M2 Europharma articles from March 2001

M2 Europharma archives from March 2001

EU Commission agrees to expanded use of Novartis Ophthalmics' Visudyne.(may now be used to treat pathologic myopia)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Novartis Ophthalmics, the Swiss-based eye health business of Norvartis AG and QLT Inc, has received authorisation from the European Commission for expanded use of its Visudyne therapy...

SBL Vaccin to distribute Aventis Pasteur MSD's vaccines in Sweden.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The vaccine specialist Aventis Pasteur MSD has formed a partnership with Active Biotech AB`s SBL Vaccin AB subsidiary. Under the partnership SBL Vaccin will distribute Aventis Pasteur...

Altana receives US approval for intravenous form of gastrointestinal drug.(Protonix is proton pump inhibitor)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The German pharmaceutical company Altana AG has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to market an intravenous (IV) form of its Protonix gastrointestinal drug in the...

Innogenetics unveils plan to find partners for new wound healing unit.(new unit is Xcellentis)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Belgian biotechnology firm Innogenetics NV is seeking partners to take a stake in Xcellentis, its new unit that was launched in February and comprises the company's wound healing...

FDA approves Roche's Xenical drug for diabetes treatment.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche Holding AG has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Xenical anti-obesity drug in the US for the treatment of...

GlaxoSmithKline mulls sale of Affymax.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) is planning to sell its California-based drug discovery company Affymax for approximately USD400m, according to a report by The...

US Authorities warn about similar look and names of two cancer drugs.(Taxol from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Taxotere from Aventis SA)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The US Food and Drug Administration has published a warning to the public about confusion between two cancer drugs - US-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Taxol and French-German Aventis SA's...

GlaxoSmithKline's heart drug fails in clinical trials.(will stop work on enrasentan, endothelin receptor antagonist)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD GlaxoSmithKline Plc has decided to stop the development of its enrasentan experimental drug after the product showed no benefit in clinical trials for chronic heart failure. According...

Schering sells half of Metagen Pharmaceuticals unit.(to Apax Partners)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The German pharmaceutical group Schering AG has sold a 50% stake in its biotechnology unit Metagen Pharmaceuticals to the venture capitalists Apax Partners for EUR42m. Schering says...

Vernalis and Eli Lilly partner to develop treatment for sex drive loss.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology firm Vernalis Group Plc and the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co have teamed up to study the use of Vernalis' VML 670 drug as a treatment for sexual...

Norsk Hydro's cardiac drug approved in five European countries.(Pronova's Omacor shown to cut mortality rate of heart attack victims)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The health authorities in Britain, Germany, France, Austria and Greece have approved the use of Omacor, a drug developed by the Pronova subsidiary of the Norwegian industrial conglomerate...

AstraZeneca reports promising results from trials of new cholesterol lowering drug.(Crestor evaluated in light of other statins, Lipitor, Zocor and Pravachol)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Anglo-Swedish drug group AstraZeneca Plc has released preliminary study results which it says confirm that the company's new Crestor drug lowers so-called bad cholesterol more than...

Novo Nordisk gets US approval for insulin delivery device.(Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc's Innovo Dial-a-Dose device is approved)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc, a US-based affiliate of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, has received marketing approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for...

Pharmaceutical Profiles' new headquarters officially opened.(new facility is in Nottingham and includes research laboratories)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Britain's Science Minister Lord Sainsbury of Turville has officially opened the new GBP2.5m headquarters of the early-phase drug development company Pharmaceutical Profiles in Nottingham,...

Sanofi to sell Ela Medical subsidiary.(Sanofi-Synthelabo SA is selling cardiac equipment maker to Snia SpA)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The French pharmaceuticals group Sanofi-Synthelabo SA is to sell its Ela Medical unit to the Italian company Snia SpA for EUR140m. Ela Medical, a wholly-owned subsidiary of...

Japan's Sankyo signs collaboration agreement with Menarini Group.(Sankyo Pharma GmbH and Menarini Group to co-market Olmesartan Medoxomil antihypertensive agent)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Japanese pharmaceutical company Sankyo Co Ltd has partnered with Italy's Menarini Group for the introduction of its Olmesartan Medoxomil hypertension drug throughout Europe. Under...

Viagra users no more likely to have heart attacks than non-users - UK study.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new six-month study of 5,000 men who use the anti-impotence drug Viagra has shown that the drug is safe for the heart, British researchers say. The study, which was carried out at...

Acambis discloses vaccine plans for 2001.(Acambis PLC plans regulatory filings, clinical trials)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology firm Acambis Plc (formerly Peptide Therapeutics) has unveiled plans to file for regulatory approval for three of its vaccines this year. The company intends to...

Schering to spin off part of Finnish subsidiary.(Schering AG to spin off domestic operations of Leiras)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Germany's Schering AG is spinning off the domestic operations of its Finnish subsidiary Leiras into a joint venture with the Scandinavian pharmaceuticals company Nycomed Pharma. Under...

Powderject denies yellow fever vaccine delay.(PowderJect Pharmaceuticals PLC plans to relaunch Arilvax )(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotech firm Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc says that it intends to relaunch its Arilvax yellow fever vaccine in Britain as planned in 2Q'2001, denying there was any new delay in the...

Shire Pharmaceuticals submits first application for new renal drug.(Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC files application for Foznol)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Britain's Shire Pharmaceutical Group Plc has filed the first application for approval of its new renal drug Foznol. The company submitted the application to a member state of the...

EU medicines agency publishes product alert for Aventis' Arava drug.(European Medicines Evaluation Agency issues warning about rheumatoid arthritis drug)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The European Medicines Evaluation Agency has warned that Arava, a rheumatoid arthritis drug made by Aventis SA, might be implicated in the deaths of nine people from liver failure. The...

Biosearch Italia's new antibiotic drug to be delayed.(introduced of Ramoplanin delayed)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Italian biotechnology company Biosearch Italia has said that there will be a delay of at least a year in the development of its flagship drug - the antibiotic Ramoplanin. According...

SR Pharma reports positive results from dermatitis treatment trial.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The London-based drug company SR Pharma Plc has said that the results of a phase II trial show that the company's SRL172 drug improves the symptoms of children suffering from atopic...

Roche seeks US approval for cancer treatment combination.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche AG has submitted a supplemental new drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration for a combination of its own oral breast cancer drug Xeloda...

Elderly have difficulties in operating drug inhaler for Relenza - study.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD New research by British scientists has revealed that many elderly people do not get the help intended from GlaxoSmithKline's anti-flu drug Relenza because they cannot operate the inhaler...

FDA panel rejects GlaxoSmithKline's new vaccine.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided against recommending the approval of a vaccine against five children's diseases proposed by the UK pharmaceuticals...

SkyePharma receives US approval for relaunch of cancer drug.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology company SkyePharma Plc has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to relaunch its cancer treatment DepoCyt. SkyePharma voluntarily withdrew...

Cogent Neuroscience and Elan form drug development partnership.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The US biotech firm Cogent Neuroscience and the Irish pharmaceutical company Elan Corp have joined forces to discover new treatments for brain diseases. The two companies intend to...

GlaxoSmithKline launches herbal remedy for menopause symptoms.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD GlaxoSmithKline Plc has introduced to the US market a herbal supplement for menopausal women. According to the UK pharmaceutical giant the Remifemin supplement, which contains an...

Aventis gets US approval for vaccine version with mere trace of mercury.(childhood vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussi)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Aventis Pasteur, a US-based unit of the French-German drugs and chemical group Aventis SA, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a new version of Tripedia, its...

Pharmagene to test potential cancer drugs for Bayer.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology company Pharmagene and the German pharmaceutical and chemicals group Bayer have signed an agreement under which Pharmagene will test potential drugs against nine types...

Phytopharm starts clinical study of new obesity drug.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The British biotechnology company Phytopharm Plc has begun a clinical study of its P57 obesity treatment to evaluate the drug's safety, tolerability and effect on calorie intake. In...

Germany forbids use of BSE risk material in drugs.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The German parliament has passed a law banning the use of all materials that could pose risks of mad cow disease - such as spinal cord, brains and mechanically separated meat - in the...

Orion Pharma to invest EUR12m in extension of R&D centre.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Orion Pharma, a unit of the Finnish pharmaceuticals group Orion Corp, is to invest EUR12m in the expansion of its research and development facilities in Turku, Finland. The project,...

Celltech to receive USD280m from Pharmacia for new compound.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The US-Swedish drug maker Pharmacia Corp is to pay the UK biotechnology company Celltech Group Plc USD280m for a new experimental drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other...

AstraZeneca to invest USD47m in Japan.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Anglo-Swedish drug group AstraZeneca Plc is to invest USD47m in its Japanese manufacturing and distribution business. The project includes the expansion of AstraZeneca's Maihara...

UK scientists patent artificial tears.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A team of scientists at Britain's Oxford University has developed and patented artificial tears - a combination of proteins and fats that make up the essential ingredients of human tears....

PhotoCure reports excellent results from photodynamic drug trial.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Norwegian biotechnology company PhotoCure ASA says that phase III clinical trials conducted in the US of its Metvix treatment for pre-cancerous conditions have given excellent results....

Aventis predicts annual earnings growth of over 25%.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The French-German drugs and chemical group Aventis SA has forecast that its earnings will grow over 25%/year over the next few years, fuelled by seven key drugs including the Allegra...

Celltech and Johnson & Johnson sign collaboration agreement.(For anticancer drugs that restrict blood flow to tumors)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology company Celltech Group Plc and the US pharmaceuticals and cosmetics firm Johnson & Johnson have signed a worldwide agreement to work together on the discovery,...

Antisoma commences clinical trial of cancer treatment.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK biotechnology company Antisoma has begun the first clinical trial of TheraFab, its new treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Designed for use together with...

GlaxoSmithKline teams with non-profit group to develop malaria vaccine.(Program for Appropriate Technology in Health)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) has partnered with the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), a US-based non-profit organisation, to speed up the...

US authorities approve new Alzheimer's disease treatment.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the use of Reminyl, a drug codeveloped by Britain's Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc and US-based Johnson & Johnson, as a...

CeNeS' substance abuse drug to enter clinical trials in the US.(CeNeS Pharmaceuticals PLC)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Britain's CeNeS Pharmaceuticals Plc has received approval to begin clinical trials of CEE 03-310, a drug designed to cut dependance on such substances as alcohol and cocaine. The drug...

Chiesi Farmaceutici buys marketing rights to Curosurf from Serono.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Swiss biopharmaceutical company Serono SA has sold back to Italy's Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA the exclusive right to market Curosurf - a porcine surfactant - in Europe. Serono has...

Smith & Nephew unveils new material for replacement knee joints.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK medical devices firm Smith & Nephew Plc has developed replacement knee joints made from a new metal alloy called oxidised zirconium. According to Smith & Nephew the alloy will...

Novartis opens research centre in Britain.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis AG has opened a GBP40m research centre in Horsham, Sussex in the UK. The centre, which will employ around 180 scientists, aims to work to...

AstraZeneca says Seroquel could help sufferers of Parkinson's-related psychosis.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD AstraZeneca Plc reports that a six-month study of its Seroquel schizophrenia treatment showed that the drug improves both cognitive and psychotic symptoms in patients with Parkinson's...

SSL ends footcare joint venture in India.(SSL International PLC ends Scholl Piramal Ltd. joint venture)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD SSL International Plc, a UK healthcare group formed from the merger of Seton and Scholl, has ended the Indian joint venture it had together with Nicholas Piramal Ltd. Scholl Piramal...

GlaxoSmithKline changes name of hayfever treatment.(GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare renames Beconase Allergy as Beconase Hayfever)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2001... M2 EUROPHARMA-(C)1999-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Consumer Healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to relaunch its Beconase Allergy hayfever treatment as Beconase Hayfever. With the new name the company aims to highlight the...