Drug Research and Technology update :

Here are some updates on drug research and technology from my reading-

Studies happening on drug based on a snake venom for potential heart failure treatment !

The Wall Street Journal reported, researchers believed that a drug, currently known as CD-NP, based on venom from the Eastern Green Mamba snake may be used to help very ill patients with heart failure. Early research on the drug indicated that it increased kidney function but did not greatly reduce blood pressure.

Study suggests acetaminophen makes vaccines less potent-

A study report sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and published in The Lancet states "studies done in the Czech Republic, found that acetaminophen makes some vaccines less potent." The authors wrote that "fever is part of the immune response, and suppressing it...appeared to impair the body's ability to make antibodies." While "the authors said their findings needed 'further assessment'," they "suggested that antifever medication not be given routinely but only when needed." CDC researchers said in an editorial that the "study offered 'a compelling case' against routine dosing but that the issue required more study.

European regulators grant orphan drug status to hepatocellular carcinoma treatment-

A leading Canadian medical journal published that, "Jennerex Inc.'s lead cancer drug called JX-594, could enjoy market exclusivity in Europe for a decade after a regulatory agency granted the company's product “orphan” drug status. The drug is being developed as "a treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma," and is "expected to enter a phase 3 trial in the second half of 2010."

FDA rejects Rituxan for patients with earlier stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis-

The USFDA has rejected an application to expand the use of rheumatoid arthritis treatment Rituxan [rituximab] for patients with earlier stages of the disease, biotech drug developers Genentech Inc. and Biogen Idec said Saturday. The FDA has allegedly declined to support the expanded use due to a risk for the potentially fatal brain disease, progressive multifocal leukeoencephalopathy, for which there is no reliable treatment. The companies "said that risk is rare," but they "have reports of three cases of this disease occurring in about 100,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with Rituxan.

Disclaimer : The above information has been cited from literature in public domain. This is for research purpose/ dissemination of knowledge only and should not be construed as medical advise.