October 29, 2009, 3:59 pm
A new study released in an October 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that four brands of atypical antipsychotic drugs cause weight gain in young patients, with as many as 20 pounds gained over a three-month testing period. The drugs tested include...
October 28, 2009, 4:23 pm
A study completed by the U.K’s drug regulatory agency and the University of Bristol revealed that the risk of suicide and suicidal tendencies thought to be caused by the use of Chantix, an antismoking medication, is minimal.
October 23, 2009, 2:34 pm
Results of a recent study have shown that glucosamine hydrochloride, a popular nutritional supplement taken to prevent joint damage in patients with knee osteoarthritis, may not provide the same benefits to joints as once believed when used as a short-term treatment. The study, called Joints on...
October 22, 2009, 4:02 pm
On Monday, October 19, 2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Votrient (pazopanib) for the treatment of kidney cancer.
Kidney cancer affects approximately 49,000 people annually and the addition of Votrient as a treatment medication would offer patients...
October 21, 2009, 4:10 pm
On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, Human Genome Sciences Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline announced positive Phase III clinical trial results for the experimental lupus drug Benlysta. The injectable drug, chemically known as belimumab, was shown to reduce symptoms of pain, skin rash, hair loss, and infection...
October 20, 2009, 4:00 pm
On Friday, October 16, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Merck & Co.’s Gardasil vaccine for use in boys and men, ages 9 to 26, for the prevention of genital warts caused by two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Gardasil was...
October 19, 2009, 12:46 pm
Last week United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized following an adverse reaction to a sleeping pill taken in combination with cold medication prior to boarding a flight headed for London.
On October 14, 2009, Ginsburg, 76, felt drowsy and then fell from her...
October 15, 2009, 9:14 am
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent several warning letters on October 13, 2009, to companies marketing and selling illegal codeine sulfate tablets that have not received approval by the FDA. Without FDA approval, these drugs could be unsafe or ineffective.
October 14, 2009, 8:38 am
Positive results from two Phase III clinical trials testing Serada, a non-hormonal extended release medication to treat menopausal hot flashes, were released by Depomed Inc. October 12, 2009.
Two different doses of Serada were evaluated in the trials, with patients receiving 1800mg or...
October 14, 2009, 8:36 am
Pfizer Inc. announced on Friday, October 9, 2009, that it would halt all new patient enrollment in its Phase III study involving an experimental lung cancer drug called figitumumab (CP-751, 871). Independent safety committees reviewing the drug recommended that patient enrollment be halted due...
October 13, 2009, 9:08 am
On October 12, 2009, Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. announced positive Phase IIA results of delayed-released cysteamine bitartrate (DR Cysteamine), an experimental drug to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in adolescent patients.
October 12, 2009, 12:10 pm
On October 9, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Berinert, the first medication available to treat facial swelling and acute abdominal attacks attributed to hereditary angiodema (HAE), a rare and serious genetic disease.
Berinert, manufactured by CSL Behring, Inc...
October 9, 2009, 2:38 pm
In a Department of Health and Human Services notice dated October 1, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the date and location of an upcoming Public Advisory Committee Meeting that will discuss the safety of FDA-approved Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) dyes currently on the...
October 9, 2009, 10:37 am
On Thursday, October 8, 2009, BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (BDSI) announced that its revolutionary new drug for cancer pain management, Onsolis, will hit the U.S. market next week. The drug, a fentanyl buccal soluble film, will be available to cancer patients over the age of 18 who...
October 7, 2009, 1:18 pm
A clinical trial is underway by TGen Clinical Research Services to test the new cancer drug EP-100 in patients with breast, ovarian, skin, testicular, prostate, endometrial, or pancreatic cancer. Produced by Esperance Pharmaceuticals of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, EP-100 is a membrane-disrupting...
October 7, 2009, 9:40 am
On April 8, 2009, Genentech, the manufacturer of Raptiva, issued a voluntary recall of the drug Raptiva, a medication used to treat plaque psoriasis. The recall was issued due to the risk of patients developing a fatal viral disease that affects the brain...
October 6, 2009, 11:09 am
In a report published October 2, 2009, the BMJ online medical journal (formerly the British Medical Journal) determined that Vitamin D supplements can reduce the likelihood of falls in people over the age of 65. Results of eight different fall prevention studies noted that higher-than-normal...
October 5, 2009, 10:58 am
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified health care professionals that the potency of heparin, a medication commonly used to prevent blood clots, will decrease in potency by approximately 10 percent due to a manufacturing change made...
October 2, 2009, 12:27 pm
An experimental diabetes drug called dapagliflozin has hit both its primary and secondary targets in recent late-stage clinical trials. The results were announced this past week at the 45th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria...
October 1, 2009, 9:01 am
On Wednesday, September 30, 2009, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. announced promising results of Phase IIB testing for Empatic, an investigational combination drug involved in the treatment of obesity. Empatic treats obesity as a disease of the central nervous system, combining the antidepressant...
