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Partnership to develop an AIDS vaccine using a promising new technology

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) today announced a public-private partnership to develop an AIDS vaccine using a promising new technology.

21 Jun 2005

New cardiovascular drug derived from Dan Shen (Saliva miltiorrhiza)

Through a large number of clinical trials over the past 3 years, researchers from the CAS Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) have developed a new cardiovascular drug with a definite effective component extracted from Dan Shen (Saliva miltiorrhiza), a medicinal herb widely used in China.

21 Jun 2005

FDA severely limits access to cancer drug Iressa

After Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials agreed with studies showing lung cancer drug, Iressa, did not help patients live longer, drug company AstraZeneca said it would severely limit access to its drug.

20 Jun 2005

FDA approves treatment for diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Alinia (nitazoxanide) tablets and oral suspension for treating diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum infection in adults and children 12 years and older. The product, already approved to treat the same infection in younger children, received a priority review by FDA.

19 Jun 2005

AstraZeneca announces U.S. labeling change to Iressa (gefitinib tablets)

AstraZeneca has announced that after discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company is making a labeling change to Iressa (gefitinib tablets).

19 Jun 2005

New antibiotic approved by FDA will fight bacterial infections in hospitals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given it's approval for a new antibiotic to fight bacterial infections.

19 Jun 2005

Tentative approval for Lamivudine tablets

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the tentative approval of Lamivudine Tablets manufactured by Aurobindo Pharma LTD. Hyderabad, India.

16 Jun 2005

Vical receives $12 Million HIV vaccine order

Vical Incorporated announced today the receipt of approximately $12.1 million in production orders for multiple clinical lots of DNA vaccines against HIV for the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, under a subcontract managed by SAIC-Frederick, Inc.

16 Jun 2005

FDA recommends heart drug designed for blacks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced that a heart-failure drug manufactured for African-Americans significantly reduced deaths and hospitalizations and its side effects were similar to those of a placebo's.

16 Jun 2005

FDA approves Xeloda (capecitabine) oral chemotherapy

Roche announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Xeloda (capecitabine) -- an innovative oral chemotherapy -- for the adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of patients with Dukes' C colon cancer.

15 Jun 2005

Promising new tuberculosis drug enters clinical trial

A promising new drug candidate that may be effective against both actively dividing and slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) has begun testing in humans, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced this week.

15 Jun 2005

Report on Hispanics and genes, culture, and medicines highlights the rise of individualized medicine

"The FDA's review today of BiDil could make it the first drug approved specifically for African Americans and marks the end of 'one-size-fits-all' medicine," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance), the nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group.

15 Jun 2005

Panel advise limited use of heart drug Natrecor

An independent panel of experts say heart-failure drug Natrecor should be restricted and only used with acutely ill hospitalized patients.

15 Jun 2005

The most frequently used drugs for treating chronic insomnia have never been approved for that purpose

Vaughn McCall, M.D., M.S., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, told a special consensus panel at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that he could find no evidence that randomized controlled clinical trials had ever been conducted for five of the 10 pharmaceuticals prescribed most often for chronic insomnia.

14 Jun 2005

FDA grants Vical orphan-drug designation

Vical Incorporated today announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the company's bivalent (two-plasmid) formulation of the company's vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV) as an orphan drug for the prevention of clinically significant CMV viremia, CMV disease and associated complications in at-risk hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT) populations.

14 Jun 2005

Non-profit public-private partnership develops affordable, new drug regimens for tuberculosis

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a non-profit public-private partnership developing affordable, new drug regimens for tuberculosis, today announced the start of Phase I clinical trials for the lead TB drug in its pipeline, PA-824. The trials begin this month.

14 Jun 2005

Royal Pharmaceutical Society responds to over the counter medication report

Responding to the British Medical Association's (BMA) report, Over the counter medication, David Pruce, Director of Practice and Quality Improvement, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, said:

14 Jun 2005

Doctors call for education programmes for health professionals and patients about available over-the-counter (OTC) medicines

In a British Medical Association (BMA) report launched today (14 June 2005) doctors are calling for education programmes for health professionals and patients about available over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.

13 Jun 2005