Drug Research and Technology updates-

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

Halt on research for late-stage study of Aflibercept:

Press release reports state that, a late-stage study of a cancer drug candidate aflibercept has been stopped, because it was not working much better than a placebo. The trial was designed to evaluate aflibercept as a primary treatment for pancreatic cancer that had metastasized and compared a combination of aflibercept and the chemotherapy drug Gemzar (gemcitabine) to Gemzar + placebo. But an interim analysis of results showed patients taking aflibercept were not surviving significantly longer than the placebo group. Aflibercept is still being tested as a primary treatment for prostate cancer, and as secondary treatments for colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

Duloxetine HCl (Cymbalta) reported to reduces chronic back pain:

Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) reduced pain over 41 weeks for patients with chronic lower back pain, as the drugmaker again tries to gain Food and Drug Administration approval for the new use. In a study involving 181 patients, 58 patients showed that there was a 30 percent reduction in pain over 41 weeks. For over a year, researchers have been trying to gain approval for the new indication, but in November 2008 withdrew its FDA application, after agency evaluators questioned the drug's effectiveness in treating chronic pain.

Avastin may shrink NF2 patients' tumors, study suggests:

Reports in the New England Journal of Medicine state that the use of Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and how the therapy wasn't uniformly successful" in a trial of eight patients, but tumors shrank 20 percent or more in six patients. Four patients had their hearing restored and none reported serious side effects The study was the supposedly first successful trial of a medicine to reverse hearing loss and reduce tumor volume in NF2 patients.

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.