Hepatitis Weekly articles from August 2002

Hepatitis Weekly archives from August 2002

Regional differences and similarities link liver cancer factors in Asia.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Epidemiological analysis shows that although factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma formation in Asia are as diverse as the populations that inhabit...

Immune factor works with interferon to treat hepatitis B virus nonresponders.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - When combined with interferon, a common immune system response factor may be just as effective as lamivudine and interferon combination therapy for treating...

GB virus C/hepatitis G found in semen and saliva of men with HIV.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists in France say many men infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) also carry the group B virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) in their saliva...

Morbidity as prevalent in obesity-related cirrhosis as in hepatitis C.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients with obesity-related cryptogenic cirrhosis may form liver cancers and die at rates similar to those with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related...

Infection does not alter HIV progression or treatment.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Resolving conflicting reports about the effect of hepatitis C virus infection on the progression of HIV disease, a Johns Hopkins study of nearly 2000 HIV patients shows that hepatitis C does not...

Better control of liver enzymes saves lives of HIV patients.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mild-to-moderate elevations in two liver enzymes - increments that are commonly ignored by most physicians - are related to an increased risk of death in people with HIV, according to a University of...

New vaccine requirements aimed at Nevada's high rate of hepatitis.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New Nevada health regulations that went into effect July 1, 2002, require all children entering public and private schools in Nevada for the first time to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. ...

Licensing agreement will focus on vaccine development.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dutch antibody and vaccine company Crucell N.V. (CRXL) and Genexine Co., Ltd., a Korean drug development company, announced that they have entered into a licensing agreement wherein Crucell's PER.C6...

Reused needles infect at least 19.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Brooklyn, New York anesthesiologist apparently infected at least 19 patients with hepatitis C last year by improperly reusing hypodermic needles, the city Health Department found. A Health...

Par Pharmaceutical announces licensing of ribavirin from Three Rivers Pharmaceutical.
August 5, 2002... 2002 AUG 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., a subsidiary of Pharmaceutical Resources, Inc., (PRX), announced that it has entered into an agreement with Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals to market and distribute ribavirin 200...

Young livers provide transplant recipients with graft survival advantage.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A growing body of evidence has begun to point to donor age as a factor for fibrosis and cirrhosis progression in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive liver...

Diabetes patients in Poland at risk for hepatitis B virus, need vaccinations.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - According to researchers in Poland, at least two prominent risk factors place diabetes patients in that country at greater risk for acquiring hepatitis B virus...

Doctors inclined to test for cancer when hepatitis B core antibody present.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Medical researchers in Japan are advising that patients positive for hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) should be screened for a common form of liver cancer....

Search for marker leads investigators to new liver cancer gene.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Genetic screening assays performed by researchers in China have yielded a new gene that is expressed at significant levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a...

Famciclovir not effective against chronic hepatitis delta virus.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists say the antiviral agent famciclovir is ineffective against hepatitis D virus (HDV). "Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic...

FDA grants priority review for Pegasys combination treatment of hepatitis C.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a 6-month priority review status to the biologics license application (BLA) and the new drug application (NDA) for Roche's...

Balance sheet strengthened by prepaying $19.7M convertible debt.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISIS), announced the prepayment of $19.7 million in 12% convertible debt held by Elan Corporation, plc, of Dublin, Ireland with $14.7 million in cash. Isis will now...

Ribapharm expects to meet or exceed second quarter revenue and earnings estimate.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribapharm, Inc., (RNA) announced that it expects to report second quarter royalty revenue in excess of $61 million for its drug ribavirin, marketed by Schering-Plough for the treatment of chronic...

Nonexclusive HCV license granted to Abbott Laboratories.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has granted to Abbott Laboratories (ABT) a nonexclusive license for the research, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics against...

HMP announces launch of LifeGuard safety infusion set.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Atlanta-based medical device manufacturer Horizon Medical Products, Inc., (HMP) announced the launch of its LifeGuard Safety Huber infusion set. Infusion sets are commonly used in the area of...

Most individuals with rheumatoid disease can be protected against hepatitis B.
August 12, 2002... 2002 AUG 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - A limited investigation of people with rheumatoid arthritis indicates that hepatitis B vaccine will be effective in more than half of those vaccinated....

Young livers provide transplant recipients with graft survival advantage.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A growing body of evidence has begun to point to donor age as a factor for fibrosis and cirrhosis progression in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive liver...

Diabetes patients in Poland at risk for hepatitis B virus, need vaccinations.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - According to researchers in Poland, at least two prominent risk factors place diabetes patients in that country at greater risk for acquiring hepatitis B virus...

Doctors inclined to test for cancer when hepatitis B core antibody present.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Medical researchers in Japan are advising that patients positive for hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) should be screened for a common form of liver cancer....

Search for marker leads investigators to new liver cancer gene.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Genetic screening assays performed by researchers in China have yielded a new gene that is expressed at significant levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a...

Famciclovir not effective against chronic hepatitis delta virus.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists say the antiviral agent famciclovir is ineffective against hepatitis D virus (HDV). "Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic...

FDA grants priority review for Pegasys combination treatment of hepatitis C.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a 6-month priority review status to the biologics license application (BLA) and the new drug application (NDA) for Roche's...

Balance sheet strengthened by prepaying $19.7M convertible debt.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISIS), announced the prepayment of $19.7 million in 12% convertible debt held by Elan Corporation, plc, of Dublin, Ireland with $14.7 million in cash. Isis will now...

Ribapharm expects to meet or exceed second quarter revenue and earnings estimate.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribapharm, Inc., (RNA) announced that it expects to report second quarter royalty revenue in excess of $61 million for its drug ribavirin, marketed by Schering-Plough for the treatment of chronic...

Nonexclusive HCV license granted to Abbott Laboratories.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has granted to Abbott Laboratories (ABT) a nonexclusive license for the research, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics against...

HMP announces launch of LifeGuard safety infusion set.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Atlanta-based medical device manufacturer Horizon Medical Products, Inc., (HMP) announced the launch of its LifeGuard Safety Huber infusion set. Infusion sets are commonly used in the area of...

Most individuals with rheumatoid disease can be protected against hepatitis B.
August 19, 2002... 2002 AUG 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - A limited investigation of people with rheumatoid arthritis indicates that hepatitis B vaccine will be effective in more than half of those vaccinated....

Symptomatic illness marks worse prognosis for autoimmune hepatitis patients.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors don't know what leads to the onset of autoimmune hepatitis, but now they do know that being asymptomatic may offer patients a better outlook with...

Images depict link between chronic hepatitis C activity and node appearance.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians have been able to distinguish chronic hepatitis C activity by the way patients' lymph nodes appear on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. A team...

Patients undergoing fertility treatments should be tested for hepatitis C virus.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Since there is a risk that patients who undergo assisted reproduction procedures may be infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), doctors have recommended that...

Drug abuse during 1970s and 1980s may explain doubling of deaths from alcoholic liver disease.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Middle-age men could be at increased risk of death from liver disease, as a result of illicit intravenous drug use during the 1970s and 1980s, according to a study published July 31, 2002 in the...

New testing methods may improve detection and treatment.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common chronic infectious disease in the United States, affecting an estimated 2.7 million people, or nearly 2% of the population. While HCV causes mild,...

Gary L. Davis named director of hepatology.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Michael Emmett, MD, chief of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center has announced that Gary L. Davis, MD will serve as the director of the newly formed Division of Hepatology in the...

Rights to low-dose oral interferon licensed in 40 African countries.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amarillo Biosciences, Inc., (AMAR) has signed a licensing agreement with African Health Solutions, LLC, providing the rights to oral low-dose interferon alpha for the treatment of hepatitis B patients...

FDA grants priority review for PEGASYS-Ribavirin combination.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a 6-month priority review status to the Biologics License Application (BLA) and New Drug Application (NDA) for Roche's combination therapy of...

Suppressor gene often turned off or deleted in those who develop liver cancer.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A deleted tumor suppressor gene may be responsible for increasing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer, in patients with hepatitis C virus...

Alternatives to PVC should be used for patients receiving certain treatments.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The FDA has issued a Public Health Notification recommending that healthcare providers take precautions to limit the exposure of the developing male to di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP) - a chemical...

Achillion Pharmaceuticals launches phase II study of ACH-126,443.
August 26, 2002... 2002 AUG 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals announced receipt of regulatory clearance and the commencement of a phase II clinical study with the company's lead product candidate, ACH-126,443 (Beta-L-Fd4C), in patients...