Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Drug Prevents Aging, Cancer Progression
March 27, 2013 11:50 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered that the antidiabetic drug metformin reduces the production of inflammatory cytokines that normally activate the immune system, but if overproduced can lead to pathological inflammation, a condition that both damages tissues in aging and favors tumor growth.
Ganetespib Shows Potency Against Lung Cancer
March 27, 2013 11:23 am | News | CommentsGanetespib, a drug that indirectly impairs the function of several cancer-driving proteins, including anaplastic lymphoma kinase, may be an effective new treatment for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer.
FDA Accepts Immunotherapy BLA
March 27, 2013 10:30 am | News | CommentsMerck announced that the Biologics License Application for its investigational Timothy grass pollen allergy immunotherapy tablet has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Merck previously submitted a BLA to the FDA for its investigational ragweed pollen AIT.
GSK, Texas A&M Establish Vaccine Facility
March 26, 2013 11:54 am | News | CommentsGlaxoSmithKline and Texas A&M announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved the establishment of a $91 million influenza-vaccines manufacturing facility as the anchor of the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
T-cell Therapy Eradicates Leukemia
March 26, 2013 11:40 am | News | CommentsTwo children with an aggressive form of childhood leukemia had a complete remission of their disease—showing no evidence of cancer cells in their bodies—after treatment with a novel cell therapy that reprogrammed their immune cells to rapidly multiply and destroy leukemia cells.
Rejuvenating Blood
March 26, 2013 11:12 am | News | CommentsA research group has succeeded in rejuvenating the blood of mice by reversing, or re-programming, the stem cells that produce blood. These findings indicate that it may not primarily be damage to DNA that causes blood to age, but rather reversible epigenetic changes.
Findings to Help Design HFM Drug
March 26, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsNew research findings may help scientists design drugs to treat a virus infection that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children. The virus, called enterovirus 71, causes hand, foot and mouth disease and is common throughout the world.
Researchers Find Way to Regulate Beta Cells
March 26, 2013 12:00 am | News | CommentsBringing scientists a step closer to new treatments for diabetes, researchers have discovered a mechanism that regulates the replication of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Regenerating beta cells to restore insulin production has moved to center stage in the quest for diabetes therapies.
Japan OKs Pfizer RA Drug
March 25, 2013 4:44 pm | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsDrugmaker Pfizer Inc. said that its new rheumatoid arthritis drug, Xeljanz, has been approved for use in Japan. Xeljanz, known chemically as tofacitinib, is the first approved pill in a new class of medicines called JAK inhibitors. It was approved in the United States in November.
Researchers Decode Biology of Blood Disorders
March 25, 2013 12:28 pm | News | CommentsTwo studies shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases. The studies propose two new treatments for beta-thalassemia, a blood disorder which affects thousands of people globally every year.
Shire to Acquire SARcode
March 25, 2013 12:18 pm | News | CommentsShire plc is acquiring SARcode Bioscience, and SARcode's Phase 3 compound Lifitegrast—which is being developed for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease—into Shire’s portfolio. Shire anticipates launching Lifitegrast in the United States as early as 2016.
Lilly, BI Submit Empagliflozin to FDA
March 25, 2013 11:53 am | News | CommentsBoehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company announced that a New Drug Application for the investigational sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor empagliflozin was recently submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults.
J&J Recalls Hit LifeScan Unit
March 25, 2013 11:44 am | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsJohnson & Johnson has announced a voluntary recall for all its OneTouch VerioIQ blood glucose meters in the U.S. because they do not provide a warning when a diabetic's blood sugar level is dangerously high. Instead, the meters turn off.
Supreme Court Weighs Pay-for-Delay
March 25, 2013 11:26 am | by Jesse J. Holland | News | CommentsFederal regulators are pressing the Supreme Court to stop big pharmaceutical corporations from paying generic drug competitors to delay releasing their cheaper versions of brand-name drugs. They argue these deals deny American consumers, usually for years, steep price declines that can top 90%.
Sartorius, Aber in Sensor Partnership
March 22, 2013 12:16 pm | Product Releases | CommentsSartorius Stedim Biotech has entered into a global sales and development partnership with Aber Instruments. Aber is a highly specialized supplier of sensor technology that is used by the biopharmaceutical industry for in-line biomass measurement in cell cultivation and fermentation processes.
