Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Analysis Module Improves Bioreactor System
April 24, 2013 12:04 pm | Product Releases | CommentsTAP Biosystems has announced an analysis module for its ambr micro bioreactor system, providing accurate automated pH calibration for enhanced bioprocess control. The new analysis module will automate at-line pH measurement and calibration to produce consistent, scalable results.
Drug Reduces Fat by Blocking Vessels
April 24, 2013 11:46 am | News | CommentsWhen researchers gave obese mice a cancer drug that works by inhibiting the growth of blood vessels, these mice lost about 70% of their fat mass. After two weeks of daily treatment with sunitinib, test mice had lost significant amounts of weight.
FDA Designates Lambrolizumab a Breakthrough
April 24, 2013 10:54 am | News | CommentsMerck announced that the Food and Drug Administration has designated lambrolizumab as a Breakthrough Therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma. Lambrolizumab's designation as a Breakthrough Therapy is intended to expedite its development and review.
Lilly's Profit Tops Expectations
April 24, 2013 10:22 am | by Tom Murphy | News | CommentsEli Lilly reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter and said regulators had agreed to a priority review of its potential stomach cancer treatment. The Food and Drug Administration will evaluate ramucirumab under its Breakthrough Therapy program.
New Drugs Lift Novartis Profits
April 24, 2013 7:39 am | by John Heilprin | News | CommentsSwiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG has reported a 6.7% increase in profit for the first quarter, boosted by new products and emerging markets. Novartis says its net profit rose to $2.42 billion from $2.27 billion in the same period last year.
Firefly Protein Lights Up Damaged Muscles
April 24, 2013 3:00 am | News | CommentsScientists have created a mouse model of muscular dystrophy in which degenerating muscle tissue gives off visible light. The observed luminescence occurs only in damaged muscle tissue and in direct proportion to cumulative damage sustained in that tissue.
Disappointing Q1 Results from Ironwood
April 23, 2013 3:24 pm | News | CommentsIronwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported disappointing first-quarter results, including a bigger loss and less revenue than analysts expected. Ironwood and its partner, Forest Laboratories Inc., are selling the bowel drug Linzess, which reached the market in December, driving up Ironwood's marketing costs.
HES Better Identifies Lead Compounds
April 23, 2013 12:50 pm | Product Releases | CommentsHigh Efficiency Screening (HES) has been shown to identify significant lead compounds with only a tiny fraction of the expense and effort of traditional high-throughput drug screening.
PUMA Available to Tackle Cancer
April 23, 2013 12:46 pm | Product Releases | CommentsPreclinical Oncology Services Ltd. has launched PRECOS Unique Models of Acquired resistance (PUMA). Derived from cell lines and proprietary PDX models, PUMA models provide a unique bespoke collection of clinically relevant and validated models of resistance.
CaptairBio Protects Sample Preparations
April 23, 2013 12:40 pm | Product Releases | CommentsThe CaptairBio PCR Workstations uses a UV lamp, which allows the working environment to be decontaminated in order to prevent contamination of samples. Air from the laboratory passes through a HEPA H14 filter, which is over 99.995% effective at trapping particles 0.1 microns and higher.
Janssen Releases Phase 3 HCV Data
April 23, 2013 12:04 pm | News | CommentsJanssen announced results from two Phase 3 studies demonstrating that simeprevir led to sustained virologic response in 80% of treatment-naïve genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C adult patients with compensated liver disease when administered once daily with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
New Amitiza Indication Approved
April 23, 2013 11:50 am | News | CommentsSucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals said that they received U.S. regulatory to market their constipation treatment Amitiza for a new use. The Food and Drug Administration approved the pill for constipation caused by opioid pain medications used by patients with non-cancer chronic pain.
Forest 4Q Profit Plunges
April 23, 2013 11:08 am | News | CommentsForest Laboratories Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings plunged 76%, as the drug developer's revenue continued to take a hit from a key patent loss. The New York company said that it earned almost $150 million less this quarter than a year earlier.
ALS Trial Finds Therapy to Be Safe
April 22, 2013 8:00 pm | News | CommentsAn investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig’s disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety. The researchers have shown that the therapy produced no serious side effects in patients with the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
HIV Therapy Appears to Protect the Heart
April 22, 2013 4:01 pm | News | CommentsFor children who have had HIV-1 infection since birth, the combination drug therapies now used to treat HIV appear to protect against the heart damage seen before combination therapies were available, according to researchers in a National Institutes of Health network study.
