PharmaGazette: April 2006 Archives

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Apr30	Locteron™, Treatment against Chronic Hepatitis C Completes Phase 1 Study Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Know More: Patents and Clinical Trials Locteron™ is Octoplus’ controlled release formulation of alfa interferon for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. On 27^th April, the dutch drug delivery and development company (Octoplus) announced the results of the completed Phase 1 study on Locteron™. Phase I results show that a single dose of Locteron delivered to healthy volunteers is safe and results supported that Locteron could be effectively dosed once every two weeks, which is a substantial improvement over the current pegylated interferons that require dosing every week. These results have been presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) meeting in Vienna, Austria. Locteron™ has been designed to be a best-in-class therapeutic for patients with chronic hepatitis C which has the potential to induce less side effects and to increase therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance compared with current therapies; will enter into Phase II studies in the second half of 2006. Source: Octoplus News Posted at 9:51 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr30	Aspirin Protects from Antibiotic-induced Hearing Loss Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Aminoglycosides are inexpensive antibiotics used worldwide for the past 60 years as treatment against acute infections and tuberculosis and as antibacterial prophylaxis in cystic fibrosis patients and in other conditions. However, these antibiotics have been widely link to irreversible hearing... Continue Reading Posted at 9:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Arthritis Drug Etanercept Combined with Chemotherapy, Might Reduce Fatigue in Cancer Patients Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Researchers at the Ohio State University found evidence that combining the arthritis drug Etanercept might help reduce fatigue and muscle wasting which often afflicts cancer patients. “This shows promise in helping reduce fatigue in cancer patients while increasing their ability... Continue Reading Posted at 9:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	In Animal Study, Experimental Vaccine Protects Against Marburg Virus Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Marburg virus is a filovirus that causes internal bleeding at multiple sites with patients usually dying as a result of multiple organ failure. Like the Ebola virus, Marburg virus is also considered a bioterrorism threat which currently has no... Continue Reading Posted at 8:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cytos Biotech’s Allergy Vaccine: CYT005-AllQbG10, Long-Term Effective Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Cytos Biotech’s vaccine for allergic diseases has shown significant long-term efficacy in people who are allergic to house dust mites -- a common cause of sneezing, wheezing, eye inflammation and asthma; according to the Switzerland Company’s study results. The intermediate-phase... Continue Reading Posted at 8:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Via AstraZeneca Collaboration, Schizophrenia Gene Function is Potential Hope for Drug R&D Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Schizophrenia is one of the most common psychiatric health disorders that affect an average of one per cent of the world’s population. The most recent methods of treatment can just partially alleviate the symptoms of this disorder but many patients... Continue Reading Posted at 8:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Adventrx Acquires Rights to SDPharma Pipeline Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquired all shares of SD Pharma, obtaining worldwide (excluding China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau) intellectual property rights to eight oncology and infectious disease therapeutic product candidates: Reformulated Vinorelbine I (SDP-012) Reformulated Docetaxel (SDP-014) Reformulated Paclitaxel (SDP-013)... Continue Reading Posted at 7:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Novartis' Exforge, Under FDA Review As New Drug Against High Blood Pressure Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Novartis submitted an new drug application (NDA) to the US FDA for the use of Exforge as a new treatment option for people with high blood pressure. In clinical trials involving more than 5,000 hypertensive patients, a single daily dose... Continue Reading Posted at 6:06 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A.P. Pharma Initiates APF530 Phase 3 Clinical Trial Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Following regulatory approval, A.P. Pharma will soon commence Phase 3 clinical trials for APF530, the company's drug candidate against acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients undergoing either moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy for cancer. The APF530... Continue Reading Posted at 6:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Approves Teva Pharmaceutical's Generic Pravachol Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Pravachol is a drug indicated for patients with high cholesterol levels and those with increased risk for atherosclerosis-related cardiac and cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. Last year it was the 22nd highest-selling brand-name drug in the US.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Array Biopharma's ARRY-438162 Enters Phase 1 Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Array BioPharma Inc.'s new drug candidate for the inflammatory disease enters Phase 1 clinical trials in the US. The molecule, designated as ARRY-438162, is a novel MEK inhibitor, which has been shown in preclinical studies to interfere with a protein... Continue Reading Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	Antares Pharma's TecTix Trans-Dermal Drug Delivery System Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Antares Pharma Inc. announced the development of a novel method of topical and trans-mucosal drug delivery: the TecTix(TM) system. The TecTix system is based on transiently reducing the melting point of an active drug by using a combination of known... Continue Reading Posted at 6:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GTx, Inc. Enters Additional Phase IIIb Clinical Trial of ACAPODENE® Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 The Men’s Health Biotech Company, GTx, Inc., recently announced that it is going into a separate Phase IIIb clinical trial as an extension of the pivotal Phase III ADT clinical trial of ACAPODENE® (toremifene citrate) in an 80mg dose for... Continue Reading Posted at 12:58 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Funding for Sirtuin Research, Awarded by ALS Association to Sirtis Pharma Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Sirtis Pharmaceuticals, the leading sirtuin therapeutics company has been awarded by The ALS Association with research funding for a novel compound developed by the company that has potential for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or sometimes called... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Advancis Pharma’s NDA for Additional Keflex® Products, Still Under FDA Review Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 As announced recently by Advancis Pharmaceutical Corporation (Nasdaq: AVNC), the company’s supplemental NDA (new drug application) for additional Keflexâ (cephalexin capsules, USP) is still being reviewed by the USFDA. "We were notified yesterday that the Agency has not yet completed... Continue Reading Posted at 12:22 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Abbot’s Acquisition of Guidant Vascular Business, Completed Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Abbot (NYSE: ABT) has completed its acquisition of Guidant’s vascular business giving birth to one of the leading global vascular devices companies. This combined Abbott-Guidant business offers a broad line of leading coronary and endovascular products which will transform the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:17 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Spectrum Pharma Inc.’s Acquisition of Oncology Drug Assets of Targent, Inc. , Completed Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 On 21st April, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI) announced the closing of its transaction to acquire the oncology drug assets of Targent, Inc. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company (based in Irvine, California) that is in the business... Continue Reading Posted at 10:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	CaraMedica Launches BioCorneum Gel for Scar Treatment Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 CaraMedica Pharmaceuticals, Inc has just launched BioCorneum®, a patented, topical, self-drying silicone gel scar treatment which is only available to patients from licensed medical professionals. BioCorneum®, classified by the FDA under a 510(k) as a medical device, manages old and... Continue Reading Posted at 6:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Impact China II: Pharmaceutical R&D Global Summit Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 What: Impact China II: Pharmaceutical R&D Global Summit When: May 21 to 24, 2006 Where: Shangri-La Hotel - Beijing, China The growing impact that China is having on the global pharmaceutical marketplace is currently being felt by the industry on... Continue Reading Posted at 6:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	New Strategy in Chemical Genetics, May Speed Drug Discovery Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 Fox Chase researcher Jeffrey R. Peterson, Ph.D. and his colleagues describe a new way in chemical genetics to swiftly find the proteins targeted by small molecule inhibitors during high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments. This new finding highlighted on the April cover... Continue Reading Posted at 12:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Carbohydrate-based Vaccine, Potential Vaccine Against Leishmaniasis Disease Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 Visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis) is a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually. The current issue of ACS Chemical Biology reported a development of a new candidate or potential vaccine for leishmaniasis disease. Peter H. Seeberger, Ph.D., of the Laboratory... Continue Reading Posted at 12:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	Novel Anthrax Toxin Inhibitor May Lead to New Therapeutics Gloria Gamat April 24, 2006 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Toronto researchers designed a nanoscale assembly of molecules that successfully counteracts and inhibits anthrax toxin in animal and laboratory experiments. Anthrax toxin is a polyvalent protein complex secreted by the anthrax bacterium that inflicts... Continue Reading Posted at 11:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Biogenerics Market Opens in EU Gloria Gamat April 24, 2006 Omnitrop, the first biosimilar or biogeneric drug to be commercialized in the EU has just been given the green light in Brussels . As biotech patents expire, this new market for biosimilar products in the EU is an access to... Continue Reading Posted at 11:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr22	Kidney Cancer Drug Nexavar®, Granted European Commission OMP status for Liver Cancer Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NYSE:BAY) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc’s. (Nasdaq:ONXX) Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product (OMP) status for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, by the European Commission. "This orphan medicinal product designation demonstrates... Continue Reading Posted at 11:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Neurochem’s eprosidate (Fibrillex™) Granted USFDA Priority Review for AA Amyloidosis Treatment Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Neurochem’s NDA of eprosidate (Fibrillex™) for the treatment of Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis has been filed and granted priority review by the USFDA. The priority review means that a target six-month review period (from the date of receipt of the... Continue Reading Posted at 11:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Tramadol ER, Received FDA Fast Track Status for HIV-associated Neuropathy Treatment Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Tramadol Extended Release (ER) for the treatment of painful HIV-associated neuropathy has been designated Fast Track Product by the USFDA. Theraquest Bioscences is a private development stage pain management company is the maker of Tramadol ER, the company’s proprietary abuse... Continue Reading Posted at 11:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Mitox™, Patented by Primagen Holding BV Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Primagen Holding BV has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for Mitox™ mitochondrial DNA quantification technology as biomarkers for efficacy and adverse events of treatment. Primagen Holding BV is a molecular diagnostics company specializing in... Continue Reading Posted at 11:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Secures $37M To Develop SIRT1 Activator Research Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals secured $37 million in new financing, out of which $22M comes form Series C equity placement and $15M in venture debt. Proceeds from this financing will be used to accelerate Sirtris' therapeutic programs, particularly those focused on metabolic... Continue Reading Posted at 11:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Head and Neck Cancer Drug BIOMAb EGFR, For Regulatory Approval Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Bangalore-based Biocon plans to launch , a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of head and neck cancer by the end of the year. Clinical trials have been completed and the company will file for regulatory approval at the Drug... Continue Reading Posted at 11:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Insomia Drug Candidate, ACP-103 Shows Positive Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 According to the results of a proof-of-concept clinical study, Acadia Pharmaceutical Inc's drug candidate ACP-103 has been able to improve the quality of sleep in healthy older volunteers by increasing slow wave sleep. "This suggests that ACP-103 has potential as... Continue Reading Posted at 10:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Fast Track Status Granted to Investigational Cardivascular Drug SCH 530348 Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 The US FDA granted a Fast Track designation for Schering-Plough's investigational cardiovascular drug, SCH 530348 . The FDA granted Fast Track designation for the following reasons: Cardiovascular disease, as evidenced in patients with acute coronary syndrome or in patients with... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	SweetGum Fruit, New Source of Tamiflu Ingredient Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 Shikimic acid is the main starting material of Tamiflu , the #1 doctor-prescribed flu drug. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu is in continued battle to meet the market’s demand for for the flu drug: increasing external contractors and finding news... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Validate™ System, New Approach against Drug Counterfeiting Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 In any product-related business, counterfeiting is bad and is the major headache in the pharma-industry. Now, there is a new approach developed to halt counterfeiting of glass drug products. This new marking technology, Validate™ came about with the partnership of... Continue Reading Posted at 12:23 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	Vivitrol™, FDA Approved for Alcoholism Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 As announced on its website on 14th April, the USFDA has approved Vivitrol™ (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) for the treatment of alcoholism. Although Alkermes, Inc. developed Vivitrol™, Cephalon is responsible for the marketing and sales of the drug under... Continue Reading Posted at 11:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Vioxx® and Celebrex® Alternatives, Pointed by Animal Study Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 Since COX-2 inhibitors, drugs like Celebrex® and Vioxx® have been strongly linked to heart problems, the mechanism by which these associations occur have been intensely interesting to researchers. In a mice study, Researchers at Queen's University and the University... Continue Reading Posted at 11:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	STAR Showed that Osteoporosis Drug Raloxifene is as Effective as Tamoxifen in Invasive Breast Cancer Prevention Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 STAR or the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene showed that the drug raloxifene works well like tamoxifen in reducing breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women. Raloxifene is an osteoporosis drug currently used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postsmenopausal... Continue Reading Posted at 11:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Reata Pharma Inc., into License Agreement to produce a Novel Class of Anti-inflammatory Drugs with Broad Potential across Multiple Therapeutic Areas Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for cancer, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases announced the completion of its license agreement with Dartmouth College and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. This license agreement... Continue Reading Posted at 11:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Walgreens Home Care Inc. Acquires CV Medical Solutions, Inc. Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Walgreens Home Care Inc. (a subsidiary of Walgreens Co. NYSE, Nasdaq: WAG), the nation's largest drugstore chain, has completed its acquisition of Canadian Valley Medical Solutions, Inc. Located in Oklahoma City, CV Medical Solutions Inc. has provided home care services... Continue Reading Posted at 10:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	WebMD Will Buy Summex Corp. for $30M and More Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Summex Corporation, a provider of comprehensive health and wellness programs that include online and offline health risk assessments, lifestyle education and personalized telephonic health coaching, have now been acquired (through a definite agreement) by WebMD Health Corporation (Nasdaq: WBMD), the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Novavax, Inc.’s Maryland Facility, Cleared for Flu Vaccine Production Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) is a company focused on creating differentiated, value-added pharmaceutical and vaccine products and technologies: which include the virus-like particle (VLP) manufacturing technology utilizing the baculovirus expression system in insect cells, as well as novel vaccine adjuvants... Continue Reading Posted at 10:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Asterand Provides New Test to Ensure Safety of Human Drug Trials Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Before testing a new drug in human volunteers, in clinical trials for example, there wouldn’t be a way of knowing beforehand if the drug to be tested will be harmful to humans. Well, not before the effects become visible.... Continue Reading Posted at 9:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Osprey Pharma Co., Now Athenagen Inc.’s Property Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 Athenagen, Inc. a private biopharmaceutical company located in South San Francisco , is engaged in the development of (oral and topical compounds) small-molecule drugs designed to either inhibit or enhance angiogenesis, based on the discovery of a new endothelial cell... Continue Reading Posted at 8:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	MedImmune’s MEDI-545, Into Phase 1 Clinical Trial for Lupus Patients Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 MEDI-545 is MedImmune’s monoclonal antibody (MAb) targeting interferon-alpha being developed for the potential treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), a chronic inflammatory disease that causes the body to attack its own tissues and organs, including the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Spectrum Pharma Inc.’s EOquin™ (Apaziquone, EO9), Potentially Indicated for Invasive Bladder Cancer Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 Spectrum Pharmaceutical Inc.’s EOquin™ (Apaziquone, E09) is a bioreductive prodrug (an anti-cancer formulated to be administered directly into the bladder) into its Phase III clinical trial for the indication of superficial bladder cancer. However, data from current study shows that... Continue Reading Posted at 7:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr16	UC Berkeley Research Produced Milestone in the Quest of a Cheap Anti-malarial Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 Artemisinin, the expensive life-saving anti-malarial drug is now being extracted from Artemesia annua, a wormwood plant. UC Berkeley researchers have succeeded two years ago in engineering bacteria to make a chemical precursor of artemisinin. The researchers’ ultimate goal was to... Continue Reading Posted at 10:30 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Genzyme Corp.’s Myozyme®, First Product for Treatment of Pompe Disease Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 Happy Easter everyone…I have just been over the forums at b5media, the other blog network where I write about life here in the Philippines and bumped into a new blogger named Juan who will be co-blogging at b5’s The After... Continue Reading Posted at 8:42 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	2nd Annual PharmaDiscovery Conference Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 What: 2nd Annual PharmaDiscovery Conference When: May 10-12, 2006 Where: Bethesday North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Maryland, USA This 3-day multi-track program is targeted to maximize networking opportunitites among leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, regulation and technology development.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:41 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr13	Holy Week Break Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 Recently, I moved back home and it has been a great week adjusting to my new found routine. This week however is the Holy Week in the Christian world and it has been a national holiday here in the Philippines... Continue Reading Posted at 1:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Abbott, To Acquire Guidant Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 Abbott, a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics recently announced that the European Commission has cleared its proposed acquisition of Guidant's vascular business.... Continue Reading Posted at 1:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Genentech’s Avastin®, Under Review for Treatment of Multiple Cancers Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 In February 2004, the USFDA approved Avastin® for use in combination with intravenous 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with colorectal cancer. Just recently, Genentech, Inc., the maker of the drug submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Approved Abbreviated New Drug Application of Mayne Pharma Inc.’s Mitoxantrone Injection (Multiple Doses) Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 The USFDA recently granted the final approval for Mayne Pharma (USA) Inc.’s Abbreviated New Drug Application for Mitoxantrone Injection, USP packaged in 20mg, 25mg and 30mg multiple-dose presentations. Mitoxantrone is the generic version of Serono's Novantrone®, the only USFDA-approved... Continue Reading Posted at 12:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Amigal™, Oral Therapy for Fabry disease, Granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation by EMEA Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended orphan medicinal product designation for Amigal™ (migalastat hydrochloride or AT1001), an oral therapy being developed by Amicus Therapeutics for the treatment of Fabry disease, a... Continue Reading Posted at 10:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	DOV Pharma Inc. Received Notice of Patent Allowance for Crystalline Form of Bicifadine, a Novel Analgesic Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 Bicifadine is DOV Pharmaceutical Inc.’s novel analgesic. Yesterday (11th April) the company announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for its patent application on a new polymorphic (or crystalline) form of bicifadine. "We... Continue Reading Posted at 9:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sangamo's Diabetic Neuropathy Drug Candidate Passes Phase I Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 During the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego; Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. presented the data from the Phase 1 human clinical trial of SB-509, a ZFP drug for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, one... Continue Reading Posted at 9:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	This Spring, Claritin® and Soccer Have Something in Common Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 That’s right. In time for the spring season is the start of soccer excitement and increased pollen count: too bad for allergy sufferers. The maker of Claritin®, Schering-Plough, has teamed up with US Men's National Soccer Team member Landon... Continue Reading Posted at 12:39 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	First AD (attention deficit) Patch is USFDA Approved Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 Ritalin® is the first attention deficit (AD) patch approved by FDA. This patch was developed by U.K.-based Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC with Noven Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the ADHD drug Daytrana™. Methylphenidate, the stimulant contained in the recently approved transdermal... Continue Reading Posted at 12:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Adhibit™ is Effective and Safe, Study Data Presented by Angiotech at the 19th annual European Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 Adhibit™ is an Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. product that is sold and marketed by Baxter Healthcare Corporation worldwide, excluding the It is a fully-synthetic, sprayable hydrogel designed to reduce or prevent the formation of post-operative surgical adhesions that is safely resorbed... Continue Reading Posted at 12:09 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	AVELOX® Monotherapy Equally Effective as High-Dose Levofloxacin and Ceftriaxone Combination Therapy in Treating Severe CAP Patients Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 A new clinical study presented at the 16th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Nice, France showed that AVELOX® (moxifloxacin HCl) monotherapy at 400 mg once daily is as effective as the high-dose combination of... Continue Reading Posted at 9:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	PhARM Act: U.S. Senate Bill Ensuring Pharmacies Receive Timely Payment for Medicare Claims Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Senator Thad Cochran introduced a bill requiring drug plans to promptly pay pharmacies within 14 days of submitting their Medicare claims. Called the Pharmacist Access and Recognition in Medicare (PhARM) Act which ensures pharmacists in neighborhoods across... Continue Reading Posted at 8:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cell Therapeutics Inc. Secure Patent for Anti-Cancer Drug Candidate Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Cell Therapeutics, Inc. has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its anti-cancer drug. CT-45099 is a new class of small molecule antitubulin agents shown to have potent antiproliferative and tumor killing activity in pre-clinical... Continue Reading Posted at 7:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pfizer and Rinat, Into Expansion of Neuroscience Research Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Pfizer Inc. recently divulged that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Rinat Neuroscience Corporation. "More than one billion people around the world suffer from neurological conditions and diseases, and finding new, more effective treatments for patients is a... Continue Reading Posted at 2:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Important Notice from Pfizer Pharma: Macugen® Label Change Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Macugen® is indicated for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration. This product is manufactured by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and is administered once every six weeks by intravitreous injection. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals recently notified healthcare professionals of important changes in... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 9	GSK and Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., Into Collaboration on RNAi-Based Therapeutics for Respiratory Diseases Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 GlaxoSmithKline and Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. announced on 3rd April the formation of their exclusive multi-year strategic alliance focused on discovery, development and commercialisation of novel RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics for respiratory diseases. This alliance gives birth to the combination of Sirna's... Continue Reading Posted at 12:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coalition for Healthcare Communication Asking USFDA of New Prescription Drug Advertising Rules Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 Last month, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication filed a Citizen Petition to the USFDA asking for the formulation of new rules governing consumer advertising of prescription drugs in order to make consumer advertising simpler and clearer, and also to stimulate... Continue Reading Posted at 12:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pharmacopeia Acquired Exclusive License Agreement for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Therapeutic Candidates Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 Pharmacopeia, a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics recently announced its exclusive licensing agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for worldwide development and commercialization rights to compounds discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb that possess dual angiotensin (AT1)... Continue Reading Posted at 12:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 8	Bioniche Life Sciences, Inc. Granted FDA Approval to Proceed with Phase III Bladder Cancer Trials Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, has been approved by USFDA to proceed with the second of two Phase III clinical trials using the Company’s proprietary Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex (MCC) for the treatment of bladder... Continue Reading Posted at 11:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Takeda GR & D Submitted USFDA NDA for ACTOplus met XR, New ACTOplus met™ Formulation Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Takeda Global Research & Development Center (TGR&D) recently submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for an extended-release version of the combination medication ACTOplus met™ (pioglitazone HCl and metformin HCl) to the USFDA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GlaxoSmithKline’s Tykerb®, No Need for Phase III Trial Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 As recommended by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), stopped enrolment in its Phase III clinical trial evaluating the combination of Tykerb® (lapatinib ditosylate) and capecitabine (Xeloda®) versus capecitabine alone. The trial evaluated women with refractory advanced or... Continue Reading Posted at 10:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Peregrine Pharma Inc.'s Tarvacin™ Combined with Radiation or Chemotherapy, Potentially Increases Survival Rate against Breast and Brain Cancer Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented two groundbreaking preclinical studies at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) demonstrating that a mouse equivalent to its first-in-class anti-phospholipid (PS) agent Tarvacin™ (bavituximab) significantly increases survival in cisplatin-resistant breast... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Inhibitex Inc.'s Veronate® Failed Phase III Clinical Trial Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Veronate® failed its Phase III clinical trial for the prevention of hospital-associated infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in premature infants (weighing between 500 and 1,250 grams at birth). This news was announced recently by Veronate®'s maker, Inhibitex, Inc.... Continue Reading Posted at 9:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	GlaxoSmithKline is Onto Human Trials of Bird Flu Vaccines Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 In recent news, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)announced that it has started human trials of its two new bird flu vaccines. These bird flu vaccines, if found effective in treating the H5N1 influenza virus will be ready for manufacture towards the end of... Continue Reading Posted at 2:17 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Wyeth Pharma’s Scottish Collaboration to Pursue Translational Medicine Research Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 In the recent collaboration of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (a Wyeth division) with the Health Ministry of Scotland, the creation of the Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) was announced. This is a collaboration that Wyeth has invested almost $86 million dollars.... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pfizer’s Celebrex Helps Stop Growth of Pre-Cancerous Colorectal Polyps, New Study Says Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 You will remember that the arthritis drug Celebrex has been linked with heart attack. Just very recently, two major long-term clinical trials has been presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting showing that the Pfizer's COX-2 inhibitor, Celebrex... Continue Reading Posted at 1:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Pain Killer Nimesulide, Helps Fight Breast Cancer Gloria Gamat April 4, 2006 A new tissue culture study suggests that a pain-killing medication called nimesulide, appears to prevent the production of an enzyme associated with a common form of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Aromatase is the enzyme implicated in estrogen-dependent breast... Continue Reading Posted at 8:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	First Generic HIV/AIDS Drug (Capsule Form) FDA Approved for U.S. Market Gloria Gamat April 4, 2006 The USFDA recently approved the first generic capsule dosage form of zidovudine ((zye-DOE-vue-deen), an HIV/AIDS drug for the United States market. Oral solution and tablet dosage forms of this drug has been previously approved for sale in the U.S. The... Continue Reading Posted at 8:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 3	Oral Heparin is Identical to Injection, Clinical Study Says Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 A biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs, Emisphere Technologies, Inc., announced the positive results of the clinical study of its lead product, Eligen® (Oral heparin), an antithrombotic/anticoagulant used to prevent deep vein thrombosis following surgery.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gen-Probe‘s PROCLEIX® ULTRIO®, USFDA BLA Application Under Amendment Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 San Diego-based Gen-Probe Incorporated (makers of rapid, accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid tests (NATs) that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human blood) recently resubmitted to the USFDA the new assay of its PROCLEIX® ULTRIO® in... Continue Reading Posted at 2:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Prograf®, FDA Approved for Heart (transplant) Indication Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 Prograf® (tacrolimus), is indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving a kidney and liver transplant in the and has been marketed in North America, Europe and . Prograf® is also commercially available worldwide, in approximately 70 countries.... Continue Reading Posted at 1:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

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Apr30	Locteron™, Treatment against Chronic Hepatitis C Completes Phase 1 Study Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Know More: Patents and Clinical Trials Locteron™ is Octoplus’ controlled release formulation of alfa interferon for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. On 27^th April, the dutch drug delivery and development company (Octoplus) announced the results of the completed Phase 1 study on Locteron™. Phase I results show that a single dose of Locteron delivered to healthy volunteers is safe and results supported that Locteron could be effectively dosed once every two weeks, which is a substantial improvement over the current pegylated interferons that require dosing every week. These results have been presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) meeting in Vienna, Austria. Locteron™ has been designed to be a best-in-class therapeutic for patients with chronic hepatitis C which has the potential to induce less side effects and to increase therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance compared with current therapies; will enter into Phase II studies in the second half of 2006. Source: Octoplus News Posted at 9:51 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr30	Aspirin Protects from Antibiotic-induced Hearing Loss Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Aminoglycosides are inexpensive antibiotics used worldwide for the past 60 years as treatment against acute infections and tuberculosis and as antibacterial prophylaxis in cystic fibrosis patients and in other conditions. However, these antibiotics have been widely link to irreversible hearing... Continue Reading Posted at 9:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Arthritis Drug Etanercept Combined with Chemotherapy, Might Reduce Fatigue in Cancer Patients Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Researchers at the Ohio State University found evidence that combining the arthritis drug Etanercept might help reduce fatigue and muscle wasting which often afflicts cancer patients. “This shows promise in helping reduce fatigue in cancer patients while increasing their ability... Continue Reading Posted at 9:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	In Animal Study, Experimental Vaccine Protects Against Marburg Virus Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Marburg virus is a filovirus that causes internal bleeding at multiple sites with patients usually dying as a result of multiple organ failure. Like the Ebola virus, Marburg virus is also considered a bioterrorism threat which currently has no... Continue Reading Posted at 8:47 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cytos Biotech’s Allergy Vaccine: CYT005-AllQbG10, Long-Term Effective Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Cytos Biotech’s vaccine for allergic diseases has shown significant long-term efficacy in people who are allergic to house dust mites -- a common cause of sneezing, wheezing, eye inflammation and asthma; according to the Switzerland Company’s study results. The intermediate-phase... Continue Reading Posted at 8:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Via AstraZeneca Collaboration, Schizophrenia Gene Function is Potential Hope for Drug R&D Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 Schizophrenia is one of the most common psychiatric health disorders that affect an average of one per cent of the world’s population. The most recent methods of treatment can just partially alleviate the symptoms of this disorder but many patients... Continue Reading Posted at 8:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Adventrx Acquires Rights to SDPharma Pipeline Gloria Gamat April 30, 2006 ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquired all shares of SD Pharma, obtaining worldwide (excluding China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau) intellectual property rights to eight oncology and infectious disease therapeutic product candidates: Reformulated Vinorelbine I (SDP-012) Reformulated Docetaxel (SDP-014) Reformulated Paclitaxel (SDP-013)... Continue Reading Posted at 7:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Novartis' Exforge, Under FDA Review As New Drug Against High Blood Pressure Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Novartis submitted an new drug application (NDA) to the US FDA for the use of Exforge as a new treatment option for people with high blood pressure. In clinical trials involving more than 5,000 hypertensive patients, a single daily dose... Continue Reading Posted at 6:06 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A.P. Pharma Initiates APF530 Phase 3 Clinical Trial Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Following regulatory approval, A.P. Pharma will soon commence Phase 3 clinical trials for APF530, the company's drug candidate against acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients undergoing either moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy for cancer. The APF530... Continue Reading Posted at 6:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Approves Teva Pharmaceutical's Generic Pravachol Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Pravachol is a drug indicated for patients with high cholesterol levels and those with increased risk for atherosclerosis-related cardiac and cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. Last year it was the 22nd highest-selling brand-name drug in the US.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Array Biopharma's ARRY-438162 Enters Phase 1 Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 27, 2006 Array BioPharma Inc.'s new drug candidate for the inflammatory disease enters Phase 1 clinical trials in the US. The molecule, designated as ARRY-438162, is a novel MEK inhibitor, which has been shown in preclinical studies to interfere with a protein... Continue Reading Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	Antares Pharma's TecTix Trans-Dermal Drug Delivery System Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Antares Pharma Inc. announced the development of a novel method of topical and trans-mucosal drug delivery: the TecTix(TM) system. The TecTix system is based on transiently reducing the melting point of an active drug by using a combination of known... Continue Reading Posted at 6:46 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GTx, Inc. Enters Additional Phase IIIb Clinical Trial of ACAPODENE® Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 The Men’s Health Biotech Company, GTx, Inc., recently announced that it is going into a separate Phase IIIb clinical trial as an extension of the pivotal Phase III ADT clinical trial of ACAPODENE® (toremifene citrate) in an 80mg dose for... Continue Reading Posted at 12:58 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Funding for Sirtuin Research, Awarded by ALS Association to Sirtis Pharma Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Sirtis Pharmaceuticals, the leading sirtuin therapeutics company has been awarded by The ALS Association with research funding for a novel compound developed by the company that has potential for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or sometimes called... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Advancis Pharma’s NDA for Additional Keflex® Products, Still Under FDA Review Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 As announced recently by Advancis Pharmaceutical Corporation (Nasdaq: AVNC), the company’s supplemental NDA (new drug application) for additional Keflexâ (cephalexin capsules, USP) is still being reviewed by the USFDA. "We were notified yesterday that the Agency has not yet completed... Continue Reading Posted at 12:22 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Abbot’s Acquisition of Guidant Vascular Business, Completed Gloria Gamat April 26, 2006 Abbot (NYSE: ABT) has completed its acquisition of Guidant’s vascular business giving birth to one of the leading global vascular devices companies. This combined Abbott-Guidant business offers a broad line of leading coronary and endovascular products which will transform the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:17 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Spectrum Pharma Inc.’s Acquisition of Oncology Drug Assets of Targent, Inc. , Completed Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 On 21st April, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI) announced the closing of its transaction to acquire the oncology drug assets of Targent, Inc. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company (based in Irvine, California) that is in the business... Continue Reading Posted at 10:52 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	CaraMedica Launches BioCorneum Gel for Scar Treatment Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 CaraMedica Pharmaceuticals, Inc has just launched BioCorneum®, a patented, topical, self-drying silicone gel scar treatment which is only available to patients from licensed medical professionals. BioCorneum®, classified by the FDA under a 510(k) as a medical device, manages old and... Continue Reading Posted at 6:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Impact China II: Pharmaceutical R&D Global Summit Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 What: Impact China II: Pharmaceutical R&D Global Summit When: May 21 to 24, 2006 Where: Shangri-La Hotel - Beijing, China The growing impact that China is having on the global pharmaceutical marketplace is currently being felt by the industry on... Continue Reading Posted at 6:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	New Strategy in Chemical Genetics, May Speed Drug Discovery Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 Fox Chase researcher Jeffrey R. Peterson, Ph.D. and his colleagues describe a new way in chemical genetics to swiftly find the proteins targeted by small molecule inhibitors during high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments. This new finding highlighted on the April cover... Continue Reading Posted at 12:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Carbohydrate-based Vaccine, Potential Vaccine Against Leishmaniasis Disease Gloria Gamat April 25, 2006 Visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis) is a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually. The current issue of ACS Chemical Biology reported a development of a new candidate or potential vaccine for leishmaniasis disease. Peter H. Seeberger, Ph.D., of the Laboratory... Continue Reading Posted at 12:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	Novel Anthrax Toxin Inhibitor May Lead to New Therapeutics Gloria Gamat April 24, 2006 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Toronto researchers designed a nanoscale assembly of molecules that successfully counteracts and inhibits anthrax toxin in animal and laboratory experiments. Anthrax toxin is a polyvalent protein complex secreted by the anthrax bacterium that inflicts... Continue Reading Posted at 11:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Biogenerics Market Opens in EU Gloria Gamat April 24, 2006 Omnitrop, the first biosimilar or biogeneric drug to be commercialized in the EU has just been given the green light in Brussels . As biotech patents expire, this new market for biosimilar products in the EU is an access to... Continue Reading Posted at 11:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr22	Kidney Cancer Drug Nexavar®, Granted European Commission OMP status for Liver Cancer Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NYSE:BAY) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc’s. (Nasdaq:ONXX) Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product (OMP) status for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, by the European Commission. "This orphan medicinal product designation demonstrates... Continue Reading Posted at 11:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Neurochem’s eprosidate (Fibrillex™) Granted USFDA Priority Review for AA Amyloidosis Treatment Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Neurochem’s NDA of eprosidate (Fibrillex™) for the treatment of Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis has been filed and granted priority review by the USFDA. The priority review means that a target six-month review period (from the date of receipt of the... Continue Reading Posted at 11:32 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Tramadol ER, Received FDA Fast Track Status for HIV-associated Neuropathy Treatment Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Tramadol Extended Release (ER) for the treatment of painful HIV-associated neuropathy has been designated Fast Track Product by the USFDA. Theraquest Bioscences is a private development stage pain management company is the maker of Tramadol ER, the company’s proprietary abuse... Continue Reading Posted at 11:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Mitox™, Patented by Primagen Holding BV Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Primagen Holding BV has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for Mitox™ mitochondrial DNA quantification technology as biomarkers for efficacy and adverse events of treatment. Primagen Holding BV is a molecular diagnostics company specializing in... Continue Reading Posted at 11:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Secures $37M To Develop SIRT1 Activator Research Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals secured $37 million in new financing, out of which $22M comes form Series C equity placement and $15M in venture debt. Proceeds from this financing will be used to accelerate Sirtris' therapeutic programs, particularly those focused on metabolic... Continue Reading Posted at 11:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Head and Neck Cancer Drug BIOMAb EGFR, For Regulatory Approval Gloria Gamat April 22, 2006 Bangalore-based Biocon plans to launch , a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of head and neck cancer by the end of the year. Clinical trials have been completed and the company will file for regulatory approval at the Drug... Continue Reading Posted at 11:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Insomia Drug Candidate, ACP-103 Shows Positive Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 According to the results of a proof-of-concept clinical study, Acadia Pharmaceutical Inc's drug candidate ACP-103 has been able to improve the quality of sleep in healthy older volunteers by increasing slow wave sleep. "This suggests that ACP-103 has potential as... Continue Reading Posted at 10:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Fast Track Status Granted to Investigational Cardivascular Drug SCH 530348 Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 The US FDA granted a Fast Track designation for Schering-Plough's investigational cardiovascular drug, SCH 530348 . The FDA granted Fast Track designation for the following reasons: Cardiovascular disease, as evidenced in patients with acute coronary syndrome or in patients with... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	SweetGum Fruit, New Source of Tamiflu Ingredient Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 Shikimic acid is the main starting material of Tamiflu , the #1 doctor-prescribed flu drug. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu is in continued battle to meet the market’s demand for for the flu drug: increasing external contractors and finding news... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Validate™ System, New Approach against Drug Counterfeiting Gloria Gamat April 20, 2006 In any product-related business, counterfeiting is bad and is the major headache in the pharma-industry. Now, there is a new approach developed to halt counterfeiting of glass drug products. This new marking technology, Validate™ came about with the partnership of... Continue Reading Posted at 12:23 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	Vivitrol™, FDA Approved for Alcoholism Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 As announced on its website on 14th April, the USFDA has approved Vivitrol™ (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) for the treatment of alcoholism. Although Alkermes, Inc. developed Vivitrol™, Cephalon is responsible for the marketing and sales of the drug under... Continue Reading Posted at 11:56 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Vioxx® and Celebrex® Alternatives, Pointed by Animal Study Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 Since COX-2 inhibitors, drugs like Celebrex® and Vioxx® have been strongly linked to heart problems, the mechanism by which these associations occur have been intensely interesting to researchers. In a mice study, Researchers at Queen's University and the University... Continue Reading Posted at 11:31 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	STAR Showed that Osteoporosis Drug Raloxifene is as Effective as Tamoxifen in Invasive Breast Cancer Prevention Gloria Gamat April 19, 2006 STAR or the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene showed that the drug raloxifene works well like tamoxifen in reducing breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women. Raloxifene is an osteoporosis drug currently used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postsmenopausal... Continue Reading Posted at 11:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Reata Pharma Inc., into License Agreement to produce a Novel Class of Anti-inflammatory Drugs with Broad Potential across Multiple Therapeutic Areas Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for cancer, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases announced the completion of its license agreement with Dartmouth College and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. This license agreement... Continue Reading Posted at 11:04 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Walgreens Home Care Inc. Acquires CV Medical Solutions, Inc. Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Walgreens Home Care Inc. (a subsidiary of Walgreens Co. NYSE, Nasdaq: WAG), the nation's largest drugstore chain, has completed its acquisition of Canadian Valley Medical Solutions, Inc. Located in Oklahoma City, CV Medical Solutions Inc. has provided home care services... Continue Reading Posted at 10:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	WebMD Will Buy Summex Corp. for $30M and More Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Summex Corporation, a provider of comprehensive health and wellness programs that include online and offline health risk assessments, lifestyle education and personalized telephonic health coaching, have now been acquired (through a definite agreement) by WebMD Health Corporation (Nasdaq: WBMD), the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Novavax, Inc.’s Maryland Facility, Cleared for Flu Vaccine Production Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) is a company focused on creating differentiated, value-added pharmaceutical and vaccine products and technologies: which include the virus-like particle (VLP) manufacturing technology utilizing the baculovirus expression system in insect cells, as well as novel vaccine adjuvants... Continue Reading Posted at 10:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Asterand Provides New Test to Ensure Safety of Human Drug Trials Gloria Gamat April 18, 2006 Before testing a new drug in human volunteers, in clinical trials for example, there wouldn’t be a way of knowing beforehand if the drug to be tested will be harmful to humans. Well, not before the effects become visible.... Continue Reading Posted at 9:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Osprey Pharma Co., Now Athenagen Inc.’s Property Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 Athenagen, Inc. a private biopharmaceutical company located in South San Francisco , is engaged in the development of (oral and topical compounds) small-molecule drugs designed to either inhibit or enhance angiogenesis, based on the discovery of a new endothelial cell... Continue Reading Posted at 8:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	MedImmune’s MEDI-545, Into Phase 1 Clinical Trial for Lupus Patients Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 MEDI-545 is MedImmune’s monoclonal antibody (MAb) targeting interferon-alpha being developed for the potential treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), a chronic inflammatory disease that causes the body to attack its own tissues and organs, including the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Spectrum Pharma Inc.’s EOquin™ (Apaziquone, EO9), Potentially Indicated for Invasive Bladder Cancer Gloria Gamat April 17, 2006 Spectrum Pharmaceutical Inc.’s EOquin™ (Apaziquone, E09) is a bioreductive prodrug (an anti-cancer formulated to be administered directly into the bladder) into its Phase III clinical trial for the indication of superficial bladder cancer. However, data from current study shows that... Continue Reading Posted at 7:14 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr16	UC Berkeley Research Produced Milestone in the Quest of a Cheap Anti-malarial Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 Artemisinin, the expensive life-saving anti-malarial drug is now being extracted from Artemesia annua, a wormwood plant. UC Berkeley researchers have succeeded two years ago in engineering bacteria to make a chemical precursor of artemisinin. The researchers’ ultimate goal was to... Continue Reading Posted at 10:30 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Genzyme Corp.’s Myozyme®, First Product for Treatment of Pompe Disease Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 Happy Easter everyone…I have just been over the forums at b5media, the other blog network where I write about life here in the Philippines and bumped into a new blogger named Juan who will be co-blogging at b5’s The After... Continue Reading Posted at 8:42 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	2nd Annual PharmaDiscovery Conference Gloria Gamat April 16, 2006 What: 2nd Annual PharmaDiscovery Conference When: May 10-12, 2006 Where: Bethesday North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Maryland, USA This 3-day multi-track program is targeted to maximize networking opportunitites among leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, regulation and technology development.... Continue Reading Posted at 12:41 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr13	Holy Week Break Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 Recently, I moved back home and it has been a great week adjusting to my new found routine. This week however is the Holy Week in the Christian world and it has been a national holiday here in the Philippines... Continue Reading Posted at 1:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Abbott, To Acquire Guidant Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 Abbott, a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics recently announced that the European Commission has cleared its proposed acquisition of Guidant's vascular business.... Continue Reading Posted at 1:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Genentech’s Avastin®, Under Review for Treatment of Multiple Cancers Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 In February 2004, the USFDA approved Avastin® for use in combination with intravenous 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with colorectal cancer. Just recently, Genentech, Inc., the maker of the drug submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	FDA Approved Abbreviated New Drug Application of Mayne Pharma Inc.’s Mitoxantrone Injection (Multiple Doses) Gloria Gamat April 13, 2006 The USFDA recently granted the final approval for Mayne Pharma (USA) Inc.’s Abbreviated New Drug Application for Mitoxantrone Injection, USP packaged in 20mg, 25mg and 30mg multiple-dose presentations. Mitoxantrone is the generic version of Serono's Novantrone®, the only USFDA-approved... Continue Reading Posted at 12:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Amigal™, Oral Therapy for Fabry disease, Granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation by EMEA Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended orphan medicinal product designation for Amigal™ (migalastat hydrochloride or AT1001), an oral therapy being developed by Amicus Therapeutics for the treatment of Fabry disease, a... Continue Reading Posted at 10:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	DOV Pharma Inc. Received Notice of Patent Allowance for Crystalline Form of Bicifadine, a Novel Analgesic Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 Bicifadine is DOV Pharmaceutical Inc.’s novel analgesic. Yesterday (11th April) the company announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for its patent application on a new polymorphic (or crystalline) form of bicifadine. "We... Continue Reading Posted at 9:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sangamo's Diabetic Neuropathy Drug Candidate Passes Phase I Clinical Trials Gloria Gamat April 12, 2006 During the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego; Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. presented the data from the Phase 1 human clinical trial of SB-509, a ZFP drug for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, one... Continue Reading Posted at 9:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	This Spring, Claritin® and Soccer Have Something in Common Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 That’s right. In time for the spring season is the start of soccer excitement and increased pollen count: too bad for allergy sufferers. The maker of Claritin®, Schering-Plough, has teamed up with US Men's National Soccer Team member Landon... Continue Reading Posted at 12:39 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	First AD (attention deficit) Patch is USFDA Approved Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 Ritalin® is the first attention deficit (AD) patch approved by FDA. This patch was developed by U.K.-based Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC with Noven Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the ADHD drug Daytrana™. Methylphenidate, the stimulant contained in the recently approved transdermal... Continue Reading Posted at 12:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Adhibit™ is Effective and Safe, Study Data Presented by Angiotech at the 19th annual European Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology Gloria Gamat April 11, 2006 Adhibit™ is an Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. product that is sold and marketed by Baxter Healthcare Corporation worldwide, excluding the It is a fully-synthetic, sprayable hydrogel designed to reduce or prevent the formation of post-operative surgical adhesions that is safely resorbed... Continue Reading Posted at 12:09 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	AVELOX® Monotherapy Equally Effective as High-Dose Levofloxacin and Ceftriaxone Combination Therapy in Treating Severe CAP Patients Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 A new clinical study presented at the 16th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Nice, France showed that AVELOX® (moxifloxacin HCl) monotherapy at 400 mg once daily is as effective as the high-dose combination of... Continue Reading Posted at 9:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	PhARM Act: U.S. Senate Bill Ensuring Pharmacies Receive Timely Payment for Medicare Claims Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Senator Thad Cochran introduced a bill requiring drug plans to promptly pay pharmacies within 14 days of submitting their Medicare claims. Called the Pharmacist Access and Recognition in Medicare (PhARM) Act which ensures pharmacists in neighborhoods across... Continue Reading Posted at 8:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Cell Therapeutics Inc. Secure Patent for Anti-Cancer Drug Candidate Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Cell Therapeutics, Inc. has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its anti-cancer drug. CT-45099 is a new class of small molecule antitubulin agents shown to have potent antiproliferative and tumor killing activity in pre-clinical... Continue Reading Posted at 7:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pfizer and Rinat, Into Expansion of Neuroscience Research Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Pfizer Inc. recently divulged that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Rinat Neuroscience Corporation. "More than one billion people around the world suffer from neurological conditions and diseases, and finding new, more effective treatments for patients is a... Continue Reading Posted at 2:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Important Notice from Pfizer Pharma: Macugen® Label Change Gloria Gamat April 10, 2006 Macugen® is indicated for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration. This product is manufactured by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and is administered once every six weeks by intravitreous injection. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals recently notified healthcare professionals of important changes in... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 9	GSK and Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., Into Collaboration on RNAi-Based Therapeutics for Respiratory Diseases Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 GlaxoSmithKline and Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. announced on 3rd April the formation of their exclusive multi-year strategic alliance focused on discovery, development and commercialisation of novel RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics for respiratory diseases. This alliance gives birth to the combination of Sirna's... Continue Reading Posted at 12:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Coalition for Healthcare Communication Asking USFDA of New Prescription Drug Advertising Rules Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 Last month, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication filed a Citizen Petition to the USFDA asking for the formulation of new rules governing consumer advertising of prescription drugs in order to make consumer advertising simpler and clearer, and also to stimulate... Continue Reading Posted at 12:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pharmacopeia Acquired Exclusive License Agreement for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Therapeutic Candidates Gloria Gamat April 9, 2006 Pharmacopeia, a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics recently announced its exclusive licensing agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for worldwide development and commercialization rights to compounds discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb that possess dual angiotensin (AT1)... Continue Reading Posted at 12:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 8	Bioniche Life Sciences, Inc. Granted FDA Approval to Proceed with Phase III Bladder Cancer Trials Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, has been approved by USFDA to proceed with the second of two Phase III clinical trials using the Company’s proprietary Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex (MCC) for the treatment of bladder... Continue Reading Posted at 11:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Takeda GR & D Submitted USFDA NDA for ACTOplus met XR, New ACTOplus met™ Formulation Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Takeda Global Research & Development Center (TGR&D) recently submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for an extended-release version of the combination medication ACTOplus met™ (pioglitazone HCl and metformin HCl) to the USFDA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	GlaxoSmithKline’s Tykerb®, No Need for Phase III Trial Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 As recommended by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), stopped enrolment in its Phase III clinical trial evaluating the combination of Tykerb® (lapatinib ditosylate) and capecitabine (Xeloda®) versus capecitabine alone. The trial evaluated women with refractory advanced or... Continue Reading Posted at 10:58 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Peregrine Pharma Inc.'s Tarvacin™ Combined with Radiation or Chemotherapy, Potentially Increases Survival Rate against Breast and Brain Cancer Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented two groundbreaking preclinical studies at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) demonstrating that a mouse equivalent to its first-in-class anti-phospholipid (PS) agent Tarvacin™ (bavituximab) significantly increases survival in cisplatin-resistant breast... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Inhibitex Inc.'s Veronate® Failed Phase III Clinical Trial Gloria Gamat April 8, 2006 Veronate® failed its Phase III clinical trial for the prevention of hospital-associated infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in premature infants (weighing between 500 and 1,250 grams at birth). This news was announced recently by Veronate®'s maker, Inhibitex, Inc.... Continue Reading Posted at 9:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	GlaxoSmithKline is Onto Human Trials of Bird Flu Vaccines Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 In recent news, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)announced that it has started human trials of its two new bird flu vaccines. These bird flu vaccines, if found effective in treating the H5N1 influenza virus will be ready for manufacture towards the end of... Continue Reading Posted at 2:17 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Wyeth Pharma’s Scottish Collaboration to Pursue Translational Medicine Research Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 In the recent collaboration of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (a Wyeth division) with the Health Ministry of Scotland, the creation of the Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) was announced. This is a collaboration that Wyeth has invested almost $86 million dollars.... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pfizer’s Celebrex Helps Stop Growth of Pre-Cancerous Colorectal Polyps, New Study Says Gloria Gamat April 5, 2006 You will remember that the arthritis drug Celebrex has been linked with heart attack. Just very recently, two major long-term clinical trials has been presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting showing that the Pfizer's COX-2 inhibitor, Celebrex... Continue Reading Posted at 1:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Pain Killer Nimesulide, Helps Fight Breast Cancer Gloria Gamat April 4, 2006 A new tissue culture study suggests that a pain-killing medication called nimesulide, appears to prevent the production of an enzyme associated with a common form of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Aromatase is the enzyme implicated in estrogen-dependent breast... Continue Reading Posted at 8:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	First Generic HIV/AIDS Drug (Capsule Form) FDA Approved for U.S. Market Gloria Gamat April 4, 2006 The USFDA recently approved the first generic capsule dosage form of zidovudine ((zye-DOE-vue-deen), an HIV/AIDS drug for the United States market. Oral solution and tablet dosage forms of this drug has been previously approved for sale in the U.S. The... Continue Reading Posted at 8:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 3	Oral Heparin is Identical to Injection, Clinical Study Says Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 A biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs, Emisphere Technologies, Inc., announced the positive results of the clinical study of its lead product, Eligen® (Oral heparin), an antithrombotic/anticoagulant used to prevent deep vein thrombosis following surgery.... Continue Reading Posted at 10:01 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Gen-Probe‘s PROCLEIX® ULTRIO®, USFDA BLA Application Under Amendment Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 San Diego-based Gen-Probe Incorporated (makers of rapid, accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid tests (NATs) that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human blood) recently resubmitted to the USFDA the new assay of its PROCLEIX® ULTRIO® in... Continue Reading Posted at 2:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Prograf®, FDA Approved for Heart (transplant) Indication Gloria Gamat April 3, 2006 Prograf® (tacrolimus), is indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving a kidney and liver transplant in the and has been marketed in North America, Europe and . Prograf® is also commercially available worldwide, in approximately 70 countries.... Continue Reading Posted at 1:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

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