Pharma News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration  approved Fluad, the first seasonal influenza vaccine containing an adjuvant. Fluad, a trivalent vaccine produced from three influenza virus strains (two subtype A and one type B), is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 65 years of age and older.

The injectable drug has been hailed as the first meaningful advance in treating haemophilia A in 20 years, and looks set to be a big earner for the partners. Elocta – a recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) – is already launched in the US, Canada and Australia under the Eloctate trade name, and is forecast to reach peak sales of $1.5 billion thanks to patient-friendly dosing that increases the time between injections.

Cocoa and green tea contain substances that can help prevent and treat renal complications or diabetic retinopathy, a study has shown.

A record number of people -- over 142,000 -- were diagnosed with HIV in Europe in 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Thursday.

Hic! Comet Lovejoy is living up to its name by releasing large amounts of alcohol - as much as 500 bottles of wine every second - into space, scientists have found. The discovery marks the first time ethyl alcohol, the same type in alcoholic beverages, has been observed in a comet, researchers said.

When 49-year-old Veena Gandhi came to Dr Tarun Mittal, a laparoscopic and obesity surgeon at Sir Gangaram Hospital in the capital, she had difficulty walking with shortness of breath and acute pain in her joints. The culprit: obesity.

In a major advancement towards therapies for patients with liver damage, scientists have developed a new technique for growing liver cells from stem cells that is cost-effective and could be adapted for mass production of clinical grade cells.

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Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the Board of Directors has increased the company’s quarterly dividend to $0.46 per outstanding share of the company’s common stock, up $0.01 from $0.45 per outstanding share paid last quarter. Payment will be made on Jan. 8, 2016, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 15, 2015.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) to prevent disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax disease. The vaccine’s new use is approved for people 18 through 65 years of age in conjunction with recommended antibiotic treatment. BioThrax was initially approved by the FDA in 1970 for the prevention of anthrax disease in persons at high risk of exposure.