Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Alexza Licenses Adasuve to Teva
May 8, 2013 1:30 pm | News | CommentsAlexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will market its agitation drug Adasuve in the United States. The companies said that Teva will be responsible for all U.S. commercial and clinical-related activities, including a required post-approval study.
FDA Reviewing Allergy Therapy
May 8, 2013 12:47 pm | News | CommentsDrugmaker Merck & Co. says the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its second application to sell a new type of allergy treatment meant to gradually reduce allergic reactions over time, rather than just relieving sneezing, itching and other symptoms temporarily.
Diabetes Increases Heart Disease Risk
May 8, 2013 10:16 am | News | CommentsType 1 diabetes appears to increase the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death among people with high blood sugar, partly by stimulating the production of calprotectin, a protein that sparks an inflammatory process that fuels the buildup of artery-clogging plaque.
Scientists ID Tumor Protein
May 8, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsScientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease, a development that may give clinicians a therapeutic target to treat this potentially life-threatening disorder.
Breast Cancer Resistance Mechanism Found
May 8, 2013 9:47 am | News | CommentsA seven-year quest to understand how breast cancer cells resist treatment with the targeted therapy lapatinib has revealed a previously unknown molecular network that regulates cell death. The discovery provides new avenues to overcome drug resistance.
Another Setback in Alzheimer’s Fight
May 7, 2013 9:48 am | by Andrew Pollack | News | CommentsBaxter International said that a promising new therapy had failed to halt the mental decline caused by the disease in a late-stage clinical trial. The company said its immunoglobulin therapy did not significantly arrest the decline in either cognition or daily functioning when compared with a placebo.
Endo Health Turns 1Q Profit
May 7, 2013 8:46 am | News | CommentsEndo Health Solutions Inc. turned a first-quarter profit, reversing a loss at the start of 2012, when the drug developer absorbed a sizeable pre-tax charge tied to a settlement and license agreement. The company said it earned $15.3 million in the three months that ended March 31.
Estrogen Links Exercise and Breast Cancer
May 7, 2013 12:05 am | News | CommentsChanges in estrogen breakdown, or metabolism, may be one of the mechanisms by which aerobic exercise lowers a woman’s breast cancer risk. A study shows that aerobic exercise influences the way the body breaks down estrogens to produce more of the "good" metabolites that lower breast cancer risk.
AIDS Research May Tackle Drug-Resistant Bacteria
May 7, 2013 12:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered a potential treatment for deadly, drug-resistant bacterial infections that uses the same approach that HIV uses to infect cells. The treatment uses a synthetic version of the amino acids on the tail end of HIV that allow the virus to “punch into” cells.
Alnylam 1Q Loss Shrinks
May 6, 2013 6:07 pm | News | CommentsAlnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it took a smaller loss in the first quarter as its expenses decreased. The RNAi drugmaker said its general and administrative spending decreased, but it also reported less in revenue because payments from its drug development partners decreased.
Lilly CEO Going Under the Knife
May 6, 2013 5:00 pm | News | CommentsDrugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. said that President, CEO and Chairman John Lechleiter will undergo surgery for a dilated aorta. The company said the condition was discovered during unrelated testing and Lechleiter has not experienced any symptoms.
Merck Pushes Its Consumer Products
May 6, 2013 1:24 pm | News | CommentsMerck & Co., the third-largest drugmaker, has been hurt by new generic competition like many other drugmakers, particularly for its top-selling asthma drug, Singulair. To offset that, Merck has been playing up its consumer-product division with a new ad campaign focusing on active families.
Cell Therapy Cures Epilepsy
May 6, 2013 11:00 am | News | CommentsScientists have controlled seizures in epileptic mice with a one-time transplantation of medial ganglionic eminence cells, which inhibit signaling in overactive nerve circuits, into the hippocampus, a brain region associated with seizures, as well as with learning and memory.
Pfizer Makes Move Towards Online Sales
May 6, 2013 3:20 am | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsMen who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom no longer have to go to the drugstore to buy that little blue pill. In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer Inc. announced that it will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.
FDA Approves Merck's Liptruzet
May 3, 2013 5:56 pm | News | CommentsMerck & Co. said that it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing approval for the new combination cholesterol drug Liptruzet, which combines the company's drug Zetia with a generic version of the mega-blockbuster drug Lipitor.
