Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Positive results from Antares Pharma's VIBEX MTX human factors usability study for RA

Antares Pharma, Inc. today announced positive results from a human factors usability study for VIBEX Methotrexate (MTX), a proprietary auto injector product designed to self-administer a rapid subcutaneous weekly injection of methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

26 Jun 2012

Older women with low levels of Vitamin D gain more weight

Older women with insufficient levels of Vitamin D gained more weight than those with sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online today in the Journal of Women's Health.

26 Jun 2012

Amgen launches Chemotherapy: Myths or Facts campaign for cancer patients

Amgen today launched Chemotherapy: Myths or Facts, an awareness campaign for cancer patients and their caregivers featuring Emmy-nominated actress and breast cancer survivor Maura Tierney.

26 Jun 2012

Merck Serono, Compugen announce establishment of Neviah Genomics

Merck Serono, a division of Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, and Compugen Ltd. today announced the establishment of Neviah Genomics, a novel start-up company focused on the discovery and development of novel biomarkers for the prediction of drug-induced toxicity.

26 Jun 2012

Feinstein Institute to train clinicians on how to better care for patients with schizophrenia

The Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has been approved for a $9.3+ million federal grant to train clinicians on how to better care for patients with schizophrenia.

26 Jun 2012

Positive results from Lexicon’s LX4211 Phase 2b trial on type 2 diabetes

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that LX4211, an investigational, oral, dual inhibitor of sodium glucose transporters 1 and 2 (SGLT1 and SGLT2), showed substantial, dose-dependent, statistically-significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in a Phase 2b trial in patients diagnosed with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes who were concurrently treated with metformin, an established diabetes therapy.

25 Jun 2012

Rensselaer Center for Stem Cell Research launches today

Ground-breaking research to advance the application of stem cells to address critical injuries and diseases will be taking place at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in a new center funded by New York state and opened today.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 23 Jun 2012

Ten-year-old kid to participate in annual Arthritis Walk on June 23

Ten-year-old Cheyanne Campo has achieved a lofty goal, despite - and because of - a sometimes painful disease. She has raised more than $500 for the Arthritis Foundation and will be participating in the organization's annual Arthritis Walk on June 23 in Battery Park.

23 Jun 2012

Abbott challenges copies of its biologic drugs

If the challenge succeeds, less-expensive versions of complex biologic drugs couldn't go on sale in the U.S. for years, and consumers may never have access to facsimiles of existing treatments such as Abbott's rheumatoid arthritis therapy Humira.

22 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 22, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Roni Caryn Rabin writes: "They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the problem of the uninsured is no exception. The Houston metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in America, and a health safety net imploding under the demands of too many people and too few resources.

22 Jun 2012

New melatonin analogues more efficient in inhibiting NOS activity in Parkinson's disease

University of Granada researchers have tested melatonin analogues in rats as it inhibits the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which is involved in the development of conditions as inflammatory bowel disease, septic shock or rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in neurodegenerative conditions as Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

22 Jun 2012

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Medgenics’ INFRADURE Biopump

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of Biopump, a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that its INFRADURE Biopump has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for the treatment of hepatitis D.

21 Jun 2012

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can reduce inflammation in overweight older adults

New research shows that omega-3 fatty acid supplements can lower inflammation in healthy, but overweight, middle-aged and older adults, suggesting that regular use of these supplements could help protect against and treat certain illnesses.

21 Jun 2012

Grunenthal to commercialize Horizon Pharma's DUEXIS in Latin America

Horizon Pharma, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative medicines to target unmet therapeutic needs in arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases, today announced that it entered into an exclusive agreement with Grunenthal for the commercialization of DUEXIS in Latin America.

19 Jun 2012

AstraZeneca, Rigel enter global license agreement for R256 inhaled JAK inhibitor to treat chronic asthma

AstraZeneca and Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced an exclusive worldwide license agreement for the global development and commercialization of R256, Rigel's inhaled JAK inhibitor shown to inhibit IL-13 and IL-4 signalling, which is being investigated as a treatment for moderate to severe chronic asthma. In preclinical research, R256 has been shown to reduce airway inflammation and improve lung function.

19 Jun 2012

$Vertebral fractures flag vascular disease risk$

Vertebral fractures flag vascular disease risk

Abdominal aortic calcification in elderly men appears to be associated with vertebral fractures, say Moroccan scientists.

19 Jun 2012

Skin disease shares common inflammatory pathway with metabolic disorder

Psoriasis is an independent risk for Type 2 Diabetes, according to a new study by researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with the greatest risk seen in patients with severe psoriasis.

19 Jun 2012

Rusk Rehabilitation moves to NYU Langone's new Ambulatory Care Center

NYU Langone Medical Center announced that Rusk Rehabilitation non-musculoskeletal outpatient rehabilitation care, research and administrative offices have moved to a 40,000 square-foot space in NYU Langone's new Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) located at 240 East 38th Street in Manhattan.

19 Jun 2012

Mallinckrodt, Horizon enter co-promotion agreement for DUEXIS

Mallinckrodt, the Pharmaceuticals business of Covidien, today announced that it has entered into a co-promotion agreement with Horizon Pharma, Inc. to promote DUEXIS (ibuprofen and famotidine).

18 Jun 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Scripps Research enter five-year collaboration

The Scripps Research Institute today announced it has entered into a five-year collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company focused on applying novel chemistry to drug discovery and synthesis.

16 Jun 2012