Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
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.
Sustiva OK'd for Younger Patients
May 3, 2013 5:51 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBristol-Myers Squibb Co. said that U.S. regulators expanded approval of its HIV drug Sustiva to children as young as three months old and as light as 7.7 pounds. The capsule-based drug was first approved in 1998 to treat HIV-infected children who are age three and older and weigh at least 22 pounds.
Positive Results Buoy Gilead
May 3, 2013 4:55 pm | News | CommentsGilead reported its first-quarter results and new trial data for two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs. Gilead said its net income climbed on lower costs and greater sales of its new HIV drugs Complera and Stribild. Sales of its heart drug Letairis and angina treatment Ranexa also improved.
Arena Withdraws Belviq Application
May 3, 2013 7:32 am | News | CommentsDrug developer Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it is withdrawing its application for approval of the weight loss drug Belviq in Europe. The San Diego company also said that it is still waiting for a U.S. decision on the status of the drug.
Actavis Posts 1Q Loss
May 2, 2013 1:26 pm | News | CommentsGeneric drugmaker Actavis Inc. took a loss in the first quarter on costs related to acquisitions. Actavis combined with Watson Pharmaceuticals in October, and in January the company acquired Belgian drug developer Uteron Pharma to expand its women's health business.
Teva Q1 Profit Sinks 27%
May 2, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsTeva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s first-quarter earnings fell 27%, as generic competition, a weaker Japanese yen and other factors dragged down revenue for one of the world's largest generic drugmakers. The company's U.S. sales of Provigil plunged 92% in the quarter.
