Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapy specifically designed to treat cocaine toxicity. Emergency medical personnel are limited to treating only the immediate life-threatening symptoms of patients, while toxic levels of cocaine and its metabolic break-down products persist and continue to damage the cardiovascular system, liver and brain.

27 Apr 2010

New discovery links Slitrk5 gene to development of OCD-like behaviors

27 Apr 2010

Patient preference study results of Kristalose to be presented at 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that results from a patient preference study evaluating Kristalose (lactulose) for Oral Solution, a prescription laxative packaged as a crystalline powder, will be presented at the 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting in New Orleans.

27 Apr 2010

FDA grants NexMed clearance for HCC Phase 2 trial for PrevOnco

NexMed, Inc., a specialty CRO with a pipeline of products based on the NexACT® technology, today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company to proceed with the proposed Phase 2 trial of PrevOnco™, its proprietary cancer treatment for patients with advanced, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer. The FDA granted PrevOnco™ orphan drug status in August 2008, and in March 2010, NexMed filed its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the product candidate.

27 Apr 2010

First patient enrolled in Phase II clinical trial of E10030 for treatment of wet age-related AMD

Ophthotech Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing ophthalmic therapies for back-of-the-eye diseases, today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its Phase II randomized, controlled clinical trial of E10030, an anti-PDGF aptamer, in combination with Lucentis® for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

26 Apr 2010

Santaris Pharma advances into drug development SPC5001 research candidate against PCSK9

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that it has advanced into drug development a discovery research candidate directed against PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), an important new target for the treatment of high cholesterol. Using its proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform and Drug Discovery Engine, Santaris Pharma A/S identified and advanced the new drug, SPC5001, in just 18 months.

26 Apr 2010

Mothers with preeclampsia at reduced risk of developing breast cancer

Preeclampsia is a high blood pressure syndrome in pregnant mothers that is caused when the blood supply in the placenta of the developing baby is restricted. The blood-deprived placenta releases factors that cause the raise in blood pressure in the mother. Doctors have to monitor these women closely and they may be forced to deliver the baby early to protect the mother and the baby. Most women's blood pressure returns to normal levels after they deliver the placenta.

26 Apr 2010

GIS scientists' zebrafish model may aid drug development for PD

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore, a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, have recently developed a zebrafish model for Parkinson's disease that can be used for understanding the mechanism underlying its development. The knowledge gained will be helpful for future screening of new drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

23 Apr 2010

Researchers take major step to predict adverse drug reactions using genetic information

In a new study, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have taken a major step toward the ability to predict adverse drug reactions, using genetic, cellular, and clinical information to learn why some medicines cause heart arrhythmias in patients. Published in the April 20 issue of the journal Science Signaling, the new framework described in the study could potentially be applied to the study of medications that treat other diseases and disorders such as epilepsy and autism.

23 Apr 2010

PCFT helps in effectively targeting cytotoxic antifolates to tumors: Study

Scientists at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit today presented a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research's 101st Annual Meeting 2010 that details their novel study of molecules that use a tumor's acidic microenvironment to help them tailor chemotherapeutic agents to kill the tumor.

23 Apr 2010

Interdisciplinary research leads to first known use of smart nanofilm on living tissue

Louisiana Tech students Mridhula Thangaraj and Chris Monceaux will participate in a symposium on 'Regenerative Medicine - Wound Healing' at the 2010 Experimental Biology meeting, April 24-28 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

23 Apr 2010

New insight into mechanism regulating early mammalian development

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have recently generated significant single cell expression data crucial for a detailed molecular understanding of mammalian development from fertilization to embryo implantation, a process known as the preimplantation period. The knowledge gained has a direct impact on clinical applications in the areas of regenerative medicine and assisted reproduction.

22 Apr 2010

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

A Georgetown University Medical Center research team has been awarded a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs based on an unconventional theory about nicotine addiction. Kenneth Kellar, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at GUMC is principal investigator of the five year grant totaling $4.6 million.

22 Apr 2010

First-of-its-kind conference on personalized medicine for pediatric patients

The world's leading experts in pediatric pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine are gathering at a first-of-its-kind conference in Kansas City to change the way childhood diseases and illnesses are treated through personalized medicine.

22 Apr 2010

Red wine consumption may protect brain from stroke damage, say Johns Hopkins researchers

Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke.

22 Apr 2010

Merck to market and distribute MBL's Td vaccine in the U.S.

MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement that provides Merck with exclusive rights to market and distribute MBL's tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed (Td) vaccine in the United States, with the exception of Massachusetts, where MBL will continue distributing the vaccine.

21 Apr 2010

miRNAs may generate new insights on cancer and possible future treatments

Scientists are methodically unlocking the biological processes that lead to cancer, and recent discoveries with microRNAs (miRNAs) are revolutionizing their understanding and leading to clinical trials of potentially effective treatments.

21 Apr 2010

Poster on dual Erk/PI3K inhibitors presented at AACR 2010

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy, today presented a poster on dual Erk/PI3K inhibitors and made an oral presentation on its selective Erk inhibitors, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

21 Apr 2010

Researchers identify potential drug target for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Illinois have identified a potential drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a receptor that is embedded in the membrane of neurons and other cells.

21 Apr 2010