Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

Latest Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

Report provides critical strategic insight for companies with a stake in the market for rheumatology therapies

MedPredict Market Research, a global provider of pharmaceutical competitive intelligence and market research, has published a new report providing critical strategic insight for companies with a stake in the market for rheumatology therapies, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus.

7 Nov 2009

Rituximab drug potentially effective for treating Graves' eye disease, shows study

A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms - and improved vision - following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.

7 Nov 2009

Pfizer extends JAK3 research collaboration with Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that its research collaboration with Pfizer for JAK3 has been extended by one year. The Research and License Agreement entered into in December 2006 with Wyeth provided for an initial three year research term. Under this extension, Ligand will receive $3.1 million in research payments to continue conducting drug discovery and lead candidate optimization.

6 Nov 2009

Bodhi Body selects public relations firm and marketing agency Zion & Zion

Bodhi Body is a new way to look at healthcare. Through the incorporation of integrated medical and wellness services ranging from IV therapy to yoga and naturopathic medicine, Bodhi Body improves quality of life. In an effort to launch the brand and facility with maximum impact and to rapidly recruit clients, the company has engaged top Phoenix public relations firm and marketing agency Zion & Zion.

6 Nov 2009

Amgen announces the results for Phase 3 PRIME '203' trial of Vectibix

Amgen today announced that the Phase 3 PRIME "203" trial evaluating Vectibix® (panitumumab) administered in combination with FOLFOX (an oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy) as a first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) failed to meet a secondary endpoint of overall survival.

5 Nov 2009

Bursting common myths about psoriasis

Psoriasis is a real disability that affects approximately one million Canadians. A recent Canadian survey found that the causes and effects of this chronic, recurrent skin disorder are often misunderstood - and the result of these misperceptions can leave a lasting negative impact on those who suffer from this debilitating immune system disease.

5 Nov 2009

TNF-alpha inhibitors ranked top for reducing biologics spend

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, forecasts that biosimilars of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors stand to erode $9.6 billion in brand sales (Amgen's Enbrel, Abbott's Humira and Centocor Ortho Biotech/Schering-Plough's Remicade) in the U.S. and Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and U.K.) by 2018. This use of TNF-alpha biosimilars will save healthcare systems in the U.S. and Europe $4 billion.

4 Nov 2009

Study on asbestos-related diseases in Libby launched

Over nearly a century, thousands of residents and workers in Libby, MT, have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore, leading to markedly higher rates of lung disease and autoimmune disorders, and causing to Libby in 2002 to be added to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's "National Priorities List."

4 Nov 2009

Survey shows majority of rheumatologists would prescribe Actemra drug for rheumatoid arthritis

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that 98 percent of surveyed rheumatologists indicate they will prescribe Roche's Actemra, an interleukin-6 inhibitor, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis following the agent's expected launch in 2010.

4 Nov 2009

EntreMed to present its Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor data at the AACR-NCI-EORTC conference

EntreMed, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer today announced presentations for its Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor, ENMD-2076, at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics to be held November 15-19, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. Presentations are listed below.

3 Nov 2009

Rigel Pharmaceuticals announces financial results for the third quarter of 2009

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

3 Nov 2009

Caucasian women may suffer from RLS up to four times more than African-American women

New research shows that Caucasian women may suffer from restless legs syndrome (RLS), a sleep disorder characterized by the strong urge to move the legs, up to four times more than African-American women. The study, presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that, overall, non-African-American (NAA) patients experienced RLS four times more often than African-Americans (AA).

3 Nov 2009

Interim data from Schering-Plough's narlaprevir Phase IIa study

Schering-Plough Corporation reported that interim results from an ongoing Phase IIa study of narlaprevir (SCH 900518), its investigational, once-daily protease inhibitor, demonstrated potent antiviral activity in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1.

3 Nov 2009

Ligand Pharmaceuticals amends license agreement with Exelixis

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has amended its license agreement with Exelixis, Inc. as a result of which Ligand is now entitled to receive royalties on net sales of future products from a mineralocorticoid receptor program and a one-time $75,000 payment for providing access to certain patent rights.

2 Nov 2009

SQI Diagnostics' SQiDworks automated platform and IgXPLEX RA assay receive FDA marketing clearance

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a medical systems automation company focused on evolving laboratory-based biomarker testing, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's automated SQiDworks(TM) Diagnostics Platform and its multiplexed IgXPLEX(TM) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) assay for marketing in the United States.

2 Nov 2009

Amgen publishes Phase 3 study results of Aranesp

Amgen today announced the publication of results from TREAT (the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events with Aranesp® Therapy), a large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 pivotal study of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) not on dialysis, moderate anemia and type-2 diabetes.

31 Oct 2009

Schering-Plough receives FDA complete response letter regarding PEGINTRON

Schering-Plough Corp. announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter to the company's supplemental Biologics License Application regarding PEGINTRON® (pegylated interferon alfa-2b) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III malignant melanoma after complete lymphadenectomy.

31 Oct 2009

Patients on immunosuppressant medication can receive H1N1 vaccine in the form of shots

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have classified all children, 6-months to 24-years, one of the high risk groups for contracting the H1N1 (swine) flu, and recommend this population receive the H1N1 vaccine for immunity against the disease.

30 Oct 2009

New state-of-the-art biotechnology center opened on the West Coast

As part of its strategy to discover and develop more biotechnology medicines, Eli Lilly and Company today officially opened a new state-of-the-art biotechnology center on the West Coast.

30 Oct 2009

La Jolla Institute dedicates new Elam Discovery Wall and Type 1 Diabetes Center

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, an international leader in immunology research and San Diego's only research institute focused solely on immune-mediated diseases, today will dedicate its new Elam Discovery Wall and Type 1 Diabetes Center, which will focus on research into novel immunological-focused approaches to type 1 diabetes.

30 Oct 2009