Pharma News

Waters has now unveiled the new Xevo TQ-XS mass spectrometer, which is far advanced  sensitive bench-top tandem quadrupole instrument. It features a unique combination of ion optics, detection and ionization technologies resulting in levels of sensitivity not previously seen. The Xevo TQ-XS is expected to be available for shipment in June 2016 and was on public display for the first time at MSSJ in Osaka, Japan, May 18 – 20. It will be on display at ASMS in San Antonio, TX, June 5 – 9.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAC) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Anacor for $99.25 per Anacor share, in cash, for a total transaction value, net of cash, of approximately $5.2 billion, which assumes the conversion of Anacor’s outstanding convertible notes. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Anacor’s flagship asset, crisaborole, a differentiated non-steroidal topical PDE4 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory properties, is currently under review by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, commonly referred to as eczema.

Combining radiation treatments with a new generation of immunotherapies is showing promise as a one-two-punch against melanoma, Loyola Medicine researchers report in the Journal of Radiation Oncology.Radiation kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Immunotherapies work by harnessing a patient's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells. When combined, the two therapies appear to have synergistic effects, according to the article by James S. Welsh, MD and colleagues.

A type of brain cell known as microglia plays a key role in reducing the effects of cocaine in the brain, according to a major study by a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montreal.

Using gene editing technology, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have, for the first time, successfully excised a segment of HIV-1 DNA - the virus responsible for AIDS - from the genomes of living animals. The breakthrough, described online this month in the journal Gene Therapy, is a critical step in the development of a potentially curative strategy for HIV infection.

The discovery of penicillin has led to a sharp decline of syphilis around the world, except in Africa. In a new study, Prof. Chris Kenyon of the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) describes the different rates of decline of syphilis around the world. This week the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also published its latest figures on syphilis in Europe.

Profound Medical Corp. announced that it has been granted Investigational Device Exemption (“IDE”) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), for a multicenter Pivotal Clinical Trial (“Pivotal Trial”). The objective of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy of the TULSA-PROTM System in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. announced that an Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review the REMOXY® New Drug Application (NDA), tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 5, 2016.  This is intended to be a joint meeting of the FDA's Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee.

[adsense:336x280:8701650588]

Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) for the treatment of people with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-based chemotherapy, or whose disease has worsened within 12 months of receiving platinum-based chemotherapy before surgery (neoadjuvant) or after surgery (adjuvant). Urothelial carcinoma accounts for 90% of all bladder cancers and can also be found in the renal pelvis, ureter and urethra.

Genmab A/S announced that the Phase III POLLUX study (MMY3003) of daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma met the primary endpoint of improving progression free survival (PFS) at a pre-planned interim analysis (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.37 (95% CI 0.27-0.52), p < 0.0001).  Patients who received treatment with daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone had a 63% reduction in risk of their disease progressing, compared to those who did not receive daratumumab. The median PFS for patients treated with daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone has not been reached, compared to an estimated median PFS of 18.4 months for patients who received lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone.