Drug News
Risedronate prevents bone loss and periodontal disease
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Drugs that reverse and prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis also significantly ward off periodontal disease, according to a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine who reports in the current Menopause journal article, “Periodontal Assessments of Postmenopausal Women Receiving Risedronate.”
Leena Bahl Palomo, D.D.S and M.S.D., is the lead author on the study with Nabil Bissada, chair and professor of Case’s department of periodontology; and James Liu, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology of University Hospitals of Cleveland.
FDA Approves New Higher Dose Formulation of FOSRENOL
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new, higher dose formulation of the chewable(1) non-calcium phosphate binder FOSRENOL(R) (lanthanum carbonate). The new, higher dose strengths of 750 milligrams (mg) and 1.0 gram (g) will be available in the U.S. by year end. This formulation will help to reduce the number of pills end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients must take to achieve target phosphorus levels, thereby helping to simplify the treatment of hyperphosphatemia. FOSRENOL(R) is marketed by Shire Pharmaceuticals.
Even with a low phosphorus diet, 60 percent of ESRD patients on dialysis in the United States may develop hyperphosphatemia (high phosphorus levels in the blood) and up to 70 percent are considered noncompliant when using currently prescribed phosphate binders. Without effective treatment, hyperphosphatemia may lead to increased rates of death, renal bone disease, hyperparathyroidism and calcification of tissues. Also, evidence shows hyperphosphatemia may contribute to cardiovascular disease, which accounts for almost half of all deaths among dialysis patients. FOSRENOL(R) is indicated to reduce serum phosphorus in patients with ESRD.
Novartis hopes to develop cheap dengue test
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Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG hopes to develop a cheap test to detect dengue fever following the acquisition of vaccine and blood-testing firm Chiron, an executive said.
Thousands of people across Southeast Asia this year have been hit by dengue, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease for which there is no vaccine. The disease, which occurs mainly in tropical Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, affects tens of millions of people every year.
Were Drugs or Disease the Muse Behind These Famous Artists?
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If our modern clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunology, and infectious disease labs had existed during the 16th to early-19th centuries, the world might have missed out on the work of some of the world’s most creative painters, sculptors and poets, hints a paper recently published in November 2005 issue of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
According to Paul Wolf, M.D., Professor of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, artists ranging from Renaissance sculptors Benvenuto Cellini and Michelangelo to Romantic poets Coleridge and Keats, may have been creatively driven by the effects of their disease or the drugs and chemicals they ingested.
No evidence Tamiflu caused deaths: FDA
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U.S. regulators so far have found no evidence Roche AG’s antiflu drug Tamiflu caused the deaths of children in Japan, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Friday.
The FDA has been studying reports of the deaths of 12 children in Japan as well as other cases of possible side effects in children who had taken Roche’s flu-fighting drug, which is in high demand as a defense against a possible avian flu pandemic in people.
Common Anti-seizure Drug Could Be Effective for Lupus Patients
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A common anti-seizure drug may be effective against certain conditions associated with lupus, according to animal research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The drug, valproic acid (Depakote), prevents skin disease and reduces the severity of kidney disease in a mouse model of lupus, said Nilamadhab Mishra, M.D., a rheumatologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Lipitor fails to beat Zocor in heart study
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High doses of Pfizer Inc.‘s cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor failed in a high-stakes trial to help heart attack patients significantly more than moderate doses of Merck & Co.‘s rival Zocor, researchers said on Tuesday.
The aim of the study presented at the American Heart Association scientific meeting was to determine whether intensive lowering of “bad” LDL cholesterol with atorvastatin (Lipitor) would reduce the risk of death and other adverse events in heart attack patients more than the moderate, most widely used dose of Zocor, known by the chemical name simvastatin.
Roche in talks with WHO to supply flu drug fund
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Drug maker Roche Holding AG is in talks with the World Health Organisation about creating a stockpile of flu drug Tamiflu for poorer countries to be funded by contributions from developed nations.
Governments around the world are stockpiling Tamiflu on fears of a pandemic sparked by bird flu. However, there are concerns that richer nations will take the bulk and leave worst-hit Asian nations scrambling for supplies.
Roche restricts Tamiflu sales in China
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Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG has stopped selling its bird flu drug Tamiflu in China and is instead sending all supplies to the health ministry.
The move follows similar temporary suspensions by Roche of Tamiflu supplies to pharmacies in the United States, Canada and Hong Kong to head off hoarding by consumers worried about the spread of bird flu as the world heads into the start of the influenza season.
Roche says it’s on track to raise Tamiflu production
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Roche will raise the production of its antiviral drug Tamiflu, the drugmaker said, just as the World Health Organisation warned on Monday that a lethal strain of the avian influenza virus was spreading fast.
The Swiss firm said it is in talks with other drugmakers and with governments to step up the production of Tamiflu—seen as the most effective drug to fight bird flu—as the world braces for the possibility of a catastrophic pandemic among humans.
Roche looking to step up Tamiflu output
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Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG has given assurances it is talking to other firms to raise output of its Tamiflu, seen as the most effective anti-viral drug currently available for bird flu, an EU spokesman said on Thursday.
However Roche Chief Executive Franz Humer and EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou agreed during talks that the process of ensuring that all EU states had sufficient quantities of the treatment was a gradual one, he added.
Drug company proposes FDA check all drug advertising prior to marketing
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Drug company AstraZeneca has proposed that it should be a mandatory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit all direct-to-consumer advertising to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review prior to its use.
Apparently the Anglo-Swedish company has made the recommendation in letter submitted to the FDA’s public hearing on consumer-directed promotion of regulated medical products.
Discovery could lead to new malaria drugs
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Unusual “wiring” in the cells of the malaria parasite could be a key to developing new treatments for the disease that kills millions of people each year, scientists said on Wednesday.
Two teams of researchers in the United States have discovered that sets of proteins, which are essential for cells to function and communicate with each other, interact differently in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite than in other organisms.
Potential new targets for antibiotics
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A new study of genetic changes in bacteria may ultimately help drug makers stay a step ahead of disease-causing bacteria that can become resistant to antibiotics.
The secret lies in understanding the function of the ribosome, a tiny protein-making factory residing inside most cells.
AstraZeneca proposes FDA review of all drug ads
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AstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday proposed a mandatory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit all direct-to-consumer advertising to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review prior to its use.
The Anglo-Swedish company said it made the recommendation in written testimony submitted to the FDA’s public hearing on consumer-directed promotion of regulated medical products.
