Category Archives: Drugs

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/h8xwpv/therapeutic_protei) has announced the addition of the "Therapeutic Proteins to 2016. Drugs, Devices, Diseases, Markets and Forecasts" report to their offering. In recent years, the number of protein-based pharmaceuticals reaching the marketplace has increased exponentially. The clinical application of these drugs is limited by a lack of desirable attributes for adequate absorption or distribution. It therefore becomes critical to formulate these drugs into safe, stable and efficacious delivery systems. Because these drugs face formidable enzymatic and penetration barriers when administered orally, peptide and protein drugs continue to be developed almost exclusively for parenteral administration. These combination drug-device products, where the drug and device are clinically tested and approved as a single product entity, are becoming one of the fastest new drug categories. The growth of protein drug products is having a significant effect on the way drugs and devices are developed. Cooperation between device designers and drug developers is occurring much earlier in the drug development cycle, allowing device designs in many cases to be tailored to the bioavailability targets and pharmacokinetic profiles of specific drug therapies. Highlights: - Analyzes approved therapeutic protein products and pipeline candidates and assesses the market potential for existing and … Continue reading →

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Editor's note: Harriet A. Washington is a medical ethicist, a former research fellow at Harvard Medical School and the author of two books, "Medical Apartheid" and "Deadly Monopolies." (CNN) -- What if most of the drugs your doctor gave you were untested, forcing him or her to guess at the correct medication and dosage -- making you an unwitting research subject whenever you took a pill? Dr. Florence Bourgeois and her colleagues at Harvard University have just reminded us that today, this very situation confronts the world's children. Four of every five kids hospitalized in the United States are treated with drugs that have never been tested in them, according to Bourgeois' report in this week's Pediatrics journal. They are approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for adults. And outside the hospital, one-third of all children take such medications. Doctors can legally use such drugs, but determining a safe, effective dose -- if there is one -- can be a matter of guesswork, because little ones can metabolize drugs very differently than adults. For instance, the cheap broad-spectrum antibiotic chloramphenicol, used most frequently in low-income countries, can debilitate infants, causing vomiting, low blood pressure and impaired … Continue reading →

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Editor's note: Harriet A. Washington is a medical ethicist, a former research fellow at Harvard Medical School and the author of two books, "Medical Apartheid" and "Deadly Monopolies." (CNN) -- What if most of the drugs your doctor gave you were untested, forcing him or her to guess at the correct medication and dosage -- making you an unwitting research subject whenever you took a pill? Dr. Florence Bourgeois and her colleagues at Harvard University have just reminded us that today, this very situation confronts the world's children. Four of every five kids hospitalized in the United States are treated with drugs that have never been tested in them, according to Bourgeois' report in this week's Pediatrics journal. They are approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for adults. And outside the hospital, one-third of all children take such medications. Doctors can legally use such drugs, but determining a safe, effective dose -- if there is one -- can be a matter of guesswork, because little ones can metabolize drugs very differently than adults. For instance, the cheap broad-spectrum antibiotic chloramphenicol, used most frequently in low-income countries, can debilitate infants, causing vomiting, low blood pressure and impaired … Continue reading →

BETHESDA, Md., April 30 (UPI) -- Two drugs used for age-related macular degeneration were "highly effective" but Avastin was more frequently used in a head-to-head test, U.S. researchers said. Dr. Paul A. Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, said prior to the test, conducted two years ago, Avastin and Lucentis had never been compared head-to-head. Both drugs block growth of abnormal blood vessels and leakage of fluid from the vessels. Avastin is approved for other indications and most clinicians use it on an as-needed basis when there is evidence of active disease, such as fluid leakage, Sieving said. The drug trial was designed to compare Avastin and Lucentis with monthly and as-needed treatment schedules. "Both drugs were highly effective regardless of the approach to dosing. There was slightly less vision gain with as-needed treatment," said Dr. Daniel F. Martin, study chair for the trial and chairman of the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. "Patients seeking the small extra advantage of monthly treatment need to be mindful of the additional burden, risks, and costs of monthly injections. Since as-needed dosing required 10 fewer eye injections over the course of two years … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Ophthalmic Drugs: World Market Prospects 2012-2022 http://www.reportlinker.com/p0847305/Ophthalmic-Drugs-World-Market-Prospects-2012-2022.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_and_Medication Report Details How to find trends and revenue predictions for the ophthalmic drug industry What are the commercial prospects for treating eye disorders? Visiongain's report shows you potential revenues to 2022 - data, forecasts and discussions. This study investigates prescription drugs treating human eye diseases. It lets you assess forecasted sales trends at world market, therapeutic submarket, product and national level to 2022. How will 20 leading ophthalmic drugs - including Lucentis, Visudyne, Xalatan/Xalacom and Restasis - perform from 2012? Our investigation gives you business research and analysis with sales forecasts. You also see forecasting of five submarkets to 2022, finding potential revenues: Glaucoma treatments Read more here: Ophthalmic Drugs: World Market Prospects 2012-2022 … Continue reading →

By Thomas H. Maugh II / For the Booster Shots blog April 27, 2012, 9:56 a.m. The Food and Drug Administration warned Friday that doctors should not prescribe and patients should not use the hepatitis C drug Victrelis (boceprevir) and the anti-HIV drug ritonavir at the same time because such use reduces the effectiveness of both drugs. Patients already using the two drugs simultaneously should not stop taking them without consulting their doctor, however, the agency cautioned. Ritonavir, a protease inhibitor, is commonly used to boost the effectiveness of other protease inhibitors and is found in Reyataz (atazanavir/ritonavir), Prezista (darunavir/ritonavir) and Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir). Clinical trials have shown that using the two drugs simultaneously reduces the level of both compounds circulating in the blood and can thus lead to a virologic rebound in which the HIV virus develops resistance to the drugs. A similar effect has been observed with the recently approved hepatitis C drug Incivek (telaprevir), and a warning already appears on the label of that drug. A warning against co-use of the drugs will now be placed on Victrelis' label. LATimesScience@gmail.com Twitter: @LATMaugh Go here to see the original: FDA: Don't use certain hepatitis and HIV drugs together … Continue reading →

27 April 2012 Last updated at 07:54 ET The mother of an 18-year-old shot in Londonderry has said she believes he was targeted because he was a drug user. The teenager was shot in both legs at Rinmore Drive in Creggan shortly after 22:00 BST on Thursday. He was treated in hospital before being discharged. His mother was told to take him to the location, and waited at the top of a lane while he was shot twice. "I know what happened was wrong but hopefully he'll get help," she said. The dissident group Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) is suspected to have been behind the attack, which been condemned by politicians and police. The woman said she believed he was targeted "because he was dealing in drugs to feed his habit". I just did what had to be done "It should never have come to this, he shouldn't have been doing what he was doing," she said. "I don't agree with drug dealing and hopefully we can work from here to get him the help he needs." Follow this link: Teen shot over drugs says mother … Continue reading →

Redfoo at the launch of Marquee nightclub at The Star casino. Picture: James Morgan Source: The Sunday Telegraph JMo hits the purple carpet at the Marquee opening, the most anticipated nightclub launch of the year. Video still of Drug tests conducted by Channel 7 news on the casino Gaming floor at The Star. Source: The Sunday Telegraph Video still of Drug tests conducted by Channel 7 news on the casino Gaming floor at The Star. Source: The Sunday Telegraph THEY promised a "drug-free" nightclub - but tests for narcotics inside The Star's $20 million Marquee have uncovered traces of cocaine and "ice". The drugs were detected in male and female toilets as well as a bar-top in the lavish new club's VIP room. The alarming results come just weeks after The Star's boss, Larry Mullin, launched the nightclub, telling The Sunday Telegraph: "We don't tolerate drugs, we don't want any of that crap in here." In a special joint investigation with Seven News -- spanning a fortnight -- tests were conducted across more than 10 sites at The Star and found evidence of the drugs cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and opiates. Testing was overseen by Seven reporter, former high-ranking NSW Police … Continue reading →

Recent studies at Harvard, U.C.L.A. and my alma mater John Hopkins have now made it plain that doctors shouldas soon as proper safeguards can be put in placebe free to offer illicit drugs to patients who are terminally ill, in order to ease their emotional suffering and potentially offer them new perspectivesfueled by drug-induced insightsinto issues like their own mortality. At Harvard, Dr. John Halpern (as reported in the New York Times) tested MDMA (the street drug Ecstasy) to determine if it would ease the anxieties in two patients with terminal cancer. At U.C.L.A. and Hopkins, Drs. Charles Grob and Roland Griffiths used psilocybin (the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms) to help cancer patients past their paralyzing, debilitating fears. The results are reportedly consistently good. In many cases, patients are able to cope with their physical pain and psychological turmoil better than before. Some, no doubt, feel the drugs opened doors of perception previously closed to them, allowing them to make peace with their lives and the impending end of their lives. The truth is that the likelihood of creating an MDMA or psilocybin addict out of a terminal cancer patient is exactly zero. And, while we all know the … Continue reading →

24 April 2012 Last updated at 01:48 ET By Ciara Riddell BBC NI District Journalist A County Antrim woman has told the BBC how drugs turned her happy child into a withdrawn and agitated teenager. She has claimed paramilitaries are behind drug dealing in east Antrim, and that drugs are readily available. She said it was a major issue in the area and not enough was being done to stop drug dealers targeting young people. Julia, not her real name, said she suspected her son was taking drugs when he was about 14-years-old. She said he changed over a period of time from being a bubbly, family-orientated child to a withdrawn and agitated teenager. Her fears were confirmed when she sought advice from her GP and drug awareness centres and was told what signs to look out for. But she had never dreamed her son would become involved in drugs. "I was embarrassed to go to other parents. You know everyone is talking about your child," she said. "They get labelled as a scum bag and they're not. They get drawn into this thing. It puts pressure on everyone in the family." See more here: How drugs change my child's … Continue reading →