AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII), presented data and analysis from four NeuGene? antisense clinical studies at the second annual meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society at Rockefeller University in New York. The studies showed that AVI-4557 inhibited the metabolic enzyme cytochrome P450 (CYP), a liver enzyme responsible for the metabolism or breakdown of approximately half of currently marketed drugs.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of a new 300 mg single capsule formulation of REYATAZ? (atazanavir sulfate) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults as part of combination therapy. Taken once daily along with ritonavir and food as part of a anti-HIV drug regimen, the REYATAZ 300 mg single capsule formulation can replace two REYATAZ 150 mg capsules for: patients who have previously received anti-HIV medicines, patients who will be receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines that require SUSTIVA? (efavirenz) as part of their anti-HIV drug regimen. The REYATAZ single capsule formulation will be available in the United States within seven business days.
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.
Eli Lilly and Company has launched a major clinical trial evaluating ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a devastating and rapidly spreading form of lung cancer. This international trial, expected to be the largest ever to be conducted in SCLC(1), will assess the potential clinical benefit of pemetrexed in combination with carboplatin, a commonly-used chemotherapeutic agent, in direct comparison to the current leading treatment option of etoposide in combination with carboplatin.
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.
Grape seed extract significantly inhibited the growth of colorectal tumors in both laboratory cell cultures and in mice, U.S. researchers report. A team from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver says mice given the extract displayed a 44 percent reduction in the size of advanced colorectal tumors.
When a patient arrives at an emergency room with symptoms of a stroke, doctors must act fast. But the crucial decisions that can prevent death or severe disability are harder to make without a neurologist, and not every hospital has one on call. Starting next month, however, 21 Michigan hospitals will have what is being touted as the next best thing: a robot on call.
A case-control study of more than 2300 Italians has found a significant association between high bread consumption and renal cell carcinoma. Eating a lot of pasta and rice may also raise the risk, while eating many vegetables may lower the risk. The study published online October 20, 2006 in the International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).
The way women deal with the stress of infertility treatment may affect their chances of becoming pregnant, a new study suggests. In particular, researchers found, women who tended to focus on and share their feelings were less likely to become pregnant than women who found other ways to cope with their stress – such as finding ways to “distract” themselves from their emotions. The findings, published in the journal Fertility & Sterility, are based on pregnancy rates among 342 women who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) at a single fertility clinic in Greece.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Taxotere (docetaxel) Injection Concentrate for use in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil prior to radiotherapy for the treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). This disease represents approximately 3 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States.