Healthcare | Page 90 of 96 | SpiritIndia.com

Diabetes :: Merck KGaA & Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Collaboration on DPPIV Inhibitor for Type 2 Diabetes

Merck KGaA and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A (Switzerland), a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals India (GPL), have entered into an agreement for Glenmark?s DPPIV inhibitor GRC 8200, a treatment for type 2 diabetes in Phase II of clinical development. The transaction is expected to close this year upon approval of the exclusive license to GRC 8200 by the U.S. anti-trust agencies under the HSR Act.

Diabetes :: NovoMix insulin – effective & safe for patients with type 2 diabetes

Data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 42nd Conference in Copenhagen showed NovoMix? 30 (biphasic insulin aspart) to have comparable efficacy to basal-bolus combination therapy, with a similar safety profile in patients previously treated with oral antidiabetic therapy. These findings follow on from the European Commission?s recent decision to approve NovoMix? 30 as the first premixed insulin suitable for once-daily initiation and subsequent intensification of treatment, if needed. The data also confirm the position of NovoMix? 30 as an appropriate treatment choice for patients who prefer a convenient, effective once or twice-daily insulin therapy.

Hepatitis :: Roche and InterMune’s ITMN-191 HCV protease inhibitor for hepatitis c

Roche and InterMune Inc. announced that the companies have entered into an exclusive worldwide collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize products from InterMune?s Hepatitis C (HCV) protease inhibitor program. The agreement includes InterMune?s lead candidate compound ITMN-191, expected to enter clinical trials before the end of the year. The companies will also collaborate on a research program to identify, develop and commercialize novel second-generation HCV protease inhibitors.

Influenza :: Switzerland to purchase GSK?s H5N1 influenza vaccine for pre-pandemic use

GlaxoSmithKline (plc) today announced that a supply contract has been signed by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and GlaxoSmithKline for 8 million doses of GSK?s H5N1 antigen influenza vaccine and its proprietary adjuvant for pre-pandemic use. The order provides enough doses, one per head of the entire Swiss population, to help prepare the immune system against the threat of a human influenza pandemic and is the first national programme to do so. Supply and stockpiling of the pre-pandemic vaccine is expected in early 2007 once the Swiss regulatory agency, Swissmedic, has reviewed and approved GSK?s regulatory file.

Eyes :: Bayer & Regeneron’s VEGF Trap for the treatment of eye diseases, AMD

Bayer HealthCare (NYSE: BAY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN) today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration agreement for the global development, and commercialization outside the U.S., of the VEGF Trap for the treatment of eye disease by local administration (VEGF Trap-Eye). The VEGF Trap-Eye, currently in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, is a protein that binds to or ?traps? vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and blocks its activity. VEGF is thought to play a critical role in certain eye diseases.

Diabetes :: Alert on One Touch Basic/Profile and One Touch Ultra Blood Glucose Test Strips

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting the public to counterfeit blood glucose test strips being sold in the United States for use with various models of LifeScan, Inc., One Touch Brand Blood Glucose Monitors used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose.

Schizophrenia :: Solvay pharmaceuticals and Wyeth – new drug for bifeprunox to treat schizophrenia

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), announced today that a New Drug Application (NDA) was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bifeprunox, an investigational atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Smoking :: Nabi biopharmaceuticals completes enrollment in nicvax phase iib ‘proof-of-concept’ clinical trial

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: NABI) today announced it has completed enrollment for its Phase IIB “proof-of-concept” study for NicVAX(R) (Nicotine Conjugate Vaccine), the company’s novel, innovative and proprietary investigational vaccine being developed to treat nicotine addiction and prevent smoking relapse. Enrollment for the trial was completed three months earlier than anticipated, paving the way for the release of trial results early in the second quarter of 2007.

Cancer :: The leukemia & lymphoma society launches program to ease the return to school for children with cancer

Each year approximately 9,000 children and teenagers are diagnosed with cancer in the United States, with leukemia representing more than 30% of these cases. Thanks to research advances, the survival rate for the most common pediatric cancer, acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), has improved from a dismal 4 percent in the 1960s to more than 85 percent today. However, for children who survive cancer, the challenges continue long after the treatments are over.

ADHD :: NRP104 (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) for the treatment of adhd

Shire plc announced that its collaborative partner New River Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: NRPH) has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NRP104 (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate), for the treatment of pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).