Pharma News

Living Cell Technologies Limited, a global company pioneering the development of a cell implant to treat diabetes, has received approval to advance to the next phase of its New Zealand phase-II human clinical trial with its groundbreaking Diabecell. The approval follows a positive assessment from the New Zealand Data Safety and Monitoring Board of the first four patients to receive its Diabecell implants.

Allergan, Inc. and Serenity Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced a global agreement for the development and commercialization of Ser-120, a phase III investigational drug currently in clinical development for the treatment of nocturia, a common yet often under-diagnosed urological disorder in adults characterized by frequent urination at night time.

Aiming to expedite cases pertaining to spurious and substandard drugs in the state, the Karnataka government with the consent of chief justice of Karnataka High Court has constituted 30 Special Courts in 30 districts. This notification comes in the wake of the powers conferred under Section 36 AB(1)of the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amended) Act, 2008.

Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has started scouting for industrial partner to licence and commercialise a live, oral cholera vaccine (IOCV) strain, with a view to make an affordable vaccine available in domestic and overseas markets.

In an effort to pursue its demands on amending the Pharmacy Act, 1948, by taking the latest changes in the sector into consideration, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is envisaging a meeting with the Union Health Ministry, probably in the second week of April.

Narayana Hrudayalaya Tissue Bank and Stem Cell Research Centre (NHTB-SCRC) has slated an investment of Rs 1.50 crore for the facility expansion this year. The Centre which commenced operations in October 2009, now intends to further increase its research efforts in chord cell therapies. The facility now requires additional storage and processing units for the same. The expansion will be underway by June this year.

Singapore, Mar 30, 2010: A new and simple test to help patients cope better with COPD, a chronic lung disease is being launched to local medical practitioners of Singapore. Experts now hope the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) that was funded by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and is freely available for use, will be a significant breakthrough in efforts to reduce the burden of one of the world’s most debilitating diseases.

The H1N1 swine flu virus can develop resistance quickly to antivirals used to treat it, U.S. doctors reported on Friday.

Government researchers reported on the cases of two people with compromised immune systems who developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy.

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The Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), the cornerstone legal authority for the provision of health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives, was made permanent when President Obama signed the bill on March 23, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The authorization of appropriations for the IHCIA had expired in 2000, and while various versions of the bill were considered by Congress since then, the act now has no expiration date.

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