Pharmaceuticals & Biopharmaceuticals
India rejects Bayer plea against cheap cancer drug
March 5, 2013 10:15 am | by Nirmala George, Associated Press | News | Comments
India's patent appeals office has rejected Bayer AG's plea to stop the production of a cheaper generic version of a patented cancer drug in a ruling that health groups say is an important precedent for getting inexpensive lifesaving medicines to the poor. Bayer sells a one month supply of the drug for about $5,600. Natco's version would cost Indian patients $175 a month, less than 1/30th as much.
India rejects Bayer plea against cheap cancer drug
March 5, 2013 10:15 am | by Nirmala George, Associated Press | News | Comments
India's patent appeals office has rejected Bayer AG's plea to stop the production of a cheaper...
Polymer scientists develop double switchable membrane
February 27, 2013 10:46 pm | News | Comments
Pharmaceutical residues in water can pose a danger to humans. Filtration is often very difficult...
New method uncovers side effects before a drug hits the market
February 13, 2013 3:19 pm | News | Comments
Side effects are a major reason that drugs are taken off the market and a major reason why...
Biogen submits new MS drug for FDA approval
May 21, 2013 3:13 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsSpecialty drugmaker Biogen Idec said Tuesday it submitted a new injectable multiple sclerosis drug to the Food and Drug Administration for U.S. market approval. The drug, called Plegridy, is intended to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.
XenoPort MS treatment fails in late-stage testing
May 20, 2013 12:01 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsShares of XenoPort Inc. sank Monday after the drug developer said a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis patients failed in late-stage clinical testing, and it will stop developing the drug. The Santa Clara, Calif., company said the treatment, labeled arbaclofen placarbil, failed to show a statistically significant improvement for patients taking it compared to a fake drug.
State pharmacy boards back more FDA oversight
May 9, 2013 2:47 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsState pharmacy officials on Thursday threw their support behind a proposal giving the Food and Drug Administration authority over large compounding pharmacies, in an effort to head off more outbreaks tied to contaminated medications. The head of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy told Senate lawmakers that his group welcomes FDA action against pharmacies.
FDA OKs Bristol's HIV drug for younger patients
May 3, 2013 5:51 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Friday that U.S. regulators expanded approval of its HIV drug Sustiva to children as young as three months old. The capsule-based drug was first approved in 1998 to treat HIV-infected children who are age three and older and weigh at least 22 pounds. The new approval expands the drug's use to children age three months to three years who weigh at least 7.7 pounds.
FDA device will screen for fake medicines overseas
April 24, 2013 1:19 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsU.S. health officials are making a high-tech screening device available to African authorities to help spot counterfeit malaria pills in hopes that the technology may eventually be used to combat the fake drug trade worldwide. The FDA announced Wednesday that regulators in Ghana will begin using a federally developed handheld device to screen for fake or diluted versions of two common malaria pills.
FDA finds safety issues at specialty pharmacies
April 12, 2013 11:29 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration says it has uncovered potential safety problems at 30 specialty pharmacies that were inspected in the wake of a recent outbreak of meningitis caused by contaminated drugs. The agency said its inspectors targeted 31 compounding pharmacies that produce sterile drugs, which must be prepared under highly sanitary conditions.
Pfizer inks deal with nanotechnology drugmaker
April 3, 2013 1:36 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBIND Therapeutics said Wednesday that Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay it $160 million per drug as part of a collaboration to develop targeted medicines using nanotechnology which use particles measured in billionths of a meter. BIND is developing an experimental group of targeted, programmable...
FDA approves first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from J&J
March 29, 2013 3:38 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson that uses a new method to lower blood sugar—flushing it out in patients' urine. The agency cleared J&J's Invokana tablets for adults with Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 26 million Americans. The once-a-day medication works by blocking the kidneys from reabsorbing sugar, which occurs at higher levels in patients with diabetes than in healthy patients.
FDA approves imaging drug for cancer lymph nodes
March 13, 2013 1:45 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration has approved a new imaging drug to help doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer and skin cancer. The drug Lymphoseek from Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. is a radioactive imaging agent that is intended to help determine if breast cancer or melanoma has spread to a patient's lymph nodes.
Biogen seeks approval of hemophilia A treatment
March 12, 2013 11:24 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBiogen Idec has filed for federal marketing approval of a longer-lasting treatment for hemophilia A. Biogen says the drug rFVIIIFc can be injected once or twice a week, while other treatments for hemophilia A need to be injected three or four times a week. The drug could be the first major advance in the treatment of hemophilia in more than 20 years.
NIH chief: Cuts put vital medical research at risk
February 14, 2013 2:24 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsBetter cancer drugs that zero in on a tumor with fewer side effects. A universal flu vaccine that could fight every strain of influenza without needing a yearly shot. Research into potentially life-saving products like these will be delayed and newer discoveries shelved if Congress can't avert impending budget cuts that the director of the National Institutes of Health warns will have far-reaching effects.
Amgen, UCB halt testing of fracture-healing drug
February 11, 2013 4:34 pm | by LINDA A. JOHNSON - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsBiotech giant Amgen Inc. and Belgian drugmaker UCB SA have scrapped plans for late-stage testing of an experimental treatment for accelerated healing of fractures, but will continue testing their drug for a much bigger and potentially lucrative market, treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Lilly stops rheumatoid arthritis treatment study
February 7, 2013 10:33 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDrug developer Eli Lilly and Co. is stopping clinical testing of an experimental rheumatoid arthritis treatment because it wasn't working. The Indianapolis company said Thursday it will continue studying the potential drug, tabalumab, as a possible treatment for a form of the autoimmune disorder lupus and the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma.
FDA accepts application for new Sanofi MS drug
January 28, 2013 11:17 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFrench drugmaker Sanofi said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration will review its experimental multiple sclerosis treatment Lemtrada. Genzyme, Sanofi's U.S. biotech business, said the FDA will conduct a standard 10-month review and will make a decision on the drug in late 2013.
Additive restores antibiotic effectiveness against MRSA
October 22, 2012 4:50 pm | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University have increased the potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Their improved compound removes the bacteria's antibiotic resistance and allows the antibiotic to once again become effective at normal dosage levels.
Nanoscale drug discovery approach relies on in silico, in vivo, in vitro
October 10, 2012 10:58 am | News | CommentsUsing in silico computational tools to complement the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have revealed an atomic-level understanding of the mechanism by which nanoparticles inhibit the growth and metastasis of pancreatic tumors. The findings are promising for the development of particle-based therapies.
New study says nanoparticles don't penetrate the skin
October 1, 2012 3:46 am | News | CommentsResearch by scientists at the University of Bath is challenging claims that nanoparticles in medicated and cosmetic creams are able to transport and deliver active ingredients deep inside the skin. The study discovered that even the tiniest of nanoparticles did not penetrate the skin's surface.
Scientists uncover virus with potential to stop pimples
September 26, 2012 6:18 am | News | CommentsWatch out, acne. Doctors soon may have a new weapon against zits: A harmless virus living on our skin that naturally seeks out and kills the bacteria that cause pimples. In the new findings, scientists looked at two little microbes that share a big name: Propionibacterium acnes , a bacterium thriving in our pores that can trigger acne, and P. acnes phages, a family of viruses that live on human skin.
Insight into snake venom evolution could aid drug discovery
September 19, 2012 3:50 am | News | CommentsU.K.-led scientists have made a discovery about snake venom that could lead to the development of new drugs to treat a range of life-threatening conditions. The researchers have discovered that the toxins that make snake and lizard venom deadly can evolve back into completely harmless molecules, raising the possibility that they could be developed into drugs.
Accelrys to streamline lab-to-market with process and compliance suite
September 18, 2012 4:35 am | News | CommentsDesigned to improve the way businesses manage the scientific innovation lifecycle, the new Accelrys Process Management and Compliance Suite unifies Accelrys Inc.’s lifecycle management software offerings, covering the ground between product development and process execution. It is geared to help companies bring products to market faster and at a lower cost, while meeting critical quality and regulatory compliance objectives.
EMD Millipore, iPS Academia Japan sign licensing agreement
September 17, 2012 10:06 am | News | CommentsEMD Millipore and iPS Academia Japan Inc. (AJ) announced a global licensing agreement for AJ's induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell patent portfolio. The non-exclusive agreement provides EMD Millipore the opportunity to continue to develop and ultimately commercialize iPS cells for research applications.
Real-world levitation to inspire better pharmaceuticals
September 13, 2012 5:15 am | News | CommentsIt's not a magic trick and it's not sleight of hand—scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects. Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a way to use sound waves to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals.
U.S. research and development most prevalent in small number of regions
September 13, 2012 4:29 am | News | CommentsAccording to data from a 2008 Business R&D and Innovation Survey by the National Science Foundation, businesses perform the lion's share of their R&D activity in just a small number of geographic areas, particularly the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area and the New York-Newark-Bridgeport area.
Clinical trials get efficiency boost from virtual reality
August 31, 2012 6:45 am | News | CommentsTime-consuming, expensive, and often intrusive, clinical trials are nevertheless a necessity. Researchers at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma have developed an invention that makes clinical trials more efficient. Called "digital Eye Bank," the computer software eye modeling program can take data from eyes of patients' and build it into models from the commercial optics program to be used for researchers' virtual clinical trials.
Scientist creates new cancer drug that is 10 times more potent
August 30, 2012 12:49 pm | News | CommentsIn a new study, University of Missouri medicinal chemists have taken an existing drug that is being developed for use in fighting certain types of cancer and added a special cluster of three elements: boron, carbon, and hydrogen. This structure, called a carborane, has multiplied the binding force of the drug. Clinical could start within two years.
