Tag: pharmaceuticals
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NIH Funds Three New Neurologic Drug Discovery Projects
National Institutes of Health is funding three new neurological drug research initiatives to address Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction, and age-related macular degeneration. Awards for the three projects, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), total nearly $446,000. The three studies are funded under the Neurotherapeutics Network, part of the NIH Blueprint…
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FibroGen, AstraZeneca Partner on Kidney-Based Anemia Therapy
The global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is licensing a therapy for anemia caused by kidney disease made by FibroGen, a biotechnology company in San Francisco. The deal is valued initially at $815 million, and covers the U.S., China, and other markets not covered by an earlier FibroGen license to Astellas Pharma for commercialization in Europe, Japan,…
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Safety Concerns Halt Celgene Leukemia Drug Trial
The biopharmaceutical company Celgene in Summitt, New Jersey is stopping a late-stage clinical trial of its cancer drug lenalidomide to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia due to the higher death rate of patients taking the drug. Lenalidomide is a small-molecule compound that regulates the immune system and marketed by Celgene under the brand name Revlimid. The…
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Cell Therapy Technique Tested to Regenerate Back Discs
Biomedical engineers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina developed a new biomaterial to deliver cells that repair the cushions between spinal discs and relieve the pain when that material degenerates. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Lori Setton — with colleagues from Duke, Singapore, and Taiwan — published their proof-of-concept findings last week…
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Cancer Genetic Variations Database Generated for Therapies
Researchers at National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of National Institutes of Health, cataloged the genetic variations of nine leading types of cancers, and are making the data available to the cancer research community. The team led by pharmacologist Yves Pommier and geneticist Paul Meltzer posted its findings today online in the journal Cancer Research (paid…
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Roche Advanced Skin Cancer Drug Approved in Europe
The global pharmaceutical company Roche says its drug vismodegib, marketed under the name Erivedge, received conditional approval in Europe as a treatment for adults with advanced cases of basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Approval for the the drug, taken once a day in capsule form, is limited to cases of basal cell carcinoma that metastasize,…
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Early Trial Shows Safety, Action of RNA Scar Treatment
RXi Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company in Westborough, Massacusetts reports an early-stage clinical trial of its treatment for skin scarring shows the therapy is safe and generates the desired chemical response in the body. The trial is testing RXI-109, the company’s therapy based on RNA to treat hypertrophic scarring and keloids associated with skin trauma. RXi’s…
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Stem Cell Developer-Supplier Issues Initial Public Offering
Cellular Dynamics International in Madison, Wisconsin, a developer and supplier of human stem cells in bulk quantities, filed an initial public offering (IPO) of its stock with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is issuing some 3.85 million shares, which it expects to price at $12.00 to $14.00 a share, giving it an…
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Cancer Research UK, Biotech Partner on Drug Discovery
Forma Therapeutics in Watertown, Massachusetts and Cancer Research Technology Ltd. in London are collaborating on finding drug candidates that target the regulators of protein levels in cells, a key factor in a number of diseases, including cancer. Cancer Research Technology is the for-profit commercialization subsidiary of the foundation Cancer Research UK. Financial amounts to be…
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FDA Approves Maintenance Drug to Treat Opioid Dependence
Orexo AB, a pharmaceutical company in Uppsala, Sweden says it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market in the U.S. its drug Zubsolv for the treatment of opioid dependence, such as from prescription pain killers. FDA, says the company, approved the drug as a maintenance treatment — a substitute for addictive…