Archive for the 'Research' Category

Cocain vaccine is coming soon

Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. “For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful,” said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who is being assisted in [...]

Levitra for men with ED and dyslipidemia

Schering-Plough said the results of a first prospective trial specifically designed to evaluate erectile function in erectile dysfunction (ED) patients with dyslipidemia showed that Levitra (vardenafil HCl), used in treating ED, significantly improves the ability of men with ED and dyslipidemia to achieve and maintain an erection for successful sexual intercourse.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled study is [...]

AIDS vaccines don’t justify hopes

AIDS vaccine researchers are worried about the future of their field after learning an experimental HIV vaccine not only does not work, but just might make recipients more susceptible to infection with the AIDS virus!
They are worried about their volunteers and the future of AIDS vaccines in general. And they are worried because they cannot [...]

Amrubicin shows great in treatment of small cell lung cancer

Pharmion Corporation (Nasdaq: PHRM) released interim findings from its Phase 2 trial of Amrubicin in second-line chemo-sensitive small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Amrubicin, the company’s third-generation synthetic anthracycline, is a potent topoisomerase II inhibitor currently in development for the treatment of SCLC. These findings indicate favorable interim results in terms of response rate and survival [...]

Cordaptive to replace Zokor?

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 [...]

New blood thinner Prasugrel proved better than Plavix!

A new blood thinner proved better than Plavix, one of the world’s top-selling drugs, at preventing heart problems after procedures to open clogged arteries, doctors reported Sunday. But the new drug also raised the risk of serious bleeding.
People given the experimental drug, prasugrel, were nearly 20 percent less likely to suffer one of the problems [...]

Axitinib: great results for the new cancer drug

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 [...]

New research on Parkinson’s disease

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 [...]

Pfizer is #1 in research spendings. Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Ford are left behind

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, is the world’s biggest spender on research, the European Commission said Friday.
That means it outranks rival Johnson & Johnson, software giant Microsoft Corp. and auto companies Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG.
Pfizer spent 5.8 billion euros ($8.18 billion) last year to take the top spot from Ford on the [...]