Pharmaceuticals News

August 25, 2016

Insulin Pill for 'Ouchless' Diabetes Treatment

Designer Agent Blocks Pain in Mice

Nanorobots Target Cancerous Tumors

How New HIV Drugs Lock Virus in Immaturity

Latest Headlines

updated 11:20pm EDT

Researchers Question Process for Reviewing Coverage of 'Off Label' Cancer Drug Use

Aug. 25, 2016 — Physician-researchers have raised concerns that there are inconsistencies between the five reference guides, or compendia, that the Centers for ... read more

Hitching a Ride: Misfiring Drugs Hit the Wrong Targets

Aug. 25, 2016 — Researchers have shown how anti-HIV protein inhibitor drugs can bind to the wrong protein, causing unwanted side ... read more

Simulated Patient Study Sheds New Light on Antibiotic Use in India

Aug. 24, 2016 — As a result of the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistant superbugs represent an extraordinary threat to global health. This threat is particularly great in India, the world's ... read more

'Reversible' Blood Thinner May Cut Bleeding Risk

Aug. 24, 2016 — Researchers have developed an antibody that blocks the formation of blood clots without triggering bleeding, a serious risk associated with current blood ... read more

We Are All 'Wired' for Addiction, Says Researcher

Aug. 24, 2016 — Drug addicts and non-addicts may have more in common than ever thought, according to a researcher who found that to some degree, everyone’s brain is “wired” to become ... read more

Study Examines Reasons for High Cost of Prescriptions Drugs in US, Approaches to Reduce Costs

Aug. 23, 2016 — High prescription drug prices are attributable to several causes, including the approach the US has taken to granting government-protected monopolies ... read more

Aggressive Lung Cancer's Aggressiveness May Be Its Achilles' Heel

Aug. 17, 2016 — Researchers have discovered a flaw in the armor of the most aggressive form of lung cancer, a weakness that doctors may be able to exploit to slow or even stop the disease. ... read more

Recently Approved Cholesterol Medication Not Cost-Effective

Aug. 16, 2016 — Although the recently FDA-approved cholesterol-lowering drugs, PCSK9 inhibitors, could substantially reduce heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths, they would not be cost-effective for use ... read more

Molecule Prevents Effect of Chemotherapy

Aug. 16, 2016 — For the last three years a research team has been working on the development of a so-called biomarker to predict treatment effectiveness in colorectal cancer. Now the ... read more

Gene Variant Explains Differences in Diabetes Drug Response

Aug. 16, 2016 — A large international study of metformin, the world’s most commonly used type 2 diabetes drug, reveals genetic differences among patients that may explain why some respond much better to the drug ... read more

Pfizer Buys Antibiotics Business

Pfizer to Buy Medivation for $14 Billion

One New Discovery Could Treat 3 Neglected Diseases

Cancer Drug Boosts Pfizer's Sales

Targeting Low-Oxygen Patches Inside Lung Cancer Tumors Could Help Prevent Drug Resistance

Aug. 25, 2016 — With the right treatment schedule, medications known as hypoxia-activated prodrugs (HAPs) could help prevent drug resistance in a subtype of lung cancer, according to a ... read more

New Method in Synthesis and Development for Pharmaceuticals

Aug. 25, 2016 — Scientists have developed a new synthetic methods that facilitate the design and synthesis of bioactive compounds and chemical tools for pharmacological studies, the team ... read more

Nanovesicles in Predictable Shapes

Aug. 25, 2016 — Beads, disks, bowls and rods: scientists have demonstrated the first methodological approach to control the shapes of nanovesicles. This opens doors for the use of nanovesicles in biomedical ... read more

Scientists Track Metabolic Pathways to Find Drug Combination for Pancreatic Cancer

Aug. 24, 2016 — Cancer researchers have long observed the value of treating patients with combinations of anti-cancer drugs that work better than single drug treatments. Now, in a new study using laboratory-grown ... read more

Rx Associated With Fracture Risk Infrequently Reduced After Fracture Occurrence

Aug. 22, 2016 — Is the occurrence of a fragility fracture -- where Medicare beneficiaries broke a hip, wrist or shoulder -- a missed opportunity to reduce exposure to prescription drugs associated with fracture ... read more

Flesh-Eating Infections in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Spur New Discovery

Aug. 19, 2016 — Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking medications that inhibit interleukin-1beta, a molecule that stimulates the immune system, are 300 times more likely to experience invasive Group A Streptococcal ... read more

Harms Reporting in Trials of Orlistat

Aug. 16, 2016 — The reporting of trials of orlistat in the 1990s appears to have understated harms, both in the summarized results and in published papers, warn ... read more

New Maths to Predict Dangerous Hospital Epidemics

Aug. 16, 2016 — Mathematicians are now developing completely new statistical calculations on the world’s fastest computers in order to be able to predict how epidemics of dangerous hospital bacteria ... read more

Researchers Discover the Hidden Potential of Disordered Proteins

Aug. 16, 2016 — Scientists have rediscovered the utility of disordered regions of proteins as drug targets. These results pave the way towards identifying new therapeutic targets for many diseases, they ... read more

Study Charts Provide Picture of Drug Use in the United States

Aug. 15, 2016 — An extensive and easy-to-use collection of charts that present findings from decades of government survey data of drug use in the United States is now available to the ... read more

Study of Chinese Teens Examines Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs, Suicidal Behaviors

Aug. 15, 2016 — The nonmedical use of prescription drugs and the misuse of sedatives and opioids were associated with subsequent suicidal thoughts or attempts in a study of Chinese adolescents, according to a new ... read more

Intestinal Flora Effects Drug Response

Aug. 12, 2016 — Intestinal flora has multiple influences on human health, but research has new revealed that it is also likely to have an effect on the body's response to drugs. Individual changes in the ... read more

Drug Sensitivity Restored in Breast Cancer Tumors

Aug. 11, 2016 — A team of cancer researchers has uncovered one way certain tumors resist vital ... read more

Disrupting Mitochondrial Function Could Improve Treatment of Fungal Infections

Aug. 11, 2016 — By identifying new compounds that selectively block mitochondrial respiration in pathogenic fungi, scientists have identified a potential antifungal mechanism that could enable combination therapy ... read more

Targeting the Gut-Brain Connection Can Impact Immunity

Aug. 11, 2016 — The brain and the gut are connected through neural networks that signal hunger and satiety, love and fear, even safety and danger. These networks employ myriad chemical signals that include the ... read more

New Treatment Option for Alzheimer's Disease Possible, Say Researchers

Aug. 11, 2016 — A research project has shown that an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease can be successfully treated with a commonly used anti-inflammatory ... read more

Combining Forces Against Influenza A

Aug. 12, 2016 — Influenza A is one of the most prolific and diverse viruses on Earth; its ability to rapidly mutate to resist treatment challenges the management of future pandemics. Effective antiviral drugs for ... read more

Cancer Drug for Mums-to-Be May Curb Baby Girls' Future Fertility

Aug. 10, 2016 — Chemotherapy treatment during pregnancy may affect the future fertility of unborn baby girls, a study suggests. Researchers have found that a drug called etoposide can damage the development of mouse ... read more

Molecule in Brain May Drive Cocaine Addiction, Scientists Show

Aug. 10, 2016 — Increased levels of a molecule in the brain, called hypocretin, may contribute to cocaine addiction, a new study suggests. The research shows that blocking hypocretin may reduce compulsive ... read more

New Technology Enlisted in Battle Against Hepatitis B

Aug. 10, 2016 — A method for "silencing" RNA that has recently emerged is in clinical trials in Europe, Asia and the United States against hepatitis B, an infection that can destroy the ... read more

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Wednesday, August 24, 2016