Many people with constipation are confused about the cause of their condition and its appropriate treatment with laxatives. Results of a new large-scale global survey, announced today, show that many people wrongly fear that laxatives are addictive and that their use for long periods of time actually causes constipation.1,2
Bayer HealthCare (BHC) and Topsun Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (Topsun, 600771.SS) together announced that BHC’s Consumer Care Division has signed an agreement in China to acquire the Western over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold portfolio of Topsun Science and Technology Qidong Gaitianli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the consideration of RMB 1,072 million (approximately EUR 103 million) plus contingent payments of RMB 192 million (approximately EUR 19 million) subject to fulfilment of certain performance criteria.
Speaking at a Ferring-sponsored symposium on the occasion of the 14th United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) congress, Christoph Gasche, Associate Professor of Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria presented the findings of an in-vitro study which for the first time demonstrates a mode of action by which mesalazine may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients.
Viruses linked to the common cold could be causing memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease in millions of people, new research suggests. Experts suspect that common viruses which infect around one billion people worldwide each year may be invading the central nervous system and damaging the brain. In later life this could lead to symptoms of memory loss and declining mental ability.
While some breast cancer survivors could benefit from adding aromatase inhibitors to the standard five years of tamoxifen, a new study shows the additional therapy should be weighed carefully for each individual. Writing in the December 1, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study’s authors say potential improvement in cancer-free survival beyond 5 years with the added therapy may be less than 2 percent for most patients.
In another important milestone, Glivec? (imatinib) has received US regulatory approval to help patients with five distinct and potentially life-threatening disorders, representing the first time that a regulatory authority has ever simultaneously approved one targeted medicine for so many disorders. With today’s decision, and in only five years, Glivec has now been approved in the US for seven diseases, including two solid tumors and five blood disorders with molecular targets known to be inhibited by the drug.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Flamel Technologies (NASDAQ:FLML) announced FDA approval of once-a-day Coreg CR (carvedilol phosphate) extended-release capsules, for the treatment of three cardiovascular conditions: 1. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension. 2. A heart attack that has reduced how well the heart pumps (known medically as post-myocardial infarction left ventricular dysfunction). 3. Mild to severe heart failure.
Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) announced that its first-in-class MEK inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, ARRY-438162, has met its primary objectives in a single ascending dose clinical study involving 20 healthy volunteers. These results were presented by Array?s President and Chief Scientific Officer, Kevin Koch, Ph.D., at the 14th International Inflammation Research Association Conference in Cambridge, Maryland.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ) today reported that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) issued a positive opinion recommending approval of ELAPRASE for the long-term treatment of patients with Hunter syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis II). The EU Marketing Authorisation is expected early in 2007 and will result in unified labelling that will be valid in the current EU 25 member states as well as in Iceland and Norway.
A loving, supportive family can be enough to override a genetic vulnerability to depression, new research suggests. Studies have found that people who carry a “short” version of the serotonin transporter gene — known as 5-HTTLPR — tend to be more susceptible to depression than people without this gene variant. But the new findings, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, show that to be true only of gene carriers who grew up in a stressful home environment. In contrast, the investigators found that young adult gene carriers whose families were warm and supportive had a reduced risk of depression.