Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Gene Links Allergies, Autoimmune Disease
June 3, 2013 11:14 am | News | CommentsScientists at the National Institutes of Health have discovered that a gene called BACH2 may play a central role in the development of diverse allergic and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, asthma, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, and type-1 diabetes.
Alimta Study Fails to Meet Primary Endpoint
June 3, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsThe PRONOUNCE trial compared an Alimta, carboplatin doublet regimen to a paclitaxel, carboplatin and bevacizumab triplet regimen. The study did not achieve its primary superiority endpoint of improved progression-free survival without grade four adverse events.
Positive Data from Lambrolizumab Trial
June 3, 2013 10:33 am | News | CommentsMerck presented preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 1b expansion study evaluating the safety and efficacy of lambrolizumab, Merck’s investigational antibody therapy targeting PD-1, in patients with advanced (inoperable and metastatic) melanoma.
Researchers Discover Cause of Breast Tumor Metastasis
June 3, 2013 10:21 am | by Lynn Yarris | News | CommentsThe long-standing mystery behind dormant disseminated breast tumor cells and what activates them after years and even decades of latency may have been solved. Researchers have identified the microenvironment surrounding microvasculature as a niche where dormant cancer cells reside.
Panel Reviewing Avandia Restrictions
June 3, 2013 10:01 am | by Matthew Perrone | News | CommentsA former blockbuster diabetes pill which was subjected to major safety restrictions in 2010 may not be as risky as once thought. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a new interpretation of the key study of Avandia's heart attack risks, which suggests the drug is as safe as older diabetes drugs.
Combining Drugs Maximizes Effect Against Tumors
June 2, 2013 9:00 am | News | CommentsA subset of colorectal cancers responds to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapies, but develops resistance within months. Among cancers that develop resistance to anti-EGFR therapy, some showed overexpression of a gene called MET and susceptibility to the MET inhibitor crizotinib.
Depomed Abandons Sefelsa After FDA Letter
May 31, 2013 6:31 pm | News | CommentsDepomed will not invest further in its drug Sefelsa after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that it cannot approve its application in the current form. The hot flash drug hit a major road block when a panel of advisers to the FDA voted against it, saying the risks outweighed its benefits.
App Helps Improve Cubis Balance
May 31, 2013 4:19 pm | Product Releases | CommentsSartorius has made its premium laboratory balance Cubis even more user-friendly to ensure reliable, error-free results. Sartorius Q-Apps can now be installed on any Cubis balance to guide users quickly and easily in performing any weighing application.
EU Panel Backs Lojuxta
May 31, 2013 12:05 am | News | CommentsAegerion Pharmaceuticals said that a European Union advisory panel recommended its drug Lojuxta be approved as a treatment for a rare inherited disease that causes extremely high levels of bad cholesterol. Lojuxta is intended to treat a condition called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
FDA Wants More Aveed Info
May 30, 2013 5:33 pm | News | CommentsEndo Health Solutions Inc. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants more information about its long-acting testosterone injection Aveed before it will approve the drug. Endo said the FDA is concerned about risks and severe complications related to post-injection reactions.
Linzess Sales Better Than Expected
May 30, 2013 1:41 pm | News | CommentsA Wedbush analyst has upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s stock, saying growth in prescriptions for the company's bowel drug Linzess has been better than he expected. He is now projecting about $229 million in sales over the four quarters ending March 31, up from $152 million.
Antibody-Drug Conjugates: Carbon-14 Labeling Requirements
May 30, 2013 11:32 am | by Sean L. Kitson, Investigator; Thomas S. Moody, Head of Biocatalysis and Isotope Chemistry; David Rozzell, Biocatalysis Consultant; Jill Caswell, Molecular Biologist, Department of Biocatalysis and Isotope Chemistry; Almac, Craigavon, U.K. | Articles | CommentsThe next blockbuster drug revenue streams are likely to come from a class of targeted therapies geared towards the treatment and management of chronic human disease states—especially cancer—and involve the use of monoclonal antibodies linked to small-molecule drugs.
MERS May Require Longer Quarantine
May 30, 2013 10:34 am | by Maria Cheng | News | CommentsA detailed look at two cases of a deadly new respiratory virus called MERS suggests people who have the disease should be isolated for at least 12 days to avoid spreading it. The new germ was first seen in the Middle East and so far has sickened more than 40 people worldwide, killing about half of them.
Brain Makes Its Own Valium
May 30, 2013 3:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers have found that a naturally occurring protein secreted only in discrete areas of the mammalian brain may act as a Valium-like brake on certain types of epileptic seizures. The protein is known as diazepam binding inhibitor, or DBI.
GSK to Buy Okairos for $323M
May 29, 2013 4:10 pm | News | CommentsGlaxoSmithKline PLC will buy Okairos AG for about $323 million, gaining the Swiss vaccine developer's products. GlaxoSmithKline said Okairos is studying vaccine technology that could be used in shots that can both prevent and cure infections or diseases.
