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Investigational drug Abraxane is active and well tolerated in women with metastatic breast cancer

Investigational drug Abraxane™ (albumin nanoparticle paclitaxel), administered weekly without steroid premedication, is active and well tolerated in women with metastatic breast cancer whose disease had progressed while they were treated with paclitaxel (Taxol®) and/or docetaxel (Taxotere®).

15 Jun 2004

Fair access to recommended drugs in Britain

Health Secretary John Reid has set out plans to ensure patients across the country have equal access to treatments recommended by the independent National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).

15 Jun 2004

Topiramate may protect newborns from brain injury and long-term neurologic problems caused by excitotoxicity

An existing drug already approved by the FDA may protect newborns from brain injury and long-term neurologic problems caused by excitotoxicity, or over-activation of neurons, report two NIH-funded studies from Children's Hospital Boston.

14 Jun 2004

New Drug Application for a novel dosage format of citalopram for the treatment of depression

Biovail Corporation has announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review (effective date June 13, 2004) Biovail's submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for a novel dosage format of citalopram for the treatment of depression.

14 Jun 2004

Retirees taking COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs on a long-term basis also take aspirin therapy

Findings reported in a study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that over half of patients within a predominantly retiree population taking COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs on a long-term basis were also taking aspirin therapy for its cardio-protective benefit.

14 Jun 2004

New vaccine to stop cocaine addiction

Xenova Group plc has announced the presentation of results of two dose escalation Phase II studies of TA-CD, a vaccine being developed for the treatment of cocaine addiction, at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence 66th Annual Scientific Meeting in Puerto Rico, June 12-17.

14 Jun 2004

Outsourcing the way to control spiraling R&D budgets in drug industry

Companies developing new drugs for the global market must deal with the rising costs of the R&D process – and outsourcing may well be the best route. That's the verdict of Dr Faiz Kermani, a specialist in outsourcing and research development for the pharmaceutical industry.

14 Jun 2004

Cannabis extract drug may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The multi centre double blind, randomised, parallel group study in 58 patients assessed the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Sativex®, a whole plant medicinal cannabis extract, compared with placebo for the treatment of pain caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis. Study medication was administered by means of a spray into the mouth as an evening dose only and measures were assessed the following day.

11 Jun 2004

Sirolimus-based therapy following early cyclosporine withdrawal improves transplanted kidney structure and function

Kidney histology and function three years after transplantation are better in kidney-transplant patients who remain on sirolimus-based therapy following early withdrawal of cyclosporine than in patients who continue on this calcineurin inhibitor, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

11 Jun 2004

Enbrel therapy allowed more rheumatoid arthritis patients to achieve clinical remission

New results from TEMPO (Trial of Etanercept and Methotrexate with Radiographic Patient Outcomes) demonstrated that Enbrel® (etanercept) therapy allowed significantly more rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to achieve clinical remission at two years compared to patients treated with methotrexate alone.

11 Jun 2004

Canadians advised of stronger warnings for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and other newer anti-depressants

Health Canada is advising Canadians that Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other newer anti-depressants, now carry stronger warnings. These new warnings indicate that patients of all ages taking these drugs may experience behavioural and/or emotional changes that may put them at increased risk of self-harm or harm to others.

11 Jun 2004

New York State accuses GlaxoSmithKline of fraudulent behaviour

This week's editorial calls on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to make all its research on paroxetine (Seroxat/Paxil) publicly available. This follows the filing of last week's law suit by the state of New York against GSK: the state accuses the company of fraud

11 Jun 2004

Docetaxel decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinicians were among those at leading institutions that have completed a three-year international study showing that docetaxel, a drug made from yew tree needles, decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy.

11 Jun 2004

New treatment significantly improves long-term outlook for breast cancer survivors

An updated analysis from an international clinical trial of the drug letrozole was presented on June 8, 2004 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in New Orleans.

11 Jun 2004

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are launching a clinical trial to determine whether a drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects 350,000 Americans.

10 Jun 2004

America's first two WNV encephalitis cases of 2004 respond to treatment

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that the country's second case of West Nile virus encephalitis has responded promptly to its treatment approach. So far, GenoMed's treatment is showing a 100% response rate among 13 immunocompetent patients. The sooner the treatment is instituted, the more rapid and more complete the response.

10 Jun 2004

Remicade shows improvement in both the arthritis and psoriasis associated with psoriatic arthritis

In this trial, REMICADE provided a 70 percent improvement (as measured by ACR 70) in symptoms of arthritis in nearly one-third of patients, compared with only 2 percent of patients on placebo at 24 weeks.

10 Jun 2004

Drug may benefit patients suffering deep scarring after radiation treatment

Cancer patients who suffer from a progressive, deep scarring of tissue following radiation treatment might benefit from a drug that’s FDA-approved to treat vascular disease, according to a University of Rochester study published in this month’s Journal of Clinical Oncology.

10 Jun 2004

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Early results from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study may determine if drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer type of non-aspirin pain medicine now widely prescribed for arthritis symptoms, may benefit men with recurrent prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004

Significant progress in the enrollment of beneficiaries in the Medicare drug discount card program

America's health insurance plans today reported significant progress in the enrollment of beneficiaries in the Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program.

10 Jun 2004

Pharmaceutical News

Investigational drug Abraxane is active and well tolerated in women with metastatic breast cancer

Fair access to recommended drugs in Britain

Topiramate may protect newborns from brain injury and long-term neurologic problems caused by excitotoxicity

New Drug Application for a novel dosage format of citalopram for the treatment of depression

Retirees taking COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs on a long-term basis also take aspirin therapy

New vaccine to stop cocaine addiction

Outsourcing the way to control spiraling R&D budgets in drug industry

Cannabis extract drug may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sirolimus-based therapy following early cyclosporine withdrawal improves transplanted kidney structure and function

Enbrel therapy allowed more rheumatoid arthritis patients to achieve clinical remission

Canadians advised of stronger warnings for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and other newer anti-depressants

New York State accuses GlaxoSmithKline of fraudulent behaviour

Docetaxel decreases the chance of dying by 24 percent in advanced-stage prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy

New treatment significantly improves long-term outlook for breast cancer survivors

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

America's first two WNV encephalitis cases of 2004 respond to treatment

Remicade shows improvement in both the arthritis and psoriasis associated with psoriatic arthritis

Drug may benefit patients suffering deep scarring after radiation treatment

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Significant progress in the enrollment of beneficiaries in the Medicare drug discount card program

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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