Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

MPI Research lauds FDA's current guidance on abuse potential of drugs

On January 26, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a key draft guidance document, Guidance for Industry Assessment of Abuse Potential of Drugs. When finalized, this guidance will represent the FDA’s current position on the abuse potential of drugs. Noteworthy within the document, Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) specified in the Guidance for Industry S7A Safety 471 Pharmacology Studies for Human Pharmaceuticals and in FDA regulations, 21 CFR 472 part 58, now also apply to abuse potential studies in animals.

30 Jan 2010

New study identifies that SynDIG1 plays critical role in creating and sustaining synapses

A new study from UC Davis Health System identifies for the first time a brain protein called SynDIG1 that plays a critical role in creating and sustaining synapses, the complex chemical signaling system responsible for communication between neurons.

30 Jan 2010

Should medical workers participate in the development of "medicalized" weapons?

(Garrison, NY) The latest issue of the Hastings Center Report features articles on "medicalized" weapons that temporarily incapacitate targets, sharing the benefits of newly found biological resources, and applications of GINA (the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act).

29 Jan 2010

Hormones & Cancer: A new journal from The Endocrine Society

Today, The Endocrine Society unveiled its newest journal, Hormones & Cancer. This bi-monthly journal will include research articles covering all aspects of hormone action on cancer causation, progression, dependence, prevention, resistance and treatment.

29 Jan 2010

GUMC invites Washington-area residents for Spring 2010 Mini-Medical School Program

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is inviting Washington-area residents to find out what it takes to become a doctor—minus the long hours and late nights. Georgetown's eight-week Spring 2010 Mini-Medical School Program, open to the public and members of the media, begins Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

28 Jan 2010

Safe natural extracts reduce hunger and help control appetite

Klaumwell Research Labs, LLC, U.S., a subsidiary of Italian multinational Medestea Internazionale, announced positive results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study published in the prestigious, peer-reviewed International Journal of Obesity which demonstrates the efficacy of key ingredients contained in a new appetite control spray. Fullfast™ is a clinically tested dietary supplement that helps reduce excessive feelings of hunger.

28 Jan 2010

Jubilant Biosys, Endo Pharmaceuticals expand their drug discovery partnership in oncology

Jubilant Biosys Ltd., a subsidiary of Jubilant Organosys Ltd., and Endo Pharmaceuticals ( ENDP)., of Chadds Ford, Pa., U.S.A., announced today that they have expanded their drug discovery partnership in oncology, following the successful delivery of an early stage milestone.

27 Jan 2010

Asan Medical Center, Chemizon enter into multi-year research collaboration agreement

Asan Medical Center and Chemizon, the drug discovery division of Optomagic, Co. Ltd., announced today that they have entered into a multi-year research collaboration to discover and develop novel, small molecule oncology therapeutics.

27 Jan 2010

MDRNA granted Chinese patent for use of nucleic acids in cancer treatment

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced that the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has issued a Notification of Granting Patent Rights for PRC 200480018784 which includes the use of nucleic acids, e.g., an siRNA, for the treatment of cancer. The patent describes modulation of claudins, which are proteins implicated in tumor progression and metastasis.

27 Jan 2010

Texas to invest $4.5 mn in cancer research at UT Health Science Center

Texas plans to invest $3 billion in cancer research over the next 10 years and six scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are among the first to receive grants.The researchers, whose grants total $4.5 million, are working to protect girls from cervical cancer, to interrupt tumor growth at the molecular level and to develop a new approach for the treatment of colon cancer, among other cutting-edge projects.

27 Jan 2010

Insertion of tiny heart pump without surgery

Cardiologists at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are leading the Midwest in offering improved treatment options to patients, from the most advanced techniques in angioplasty, to lowering the amount of radiation exposure during heart scans, to opening an innovative clinic that treats heart disease and depression together.

23 Jan 2010

ACS Chemical Biology report supports zebrafish for drug development

By combining the tools of medicinal chemistry and zebrafish biology, a team of Vanderbilt investigators has identified compounds that may offer therapeutic leads for bone-related diseases and cancer.

22 Jan 2010

DIA Annual EuroMeeting programme in Monaco

The Drug Information Association (DIA) in Europe will host its 22nd Annual EuroMeeting from 8-10 March 2010 in Monaco. The DIA Annual EuroMeeting features more than 110 hot-topic sessions across 13 themes and attracts more than 3,000 professionals from the biopharmaceutical industry, contract service organisations, regulatory agencies, health ministries and academia, as well as patients and students worldwide.

22 Jan 2010

MDRNA to receive European patent for its intranasal insulin formulation

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced that the European Patent Office intends to grant a patent for application EP06826368 covering formulations for the intranasal delivery of rapid acting insulin, and its use for the treatment of diabetes.

21 Jan 2010

ABC publishes Pycnogenol monograph

The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) has just published a monograph summarizing selected scientific and clinical studies of Pycnogenol®, a patented dietary ingredient from French maritime pine bark.

21 Jan 2010

Mirror therapy before amputation may prevent phantom limb pain

A simple technique called mirror therapy seems effective in preventing phantom limb pain in patients undergoing amputation of an arm or leg, suggests a study in the February 2010 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

21 Jan 2010

SCA begins new initiative to make 'error-free' cardiac surgery a reality

Is it possible for cardiac surgery teams to completely eliminate medical errors? That's the goal of an ambitious project—called the "Flawless Operative Cardiovascular Unified Systems" (FOCUS) initiative—being undertaken by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA).

21 Jan 2010

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals raises $10M for advancing its therapeutic development pipeline

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a next-generation oncology therapeutics company, announced today that it has raised $10 million in investments and related payments from an affiliate of Celtic Therapeutics Holdings L.P. (“Celtic Therapeutics”) and Tichenor Ventures, LLC.

20 Jan 2010

Researchers measure medical students' attitudes and beliefs about CAM

In the largest national survey of its kind, researchers from UCLA and UC San Diego measured medical students' attitudes and beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and found that three-quarters of them felt conventional Western medicine would benefit by integrating more CAM therapies and ideas.

20 Jan 2010

HSF1A stimulates more protein chaperones and reduces protein misfolding

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found some compounds that improve a cell's ability to properly "fold" proteins and could lead to promising drugs for degenerative nerve diseases, including Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

20 Jan 2010