Drug Week articles from April 2002

Drug Week archives from April 2002

Pivotal study leading to Gleevec's rapid approval for CML published.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have published the pivotal study that demonstrates the success of Gleevec (formerly STI-571) in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia...

New data suggests that zoledronic acid increases bone density.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that the Novartis drug zoledronic acid, an intravenous bisphosphonate, significantly increases bone density in women with...

Tenofovir less toxic than similar drugs.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antiretroviral drug tenofovir is less toxic than other agents with similar methods of action, researchers in California report. "Drug-associated...

Lamivudine effective for post-transplant hepatitis B reactivation.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antiretroviral drug lamivudine can quickly resolve hepatitis B reinfection after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), researchers in Japan report. ...

Joint research program to develop library of polymers.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nobex Corp. and Albany Molecular Research, Inc., (AMRI) have entered into a collaborative research program to develop a comprehensive library of Nobex proprietary polymers for use in pharmaceuticals as...

Several drugs heighten risk of resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Many antibiotics can increase the risk of developing nosocomial Pseudomonas infections resistant to treatment with piperacillin-tazobactam, researchers in the...

Pipobroman effective for essential thrombocythemia patients.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The anticancer drug pipobroman can reduce the thrombosis risk for patients suffering from essential thrombocythemia, researchers in Italy say. "Essential...

BTG acquires new class of compounds targeted to treat advanced and chronic HIV infection.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BTG (BGC), the global technology commercialization company, has acquired a new class of drug candidates targeted to treat advanced and chronic HIV infection. Preclinical studies have demonstrated...

Data indicate that protease inhibitor atazanavir plus saquinavir is effective, safe.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New, long-term data show that the investigational protease inhibitor, atazanavir, can be used safely and effectively with saquinavir as part of a combination regimen in HIV patients who have failed a...

Preliminary data suggests potential for once-daily dosing of Kaletra in HIV treatment-naive patients.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New data presented at a scientific meeting in Seattle demonstrated that patients taking a once-daily (QD) Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) regimen achieved similar viral suppression when compared with...

FDA decision expands use of Plavix.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sanofi-Synthelabo and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the antiplatelet medication Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) for a new...

Environmentally friendly version of Ventolin now available in U.S.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ventolin HFA (albuterol sulfate HFA inhalation aerosol), a new environmentally friendly version of the asthma medication Ventolin (albuterol, USP) Inhalation Aerosol, is now available in the United...

NeoGenesis enters drug discovery collaboration.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company focused on the rapid identification of high-quality drug leads for drug targets from the human genome, announced that it has signed a multiyear...

Company awaits word from FDA on cold-busting drug.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Like the people it hopes to treat one day, ViroPharma, Inc. has seen its share of aches and pains. But officials at the pharmaceutical firm say they're optimistic their groundbreaking common cold drug...

Premier awards contract for Natrecor.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Premier awarded Scios, Inc., (SCIO) a 3-year contract for its recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug, Natrecor (nasiritide). Recently cleared by the FDA for marketing, Natrecor is...

Advance drug delivery to top $7B in revenues.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The market for drugs employing advanced drug delivery technologies is expanding rapidly and will surpass $7 billion by 2005, according to a new study released from Kalorama Information. The segment has...

Amgen won't pursue development, commercialization under licensing agreements.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc., (BJCT), a leading developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, announced that Amgen, Inc., has given notice to the company of its election not to pursue further...

U.S. patent issued for small molecule drug discovery technology.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced the issuance of U.S. patent 6,344,334, exclusively licensed from the University of California. The patent covers a key component of Target-Directed Lead...

First published U.S. study compares esomeprazole to lansoprazole.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a new study, the proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) lansoprazole and esomeprazole are highly effective in healing erosive esophagitis. The study, published in Clinical Drug Investigation,...

Stopping statins may cause rebound that triples risk of death.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Heart disease patients who discontinue using cholesterol-lowering drugs while they were hospitalized for chest pain have triple the risk of death or heart attack as people who keep taking their...

ABT-773 effective against macrolide-resistant streptococcus.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that a novel antimicrobial drug provides superior activity against drug-resistant streptococcus and staphylococcus...

Minocycline-EDTA prevents catheter colonization.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States recommend a combination of minocycline and EDTA (M-EDTA) for preventing catheter-related nosocomial outbreaks. Dr. Issam...

Company submits NDA to FDA for nasal spray formulation of migraine drug.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new drug application (NDA) was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP (AZN) for its nasal spray formulation of the migraine drug Zomig. Zomig...

Betaferon/Betaseron phase III study for newly emerging multiple sclerosis under way.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Schering AG (SCH, SHR) announced the start of the multicenter phase III study, BENEFIT, to investigate the efficacy and safety of interferon beta-1b (Betaferon/Betaseron) in persons with first clinical...

FDA approves Zometa for the treatment of cancer-related bone complications.
April 5, 2002... 2002 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Novartis drug Zometa (zoledronic acid for injection) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and patients with documented bone...

Interleukin-15 may be useful as adjunct therapy.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The cytokine interleukin-15 may be beneficial as a supplement to antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection, according to researchers in Italy. Dr....

Treatment including irinotecan shows promise.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The combination of irinotecan (also known as CPT-11, camptosar) and gemcitabine shows promise in treating pancreatic cancer, a disease with a very high mortality rate compared with other forms of...

6-Oxocytosine oligonucleotides block formation of integrase-DNA complexes.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in France have shed new light on the antiviral mechanisms of a group of promising oligonucleotides (ODNs). "We recently found that...

First European trial under way for new vaccine.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- European clinical trials are under way in Denmark and the U.K. testing a new breast cancer vaccine targeted against the HER-2 growth factor. HER-2 is overexpressed in about a quarter of all breast...

Scientists develop new drug to combat tamoxifen-resistant tumors.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An antiestrogen compound discovered only 4 years ago, has been found to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells using a unique mechanism which enables it to work against tumors that are resistant to...

Researchers explore ways to better manage asthma.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Asthma care in emergency departments has improved since 1996 but does not meet national standards, according to a study presented by two Boston-based researchers at the 58th Annual Meeting of the...

FDA approves quicker reviews for new medications.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached an agreement with the drug companies it regulates to speed the review of new medications, in return for tens of millions of dollars in new...

aaiPharma signs agreement to acquire Darvon and Darvocet N family.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- aaiPharma, Inc., (AAII) has announced that its NeoSan Pharmaceuticals business unit has entered into an agreement to purchase the United States rights to the Darvon (propoxyphene hydrochloride) and...

Patient dosing completed in pivotal clinical trial of Neotrofin.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc., has concluded patient dosing in its pivotal clinical trial of Neotrofin for Alzheimer disease and expects to announce the results by mid-May 2002. The company is now in the...

Robert C. Merton joins board of directors.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vical, Inc., (VICL) has announced the appointment of Robert C. Merton, PhD, to the company's board of directors. Merton has been the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at the Harvard...

HopeLink, MEDePass to deliver secure clinical trial information services.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HopeLink Corp., a privately held healthcare information technology company, announced that it has teamed with MEDePass, Inc., a California Medical Association (CMA) subsidiary, to develop and deliver a...

Lipocine announces four U.S. patents.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lipocine, Inc., announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued four patents covering its core technology platforms. These include Lipocine's two lead oral drug delivery platforms -...

OGS enters therapeutic antibodies alliance.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxford GlycoSciences, Plc, (OGSI) and BioInvent International AB (BINV) announced a 3-year collaboration to identify, develop, manufacture, and commercialize therapeutic antibodies, which will target...

U.K. company issues drug discovery update.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (OGS, OGSI) presented a progress report on its drug discovery and development pipeline and described its novel R&D strategy. The company announced a number of advances in its...

Nuvion phase II trials ready to begin.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Protein Design Labs, Inc., (PDL) announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical study to evaluate its humanized antibody Nuvion (visilizumab) in patients with steroid-resistant, acute...

Phase III hepatitis B trial for Zadaxin shows positive results.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) announced positive preliminary data from its phase III clinical trial in Japan using Zadaxin as a monotherapy treatment for hepatitis B. Preliminary data on...

MediGene receives U.S. patent regarding cervical cancer vaccine.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The German-American biopharmaceutical company MediGene AG (MDG) announced that the U.S. patent office has issued U.S. patent No. 6,352,696, "Papillomavirus truncated L1 protein and fusion protein...

Enrollment complete for phase II membranous nephritis clinical trial with 5G1.1.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ALXN) announced that it has completed enrollment in its first phase II trial in patients suffering from a severe form of kidney disease known as membranous nephritis,...

Rebif launched in U.S. for relapsing multiple sclerosis.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Serono, S.A., (SRA) announced the launch of Rebif (interferon beta-1a) in the U.S. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rebif for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of...

Positive Neotrofin data presented at NeuroTherapeutics meeting.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc., presented promising data on the neuroprotective effects of Neotrofin in animal models of Parkinson disease at the 4th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Experimental...

Data on new family of antipsychotic drugs presented.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc., presented promising data on a new family of antipsychotic drug candidates developed by company scientists at the 4th Annual American Society of Experimental Neurotherapy meeting....

Ketek active in treatment of acute maxillary sinusitis caused by drug resistant bacteria.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Clinical trial results presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) found that Ketek (telithromycin) is active in patients with acute maxillary...

Phase I clinical trial for INS37217 Intranasal completed.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISPH) announced completion of a phase I clinical trial for INS37217 Intranasal, being developed as a nasal spray for the potential treatment of upper respiratory...

MIV-210 is antihepatitis B and HIV compound with unique resistance profile.
April 12, 2002... 2002 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Medivir AB, Sweden presented results from an evaluation of MIV-210, an inhibitor of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV at the 15th International Conference on Antiviral Research held in...

Efavirenz best choice for initial antiretroviral regimen.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United Kingdom say that the reverse transcriptase inhibitor efavirenz may be the best option for first-line antiretroviral therapy against...

Repeated cocaine use impairs region of the brain that governs self-control.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Taking cocaine impairs the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for self-control and decision making, and the effects persist long after the cocaine use stops, a behavioral study by a...

RFI-641 effective against respiratory syncytial virus.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that a novel compound shows promise for the treatment of illnesses caused by respiratory syncytial virus. "Human...

Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor effective for AIDS patients.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - An agent that blocks the activity of matrix metalloproteinase enzymes shows promise for the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma, researchers in the United...

Motion sickness drug scopolamine should be tested as new treatment.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Because of concerns about terrorists one day using such deadly nerve agents as sarin, soman, tabun and VX, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist is urging the government and medical...

Phase II study of topical alicaforsen (ISIS 2302) yields positive results.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a phase II clinical trial of patients with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis, a topical formulation of alicaforsen (ISIS 2302) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in investigator's...

Viagra shown effective in reducing effects.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viagra, a drug used for erectile dysfunction and one of the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States, has been found to reduce the effects of stroke in laboratory animals, according...

FDA approves new antihistamine, Clarinex.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) announced that its new antihistamine - Clarinex (desloratadine) 5 mg tablets - has been granted the broadest indications of any nonsedating antihistamine. According to...

Lexicon Genetics discovers target for the development of drugs to treat heart disease.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lexicon Genetics Inc., (LEXG) announced that the company has identified and validated in vivo a secreted protein from the human genome as a new target for the development of drugs to treat...

Preliminary results of transdermal oxybutynin phase IIIb trial appear positive.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (WPI) announced positive preliminary results of a phase IIIb clinical study evaluating its transdermal oxybutynin product, the leading oral medication for overactive...

Antidepressant SNEC-2 begins phase I clinical trial.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp. (SNAP) has announced that it has initiated a phase I clinical trial of SNEC-2 - the company's drug candidate for treatment of depression. The compound has shown positive...

Isis Pharmaceuticals reports 43% increase in revenues.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISIS) announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2001, which included a 43% increase in revenue and a significantly strengthened cash position. ...

Company issues update regarding megestrol acetate oral suspension.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pharmaceutical Resources, Inc., (PRX) has learned that another generic competitor has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market megestrol oral suspension. Pharmaceutical...

Triad Therapeutics publishes method for use of NMR in structure-based drug design.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triad Therapeutics announced that its technique for using NMR in structure based drug discovery - NMR SOLVE - has been published in The Journal of Biomolecular NMR. The paper is the first account...

Hoag Cancer Center to launch phase II clinical trial in lung cancer vaccine.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NovaRx Corp. is collaborating with the Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach, Calif., to conduct a phase II clinical trial using an experimental cancer vaccine in patients with lung cancer. Dr....

Data on new Alzheimer treatment presented at national meeting.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preclinical and clinical data on memantine, an investigational Alzheimers disease treatment, was presented at the 15th annual American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry meeting (AAGP) held in...

More than half of drugs approved in 2001 came from New Jersey.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug companies based in New Jersey, long the heart of the pharmaceutical business, developed more than half the new medicines approved by the federal government last year, an industry group said...

Japanese firm obtains encouraging results A2A antagonist trials.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Kyowa Hakko, a Japanese research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, has successfully completed two phase IIA clinical trials in the United States which demonstrate potential for the...

Research indicated that Infliximab has sustained efficacy.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The monoclonal antibody infliximab has been shown to provide a rapid, durable response and a high level of sustained efficacy for at least 6 months in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis,...

FDA issues approvable letter for Remodulin.
April 19, 2002... 2002 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an approvable letter for Remodulin (treprostinil sodium) Injection for the treatment of pulmonary...