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Non-prescription cough medicine won't help that cough

According to a panel of experts in the U.S. cough medicines bought over the counter do little good and may in fact harm children.

9 Jan 2006

Thalomid gives hope for blood cancer sufferers

Drug company Celgene says it has halted a pivotal-stage trial of its Thalomid drug earlier than expected after the drug was shown to dramatically limit the progress of the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

9 Jan 2006

Data establishes safety profile of new GlaxoSmithKline rotavirus vaccine candidate

Data from one of the largest infant vaccine trials ever conducted, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) rotavirus vaccine candidate as effective against rotavirus disease (rotavirus gastroenteritis) in the first year of life. Rotavirus is the leading recognized cause of diarrhea-related illness and death among infants and young children.

6 Jan 2006

Americans don't need to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs!

A study of drug costs around the world revealed proven methods that could be used to reduce costs in the United States, according to a researcher from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

Prospect of personalized medicine places new demands on the evaluation of new medicines

As we enter the era of personalized medicine, it is time to take a fresh look at how we evaluate new medicines and treatments for cancer, according to Donald Berry, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Applied Mathematics at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

6 Jan 2006

California Governor urges drug imports; Canadian Pharmacies have already delivered

This week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed to Congress to allow Americans to import affordable prescription drugs from Canada and other countries.

5 Jan 2006

Technique to reduce the toxicity of vaccines demonstrated

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that has the potential to reduce the toxicity of vaccines and to make smaller doses more effective, according to a study published in PLoS Pathogens.

30 Dec 2005

MIT offer logitics solution to Flu vaccine shortages

Although the flu causes tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United States, vaccine to fight the illness is often in short supply when the flu season is at its peak.

30 Dec 2005

Too high blood-thinner doses harmful to patients

According to a new analysis by cardiologists at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, in the prescribing of common but powerful anti-clotting drugs, 42 percent of patients rushed to emergency rooms with symptoms of a heart attack received doses intended to stop clotting in coronary arteries above the recommended range.

29 Dec 2005

Fake bird flu drugs reach the U.S.

Custom officers in the U.S. have seized 51 shipments of a fake anti-bird flu drug.

19 Dec 2005

Sanofi's human bird flu vaccine tests looking good

French drug company Sanofi Pasteur says early stage trials of an experimental vaccine against H5N1 bird flu have shown it provides a good immune response in humans and is safe.

19 Dec 2005

FDA panel approves vaccine for shingles

According to an FDA advisory panel, studies show that an experimental vaccine to prevent shingles can cut the rate of infection by about half in people 60 and older and help curb related pain.

19 Dec 2005

Canada's first prescription drug atlas maps billions in spending

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Centre for Health Services and Policy Research have developed a comprehensive portrait of pharmaceutical spending in Canada -- more than $20 billion by the end of 2005 -- and assembled the results into a first-of-its-kind atlas.

15 Dec 2005

Companies warned about shonky bird flu remedies

The appearance of so-called bird flu remedies which have hit the market in the U.S. have prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue warnings to nine companies.

14 Dec 2005

More good news - Femara helps prevent the return of breast cancer

In more good news for women suffering from breast cancer a study by the the Swiss drugmaker Novartis has shown that their drug Femara benefits women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer.

14 Dec 2005

Pfizer to fund independent trial on Celebrex and heart risks

Drug company Pfizer Inc., the maker of Celebrex, will pay for an international study of 20,000 people.

14 Dec 2005

MorphoSys signs agreement with Merck

MorphoSys AG announced today that it has signed a five-year license agreement with U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. for the use of MorphoSys’s HuCAL GOLD and AutoCAL technologies in research and development of human therapeutic antibodies.

14 Dec 2005

NHS under pressure to provide new breast cancer drugs

The National Health Service in the UK is being put under considerable pressure by Cancer charities to widen access to a promising new class of breast cancer drug as new evidence suggests the latest treatment is far superior to Tamoxifen, the long established premier drug for women with the early stage of the disease.

12 Dec 2005

Roche chooses partners to help make Tamiflu

The producer of sought after bird flu drug Tamiflu, drug giant Roche, has apparently chosen 12 possible partners to help it churn out enough of the drug.

12 Dec 2005

Botox - other applications

While botulinum toxin A, or BTXA, is widely known for its use in dermatology and aesthetic medicine, a review article in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology explores the drug’s other successful applications.

12 Dec 2005