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AstraZeneca makes $100 million investment in Boston

AstraZeneca has announced a $100 million research investment to strategically boost work in the infectious disease area and continue its incremental growth in cancer research at its research center near Boston, Massachusetts.

22 Jan 2007

Sequella receives FDA fast track status for pulmonary tuberculosis drug

Sequella, Inc. has announced it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SQ109, the company's proprietary lead drug candidate for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

22 Jan 2007

Novavax's pandemic flu vaccines show promise

Novavax, Inc.'s novel virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines have been shown to be effective in generating protection against pandemic influenza as well as cross protection against different strains of the virus in pre-clinical studies, according to data presented at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum.

22 Jan 2007

Shire licenses the north American rights for Apricitabine to Avexa

Shire plc has announced that it licensed the North America (U.S. and Canada) rights for the investigational HIV compound, SPD754 (also known as apricitabine), to the Australian biotechnology company Avexa Limited in return for an up-front payment of US$10 million, development and sales related milestones and royalties.

22 Jan 2007

Lessons from Vioxx litigation

The pharmaceutical industry, academia and government agencies need to work together to restore faith in drug development, say doctors in this weeks' British Medical Journal.

18 Jan 2007

Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca to collaborate on Type 2 diabetes compunds

Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca have announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize two investigational compounds being studied for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Both compounds were discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

14 Jan 2007

Lilly to change global manufacturing operations

Eli Lilly and Company has announced several strategic changes to its global manufacturing operations to better support the company's current product portfolio and evolving drug pipeline.

14 Jan 2007

New Rosacea treatment kit

Galderma Laboratories, L.P. has announced the availability of a new MetroGel 1% Kit for the topical treatment of the inflammatory lesions of rosacea.

14 Jan 2007

India's decision to abide to pharma patents could limit access to medicines

India has become the "premier drug provider for the developing world" by producing generic versions of some of the world's most effective medicines, including antiretroviral drugs, but the country's decision to adhere to international patent regulations could limit access to generic drugs in the developing world, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

9 Jan 2007

Amphora sells oncology target to Genentech

Amphora Discovery Corporation, a small molecule drug discovery company, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Genentech, Inc. pursuant to which Genentech will purchase Amphora's entire program for an unnamed oncology target with the potential to treat multiple oncology indications.

9 Jan 2007

Viral Genetics identifies two key peptides for potential HIV/AIDS drug

Viral Genetics has identified two key peptides involved in its thymus nuclear protein or "TNP" technology currently under development for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

9 Jan 2007

FDA approves MedImmune's new refrigerated formulation of FluMist influenza virus vaccine

MedImmune has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's new refrigerated formulation of FluMist (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) for use in helping to prevent influenza in healthy children and adults from 5 years to 49 years of age.

8 Jan 2007

New Medicare payment method for prescription drugs covered under Part B reducing spending

Medicare's new payment method for reimbursing physicians for prescription drugs under Part B has reduced spending, according to a report to Congress prepared by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Jan 2007

Less than 1% of eligible Arkansas residents pre-enroll in prescription drug discount program

Less than 1% of an estimated 400,000 Arkansas residents eligible for a state prescription drug discount program participated in the pre-enrollment period, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

7 Jan 2007

China's Henan province bans abortion drugs

China's Henan province on Monday banned the sale of drugs for medical abortions in coordination with the province's efforts to maintain gender balance among infants, Xinhua/China Daily reports.

7 Jan 2007

HHS and BioCryst advance development of new influenza drug

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced that the Department has awarded a $102.6 million, four-year contract to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for advanced development of their influenza antiviral drug, peramivir.

7 Jan 2007

FDA updates health claim for calcium and Vitamin D for osteoporosis

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to allow new claims on foods and dietary supplements containing calcium and Vitamin D to show their potential to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

7 Jan 2007

Ranbaxy granted approval to manufacture Atenolol

Ranbaxy Laboratories has announced that the Company has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manufacture and market Atenolol Tablets USP, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg.

2 Jan 2007

FDA announces tentative approval of generic Zoloft

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Sertraline Hydrochloride Tablets, 25mg, 50mg and 100mg.

2 Jan 2007

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Some pharmacists and advocates have raised concerns that many low-income Medicare beneficiaries "will again have trouble getting medications next month, as they did in January of this year," when the Medicare prescription drug benefit began, the New York Times reports.

5 Dec 2006