Archive for the 'New drugs' Category

New Anti-AIDS pill under development

Scientists are developing an anti-AIDS pill that can be taken before sex and prevent transmission of the deadly disease.
The successful development of such a treatment would be controversial because it raises ethical questions about the circumstances in which the pill should be taken.
Experts in the disease, which claimed two million lives last year, are involved [...]

Levoleucovorin is the first new oncology drug approved by the FDA in 2008

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Levoleucovorin for Injection. It is indicated after high-dose methotrexate therapy in patients with osteosarcoma, and to diminish the toxicity and counteract the effects of impaired methotrexate elimination or inadvertent overdose of folic acid antagonists. LEVOleucovorin [...]

New drug can help alcoholics

A new drug can help alcoholics overcome their addiction by reducing stress-induced cravings, a study has found.
There is already a drug on the market, Revia, which treats alcoholism by reducing the body’s ability to enjoy its effects.
This new drug cuts cravings by taking the edge off of stressful situations which might push recovering alcoholics to [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Rivaroxaban submitted for approval

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 [...]

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 [...]