Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
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.
Abbvie Outlook Rises
April 22, 2013 1:56 pm | News | CommentsAn analyst has upgraded his outlook for AbbVie Inc., expecting greater sales of the company's blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira and several experimental products. He thinks AbbVie shares will trade higher as the company continues to report progress for its drugs in clinical development.
Medicyte Licenses Life Tech Technology
April 22, 2013 12:26 pm | Product Releases | CommentsMedicyte has signed a licensing agreement for the rights to use Lentiviral vector technology from Life Technologies to develop and market next generation, cell-based upcyte cell products to the biopharma and academic research markets.
IDT Primer Design Tool Aids Researchers
April 22, 2013 12:22 pm | Product Releases | CommentsIntegrated DNA Technologies launches an enhanced version of the open access PrimerQuest online tool, for efficient PCR primer and probe design. Selection parameters have been optimized with built-in presets for a diverse range of applications, to produce the very best primers and probes.
NEXTflex Kit Simplies Metagenomic Studies
April 22, 2013 12:18 pm | Product Releases | CommentsThe NEXTflex 16S V4 Amplicon-Seq Kit has been developed to simplify bacterial metagenomics studies using Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms. This kit allows users to go from sample to sequence in two hours, making it the fastest library prep kit available.
Drug Limits Radiation Damage
April 22, 2013 12:07 pm | News | CommentsUnavoidable damage caused to the heart and lungs by radiotherapy treatment of tumors in the chest region can be limited by the administration of an ACE inhibitor, a drug commonly used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, a group of Dutch researchers have found.
Drug Targets May Starve Tumors
April 22, 2013 11:54 am | News | CommentsA massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor’s fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks.
Elan Rejects Royalty Takeover Attempt
April 22, 2013 11:27 am | News | CommentsThe board of Irish drugmaker Elan has unanimously rejected a takeover bid from Royalty Pharma, saying the U.S. investment company's offer of $11.25 a share is much too low. Royalty last week lowered its bid for Elan from an original $12 per share offer.
Merck, BMS Testing Hep C Regimen
April 22, 2013 9:48 am | News | CommentsMerck and Bristol-Myers Squibb will run a mid-stage clinical trial of a drug regimen designed to treat the most common type of the hepatitis C virus. The trial will study a combination of Bristol's drug daclatasvir, and Merck's MK-5172.
Blocking Scaffold Protein Inhibits Cancer
April 21, 2013 3:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers have devised an way to block biological signaling pathways that, when overactive, lead to many types of cancers. They've done so by disrupting the function of a mediator, or scaffold, protein that brings together key members of the pathway and promotes their interaction to stimulate cell growth and division.
EMD Serono Expands U.S. Presence
April 19, 2013 11:31 am | News | CommentsEMD Serono Inc. announced the continued expansion of the company's presence in the United States, resulting in an estimated 20% increase in EMD Serono's employee base from last July to the end of 2014. The expansion will primarily take place at the site in Billerica, Mass.
