Tag: pharmaceuticals
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Preclinical Test Shows Vaccine Stops Cocaine Reaching Brain
Medical researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York tested in primates a vaccine candidate against cocaine addiction, which showed the vaccine prevented cocaine from reaching the brain and inducing a dopamine high. The findings from the team led by genetic medical researcher Ronald Crystal, with colleagues from Weill Cornell, Columbia University, and Scripps…
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Algorithm Identifies HIV Antibodies For Vaccine Design
Biologists at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of National Institutes of Health, developed a mathematical model to highlight antibodies that neutralize viruses in people with HIV, which can help design a vaccine against HIV infection. The team from NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center, with colleagues from Columbia University and research institutes in…
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Nimbus, Shire Partner on Rare Genetic Disease Drug Discovery
Nimbus Discovery, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts will discover and develop new small-molecule drug candidates to treat a set of rare genetic disorders, for the specialty pharmaceutical company Shire plc based in Ireland. Under the deal, Shire will provide Nimbus with periodic milestone payments, and while financial details of the agreement were not disclosed,…
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Simplified Medicare Could Save Money, Improve Senior Health
Public health researchers found combining into one program Medicare’s separate hospital, doctor, and drug plans with supplemental insurance could save $180 billion over a decade while improving care for older Americans. The study, led by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health professor Karen Davis and conducted for the Commonwealth Fund, appears in the May 2013 issue…
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New Hepatitis C Treatment Given FDA Breakthrough Status
A new anti-viral combination treatment for hepatitis C developed by the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie received a breakthrough therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AbbVie, in North Chicago, Illinois was spun-off from Abbott Laboratories as a separate company on 1 January 2013. Hepatitis C is an infection that attacks the liver and usually…
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Synthetic Biology Census Shows Company Growth, Consolidation
A census of organizations, agencies, and companies involved in synthetic biology shows rapid growth of the field in the past four years, but also some retrenchment, particularly in the private sector. The study was conducted by the Synthetic Biology Project, an initiative of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The Wilson Center…
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Cord Blood Bank Service Adds Cases to Research Database
ViaCord, a cord-blood banking service in Waltham, Massachusetts, is collaborating with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research in Milwaukee to add studies of ViaCord’s stem cell transplants to the Center’s research database. Financial aspects of the agreement were not disclosed. ViaCord, a division of manufacturer Perkin-Elmer, offers families expecting children with the…
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NIH Stops HIV Vaccine Immunizations in Clinical Trial
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will stop testing an HIV vaccine candidate, after interim results showed the vaccine stopped neither HIV infections nor the amount of HIV in the blood. The HVTN 505 study, a phase 2 clinical trial of safety and efficacy begun in…
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FDA Designates Orphan Drug for Rare Pain Condition
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated as an orphan drug the compound XEN402 to treat erythromelalgia, a rare disease that causes a burning pain in the feet and hands. XEN402 is being developed Xenon Pharmaceuticals in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Erythromelalgia is a disorder that affects the skin of the feet or hands or…
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Solar Nanoscale Protein Filter Cleans Antibiotics from Water
Engineers at University of Cincinnati in Ohio developed a nanoscale filter powered by sunlight that can clean biochemical compounds, such as antibiotics, from lakes and rivers. Environmental engineering professor David Wendell and Ph.D. candidate Vikram Kapoor published their findings online last week in the journal Nano Letters (paid subscription required). The presence of antibiotics from…