Pharma News

AstraZeneca announced that MOVENTIG® (naloxegol) has been granted Marketing Authorisation by the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients who have had an inadequate response to laxative(s). MOVENTIG is the first once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) to be approved in the European Union (EU).

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have taken what they describe as “the first step toward a pill that can replace the treadmill” for the control of obesity, though that shift, of course, would not provide all of the many benefits of exercise.

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One of the reasons cancer is so deadly is that it can evade attack from the body's immune system, which allows tumors to flourish and spread. Scientists can try to induce the immune system, known as immunotherapy, to go into attack mode to fight cancer and to build long lasting immune resistance to cancer cells. Now, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) show a non-surgical injection of programmable biomaterial that spontaneously assembles in vivo into a 3D structure could fight and even help prevent cancer and also infectious disease such as HIV. Their findings are reported in Nature Biotechnology.

Plastic is well-known for sticking around in the environment for years without breaking down, contributing significantly to litter and landfills. But scientists have now discovered that bacteria from the guts of a worm known to munch on food packaging can degrade polyethylene, the most common plastic. Reported in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology, the finding could lead to new ways to help get rid of the otherwise persistent waste, the scientists say.

An experimental vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease was well-tolerated and produced immune system responses in all 20 healthy adults who received it in a phase 1 clinical trial conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health. The candidate vaccine, which was co-developed by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was tested at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The interim results are reported online in advance of print in the New England Journal of Medicine.

(1st December, 2014); Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) signs collab oration agreements with two Indian pharmaceutical companies, Cipla Limited and Strides Arcolab Limited for the development of rectal artesunate for pre - referral treatment of children with severe malaria.

(28th November, 2014); The third week of November is celebrated all over the country by pharmacists with pride ensuring pharmaceutical services in the country to be the best to meet the healthcare needs of the people. Also, it provides an opportunity for pharmacy professionals to make the general public awareness about the profession in providing healthcare services, as compared with other medical and related profession.

(26th November, 2014); Kerala based natural drug company, Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd, got US patent of turmeric extract for treatment of Alzheimers disease. BCM-95, has received a US patent (US Patent No. 8859020) for a composition for the treatment of Alzheimers disease comprising curcuminoid mixture and added essential oil of turmeric. The patent also covers method of making the composition.

(18th November, 2014) ; MIT engineers have transformed the genome of the bacterium E. coli into a long-term storage device for memory. They envision that this stable, erasable, and easy-to-retrieve memory will be well suited for applications such as sensors for environmental and medical monitoring.

(17th November, 2014; Business Wire India); We are all aware of the dangers of a heart attack, few are aware of an equally dangerous condition called “Leg Attacks”. Quite similar to heart attacks, leg attacks occur when there are blockages in the blood vessels of the leg. This condition is exacerbated in Diabetics, those aged above 50 and smokers who are at a higher risk of developing blockages or peripheral vascular diseases. Leg attack is one of the extreme conditions arising from blockages in the vessels of the limbs which can lead to non healing ulcer even limb amputation. Most doctors agree that despite the severity of leg attacks, most cases remain undiagnosed till the last stage due to a lack of awareness of the disease and its symptoms.