Tag: clinical trials
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Breast Cancer Academic Research Program Launched
23 February 2016. Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York began a new initiative to attract more academic researchers to take part in clinical trials of cancer therapies. The group is starting its Drug Research Collaborative, with a $15 million contribution from drug maker Pfizer, that is also granting research access to its cancer drug…
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Duchenne-Related Stem Cell Heart Therapy Trial Underway
22 February 2016. An early clinical trial testing a stem cell therapy for heart disease among individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy treated its first enrolled patient. The trial is conducted by Capricor Inc. in Los Angeles, developer of the treatments code-named CAP-1002, for cardiomyopathy or heart failure related to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is…
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Pain Medication Given FDA Breakthrough Tag
22 February 2016. A new drug to treat moderate to severe pain, now in clinical trials, received a breakthrough designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug, oliceridine, is made by Trevena Inc. in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Oliceridine addresses the same pain signals as opioid drugs that affect areas of the brain…
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FDA Approves New Epilepsy Drug
19 February 2016. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a molecular therapy for epilepsy designed to supplement treatments for partial-onset seizures. The drug is brivaracetam, marketed as Briviact by UCB, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder where nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures with symptoms…
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Multiple Myeloma Gene Therapy Trial Underway
19 February 2016. The biotechnology company bluebird bio began testing its experimental gene therapy for multiple myeloma in an early-stage clinical trial. The Cambridge, Massachusetts company — which spells its name in all lower-case letters — is also licensing the technology tested in the trial to the pharmaceutical company Celgene. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of…
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Harnessing Big Data for Precision Medicine
13 February 2016. Precision medicine aims to match individualized genomic data with therapies to provide personalized treatments for people with disease. A panel today (13 February) at the American Association for Advancement of Science or AAAS 2016 annual meeting, described how big data — finding insights in large data sets — help make precision medicine…
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Stent Implants Demonstrated to Transmit Brain Activity
9 February 2016. A team of engineers and medical researchers in Australia show it’s possible to safely implant electrodes in the brain to transmit brain activity with a catheter-delivered stent. A description of the device and delivery process with sheep appears in yesterday’s (8 February) issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). The…
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FDA Approves Nasal Spray Migraine Therapy
29 January 2016. The Food and Drug Administration approved a treatment for migraine headaches delivered as a powder sprayed into the nose. The therapy, marketed as Onzetra by Avanir Pharmaceuticals, is a formulation of sumatriptan, an approved oral drug for treating migraine symptoms. Migraine is a neurological syndrome causing severe headaches along with nausea, vomiting, and…
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Electronic Patch Shown to Help Relieve PTSD, Depression
28 January 2016. An electronic device stimulating nerves in the brain was shown in a small clinical study to relieve symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and depression. The team developing the patch and taking it to market published results of the study in today’s (28 January) issue of the journal Neuromodulation: Technology…
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$100K Challenge Seeks Reinvented Clinical Trials
28 January 2016. A challenge at Harvard Business School seeks proposals for better ways of conducting clinical trials that bring to market faster new precision diagnostics and therapies. The competition has a total prize purse of $100,000 and an initial deadline of 13 March 2016. Precision medicine is the term given to emerging practices bringing…