Pharma News

 Japan based Tanaka Holdings has developed the world's first kit able to directly detect the ZIKA virus (ZIKV) in blood. The kit is capable of rapid ZIKV detection in just 10 to 15 minutes. Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo plans to supply samples for clinical evaluation with a view to collaboration with domestic and overseas medical manufacturers.

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A new study shows that it is possible to reduce the level of sugar in muffins without affecting their textural properties by replacing half of the sugar content with stevianna or inulin, which are plant-based sweeteners. Also, after individuals consumed sugar-replaced muffins, their glycemic response--or the concentration of glucose in the blood--was lower than when they consumed regular muffins.

In a pair of firsts, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that the drug candidate phenanthriplatin can be more effective than an approved drug in vivo, and that a plant-virus-based carrier successfully delivers a drug in vivo.

Evidence of DNA "scrunching" may one day lead to a new class of drugs against viruses, according to a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Columbia University. The team is led by Stephen C. Harvey, PhD, an adjunct professor in the department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Penn. The scientists report in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B that DNA may go through a repetitive cycle of contraction and elongation, or as they put it, "scrunching," to generate the forces required to drive the DNA into a virus during replication. A better understanding of viral reproduction could be the basis of new ways to fight infectious pathogens.

A study of emergency department (ED) patients with symptoms of gonorrhea or chlamydia found that three in four patients who were treated with antibiotics actually tested negative for these sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to a new study presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Novartis announced data from a phase III study showing a significant survival benefit for patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive advanced melanoma when treated with the first-line combination of Tafinlar (dabrafenib) + Mekinist (trametinib) compared to Tafinlar monotherapy.

Novartis announced that it will present 33 scientific abstracts at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2016) in London, UK. This includes new long-term analyses suggesting Cosentyx® (secukinumab) may lead to higher responses than Humira (adalimumab) in improving the signs and symptoms of people living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) at 52 weeks.  These analyses are from two studies using the Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparisons (MAIC) method. MAIC is a valid and accepted method for comparative effectiveness research.

Roche announced that the European Commission has approved the use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with Tarceva® (erlotinib) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-activating mutations.

Allergan plc announced the approval of BYVALSON™ (nebivolol and valsartan) 5 mg/ 80 mg tablets, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure. BYVALSON is the first and only fixed-dose combination (FDC) of a beta blocker (BB) and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) available in the U.S.