In the EU blood clots are responsible for killing 544.000 people each year. Rivaroxaban, a new oral given anticoagulant drug from Bayer Healthcare, is significantly more effective than the current standard of care, according to three recent studies. The number of blood cluts in Europe is about 1.5 million per year, more than thirty percent of the patients affected die.
The German chapter of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International had another close look at the German healthcare system. And it didn't like what it found: In an updated policy paper, member of the board of directors Anke Martiny, deplores that "huge amounts of money belonging to the insured are lost" due to lack of transparency, to corruption and fraud.
Bayer and its affiliated firm Icon Genetics developed an own production process which provides the opportunity to make therapeutic proteins from tobacco plants. The pilot plant for biotech drugs opened on June 16 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.
Austria - An unusually high number of measles cases is currently causing concern amongst the public as well as health officials. Presumed to have originated in a private school in Salzburg, increasing numbers of cases were being reported at the end of March and beginning of April.
USA - A new tuberculosis vaccine successfully tested at the University of North Carolina (UNC) is easier to administer and store and just as effective as one commonly used worldwide, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The WHO-Euro region ranges from Portugal to the East Asian parts of Russia, including Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. Because of the increasing numbers of tuberculosis and rates of multidrug resistance (MDR TB), tuberculosis was declared a regional emergency in 2004.
A third of the worlds population is infected with the bacterium Myobacterium tuberculosis which infects around nine million people annually.
The next big development in biological targeted therapies for advanced breast cancer will be drugs acting via multiple mechanisms, experts told delegates attending the 1st Asian Breast Cancer conference, held in New Delhi 9-10 February.
The first FDA-approved prescription medication that reduces blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels in patients with Phenylketonuria (PKU) — a genetic disorder that prevents the normal use of protein foods and can lead to impaired brain development if untreated — could result in more regular screening of blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels in PKU patients.
Patients suffering from moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis experience significantly improved therapeutic effects when combining nasal Azelastine spray with Fluticason nasal spray as opposed to using Fluticason nasal spray by itself. Those are the surprising results of a study released by the Annals of Allergy & Asthma Immunology (1) in January 2008. Azelastine is a first-line,…
During a workshop organized by the European Science Foundation (ESF), researchers discussed further steps in developing computerised “in-silico” models of the heart that simulate the real heart and enable possible drugs and therapies to be tested without risk to people.
Patients with severe COPD may benefit more from therapy that combines salmeterol and fluticasone [SFC] than treatment with tiotropium, according to results from a long-term, multi-center study, “Investigating New Standards for Prophylaxis in Reducing Exacerbations” (INSPIRE) that directly compared the two therapies.
The collaboration between two companies may pave the way for the development of new therapy options for neuroendocrine tumors: Covidien LTd, a global provider of healthcare products and BioSynthema Inc., a company specialized in the discovery and development of molecular targeted biophamaceuticals recently signed an agreement that will gain BioSynthema access to specific Covidien proprietary…
Every developing tissue is supplied by blood vessels with oxygen and nutrients. Tumours grow far more quickly than normal tissues, so have a greater need of nutrients, which is why tumour cells begin to produce growth factors that stimulate the formation of blood vessels.
GS1 is the leading global standards organisation in the healthcare industry. In 56 countries worldwide, GS1 standards have been chosen to identify pharmaceutical products uniquely. Major regulatory bodies have endorsed them, including those in the US, Japan and the UK . It standards improve patient safety and reduce costs in the healthcare supply chain. Automatic product identification on all…
Carestream's molecular imaging group focuses on life sciences, developing high-performance digital imaging systems, imaging agents, film and accessories for the research and drug discovery/development markets.
Influenza infects around 20% of the US population and results in 200,000 hospitalisations annually. It kills about 36,000 citizens. In the USA, only 36% of all healthcare workers are immunised against influenza annually, and now the American College of Physicians (ACP)
The British Midlands' University of Nottingham discovered a possible vaccine for use in the treatment of Hepatits C. At the 161st. meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Edinburgh, UK, a paper titled “Human Antibodies to Hepatits C Virus – Potential for Vaccine Design” was presented.
Researchers from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK, presented a study at The British Pharmaceutical Conference, held from 10th to 12th September, 2007, at Manchester Central, showing that a chemical coating is able to encapsulate and protect insulin against enzymes that usually break down the hormone in the gastrointestinal tract.
UK & France - The Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET), the biggest global clinical trial to assess the benefits of lowering blood pressure in patients aged 80+, was halted in July, two years before its scheduled completion in 2009.
The Glide Solid Dose Injector (SDI), the needle-free drug delivery system that injects drugs in solid dosage form into the skin, has contributed to its manufacturer, Glide Pharma, winning the Best Business Award at the 2007 Medical Futures Innovation Awards.
The Swiss company Novartis recently received the FDA approval for the U.S. market for their new osteoporosis drug “Reclast”, a therapy that is only given once a year via a 15-minute infusion. The new treatment option is especially designed for women who suffer from post-menopausal osteoporosis.
Case 1 50-year-old male with a colorectal cancer. Greyscale imaging clearly shows the lesion, as an echogenic 3 cm mass (Fig.l a), which must be considered as suspicious for a metastasis from his colorectal cancer but benefit of the doubt must be given. Colour Doppler (Fig. 1b) is not helpful. At 33 seconds after SonoVue injection (early sinusoidal phase), Vascular Recognition Imaging (VRI)…
A study of european scientists reveals that misfolded amyloid beta proteins, generally regarded as the cause for Alzheimer's disease, could also cause glaucoma. The scientists tested several drugs and their effect on the progression of glaucoma - pharmaceuticals usually used to treat Alzheimer's disease had most effect.
Phosphagenics' TPM uses natural dermal transport mechanisms to deliver a dose of medication through the skin into the bloodstream. Now a Phase 1b transdermal insulin trial was completed successfully.
