Science Daily: "Millions of cancer patients take drugs to boost their red blood cells and health when they become anemic after chemotherapy. But a new study by Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine shows these drugs, called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), actually raise patients' risk of death, possibly by stimulating the growth of cancer cells."
the Daily Mail: "A drug that could prevent thousands of young women developing breast cancer has been created by scientists.
If given regularly to those with a strong family history of the cancer, researchers say it could effectively 'vaccinate' them against a disease they are almost certain to develop."
Morningstar "Televancin is a once-daily injectable antibiotic that would be used to treat skin infections, including those caused by resistant bacteria like methicillin- resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
In October the FDA issued a so-called approvable letter for televancin, suggesting it needed a re-analysis of clinical data and the resolution of manufacturing issues at a third-party manufacturer that was not specifically related to televancin. The FDA said it continues to review televancin's application but didn't give a timetable for completion of the review."
CNN Money: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A flood of drug safety warnings from the Food and Drug Administration may have physicians and patients suffocating from information saturation. Experts say there are too many red flags for them to pay attention.
'It seems that almost weekly we're getting a safety missive,' said Les Funtleyder, an analyst who covers the pharmaceutical industry for trading firm Miller Tabak. 'We're almost getting safety fatigue.'"
Newsrx.com "More U.S. adults are taking prescription drugs than ever before, fueling $12 billion in additional spending during 2006 alone. The number of people with at least one prescription increased from 67% to 74% between 2000 and 2006, according to a new Geographic Variation in Prescription Utilization study by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts. The number of prescriptions per person rose to 14.3 from 10.8 in 2000 - a 32 percent"
KCCI Des Moines: "Pfizer said Monday it is pulling its Lipitor advertisements that feature the inventor of the artificial heart, whose endorsement came under congressional fire earlier this year.
In the ads, which began their heavy rotation on TV and in print in 2006, Dr. Robert Jarvik touts the benefits of Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug, the world's best-selling medication."
Foxbusiness.: "WASHINGTON -- A drug made by Genentech (DNA: 71.60, -0.15, -0.20%) received federal approval on Friday to treat breast cancer, a decision that could represent a major shift in standards for assessing the effectiveness of cancer medicines.
Going against the recommendation of its advisory panel, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Genentech's Avastin, which is already approved for treating lung and colon cancer, based on findings that it slowed tumor growth."
Medical News Today: "Antibiotics are not linked to a significant decrease in fluid buildup in the ear when administered to children with middle ear infections. This is the conclusion of a meta-analysis of previous studies released on February 18, 2008 in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
In infants and children, one of the most prevalent diseases is the ear infection. Otitis media, or a middle ear infection, can lead to fluid buildup in the middle ear, developing into acute otitis media with effusion. According to the authors, this can be detrimental to development. 'The effusion may lead to a conductive hearing loss of 15 decibels to 40 decibels, and this hearing loss could have an adverse effect on language development, cognitive development, behavior and quality of life.'"
Pharmacy Times: "Since carbamazepine has a fairly narrow therapeutic range, one should be alert for evidence of elevated plasma concentrations, such as dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and vision or gait disturbances when a drug that inhibits CYP3A4 is coadministered."
Netindia123.com: "An Australian investigation has revealed that drug companies are actually sponsoring medical seminars sold to doctors as independent educational sessions.
The report, by Ray Moynihan, honorary lecturer at the University of Newcastle in Australia, says that drug industry representatives have confirmed that parallel practices exist in the United Kingdom, where drug companies sponsor nearly half of all education for doctors."
Study suggests antibiotic may prevent dreaded brain fever: "Two researchers from National Brain Research Center (NBRC) suggest that a common antibiotic called minocycline may prevent children from death due to Japanese encephalitis (JE), or commonly known as brain fever. Japanese Encephalitis virus is the causative agent for JE. Although there is no consolidated official figure for JE cases in India, a rough estimate would indicate a few thousands fatalities every year. The team found that minocycline, an USFDA approved drug, often used to treat acne, limits the death by reducing the microglial activation, neuronal death as well as viral replication. Microglia are cells that act as the 'cleanup crew' for the Central Nervous System (CNS). They destroy damaged cells by releasing toxins and engulfing them. Should they become activated and release their toxins in the CNS, the toxins will kill the healthy neurons critical for normal function of brain."
Before A CT Scan Or Angiogram, Many People Should Take Inexpensive Drug To Protect Kidneys: "The inexpensive drug, called N-acetylcysteine, can prevent serious kidney damage that can be caused by the iodine-containing 'dyes' that doctors use to enhance the quality of such scans.
That 'dye,' called contrast agent, is usually given intravenously before a CT scan, angiogram or other test. But the new study shows that taking an N-acetylcysteine tablet before receiving the contrast agent can protect patients -- and that it works better than other medicines that have been proposed for the same purpose."
Lycopene's anti-cancer benefits extend to colon: study: "The carotenoid lycopene from tomato may interfere with levels of a hormone associated with an increase in the risk of colorectal cancer, suggests a Dutch study."
Forbes.com: "TUESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Combining periodic infusions of antibodies with a widely used cancer vaccine appears to be more effective and less harsh with melanoma and advanced ovarian cancer patients than using either treatment on its own, a new study shows.
Besides demonstrating the potential usefulness of a vaccine-and-antibody approach, the study -- published online in this week's issue of the the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- suggests a way of refining treatments even further, based on the biological events that antibody treatment sets in motion."
OA drug Prexige faces snub by FDA: "The future doesn't look good for Novartis' COX-2 selective inhibitor Prexige.
In late September, the Swiss pharmaceutical company received a 'not approvable' letter from the FDA in response to its application for the product's use as a once-daily treatment for osteoarthritis pain. This was followed days later by the removal of Prexige from the Canadian market, after Health Canada's request that the company cease sales and marketing of the product."
Barr Pharmaceuticals Receives Final Approval For Generic Mirapex Tablets - Quick Facts: "Barr's Pramipexole Dihydrochloride tablets are indicated for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease."
The Hindu News Update Service: "New Delhi (PTI): Tobacco will now be used for manufacturing cancer and cardiac drugs with the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) bagging the patent for 'solanesol' -- a medicinal substance extracted from tobacco.
Solanesol, a white crystalline powder derived from tobacco's green leaf, has curative effects against cardiac insufficiency, muscular dystrophy, anaemia, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and liver injury. 'Many pharmaceutical companies have approached us for carrying out clinical trials for the usage of solanesol as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic drugs,' CTRI Director V Krishna Murthy told PTI."
theage.com.au: "MANY women over 26 would benefit from being vaccinated against cervical cancer, despite already being sexually active, according to West Australian and Victorian researchers.
Experts agree the best time to protect against the cancer-causing human papilloma virus is at the start of puberty, but the possible benefits of vaccination for older women were unclear."
Therapeutics Daily(subscription): "KISS OF LIFE T1 The treatment of cancer mainly involves chemical cocktails and radiation but at a clinic in the Midlands, Mother Nature is lending a hand as well. Lifestyle Editor ZOE CHAMBERLAIN reports on mistletoe medicine. Mistletoe used to help ease agony of cancer
MISTLETOE is normally associated with Christmas kisses - but a Midland clinic is using the plant to help put cancer patients on the road to recovery."
Seeking Alpha: "Cancer vaccines are projected to cost about $15,000-20,000 per patient per year. The human benefits of developing cancer vaccines would be vast, from millions of patients cured to billions of dollars pocketed. The race has started fairly recently and so far we have only two US FDA approved vaccines that are prophylaxis for the development of cervical cancer - Gardasil, which prevents infection with certain subtypes of human papilloma virus"
The Post Chronicle: "A Nobel Prize-winning U.S. biologist says researchers are no closer to an HIV vaccine today than they were in 1984.
David Baltimore, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said that despite continuing efforts to develop a vaccine, scientists hold little hope for success, the BBC reported."
Sunday Herald: "THOUSANDS OF arthritis sufferers in Scotland have been asked to take part in drugs trials that could improve the lives of millions with the disease.
The three-year trial, which will involve 400 GP practices and 16,000 patients, has been given £24 million by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to work out which painkillers offer the best relief with the fewest side-effects.
Currently, chronic sufferers are forced to take a toxic cocktail of drugs which have a range of health implications, including increasing the risk of heart disease in older people by 70%."
Xencor to Examine Safety of Lymphoma Drug: "Xencor has begun a Phase I clinical trial with XmAb2513, a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the antigen CD30, in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
The open-label, dose-escalation study will determine the recommended dose for subsequent trials, examine the drug’s safety and tolerability and characterize pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity."
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Doses First Patient in Bavituximab Trial: "Peregrine Pharmaceuticals has begun evaluating the safety and efficacy of bavituximab in combination with docetaxel in a Phase II trial of patients with advanced breast cancer.
The primary objective of the study, which is being conducted in the Republic of Georgia, will be to assess the overall response rate to the combination."
Drug Discovery News: "Using nanotechnology, scientists from UCLA and Northwestern University have developed a localized and controlled drug delivery method that is invisible to the immune system, a discovery that could provide newer and more effective treatments for cancer and other diseases."
CNBC.com: "It's a first-person account from a New Yorker who went on the drug and claims he started having hallucinations, vivid dreams, bouts of paranoia, going on a rampage, and fleeting thoughts about killing himself. If it's all true, this guy went on quite a trip."
FDA accepts Watson new drug application: "Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday drug regulators accepted its application for a new drug to treat enlarged prostates.
Watson said the Food and Drug Administration agreed to review its silodosin application, which was backed by data from two late-stage clinical trials."
FDA reviewing safety of Botox - EON: "Washington - After reports of death and serious reactions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday they were reviewing the safety of Allergan Inc’s Botox and a competing product.
The FDA said that an unspecified number of deaths and hospitalizations occured. most of the reported deaths were in children who were being treated for cerebral palsy-associated limb spasticity with botox, a use which is not approved in the U.S."
Los Angeles Times: "Concerns about the widely used anti-wrinkle treatment Botox and a similar drug arose Friday as federal regulators said they were reviewing reports of at least one death and other serious reactions among some patients.
Food and Drug Administration officials said they were not aware of any deaths among cosmetic users of Botox, the trade name for the blockbuster wrinkle buster made by Irvine's Allergan Inc."
Stopping Plavix Therapy Linked to Death or Heart Attack: "Patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome who stop taking clopidogrel (Plavix) may be more likely to die or to suffer an acute myocardial infarction especially in the first 90 days after cessation, researchers say.
Plavix, manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA, is an antiplatelet drug, which discourages the formation of blood clots and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes caused by clots."
TIME: "This winter's most common flu strain is showing resistance to the frontline anti-flu treatment, new data shows. More than 10% of virus samples taken in Western Europe this winter were resistant to oseltamivir, better known as Tamiflu, according to figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)."
