Category: New Drug
Slow-Healing Bones May Get Boost From Drug
Thursday, 16 April, 2009 05:48 Written by admin
A drug that boosts the body’s production of stem cells appears to “jump-start” the bone-healing process to a point that older adults’ bones heal as fast as young people’s, suggest preliminary results released Tuesday by U.S. researchers.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York gave teriparatide (Forteo) to 145 people who had bone fractures that had not healed, many for six months or more. They found that 93 percent of them showed significant healing and pain control after eight to 12 weeks.
Pfizer Cancer Drug Shows Benefits, Shares Rise
Friday, 13 March, 2009 20:28 Written by admin
A late-stage clinical study of Pfizer Inc’s (PFE) Sutent was halted early after the drug showed significant benefit in patients with a rare form of cancer, the drugmaker said on Thursday, sending its shares up 3.5%.
An independent committee monitoring the study recommended halting it after concluding that patients on Sutent stayed free of disease progression for longer than those on placebo plus best supportive care.
The patients in the study had advanced pancreatic islet cell tumors, a rare cancer with limited treatment options, according to Pfizer.
Company says new gout treatment approved by FDA
Sunday, 15 February, 2009 07:55 Written by admin
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first new treatment for gout in more than 40 years, a company said Saturday.
Takeda Inc. said Uloric, a once-daily drug, was approved by the FDA on Friday to fight gout, a painful joint disease that mainly strikes middle-aged men. About 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from gout, a form of arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid in the blood.
Zolpimist Approved for Insomnia
Monday, 22 December, 2008 17:13 Written by admin
NovaDel Pharma’s Zolpimist (zolpidem tartrate) oral spray has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for short-term treatment of insomnia, the drug’s maker said Monday.
Approved in 5-milligram and 10-milligram strengths, the spray contains the same active ingredient as the widely used prescription sleep aid Ambien.