Merck announced that the extended-release niacin/laropiprant (cordaptive) co administered with simvastatin had significant additive effects on reducing LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), increasing HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and reducing triglyceride levels in a phase III study with patients with primary hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia. The results were presented by Merck & Co, Inc. at the American Heart Association 2007 Scientific [...]
Merck, the manufacturer of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine Gardasil, already being administered in many countries to girls as young as 12 to help prevent cervical cancer, has announced findings of a trial that shows it is also effective for women as old as 45.
The drugmaker announced details of an investigational study where Gardasil reduced the [...]
Bayer HealthCare AG announced today the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) for approval to market rivaroxaban (Xarelto®) for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after major orthopedic surgery of the lower limbs. Rivaroxaban is an investigational, oral, once-daily direct Factor Xa inhibitor. Data [...]
A phase II trial on axitinib, a new experimental drug for treating patients with cytokine-refractory, metastatic kidney cancer who have a poor response to more traditional drugs has shown promising results according to a new study published in the The Lancet Oncology.
Professor Olivier Rixe of the University of Paris, France, and colleagues assessed the activity [...]
Use of cholesterol and blood pressure medicines by young adults appears to be rising rapidly — at a faster pace than among senior citizens, according to an industry report being released Tuesday.
Experts point to higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol problems among young people. Also, doctors are getting more aggressive with [...]
Your brain is supposed to fire a “hold your horses” signal when faced with a tough choice. But a brain implant that stops the tremors of Parkinson’s disease may block that signal — a new explanation for why some Parkinson’s patients become hugely impulsive.
Scientists have long known that anti-Parkinson medications occasionally spark compulsions like pathological [...]
The US Food and Drug Administration has decided to put more prominent warnings of potential hearing loss on impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.
An FDA statement said the goal was “to display more prominently the potential risk of sudden hearing loss, and to guide consumers on what to do if they experience sudden problems with [...]
An emerging “superbug” that causes ear infections in children and is resistant to multiple antibiotics can only be treated with an adult medication, researchers report.
Two Rochester, N.Y., pediatricians report finding a multiple antibiotic-resistant strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae that caused ear infections in nine children in their practice over three years. The only antibiotic that was [...]
Makers of OTC Cough and Cold Medicines Announce Voluntary Withdrawal of Oral Infant Medicines
Potential misuse of these infant medicines, not product safety, is driving the voluntary withdrawal
This withdrawal does not affect cough and cold medicines for children age 2 and older
Further evaluation of these oral cough and cold medicines for infants and children will occur [...]
Researchers have warned about “herbal remedies” for erectile dysfunction sold over-the-counter in Hong Kong after most of them were found to contain untested variants of well-known anti-impotence drugs.
These variants, or “analogues,” are copies of controlled drugs but they are slightly modified in their chemical structure to escape patent and other drug-related laws.
Cranked out illegally, these [...]
