Drug Week articles from August 2001

Drug Week archives from August 2001

Antisense Therapy Enhances Tumor Cell Sensitivity To Cisplatin.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Two recent studies from Japan and the U.S. have focused on improving tumor cell sensitivity to the anticancer drug cisplatin by combining...

Resveratrol May Offer Alternative To Hydroxyurea Treatment.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A study by researchers in France suggests that resveratrol may provide sickle cell disease patients with greater therapeutic benefit than hydroxyurea,...

Anticancer Drug May Also Be Effective For HIV Treatment.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Maryland say that 9-nitrocamptothecin (9NC), usually used in cancer treatment, has potential for use in HIV patients as well. C.L. Hung...

Murabutide Can Control Lymphocyte Infection.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in France say that Murabutide, a nonspecific immune modulating drug, can inhibit HIV replication in lymphocytes. "We have previously shown...

Coupling Phospholipids With Existing Drugs Increases Effectiveness.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Buoyed by continued successes of a novel method for targeting drugs inside the body, Louis S. Kucera, PhD, has formed Kucera Pharmaceutical Co. as a spinoff from Wake Forest University School of...

Drug Protects Infants With High-Risk Heart Defect From Neurologic, Cardiac Injury After Heart Surgery.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A drug used to treat gout in adults also helps protect infants from neurological and cardiac injury after heart surgery for a high-risk birth defect, according to researchers at The Children's...

Marijuana-Like Substances Linked To Complications.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Marijuana-like substances (endocannabinoids), intrinsic in animals and humans, act at specific receptors on the blood vessel wall to produce vasodilation, the generalized blood vessel dilation seen...

Early Bactericidal Activity of Amikacin Barely Detectable.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The aminoglycoside antibiotic amikacin shows only minimal early bactericidal activity (EBA) against pulmonary tuberculosis, researchers in South Africa...

Novel Cytochrome May Figure Into Development Of New Antimycobacterials.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The metabolic functions of a Mycobacteria tuberculosis protein comparable to those of CYP51 may lead to the development of a new generation of...

Newest Treatment Now Approved As Oral Solution.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reminyl(R) (galantamine hydrobromide) - the newest treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer disease - has now been approved in an oral-solution formulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Atypical Antipsychotic Drug May Be Effective Treatment.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New data suggest that the atypical antipsychotic Seroquel(R) (quetiapine) may be an effective treatment for patients with bipolar disorder. Seroquel is already an established effective...

Nitazoxanide Is Safe, Effective Treatment For Diarrhea.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Within seven days of beginning treatment with the drug nitazoxanide, twice as many patients who had been infected with the protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum were free of diarrhea as patients who had...

Cannabinoids: Side Effects Limit Use By Chemo Patients, Not Effective Against Pain.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two papers in the July 4, 2001, issue of the British Medical Journal discuss cannabinoid drugs. One finds the compounds effective in preventing side effects of chemotherapy although they come with...

Topical Drug Open-Label Extension Trial Extended As Pivotal Study Is Completed.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MacroChem Corp. (MCHM) reported that the last patient has completed its Phase III trial of Topiglan(R), the company's topical gel for treating erectile dysfunction. Topiglan contains...

Venlafaxine Extended-Release Provides Long-Term Treatment.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new Swedish study demonstrates that venlafaxine extended-release, a novel antidepressant that exhibits dual reuptake inhibition, provides successful long-term treatment of generalized anxiety...

Editorial Takes Issue With Model For Treating Depression, Points Finger At Drug Companies.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An editorial published in the July 5, 2001, British Medical Journal emphasizes the need of endorsing the diabetes model for the treatment of depression. This model would result in long-term drug...

Drug Safe And Effective In Multiple Sclerosis Patients.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of two studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of extended-release oxybutynin (Ditropan(R) XL) to treat overactive bladder in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple...

Lithographic Technique Creates Neuronal Networks In A Dish.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using a lithographic technique called microstamping, a University of Illinois scientist has produced patterned surfaces on glass substrates that integrate biocompatible materials and live nerve...

Diabetes Drug May Reduce Risk Of Developing Atherosclerosis.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The oral anti-diabetes drug Avandia(R) (rosiglitazone maleate) may decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Results from a study...

Raloxifene May Increase Cancer Growth Rate.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The drug raloxifene may increase the growth rate of ovarian cancer and its risk of recurrence, according to researchers. Speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's...

Stomach pH May Affect Extended-Release Medication.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The drug-delivery rate of one popular extended-release (ER) formulation of drug is affected by higher pH levels while ER formulation of the other best-selling drug is constant at all pH levels,...

Phase I Trial Shows Good Safety/Pharmacokinetic Profile For New Drug.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NicOx S.A. (NICOX) announced positive Phase I human clinical results for the first administration into man of NCX 701, its nitric-oxide-releasing derivative of paracetamol (acetaminophen), in...

Opioid Antagonist Speeds Return Of GI Function After Surgery.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adolor Corp. (ADLR) announced that, in two Phase II clinical trials involving patients undergoing abdominal surgery, its compound ADL 8-2698 speeded recovery of gastrointestinal function...

Study Suggests Aggressive Drug Therapy Is Needed.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new Decision Resources study finds that prostate cancer (CaP) has recently emerged as a disease worthy of aggressive drug therapy. Clinicians now recognize that, in its aggressive form, CaP...

High Rate Of Drug Resistance Found In North America.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In North American, bacteria that cause community-acquired respiratory tract infections (RTIs) continue to grow resistant to commonly used antibiotics such as penicillin and erythromycin. This...

Investigational Antibiotic Highly Active In Vitro Against Isolates Of Community-Acquired Pathogens.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel investigational antibiotic has demonstrated excellent in vitro activity against European isolates of community acquired respiratory pathogens. In vitro data from the international...

Collaboration Will Screen Tetracyclines For Activity Against Drug-Resistant TB.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced the execution of an additional research collaboration for its tetracycline program. Scott Franzblau, director of the Institute for Tuberculosis...

Orlistat Chosen As Weight-Loss Medication For Look AHEAD Study.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Xenical(R) (orlistat) is currently the sole pharmacological agent that will be used in Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes), the first long-term study to examine the effects of weight loss in...

Common Side Effect Of Risperidone Not Seen With Quetiapine Treatment.
August 10, 2001... 2001 AUG 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New data suggest that the atypical antipsychotic Seroquel(R) (quetiapine) may hold important benefits for young patients who experience excessive weight gain as a result of antipsychotic treatment....

Ban On Use In Denmark Lowers Resistance In Food Animals.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Five years after Denmark began banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in food animals, resistance rates of bacteria to these antibiotics have fallen significantly, suggesting that it is...

'Gene Pill' Patent Extended To Include All Proteins Secreted Into Blood.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first patent for a method of inducing insulin production by delivering normal genes in a pill, granted just two months ago to the University of California, San Francisco, now is joined by a...

Adjuvant Drug Helps Eradicates Cancer Cells In Solid Tumors.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BTG (BGC) announced the start of a Phase I clinical study to test AQ4N, a new drug designed to increase the effectiveness of several widely used anticancer drugs as well as radiotherapy. This...

Potential Breast Cancer Immunotherapeutic Under Study.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virginia Polytechnical Institute researchers in human nutrition and dairy science are beginning animal trials to test a new compound against breast cancer, thanks to a grant from Virginia's...

Drug Companies Say Criticism Of Spending On Advertising Is Nothing New.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Major drug makers spend nearly twice as much to advertise their medicines as to research and develop them, says a consumer group that blames aggressive marketing for soaring drug prices. ...

Comparing Lamivudine To Emtricitabine Influenced By Cell Line.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research comparing the in vitro antiviral potency of Epivir(R) (lamivudine or 3TC, GlaxoSmithKline) and emtricitabine or FTC contradicts earlier study results and found no significant...

Grant Facilitates Development Of Novel HIV Treatment.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PTC Therapeutics announced that it has been awarded a second Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This grant will be used to advance...

Nevirapine Combination Matches Protease-Inhibitor-Based Regimen.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Final one-year results of the international COMBINE study show that an anti-HIV treatment regimen of Viramune(R) (nevirapine) plus Combivir(TM) (3TC/ZDV) demonstrate comparable efficacy, when...

Non-Peptidic Protease Inhibitor Suppresses HIV In Resistant Patients.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent research demonstrates the antiretroviral potency and durability of tipranavir in protease inhibitor-experienced patients. Tipranavir is the first non-peptidic protease inhibitor (NPPI)...

T-Cell Receptor Antagonist Ligand Being Developed.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Privately held Consensus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the award of a new grant that will be used to develop its CXCR4 receptor antagonist ligand as a new therapy class for treating HIV...

Agent Targets And Shuts Down Blood Flow In Solid Tumors.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis Pharma announced a worldwide licensing agreement with Ajinomoto Co., Inc. of Japan, to develop, manufacture, and market AVE8062 (previously known as AC-7700), a novel compound designed to...

Enzyme Ribonucleotide Reductase Inhibitor Trial Initiated.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VION) has initiated the second Phase I combination trial of its investigational anticancer agent, Triapine(R). The study is designed to determine the safety and...

Phase I/II Trials Initiated With Antiangiogenesis Drug.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedImmune, Inc. (MEDI) announced that it has begun dosing colorectal cancer patients with Vitaxin(TM), an antibody with antiangiogenesis properties, in Phase I/II clinical trials. Vitaxin has...

Large Pooled Analysis Of Investigational Drug Reported.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers reported the results of a pooled analysis of escitalopram and citalopram incorporating results from 1,715 patients with major depressive disorder. The pooled analysis was a report...

Drug Trial Tackles Complicated Skin And Soft Tissue Infection.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CBST) announced that it has completed enrollment in a second pivotal Phase III trial examining the efficacy and safety of the investigational drug Cidecin(TM)...

Novel Interferon-Inducing Molecule Discovered.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Coley Pharmaceutical Group announced the identification of a new class of oligonucleotides that induce a specific type of immune cell to produce high levels of interferons. The interferons...

Flare-Up Treatment Reduced From Five Days To Three.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In another first for the leading genital herpes medication, Valtrex(R) (valacyclovir HCl) caplets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental new drug application...

Phase IIb Trial For Drug That Reverses Age-Related Crosslink Stiffening.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alteon, Inc. (ALT) announced that it has begun the Phase IIb SAPPHIRE (Systolic And Pulse Pressure Hemodynamic Improvement by Restoring Elasticity) trial of its lead advanced glycosylation...

Phase III Trial Of Humanized Surfactant Initiated.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Discovery Laboratories, Inc. (DSCO) announced the initiation of patient enrollment into its pivotal Phase III multinational clinical trial evaluating Surfaxin(R) for the prevention and treatment of...

Thalidomide Monotherapy Survival Rates Are Encouraging.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Celgene Corporation (CELG) announced that Phase II clinical trial results of the use of thalidomide in multiple myeloma patients were promising. The study titled, "Extended survival in...

More Treatment Options Being Tested And Discussed.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Progress in developing new drug delivery systems and the relatively new idea of targeting the nervous system for alternative treatment of overactive bladder were two areas of research that were...

Three-Month Formulation Of Drug Approved By FDA.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Debiopharm S.A., part of the Debio group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing authorization for Debiopharm's...

New Drug Promising For Chronic Sufferers.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neurochem, Inc. (NRM) announced positive clinical Phase I safety data for Fibrillex(TM), its therapeutic drug in development for the treatment of secondary amyloidosis. Secondary amyloidosis...

Phase I/IIa Trial Of Nitric Oxide Blocking Drug Begins.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medinox, Inc. announced the start of a Phase I/IIa clinical trial, designed to evaluate the first of its small-molecule nitric oxide blocking drugs, NOX-100, for treatment of sepsis. The trial...

Positive Phase II Results With NBI-34060 In Insomnia Patients.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NBIX) announced that its non-benzodiazepine investigational drug produces significant improvements in sleep parameters in patients suffering from chronic insomnia,...

Investigational Drug Improves Glycemic Control, Provides Other Benefits.
August 17, 2001... 2001 AUG 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Encouraging updates were recently reported on Restoragen, Inc.'s new investigational drug Betatropin(R) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. At a recent scientific meeting in Philadelphia,...

Designer Chemical Offers Hope.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have designed and synthesized highly potent inhibitor compounds that could lead to an effective treatment for Alzheimer disease. The work...

Metals In RNA Molecules May Help Invent Chemotherapeutics.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Just as people use metal detectors to scour the backyard for lost jewelry, Texas A&M University scientists, using their probing devices, explore structural information about metals in RNA...

Two New Antiprogestins Suppress Periods In Animal Model.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two new types of antiprogestins that can suppress menstruation and could end the monthly misery many women suffer have passed their first tests in animals, scientists report. Studies in rhesus...

Viagra-Type Drugs Unlikely To Solve Many Women's Sexual Response Problems.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medications like sildenafil citrate (Viagra) will not be successful in treating women with sexual dysfunction unless the complex psychological as well as biological factors affecting women's...

Discovery May Lead To First Drug Therapy.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and his colleagues have identified a critical link in the biological pathway leading to skin cancer. Lead author...

New Agent Improves Insulin Resistance In Ob/Ob Mice.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A newly synthesized vanadyl complex shows promise against insulin resistance in an obese non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) animal model, say...

Too Little Salt In Lungs Will Necessitate Long-Acting Treatment.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Since 1989, scientists have known which gene causes cystic fibrosis, the leading fatal genetic illness among whites in the United States, but they've continued to disagree over how it works. ...

No Association Between Drug And Recurrent Disc Herniation After Discectomy.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gliatech, Inc. (GLIA) announced that surgeons from the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation (TBI) did not find a correlation between the administration of the drug Adcon(R)-L during lumbar...

Enrollment Underway For Trial Of Investigational Oral Medication.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at New York University Medical Center have initiated a trial to study the efficacy of an investigational oral treatment for type 1 Gaucher disease, an incurable rare genetic disorder...

Generic Version Of Prozac Shipped.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Barr Laboratories Inc. on August 3, 2001, began shipping its version of Prozac, the hugely successful drug that revolutionized the treatment of depression, in the biggest generic drug launch ever....

Researchers Discover New Route To High Blood Pressure.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After years of detailed genetic analysis, researchers have discovered two genes that underlie a new metabolic pathway that governs blood pressure in humans. These findings could offer novel...

Studies Will Assess Prophylactic Potential Of Anti-Inflammatory Drug.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Can a common anti-inflammatory drug help prevent lung cancer? Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Cancer Center are seeking volunteers for two new research studies to find...

Thalidomide Effective As First-Line Treatment.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The early findings of a Mayo Clinic study indicate the anti-angiogenic drug thalidomide can stop or slow the progression of multiple myeloma in patients newly diagnosed with this cancer of the...

Liposomal Doxorubicin HCl Tested In Women With Recurrent Disease.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent study compared Doxil(R) (liposomal doxorubicin HCl) with topotecan, another common treatment for recurrent ovarian cancer. The report was published in the July 2001 issue of The...

Preclinical Study Shows Decitabine May Reverse Chemotherapy Resistance.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SuperGen, Inc. (SUPG & SUPGZ) announced that in preclinical studies chemotherapy-resistant ovarian and colon cancer cells that were treated with decitabine became more sensitive to chemotherapy...

Skin Patch Proves Effective In Large Study.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first large-scale study of a skin patch to treat Parkinson disease shows that a patch under development seems to be as effective as traditional oral medications in treating the disease. ...

Study Says Rise In Use, Not Price Hikes, Has Led To Increase in Prescription Drug Costs.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A dramatic rise in the use of prescription drugs, especially newly introduced ones, is the biggest reason for double-digit increases in the overall cost of prescription drugs for American workers,...

Crystal Structure Of The Escherichia coli MarR Protein Published.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that, in collaboration with a team of structural biologists led by James Head, PhD, at the Boston University School of Medicine, it has completed the crystal...

Study Indicates Zinc Nasal Spray Has No Effect on the Duration of the Common Cold.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viral upper respiratory illness is a common and debilitating problem, with adults experiencing an average of two to three colds per year. While viral upper respiratory illnesses are self-limited,...

Donepezil In Clinical Trials.
August 24, 2001... 2001 AUG 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An increasingly popular medication that slows memory decline in some people with Alzheimer disease is now being tested in patients with traumatic brain injury. The University of Florida is one...