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New Sermo Event Report assesses physicians' perception of multiple sclerosis drugs

Sermo (http://www.sermo.com), the world's largest online physician's community, today announced a new Sermo Event(TM) Report assessing physician perception of FDA's "refuse to file" (RTF) letter on EMD Serono's Cladribine tablets and its potential impact, if any, on Novartis' oral MS agent in development; Fingolimod. Cladribine is expected to be one of the first oral agents to be approved for the treatment of relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis.

7 Jan 2010

High blood pressure drugs may be useful in preventing and treating diabetic retinopathy

Scientists in Massachusetts are reporting new evidence that certain high blood pressure drugs may be useful in preventing and treating diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of vision loss in people with diabetes. The study, the largest to date on proteins in the retina, could lead to new ways to prevent or treat the sight-threatening disease, they say.

7 Jan 2010

Diabetes patients with Part D coverage gap are less likely to stick to their medications

Medicare recipients with diabetes who have a gap in their Part D prescription drug benefits—known as the "doughnut hole" — have higher out-of-pocket drug costs and are less likely to stick to their medications than those who have supplemental drug benefits, a new study confirms.

7 Jan 2010

UV LED therapy can be used for treating focal epilepsy in humans

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School discovered that light from an ultraviolet diode (UV LED) reduced "seizure-like" activity in a rat epilepsy model. During the study, UV light released gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) from the "caged" compound carbonyl amino butanoic acid (BC204).

7 Jan 2010

New public-private electronic records sharing program for some San Diego patients

Two major medical systems in the San Diego area, the private HMO Kaiser Permanente and the Department of Veterans Affairs, will announce a program to share patient records, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

7 Jan 2010

CEI releases new diabetes market forecast study

Since 2008, Cutting Edge Information has developed forecasting data for the diabetes treatment market. The new report -- "Diabetes Market Forecast to 2015" -- provides a deep analysis of the relevant clinical, commercial, and market trends affecting diabetes therapeutics today and their impact leading into the next decade. In addition to detailed drug, class, and company profiles, the study includes primary research findings generated from survey data and interviews with leading physicians and marketing executives.

7 Jan 2010

Authors explain why health care reform initiative should include CER

The current health care reform bills approved by the House and the Senate seek to expand health insurance coverage while containing costs; however, the proposed policy changes are not guaranteed to improve health for individuals or society, according to a "Perspective" article by faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in the Jan. 6 New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Jan 2010

Drug companies still under great and growing pressure to bring more products to market

Although drug developers are improving R&D efficiency, in part by terminating more unpromising drugs earlier in development, their continued success will depend on how well they partner with other firms at specific points on the development spectrum, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

7 Jan 2010

Study suggests pomegranates may prevent growth of breast cancer cells

US scientists have carried out a series of laboratory tests suggesting that natural compounds in pomegranates may prevent the growth of breast cancer cells.

7 Jan 2010

Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicinef fellows receive AMIA awards

Jon D. Duke, M.D. and Jeffrey Klann, M.Eng., medical informatics fellows at the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine, have been recognized by the American Medical Informatics Association for their development and testing of two new physician support computer tools. Their

7 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new approach to eliminate side effects of drugs

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have taken an early step toward identifying a new approach to drug discovery that may eventually yield drugs with fewer side effects.

7 Jan 2010

NCPA offers lawmakers updated health care reform recommendations

With Senate and House leaders trying to craft a health care reform bill to send to the White House, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today offered lawmakers updated recommendations for the would-be final legislation.

7 Jan 2010

Goosby outlines PEPFAR's strategy to strengthen health systems in Reuters interview

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby on Tuesday in an interview with Reuters discussed how as part of its new strategy PEPFAR will aim to "to transform healthcare in some of the world's poorest countries," the news agency writes.

7 Jan 2010

Bogus drug manufactures embrace new tactics to dupe consumers

Manufacturers of counterfeit prescription drugs are embracing new tactics to deal with an estimated $75-billion-year market in knockoffs, a battle that is far from being won.

7 Jan 2010

Study explains how H. pylori infection causes stomach cancer

Researchers report that Helicobacter pylori, the only bacterium known to survive in the harsh environment of the human stomach, directly activates an enzyme in host cells that has been associated with several types of cancer, including gastric cancer.

7 Jan 2010

Reuters examines TB in China

Reuters examines efforts to control tuberculosis in China, which has the "world's second largest tuberculosis burden after India." The news service writes, "China has 4.5 million TB cases currently; and each year 1.4 million people fall ill with the disease. TB killed 160,000 people in China in 2008, according to the World Health Organization."

7 Jan 2010

New tools show potential for treating brain disorders

Neuroscientists at MIT have developed a powerful new class of tools to reversibly shut down brain activity using different colors of light.

7 Jan 2010

Tumor Biology Center to initiate Phase 2 clinical trial with CytRx’s INNO-206

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the Tumor Biology Center, Freiburg, Germany, plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial with CytRx’s doxorubicin prodrug INNO-206 as a treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

6 Jan 2010

Also in global health news: ART access in Zimbabwe; Indonesia bird flu deaths; Kenya floods; Solomon Island tsunami

Zimbabwe's government plans work with international organizations to increase the number of people receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to 300,000 by the end of the year, up from the 180,000 who currently get the drugs, Henry Madzorera, the country's health minister, said on Tuesday, ZimOnline reports.

6 Jan 2010

Ensemble Discovery initiates strategic alliance with Pfizer

Ensemble Discovery today announced the initiation of a strategic alliance with Pfizer Inc. to discover and develop drug candidates of a novel class against a number of high-value pharmaceutical targets.

6 Jan 2010

Drugs News and Research

New Sermo Event Report assesses physicians' perception of multiple sclerosis drugs

High blood pressure drugs may be useful in preventing and treating diabetic retinopathy

Diabetes patients with Part D coverage gap are less likely to stick to their medications

UV LED therapy can be used for treating focal epilepsy in humans

New public-private electronic records sharing program for some San Diego patients

CEI releases new diabetes market forecast study

Authors explain why health care reform initiative should include CER

Drug companies still under great and growing pressure to bring more products to market

Study suggests pomegranates may prevent growth of breast cancer cells

Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicinef fellows receive AMIA awards

Researchers identify new approach to eliminate side effects of drugs

NCPA offers lawmakers updated health care reform recommendations

Goosby outlines PEPFAR's strategy to strengthen health systems in Reuters interview

Bogus drug manufactures embrace new tactics to dupe consumers

Study explains how H. pylori infection causes stomach cancer

Reuters examines TB in China

New tools show potential for treating brain disorders

Tumor Biology Center to initiate Phase 2 clinical trial with CytRx’s INNO-206

Also in global health news: ART access in Zimbabwe; Indonesia bird flu deaths; Kenya floods; Solomon Island tsunami

Ensemble Discovery initiates strategic alliance with Pfizer

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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