Pharma News

Immune Design, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on oncology, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation for LV305 and G305 for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.  LV305 and G305 are the complementary agents that comprise CMB305, Immune Design's "prime boost" cancer immunotherapy product candidate.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced that it has acquired IOmet, a privately-held UK-based drug discovery company focused on the development of innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer, with a particular emphasis on the fields of cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism. Under terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire IOmet, including its comprehensive pre-clinical pipeline of IDO (indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1), TDO (tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase), and dual-acting IDO/TDO inhibitors. Based on the transaction, IOmet will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck.

MST–Medical Surgery Technologies Ltd., a leader in the field of advanced image-based robotic technology, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Follow Me™ software designed for minimally invasive robotic surgery. Follow Me™ is an advanced function of MST’s AutoLap®, an image-guided laparoscope positioning system. Powered by MST’s image-based intelligence technology, AutoLap® enables full and natural control of the surgical procedure with minimal user interaction.

Stealth BioTherapeutics (Stealth), a biopharmaceutical company developing drug candidates for treating mitochondrial dysfunction, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for MTP-131 (also known as Bendavia) for the treatment of primary mitochondrial myopathy, characterized by muscle weakness in patients with genetic mitochondrial diseases. MTP-131 is currently being studied for the treatment of primary mitochondrial myopathy in its MMPOWER trial, with results expected midyear.

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown cellular defect in patients with Parkinson's disease, and identified a sequence of pathological events that can trigger or accelerate premature death of certain neurons in the brain seen in this disease.

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Researchers have found out a new blood test that can closely track metastatic melanoma -- one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer.

Long term use of nutritional supplements containing chromium may increase the risk of contracting cancer, warns a new study.

Popping common over-the-counter pills for controlling stomach acid, gas and heartburn daily may put you at chronic kidney disease risk in the long run, a team from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and others have cautioned.

AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced the start of a large Phase 3 clinical trial program to study the use of ABT-494, an investigational, once-daily, oral selective JAK1 inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This program will include adult patients with inadequate responses (IR) to conventional or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), as well as methotrexate-naive patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for the Integra Omnigraft Dermal Regeneration Matrix (Omnigraft) to treat certain diabetic foot ulcers. The matrix device, which is made of silicone, cow collagen, and shark cartilage, is placed over the ulcer and provides an environment for new skin and tissue to regenerate and heal the wound.