Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Phase III STARTMRK clinical study on ISENTRESS in comparison to efavirenz

ISENTRESS , an integrase inhibitor from Merck & Co., Inc., was studied in comparison to efavirenz in maintaining viral load suppression to undetectable levels (less than 50 copies/mL) and at improving CD4 cell counts in previously untreated (treatment-naïve) HIV-1-infected patients through 96 weeks in a Phase III study called STARTMRK.

14 Sep 2009

Oral NKTR-118 has low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions

Nektar Therapeutics presented clinical study data today demonstrating that the oral tablet formulation of NKTR-118 has favorable systemic bioavailability and a low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions.

14 Sep 2009

Wisconsin researchers identify the genetic region responsible for cardiovascular collapse during anesthesia

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have identified the genetic region in rats responsible for cardiovascular collapse during anesthesia. While it is well known that people have different cardiovascular sensitivity to anesthesia causing some to collapse even when low doses are administered, the mechanism responsible for this susceptibility is not clear.

11 Sep 2009

Cellular mechanosensory system may yield new insights for cancer therapy

Every moment, millions of a body's cells flawlessly divvy up their genes and pinch perfectly in half to form two identical progeny for the replenishment of tissues and organs - even as they collide, get stuck, and squeeze through infinitesimally small spaces that distort their shapes.

11 Sep 2009

Merck update on the status of telcagepant clinical development programs

Merck & Co., Inc. today updated the status of the clinical development programs for telcagepant (MK-0974) and MK-3207, the Company's investigational oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists for the intermittent treatment of acute migraine.

11 Sep 2009

Researchers discover the role of endothelin in vaso-occlusive pain

Agonizing physical pain, known as vaso-occlusive pain, can afflict children who have sickle cell disease (SCD). In some cases infants as young as two months of age suffer vaso-occlusive pain so severe that opiate medications and hospitalizations are their only relief. Researchers believe vaso-occlusion is caused by a blockage of the blood vessels that occurs when sickle shaped red cells attempt to pass through the round blood vessels.

11 Sep 2009

Ascent Therapeutics demonstrates Pepducin efficacy

Ascent Therapeutics announced today that the Company has demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models in two Pepducin projects. One of the projects targets CXCR4, a key regulator of stem cell and inflammatory cell homeostasis. A second project has yielded the first potent Pepducin agonists for an undisclosed cardiovascular target.

11 Sep 2009

New Drug Application for trabectedin approved by the FDA

Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. today announced that it received a Complete Response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for trabectedin when administered in combination with DOXIL(R) (doxorubicin HCI liposome injection) for the treatment of women with relapsed ovarian cancer.

11 Sep 2009

Inspire Pharmaceuticals to increase production of azithromycin ophthalmic solution

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has been communicating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is increasing its production of AzaSite® (azithromycin ophthalmic solution) 1% in response to the manufacturing supply shortage of erythromycin ophthalmic ointment (0.5%).

10 Sep 2009

Labopharm to present its novel trazodone formulation data

Labopharm Inc. today announced that three separate posters will be presented at three upcoming internationally prestigious medical meetings showcasing data on its novel trazodone formulation.

10 Sep 2009

Merck's GARDASIL receives approval from FDA Advisory Committee

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11.

10 Sep 2009

High cognitive performance linked to high intake of fruits and vegetables

Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I of the Heinrich-Heine University, D-sseldorf, Germany, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, plasma antioxidant micronutrient status and cognitive performance in healthy subjects aged 45 to 102 years.

10 Sep 2009

Daily intake of fruits and vegetables indicates higher cognitive performance in individuals

Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I of the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, plasma antioxidant micronutrient status and cognitive performance in healthy subjects aged 45 to 102 years. Their results, published in the August issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, indicated higher cognitive performance in individuals with high daily intake of fruits and vegetables.

9 Sep 2009

PKCiota oncogene essential for lung cancer stem cell proliferation

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that the lung cancer oncogene PKCiota is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells. These stem cells are rare and powerful master cells that manufacture the other cells that make up lung tumors and are resistant to chemotherapy treatment.

9 Sep 2009

Study to test efficacy of lapatinib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Use of the molecularly targeted agent lapatinib to delay tumor growth and improve the survival of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer, only benefited certain subgroups of patients. While results of this study were largely negative, patients that exhibited toxicity from the drug in the form of a skin rash appeared to have a greater tumor response and longer survival.

9 Sep 2009

DOR's Phase 1/2 clinical trial for prevention of radiation enteritis receives NIH grant

DOR BioPharma, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biotechnology company, announced today that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded DOR a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support the conduct of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating DOR201, a time-release formulation of oral beclomethasone dipropionate (oral BDP), for the prevention of acute radiation enteritis.

8 Sep 2009

Impact Fusion International completes geographic market test of Intact Digest

Impact Fusion International announced today it has successfully completed a limited geographic market test for Intact Digest with several retail vitamin stores re-ordering on a monthly basis.

8 Sep 2009

Axel Ullrich receives the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research

Johnson & Johnson today honored the career achievements of Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., with the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. Dr. Ullrich received this award for his scientific discoveries that led to innovative new drugs including Herceptin((R)) (trastuzumab)*, a personalized medicine therapy, which was the first to target a specific type of breast cancer.

8 Sep 2009

LSU Professor awarded grant to support a Superfund Research Center

LSU Professor and Patrick F. Taylor Chair of Chemistry Barry Dellinger was recently awarded a grant of $3.6 million by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS, to support a Superfund Research Center focusing on hazardous waste disposal and its impact on public health. It is the only center ever awarded by this program that is not located at a medical school or school of public health.

5 Sep 2009

Brain protein srGAP2 capable of forming filopodia

When the process goes awry, neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation, dyslexia or autism may result. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have now discovered that establishing the neural wiring necessary to function normally depends on the ability of neurons to make finger-like projections of their membrane called filopodia.

5 Sep 2009