Pharmaceutical News

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Chiron back in the news - deadlock over new lung transplant drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Agency (FDA) is still to make a desision on lung transplant treatment Pulminiq.

7 Jun 2005

Arthritis patients still suffer as drugs guidelines are ignored

Access to drugs whose use was approved by the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) three years ago is still being denied to patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

7 Jun 2005

Novel topical treatment of psoriasis

Cytochroma Inc. today announced results from a Phase Ia clinical study for CTA018, a novel vitamin D analog developed for the treatment of psoriasis.

2 Jun 2005

New shingles vaccine

Doctors say they have come up with a vaccine that can reduce both the incidence and the severity of shingles by more than half.

2 Jun 2005

Indian drug company Ranbaxy gains FDA approval for HIV drug

Indian drug company Ranbaxy Laboratories has this week become the first Indian drug company to gain regulatory approval for a generic anti-HIV drug.

2 Jun 2005

Fast track drugs - FDA too slow to check on drugmakers who do not complete follow up studies

A U.S. congressman is claiming that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) system of rapidly approving new drugs is failing to ensure patient safety because drug companies are not doing the required follow-up studies.

1 Jun 2005

Organon obtains license for Merck's novel oral contraceptive

Akzo Nobel's human healthcare business, Organon, has been granted worldwide development and marketing rights by Merck KGaA affiliate Laboratoire Théramex for its novel oral contraceptive EMM 310066.

1 Jun 2005

Hybridon collaborates to develop immune modulatory (IMO) compounds for asthma and allergy

Hybridon today announced it had entered into research collaboration and license agreements with Novartis for the discovery, optimization, development and commercialization of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) drug candidates targeting asthma and allergy based on Hybridon's proprietary immune modulatory oligonucleotide (IMO) technology platform.

1 Jun 2005

La Jolla Pharmaceutical provides update on Riquent

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company today announced that it has received "fast track" designation for Riquent (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

31 May 2005

U.S. pharmaceutical industry is overlooking as much as $16 billion in cash

The pressured U.S. pharmaceutical industry is overlooking as much as $16 billion in cash tied up in excess working capital or the equivalent of up to a full 2.1% of the current total enterprise value, according to the results of a new study by REL Consultancy Group.

31 May 2005

Ranbaxy makes further three filings of its Anti-Retroviral (ARVs) formulations

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited has announced that the Company has made further three filings of its Anti-Retroviral (ARVs) formulations, to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its approval under the latter's pre-qualification project for HIV/AIDS drugs.

30 May 2005

Pharmaceutical industry faces multiple challenges - future lies in drug pipeline sustainability

High clinical development costs coupled with declining drug discovery success rates are causing productivity levels to fall in the global pharmaceuticals industry. The imminent patent expiry of several major blockbuster drugs and the related rise of cheaper generic alternatives is further exacerbating the situation.

25 May 2005

New drug for the treatment of premature ejaculation has great results

In new data published this week it has been shown that men taking dapoxetine hydrochloride for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) have experienced significant improvements in sexual function, including ejaculatory control, satisfaction with sexual intercourse for men and their partners, and increases in intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT).

24 May 2005

New Symbicort single inhaler asthma treatment gives much better asthma control

A new asthma treatment regimen promises to deliver a great improvement in key measures of asthma control and should simplify the management of the disease compared with other treatments.

23 May 2005

FDA recommends approval of the investigational anti-HIV drug tipranavir

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee recommended the approval of the investigational anti-HIV drug tipranavir (11-3). Tipranavir is a non-peptidic protease inhibitor that requires boosting with low-dose ritonavir and must be used in combination with other antiretroviral agents.

20 May 2005

Merck cervical cancer virus vaccine performs well

Drugmaker Merck & Co. Inc. on Thursday said its investigational vaccine against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer triggered a stronger immune response in young adolescents than in young women in a late-stage trial.

20 May 2005

New drug fluticasone was just as effective as beclomethasone and budesonide at opening up constricted breathing passages

A new inhaled drug for chronic asthma may improve lung function as much as two older inhaled asthma drugs but at half the dose, a review of recent studies concludes.

19 May 2005

Cervical cancer virus vaccine appears very promising

Gardasil, a vaccine created by drugmaker Merck & Co which aims to protect against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer, triggered a stronger immune response in young adolescents than in young women in a late-stage trial.

19 May 2005

Advanced breast cancer drug appears effective on multiple targets

An experimental breast cancer drug that simultaneously attacks five tumor targets has halted progression of the disease in a clinical trial for patients with advanced disease.

18 May 2005

Roche to discontinue the sale and distribution of Fortovase (saquinavir)

Roche announced today that it has decided to discontinue the sale and distribution of Fortovase (saquinavir), as clinical demand for the drug has declined significantly due to the availability of a new formulation of Invirase (saquinavir mesylate), which increasingly has become the preferred formulation of saquinavir.

18 May 2005