Tag: clinical trials
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Antibody Shown to Reduce Disability in Multiple Sclerosis
28 September 2015. A late-stage clinical trial shows an engineered antibody can reduce the extent of disability in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The experimental drug, ocrelizumab, is made by Genentech, a biotechnology subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Roche, in South San Francisco, California. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks…
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Diabetes Biotech Acquires GSK Spin-Off
24 September 2015. Intarcia Therapeutics, a developer of long-acting treatments for diabetes, is purchasing Phoundry Pharmaceuticals, a discoverer of engineered peptides for metabolic and other disorders. Phoundry — a spin-off company from GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — is being acquired by Intarcia for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. Intarcia, based…
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Clinical Trial Underway Testing Cancer Surgery Aid
22 September 2015. A clinical trial is enrolling patients with soft tissue sarcoma to test a synthetic peptide that illuminates cancer cells to make them more easily removed during surgery. The early-stage study is testing the safety of the peptide made by Blaze Bioscience Inc. in Seattle and conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los…
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Optical Device IDs Healthy, Cancerous Tissue in Surgery
18 September 2015. An engineering and medical team at University of Illinois in Champaign designed a surgical tool that identifies and discriminates between healthy and cancerous tissue in real time when removing tumors. Researchers led by engineering professor Stephen Boppart published results of a study testing the hand-held device with 35 breast cancer patients earlier…
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Immunotherapy Shown to Clear Some Cervical Lesions
17 September 2015. A clinical trial testing a vaccine designed to clear up cervical lesions or sores before they become cancerous, found women receiving the vaccine eradicated more of these lesions than those receiving a placebo. Results of the intermediate-stage trial, funded by Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. that makes the candidate vaccine, appear in today’s issue…
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NIH Backing Alzheimer’s Onset Drug Trial
15 September 2015. National Institute on Aging, part of National Institutes of Health, is funding a late-stage clinical trial testing a current epilepsy drug as a treatment to delay the early onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. The $7.5 million grant, part of NIH’s national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease, supports the trial testing a low-dose formulation…
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Patent Awarded for Cancer-Detecting Blood Test
10 September 2015. VolitionRx, a developer of blood tests to screen for cancer, received a U.S. patent for its underlying technology that detects changes in basic cell proteins found in blood. Patent number 9,128,086 was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on 8 September to four inventors and assigned to the company, incorporated…
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Spinal Cord Injury Device Trial Completes Enrollment
8 September 2015. An early-stage clinical trial testing an implanted biocompatible plastic framework to encourage healing of spinal cord injuries completed its initial enrollment. The Neuro-Spinal Scaffold device is made by InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Spinal cord injuries are usually caused by a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that bruises or tears…
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Hemophilia Therapy Candidate Given Breakthrough Status
4 September 2015. A synthetic antibody designed to prevent bleeding episodes among people with the most common type of hemophilia received a breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The pharmaceutical company Roche says FDA assigned the designation its biologic therapy code-named ACE910, now being tested in clinical trials. Hemophilia is an inherited…
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In-Heart Pacemaker Benefits Shown in Clinical Trial
31 August 2015. First reports from a clinical trial of a heart pacemaker placed inside the heart without wires shows after six months the device maintained effective pacing of patients’ hearts and worked without serious adverse effects in a vast majority of cases. Results of the trial testing the Nanostim device by St. Jude Medical…