Pharmaceutical News

RSS

Concerns for inexpensive fertility drug appears to be unfounded

Concerns about the use of letrozole, an easy-to-use and inexpensive drug for the treatment of infertility, appear to be unfounded, according to a major study co-authored by Dr. Togas Tulandi, Director of Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Jewish General Hospital, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University.

23 Apr 2006

No support for medical use of marijuana from the FDA

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the U.S. there are no scientific grounds for the medical use of use of marijuana and the agency is highly critical of attempts by individual states to legalise it.

23 Apr 2006

Australia's medicines regulator close to decision on herceptin

Australia's medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is considering a recommendation by its expert committee, the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC), to conditionally approve an application by Roche Products Pty Limited to extend the registration of the breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) for use in HER2 positive localised breast cancer in addition to chemotherapy.

20 Apr 2006

New inhaled diabetic drug too costly for the NHS

The National Health Service in the UK seems to be staggering from one crisis to another and now another row has broken out over a new treatment for diabetes.

19 Apr 2006

New Medicare drug benefit is meeting or exceeding expectations

According to a new survey released by AARP, nearly eight-in-ten, (78 percent) of those enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan say they are satisfied.

13 Apr 2006

FDA investigates abortion pill death

It seems that since the FDA approved the use of the abortion pill RU-486, (Mifeprex/ mifepristone) in September 2000, six women in the U.S. have died.

12 Apr 2006

U.S. watchdog says Xenical should be withdrawn

A consumer watchdog group in the U.S., Public Citizen, has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw the prescription diet drug Xenical (orlistat) from the market; the group also want the FDA to refuse approval for the weight-loss pill to be made widely available over the counter.

11 Apr 2006

Skin patch to treat ADHD gets the green light

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has approved a skin patch to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

10 Apr 2006

Nigeria approves misoprostol for use in hospitals and clinics

An old drug will gain a new use in Nigeria when misoprostol will be distributed for prevention and control of post-partum hemorrhage, the life-threatening bleeding after childbirth that commonly occurs in developing countries.

3 Apr 2006

ADHD drug not safe for kids

According to a panel of experts advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug Provigil, although effective in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and teenagers, is not safe enough to win approval.

26 Mar 2006

Asthma drug approved for children age four up

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the use of the asthma drug Flovent HFA in children four to eleven years of age.

26 Mar 2006

Remicade (infliximab) gains Australian approval for treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis

Schering-Plough Corporation today announced that the Therapeutic Goods Administration of the Department of Health and Ageing in Australia has revised the indication of Remicade (infliximab) to include the treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and approved a new indication for psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

23 Mar 2006

Avicena receives orphan drug designation for Huntington's disease

The Avicena Group has announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to HD-02, the company's proprietary drug candidate for the treatment of Huntington's disease.

23 Mar 2006

U.S. buys more Relenza and Tamiflu for future influenza pandemics

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced additional purchases of antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic.

23 Mar 2006

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals receives U.S. orphan drug designation for Ceflatonin

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug status for the company's most advanced drug, Ceflatonin, for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

21 Mar 2006

FDA grants Cerexa fast track designation

Cerexa has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for PPI-0903, a next-generation, broad-spectrum, cephalosporin antibiotic, for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

17 Mar 2006

GlaxoSmithKline receives NDA for Coreg CR

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the new drug application (NDA) for Coreg CR has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

17 Mar 2006

Drug trial nightmare - two still critically ill

In the drug trial nightmare which has left six men very ill in a London Hospital two remain in intensive care and are not expected to make any early improvement, according to their doctor Ganesh Suntharalingham, Northwick Park Hospital's Clinical Director of Intensive Care.

17 Mar 2006

Lives in danger as drug trial goes horribly wrong

In a drug trial which went horribly wrong two men are critically ill in a London hospital and four others are seriously ill, after suffering violent reactions to a new drug they took as part of a clinical trial.

16 Mar 2006