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Cancer Research UK's phase I trial results of CHT25 published in Clinical Cancer Research

TWO THIRDS of Hodgkin's lymphoma patients treated with an experimental radioactive cancer therapy responded well to the treatment, reveal the results of a Cancer Research UK phase I trial published in Clinical Cancer Research, today (Tuesday).

16 Dec 2009

AARP says bipartisan amendment can bring down medication costs

The U.S. Senate today rejected an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would have helped make prescription drugs more affordable by allowing for the safe and legal importation of lower priced drugs from abroad. The bipartisan amendment, endorsed by AARP and sponsored by Senators Dorgan, Snowe, McCain, Grassley and Stabenow, would have improved competition and helped to bring down the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs.

16 Dec 2009

Challenges U.S. and U.K. cancer patients face in gaining access to expensive treatments

Cancer patients in both the United States and the United Kingdom face challenges in gaining access to expensive treatments, according to research published in the December issue of The Milbank Quarterly.

16 Dec 2009

H1N1 outbreak reveals existing gaps in nation's public health emergency preparedness

The seventh annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), found that the H1N1 flu outbreak has exposed serious underlying gaps in the nation's ability to respond to public health emergencies and that the economic crisis is straining an already fragile public health system.

16 Dec 2009

New York Times highlights shortfalls in transplant patient immunosuppressive drug coverage

Today's New York Times article by Kevin Sack, "Plan for Kidney Drugs Spurs Division," illustrates an internal renal community reimbursement debate that may result in kidney patients continuing to be deprived of their life-saving immunosuppressive medications beyond the current 36-month Medicare program limit.

16 Dec 2009

Pharmaceutical manufacturers controlling health reform debate, Senate disallows prescription drug import

The failure of the U.S. Senate to allow importation of prescription drugs to cut costs, much less the more effective direct bulk purchasing of prescription drugs, is just the latest example of how big industry controls the health reform debate, according to Consumer Watchdog.

16 Dec 2009

Study may lead to more targeted research and treatment for memory disorders

The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories have been decoded by Medical College of Georgia scientists.

16 Dec 2009

Cellular Dynamics International launches iCell Cardiomyocytes

Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) today announced the commercial launch of iCell(TM) Cardiomyocytes for use in testing of new drug candidates by the pharmaceutical industry.

16 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca's CRESTOR receives favorable vote from FDA Advisory Committee

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) today voted 12 yes, 4 no, and 1 abstention that AstraZeneca has established sufficient benefit to offset the observed risks to support the use of CRESTOR®

16 Dec 2009

Nebraska Medicare beneficiaries to make important decisions about their health coverage

Through the end of the year, thousands of Nebraska Medicare beneficiaries will be making important decisions about their health coverage. This is when the state's 268,000 Medicare beneficiaries get to decide which health benefits they will sign up and pay for in 2010.

16 Dec 2009

Drug monitoring may provide alternative treatments for patients with severe H1N1

An international team of Canadian and Spanish scientists have found the first potential immunological clue of why some people develop severe pneumonia when infected by the pandemic H1N1 virus.

16 Dec 2009

U.S. patent for new bioadhesive drug delivery system awarded to SRI International

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today the award of U.S. patent 7,592,021 for a new bioadhesive drug delivery system that enables enhanced release of drugs through the human body's mucous membranes.

16 Dec 2009

UCLA researchers find link between brain cancer and fatty acid synthesis

Inhibiting fatty acid synthesis in brain cancer cells may offer a new option to treat about 50 percent of deadly glioblastomas that are driven by amplified signaling of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), according to a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Dec 2009

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals and MGH enter into collaborative research agreement

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs for the treatment of serious multi-drug-resistant infections announced today it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

16 Dec 2009

USPTO issues Notice of Allowance for U.S. patent application in the 'Crooke' patent family

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. patent application (No. 10/078,949) in the “Crooke” patent family, which broadly covers chemically modified RNA-containing therapeutics.

16 Dec 2009

Hospira to acquire Orchid's pharmaceuticals business for $400 million

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, and Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a leading Indian pharmaceuticals company and among the top-five generic beta-lactam antibiotics manufacturers globally, today announced an agreement for Hospira to acquire Orchid's generic injectable finished-dosage form pharmaceuticals business for approximately $400 million.

15 Dec 2009

Patheon releases the first commercial shipments of SUMAVEL DosePro to Zogenix

Patheon a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry announced today that it has successfully released the first commercial shipments of SUMAVEL DosePro (sumatriptan injection) to Zogenix in anticipation of the planned U.S. commercial product launch scheduled in January 2010.

15 Dec 2009

UNITAID to launch patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs by mid-2010

The international drug procurement agency UNITAID on Monday unveiled plans to create a patent pool for HIV/AIDS medications to help increase access to generic versions of newer drugs at lower prices for low- and middle-income countries, Agence France-Presse reports. The patent pool "will create a common space for patent holders to license their technology in exchange for royalties" and is "scheduled to begin operating in mid-2010," AFP reports (12/14).

15 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca, UVa announce collaboration in development of new treatments for CAD and PAD

AstraZeneca and the University of Virginia (UVa) in Charlottesville, today announced that they have entered into a strategic research collaboration to enhance development of new treatments primarily for coronary artery disease (CAD) with a secondary focus on peripheral vascular disease (PAD).

15 Dec 2009

Increased funds lead to 'significant progress' in global malaria fight, WHO report says

WHO's World Malaria Report 2009, which was released on Tuesday, found "increased funding is starting to pay off in the battle against malaria but prevention and treatment must be increased to try to halt the killer disease," Reuters reports (Kelland, 12/15). According to the Associated Press, there were more than 240 million cases of malaria and an estimated 863,000 people, mostly in Africa, died of the disease in 2008 (Cheng, 12/15).

15 Dec 2009

Drugs News and Research

Cancer Research UK's phase I trial results of CHT25 published in Clinical Cancer Research

AARP says bipartisan amendment can bring down medication costs

Challenges U.S. and U.K. cancer patients face in gaining access to expensive treatments

H1N1 outbreak reveals existing gaps in nation's public health emergency preparedness

New York Times highlights shortfalls in transplant patient immunosuppressive drug coverage

Pharmaceutical manufacturers controlling health reform debate, Senate disallows prescription drug import

Study may lead to more targeted research and treatment for memory disorders

Cellular Dynamics International launches iCell Cardiomyocytes

AstraZeneca's CRESTOR receives favorable vote from FDA Advisory Committee

Nebraska Medicare beneficiaries to make important decisions about their health coverage

Drug monitoring may provide alternative treatments for patients with severe H1N1

U.S. patent for new bioadhesive drug delivery system awarded to SRI International

UCLA researchers find link between brain cancer and fatty acid synthesis

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals and MGH enter into collaborative research agreement

USPTO issues Notice of Allowance for U.S. patent application in the 'Crooke' patent family

Hospira to acquire Orchid's pharmaceuticals business for $400 million

Patheon releases the first commercial shipments of SUMAVEL DosePro to Zogenix

UNITAID to launch patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs by mid-2010

AstraZeneca, UVa announce collaboration in development of new treatments for CAD and PAD

Increased funds lead to 'significant progress' in global malaria fight, WHO report says

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