Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry News From Medical News Today
Amgen And Wyeth Statement On The FDA Safety Announcement Regarding Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Blockers Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700 Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), issued a statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety announcement regarding opportunistic fungal infections in patients treated with Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) blockers [marketed as Remicade® (infliximab), Enbrel® (etanercept), Humira® (adalimumab) and Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol)]. USP's 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting To Convene Scientific Experts From Around The World Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:00:00 -0700 The U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention's 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) will be held in Kansas City, Mo., September 24 to 26. The meeting is an opportunity to interact with the USP experts responsible for establishing internationally recognized standards for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, food ingredients and dietary supplements. The focus will be on Quality of Manufactured Medicines, Food Ingredients and Dietary Supplements. An Essential And Comprehensive Report On Biopharmaceuticals In The US And European Markets, By Research And Markets Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:00:00 -0700 Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Biopharmaceuticals in the US and European Markets" report to their offering. SARcode And Sunesis Announce Start Of Phase 1 Clinical Trial In Ocular Inflammatory Diseases Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0700 SARcode Corporation, a private company focused on small molecule LFA-1 inhibitors to treat inflammatory diseases, and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSS) today announced SARcode's initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of a small molecule LFA-1 product candidate for T-cell mediated ophthalmic diseases. FDA Approves First Hepatitis B Viral Load Test Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0700 The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Roche COBAS(R) TaqMan(R) HBV Test, the first assay for quantitating Hepatitis B Virus DNA approved in the U.S. The test uses Roche's real-time PCR technology to quantify the amount of Hepatitis B virus DNA in a patient's blood. Doctors may use viral load testing results to establish a baseline level of infection and during treatment as an aid in assessing individual responses to therapy. Celator Pharmaceuticals Receives Orphan Drug Designation For Anticancer Agent CPX-351 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0700 Celator Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to CPX-351 (Cytarabine:Daunorubicin) Liposome Injection for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Celator is currently preparing to conduct two randomized Phase 2 studies with CPX-351. The first Phase 2 study, in newly diagnosed, elderly patients with AML, is expected to start enrolling patients before the end of 2008.
The Seattle Times: Biotech
News on biotechnology pharmaceutical from BioPortfolio.com
Pharmaceuticals: Convergence or conflict? Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000 Drug giants’ recent attempts to buy big biotech firms have provoked a backlashDALLIANCES between conventional pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms are nothing new. Big Pharma, eager to refill its emptying drug pipelines, has in recent years looked hopefully to biotech’s upstarts. The drugs giants have pursued all sorts of tie-ups, from alliances to licensing deals to outright purchases of a few smallish companies. But mindful of the sharp cultural differences between the two sorts of firms, they have generally avoided big acquisitions.Until now, that is. In recent weeks Roche, a Swiss pharmaceuticals giant, has made a surprise $44 billion bid for the 44% of Genentech, the world’s biggest biotech firm by stockmarket value, that it does not already own; and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), an American drugs company, has offered $4.5 billion for the 83% of ImClone, an American biotech firm, that it does not already control. These attempts came on the heels of earlier deals in which AstraZeneca, a British drugs giant, bought MedImmune for $15.6 billion, and Takeda of Japan paid $8.8 billion for Millennium. ... Gene doping: Fairly safe Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:10:21 -0000 What athletes may or may not do ought to be decided on grounds of safety, not fairnessANOTHER Olympics, another doping debate. And this time it is a fervent one, as recent advances in medical science have had the side-effect of providing athletes with new ways of enhancing performance, and thus of putting an even greater strain on people’s ethical sensibilities. This is especially true of gene therapy. Replacing defective genes holds out great promise for people suffering from diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cancer. But administered to sprightly sportsmen, the treatment may allow them to heave greater weights, swim faster and jump farther (see article). And that would be cheating, wouldn’t it? ... Gene doping: Genetically Modified Olympians? Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:10:21 -0000 On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, we examine the prospect of athletes using gene therapy to enhance their performance—and of catching them if they tryFOR as long as people have vied for sporting glory, they have also sought shortcuts to the champion’s rostrum. Often, those shortcuts have relied on the assistance of doctors. After all, most doping involves little more than applying existing therapies to healthy bodies. These days, however, the competition is so intense that existing therapies are not enough. Now, athletes in search of the physiological enhancement they need to take them a stride ahead of their opponents are scanning medicine’s future, as well as its present. In particular, they are interested in a field known as gene therapy. Gene therapy works by inserting extra copies of particular genes into the body. These extra copies, known as “transgenes”, may cover for a broken gene or regulate gene activity. Though gene therapy has yet to yield a reliable medical treatment, more than 1,300 clinical trials are now under way. As that number suggests, the field is reckoned to be full of promise. ...