Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

Latest Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

Biogen Idec reports 2009 fourth quarter and full year earnings

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its full year and fourth quarter 2009 results.

9 Feb 2010

Denosumab exhibits superiority over Zometa in treatment of prostate cancer men with bone metastases

Amgen today announced that a pivotal, Phase 3, head-to-head trial evaluating denosumab versus Zometa® (zoledronic acid) in the treatment of bone metastases in 1,901 men with advanced prostate cancer met its primary and secondary endpoints.

9 Feb 2010

New ICD-9-CM database provides FDA-approved and off-label uses for therapeutic drugs

A recently released Drug Diagnosis Coding database from RJ Health Systems provides accurate FDA-approved and Compendia-listed off-label uses for therapeutic classes such as Oncology, Anti-Emetics, Erythropoietin Stimulating Agents and Multiple Sclerosis Agents. The

5 Feb 2010

Compugen discovers CGEN-15001 protein for treatment of autoimmune disorders

Compugen Ltd. announced today the discovery and experimental validation of CGEN-15001 for the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

2 Feb 2010

Isogenica, Phylogica partner in Phylomer peptide development

Isogenica Ltd today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Australian based biopharmaceutical company Phylogica to use Isogenica’s CIS display technology to optimize the performance of three of Phylogica’s lead compounds targeting CD40 ligand (CD40L). CD40L is a key protein involved in many inflammatory diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

2 Feb 2010

New biomarker may predict treatment outcomes in RA patients

Investigators have identified a biomarker that could help doctors select patients with rheumatoid arthritis who will benefit from therapy with drugs such as Enbrel, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-antagonist drug.

30 Jan 2010

Nontoxic drug halts and reverses rheumatoid arthritis

A researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has invented a novel way to halt and even reverse rheumatoid arthritis. He developed an imitation of a suicide molecule that floats undetected into overactive immune cells responsible for the disease.

29 Jan 2010

ChemoCentryx announces the initiation of Phase I clinical trial of CCX168

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial of CCX168, an orally-administered small molecule designed to treat autoimmune diseases.

28 Jan 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires Metabasis Therapeutics

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that it has completed the acquisition of Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBRX), following approval of the transaction by Metabasis stockholders yesterday. As a result, Ligand gains a fully funded partnership with Roche, additional pipeline assets and drug discovery technologies and resources. The transaction was first announced on October 27, 2009.

28 Jan 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals commences IMO-3100 Phase 1 clinical trial for autoimmune diseases

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-3100, an antagonist of Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9.

28 Jan 2010

Pfizer's new pipeline shows growth and diversity in research and development

Pfizer Inc. today provided an update to its pipeline for the first time since the close of the acquisition of Wyeth in October, 2009. The new development pipeline, composed of assets from both legacy companies, includes 133 programs from phase 1 through registration, and shows growth and increased diversity in each of the areas where the company invests in research and development.

28 Jan 2010

Study finds RA workers have similar keyboarding speed compared to non-impaired individuals

A recent study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that workers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were comparable to non-impaired individuals in keyboarding speed. Individuals who were trained in touch typing demonstrated faster typing speeds than those using a visually-guided ("hunt and peck") method, regardless of impairment.

28 Jan 2010

U.S. study finds improved mortality outcomes for children with rheumatic diseases

A recent study by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that the overall mortality rate in the U.S. for all pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases was not worse than the age and sex-adjusted population.

28 Jan 2010

Elevated cytokine levels are early indicator of rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers from University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, have identified several cytokines, cytokine-related factors, and chemokines that increase significantly prior to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease onset. These findings confirm those of earlier studies which suggest that the risk of developing RA can be predicted and disease progression may be prevented.

28 Jan 2010

Abbott declares quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share

Abbott today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009.

27 Jan 2010

Tel Aviv University expert reviews environmental triggers of common autoimmune diseases

The links between autoimmune diseases, infections, genetics and the environment are complex and mysterious. Why are people who live near airports more susceptible to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus? How do hormones in meat trigger the onset of a disease?

27 Jan 2010

Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum commence dosing in rFIXFc Phase I/IIa trial for hemophilia B

Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum today announced that the first patient was dosed in a registrational, open-label, multicenter trial designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the companies’ long-acting, recombinant Factor IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) in hemophilia B patients.

25 Jan 2010

Biogen Idec's statement on FDA approval of AMPYRA

Biogen Idec today issued the following statement regarding the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

23 Jan 2010

Mice study shows obesity can increase risk of developing liver cancer

Obesity comes with plenty of health risks, but there's one that's perhaps not so well known: an increased risk of developing cancer, and especially certain types of cancer like liver cancer. Now, a group of researchers reporting in the January 22nd issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, have confirmed in mice that obesity does indeed act as a "bona fide tumor promoter." They also have good evidence to explain how that happens.

22 Jan 2010

Amgen announces results of two Phase 3 studies evaluating Vectibix for mCRC

Amgen today announced that detailed results from two pivotal Phase 3 studies evaluating Vectibix® (panitumumab) in combination with chemotherapy for the first and second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) (the PRIME '203' and '181' trials, respectively) will be presented at the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida from Jan. 22-24, 2010.

21 Jan 2010