Hepatitis Weekly articles from July 2002

Hepatitis Weekly archives from July 2002

Remission resulting from ribavirin may be cause of hypothyroidism.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients who take ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C stand a good chance of becoming sustained responders, but they also face the risk for developing...

Hepatitis B infections can be prevented in recipients of core-positive livers.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - In most instances, the appropriate preventative therapies can mitigate the occurrence of new or recurrent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in the recipients...

Vaccine and immune globulin may protect breast-fed infants from hepatitis B.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - When given the appropriate protection, infants of mothers who are chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers may be able to breast feed without becoming infected...

Hepatitis B vaccine less effective in chronic hepatitis C patients.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Although hepatitis B vaccine is somewhat less effective in patients with chronic hepatitis C, interferon-(alpha) therapy appears to make little difference as to...

Stanford researcher identifies gene link, advocates screening for Asian populations.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cancerous liver cells rely on a different set of genes than normal liver cells in order to function. Now researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have identified genes needed by cancerous...

Axcan and Nicox sign codevelopment and license agreement.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Axcan Pharma Inc. (Axcan) signed a codevelopment and license agreement with NicOx SA ("NicOx") for NCX 1000, a nitric oxide-donating ursodiol derivative, for the treatment of chronic liver diseases...

Renowned researchers to lead hepatitis research, development programs.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., (ITMN) announced that it has appointed Lawrence Blatt, PhD, and Brian Murphy, MD, to the newly created positions of vice president of biopharmacology research, and director, clinical...

Capabilities of the Autopure LS extended.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gentra Systems introduced the extended capabilities of the Autopure LS at the annual ISBER meeting in Danvers, Massachusetts in May 2002. The Autopure LS is unique among automated nucleic acid...

New dosage of ursodiol approved in Canada.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Axcan Pharma, Inc., has received approval from the Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada for the use of 500 mg tablets of URSO (ursodiol) in the treatment of cholestatic liver diseases. ...

Idun Pharmaceuticals announces results of successful phase 1 clinical trial.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented positive results of its phase 1 clinical trial of IDN-6556 at the Digestive Disease Week 2002 conference in San Francisco. The drug was safe and well tolerated...

Altachem Pharma's proposed joint venture With Erdos Cashmere Group.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The proposed joint venture to be located in Beijing, China, between Altachem Pharma, Ltd., and Erdos Cashmere Corp., is in the process of regulatory approval by the necessary Chinese government...

Profile for antigen processing may be linked to HCV protection in infants.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Genotypic profiling of infants born of women infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) shows that infants may be less prone for acquiring infection through vertical...

High-dose, tapering method reaps more benefits from steroid in acute rejection.
July 1, 2002... 2002 JUL 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Using high-dose steroid therapy that includes several days of tapering seems be more effective for treating liver transplant recipients with acute rejection....

Brazilian study finds link between hepatitis C and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A link between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been established by research investigators in Brazil. The epidemiological...

Ischemic hepatitis is uncommon but still detectable among the elderly.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - For the first time, doctors in the United Kingdom have focused on the onset of ischemic hepatitis in elderly patients admitted to hospitals for acute illness....

NIDDKD summarizes progress and future directions for management.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Substantial advances in treatment for chronic hepatitis C and a decline in the number of new infections, were highlighted by a panel convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). ...

Hepatitis B virus genotype rules outcomes following liver transplantation.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - According to investigators at the Mayo Clinic, patients infected with certain hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes sustain a greater risk for viral recurrence and...

Selective enzyme inhibitor NS-398 arrests the growth of liver cancer cells.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Primary liver cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the world. A new Japanese study indicates the growth of liver cancer cells could be arrested...

Schering-Plough reports on Peg-Intron and Rebetol combination therapy for hepatitis C.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) reported results of several clinical studies presented at the 2002 Digestive Disease Week conference involving Peg-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) Powder for Injection in...

Genentech withheld royalties from hospital, jury finds.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A jury awarded City of Hope National Medical Center $300.1 million in compensatory damages in June 2002, after finding that Genentech, Inc. failed to pay royalties on the sale of some drugs developed...

Novirio becomes Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
July 8, 2002... 2002 JUL 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novirio Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., has changed its name to Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The new name, Idenix, is intended to reflect the application of its drug discovery expertise and development...

High-dose interferon benefits hepatitis C patients infected with genotype 1.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Although some reports dispute the value of high doses of interferon in combination therapies targeting hepatitis C virus (HCV), a team in Italy argues that it...

Waiting to vaccinate against hepatitis B may be best policy for preterm infants.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The results of a long-term study that followed preterm infants for several years has revealed that delaying their first hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination may...

Seroconversion is earlier in hepatitis B virus genotype B.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Clinicians treating patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype B can expect to see earlier seroconversion than in some others, a team at the...

Inflammation before liver cancer surgery influences outcomes in hepatitis C.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians can use scores on liver evaluations to determine the odds for recurrence after treating their patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related...

Nerve growth factor may play some role in tumor vascularity.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - According to scientists in Japan, nerve growth factor (NGF) may be responsible, at least in part, for tumor angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a...

Schering-Plough commends NIH for consensus statement on management of HCV.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Schering-Plough Corporation (SGP) commends the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference Panel for its statement on the management of hepatitis C. The NIH panel said that hepatitis...

Multiple dose clinical trials initiated of therapeutic monoclonal antibody.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd., announced the commencement of a phase 1B clinical study with XTL-002, its human monoclonal antibody (hMAb) being developed for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. The...

PEGASYS data support new disease management consensus reached by U.S. NIH.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that data on PEGASYS (peginterferon alfa 2-a 40 kDa), a new generation pegylated interferon for the treatment of hepatitis C, has been included in the new U.S. National Institutes of...

State must pay for liver transplants, appeals court says.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maryland violated federal Medicaid guidelines when it refused to pay for liver transplants for two young patients, Maryland's highest court ruled June 21, 2002. The court said the state was...

Triangle Pharmaceuticals announces final settlement of Coviracil patent dispute.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (VIRS) announced the final settlement among Emory University, GlaxoSmithKline and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc of longstanding patent disputes involving lamivudine...

Synergy Vaccines announces issuance of U.S. patent for SynerVax technology.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Synergy Vaccines, Inc., announced issuance of U.S. Patent No. 6,403,092, entitled "Immune Response Modulator Alpha-2- Macroglobulin Complex" to Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, for inventions...

SciClone Pharmaceuticals completes direct offering of common stock.
July 15, 2002... 2002 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (SCLN) completed a direct offering of common stock with various existing and new institutional investors. SciClone raised gross proceeds of $10.6 million from the...

Advances no longer preclude transplantations for hepatitis B virus.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors in Germany say there is no longer any need to consider excluding patients with HBV-related liver disease as candidates for liver transplantation, given...

Doppler images distinguish acute alcoholic hepatitis from cirrhosis.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - From all indications, it appears duplex Doppler ultrasound could be an invaluable tool in the detection of acute alcoholic hepatitis. That's what...

Cancer agent Doxil improves outcomes after ablation of liver tumors.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A combination of radiofrequency ablation and the chemotherapy Doxil may improve the way tumor volume is reduced in patients diagnosed with liver tumors. ...

Livers from those with methanol intoxication acceptable for organ recipients.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors in Spain have okayed the use of livers from people who die due to acute methanol intoxication for transplant recipients. With the growing number...

Protein offers new way to detect liver cancer in people with cirrhosis.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have discovered a protein that, when detected at elevated levels, tends to correlate with the advent of primary liver cancer in...

Coating polymers with growth factor improves liver cell transplantation.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - One of the rate-limiting factors that has stymied liver cell transplantation has been a lack of neovascularization following cellular engraftment with cells...

Color ultrasound-guided biopsy useful for diagnosing post-transplant liver damage.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Liver biopsy guided by color ultrasound is highly useful for finding and characterizing liver dysfunction in patients who undergo bone marrow transplantation,...

Codevelopment and license agreement for signed for NCX 1000.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NicOx S.A. (NICOX) and Axcan Pharma (AXCA) announced the signing of a codevelopment and license agreement for NCX 1000, a nitric oxide-donating ursodiol (ursodeoxycholic acid) derivative, for the...

Pegasys marketing authorization granted by European Commission.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that Pegasys (peginterferon alfa 2-a (40 kDa)), a new generation pegylated interferon for the treatment of hepatitis C, has been granted marketing authorization by the European...

Vaccine incorporating encapsulated cytokines protects against liver cancer recurrence.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Rearchers in Japan report that a vaccine containing cytokines encapsulated in biodegradable microparticles demonstrated a protective effect against...

Chemoembolization offers survival benefit.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People with liver cancer that cannot be treated with surgical resection or transplantation could have an increased 2-year survival if they are given chemoembolization - a procedure in which blood...

Worldwide hepatitis C market expected to reach $3.97 billion by 2007.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The worldwide market for hepatitis C therapeutics is expected to reach nearly $4 billion by 2007, driven both by a growing patient population and the emergence of promising new drugs. For example...

Plexus acquires exclusive position for demographically targeted T-cell vaccine discovery.
July 22, 2002... 2002 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Plexus Vaccine, Inc., a San Diego based biotechnology company employing rational drug design principles for vaccine discovery and development, announces that it has established a Danish subsidiary...

Ferritin a marker for treatment failure in those with hepatitis C virus.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Ferritin is a marker for virological response in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with interferon and ribavirin combination therapy, according to a new...

Interferon and ribavirin staunch hepatitis C after liver transplantation.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The risk for recurrent infection is a significant problem for patients who receive liver transplantations because of chronic hepatitis C. Should recurrence...

Ulcer bacteria identified in those with hepatitis C-related liver diseases.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The microorganism known for causing stomach ulcers can be identified in many patients with viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and a form of primary liver cancer known...

Viral infection supercedes familial genetics in risk for primary liver cancer.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The results of a long-term study have placed infectivity over heredity in familial tendencies for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis C...

Weight loss may control steatosis in chronic hepatitis C.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - Fat deposits that form in the livers of some individuals infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) could be controlled with weight loss. Overly...

Nonexclusive HCV license granted to Merck.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has granted to Merck & Co., Inc., (MRK) a nonexclusive license for the research, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics against...

Jury awards research hospital $200 million in punitive damages.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genentech, Inc., said it will appeal a jury verdict ordering it to pay more than $500 million to City of Hope National Medical Center if it can't persuade a Superior Court judge to order a new trial in...

Researchers create tiny cancer drug delivery device.
July 29, 2002... 2002 JUL 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biomedical engineers and physicians at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC) have created an innovative drug delivery device, a biodegradable polymer rod...