Roche says Avastin prolongs life in breast cancer study

Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014


Roche says Avastin prolongs life in breast cancer study

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche said its cancer drug Avastin helped women with a common form of breast cancer live longer without their disease worsening, when used in combination with chemotherapy drug Xeloda. Results of a Phase III study involving 185 patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer found those treated with both drugs saw an almost threefold improvement in how long they lived without their disease getting worse compared with those taking Avastin alone. ...

German Alzheimer's drug developer Probiodrug plans Amsterdam IPO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Probiodrug AG, a developer of treatments for Alzheimer's disease plans to list its shares in Amsterdam via an initial public offer (IPO), it said on Thursday, adding to the growing number of European biotech firms looking to share markets to raise new funds. It is working on drugs to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer as opposed to available treatments which mainly address the symptoms of cognitive decline, Probiodrug said in a statement. ...

GlaxoSmithKline appoints RBS's Hampton as next chairman

Chairman of RBS Philip Hampton speaks at the annual CBI conference in central LondonBy Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday it had chosen Philip Hampton, who currently chairs Royal Bank of Scotland , as its next chairman. Hampton will be taking the helm at Britain's biggest drugmaker at a testing time. GSK was hit last week by a record $489 million fine in China for bribing doctors and has warned on profits in 2014 due to weak sales of its core respiratory drugs. He will join the board in January, become deputy chairman on April 1 and chairman with effect from Sept. 1, 2015 - or earlier if released from other commitments. ...



Ebola toll nears 3,000 as medics face bed shortage, resistance

Health workers bring woman suspected of having contracted Ebola virus to an ambulance in front of a crowd in MonroviaGENEVA (Reuters) - At least 2,917 people have died of Ebola out of 6,263 cases in the five West African countries affected by the disease, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The WHO said it still needed offers of 1,550 more bed spaces in Liberia, and there were reports from the Fassankoni area of Guinea that locals had set up roadblocks to intercept Ebola response teams trying to enter the area.



NutraSweet to exit artificial sweetener aspartame business

(Reuters) - Artificial sweetener maker NutraSweet Co said on Wednesday it would exit its aspartame business by the end of the year, citing increasing foreign competition. Aspartame, which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, is widely used to sweeten diet sodas. "Low-cost imports now dominate the aspartame market, making it impossible for us to sustain a profitable business ...," Chief Executive William DeFer said in a statement. The company markets its aspartame-based sweeteners under the brand name NutraSweet aspartame. ...

Nicox gets boost from strong prospects for glaucoma drug

PARIS (Reuters) - French pharmaceutical firm Nicox unveiled positive Phase III results for its glaucoma drug on Thursday and said, if approved by regulators, the product could reach peak annual sales of over $1 billion worldwide. Shares in the company shot up as much as 26 percent on the news, giving the company a market capitalization of around 205 million euros ($261.5 million). Nicox estimates that the drug, called Vesneo (latanoprostene bunod) and designed to treat glaucoma and ocular hypertension, could reach peak annual sales of around $500 million in the United States alone. ...

GlaxoSmithKline appoints RBS's Hampton as next chairman

Chairman of RBS Philip Hampton speaks at the annual CBI conference in central LondonBy Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday it had chosen Philip Hampton, who currently chairs Royal Bank of Scotland , as its next chairman. Hampton will be taking the helm at Britain's biggest drugmaker at a testing time. GSK was hit last week by a record $489 million fine in China for bribing doctors and has warned on profits in 2014 due to weak sales of its core respiratory drugs. He will join the board in January, become deputy chairman on April 1 and chairman with effect from Sept. 1, 2015 - or earlier if released from other commitments. ...



Allowing blood donations from gay men could help save over a million lives - U.S. study

A gay couple holds hands during a rally in support of the United States Supreme Court decision on marriage rights in San DiegoBy Jennifer Chaussee SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - (This story from Sept. 19 has been refiled to correct stated position of medical groups in paragraph 6) Lifting a ban on blood donations from gay men would increase the amount of available blood by hundreds of thousands of pints (liters) each year and save more than a million lives a year, a California study showed on Friday. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration has banned gay men from donating blood since 1983, when it was discovered that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was being transmitted through transfusions. ...



German Alzheimer's drug developer Probiodrug plans Amsterdam IPO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Probiodrug AG, a developer of treatments for Alzheimer's disease plans to list its shares in Amsterdam via an initial public offer (IPO), it said on Thursday, adding to the growing number of European biotech firms looking to share markets to raise new funds. It is working on drugs to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer as opposed to available treatments which mainly address the symptoms of cognitive decline, Probiodrug said in a statement. ...

Trend for trying e-cigarettes may be leveling off

FILE - In this April 23, 2014, file photo, Daryl Cura demonstrates an e-cigarette at Vape store in Chicago. A new government study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the growing trend in U.S. adults who have tried electronic cigarettes may be leveling off, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)NEW YORK (AP) — A new government study suggests the number of U.S. adults who have tried electronic cigarettes may be leveling off.



Novartis reports positive trials for arthritis drug

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said two late-stage trials showed its drug secukinumab improved symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis associated with the skin disease psoriasis that causes joint pain, stiffness and swelling. The trials, which involved a total of more than 1,000 people, showed the drug improved peripheral joint disease and prevented joint damage compared with a placebo and helped clear patients' skin, Novartis said in a statement on Thursday. ...

Doctor calls for blood donations to treat Liberian Ebola victims

By James Giahyue MONROVIA (Reuters) - The head of a treatment centre in Liberia, the country worst-hit by West Africa's deadly Ebola outbreak, has urged survivors of the disease to donate their blood for use in treating infected patients. The epidemic has already killed over 2,800 people - more than the combined total of all previous Ebola outbreaks - most of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where it has overwhelmed already fragile health services. ...

Roche says Avastin prolongs life in breast cancer study

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche said its cancer drug Avastin helped women with a common form of breast cancer live longer without their disease worsening, when used in combination with chemotherapy drug Xeloda. Results of a Phase III study involving 185 patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer found those treated with both drugs saw an almost threefold improvement in how long they lived without their disease getting worse compared with those taking Avastin alone. ...

Roche says Avastin prolongs life in breast cancer study

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche said its cancer drug Avastin helped women with a common form of breast cancer live longer without their disease worsening, when used in combination with chemotherapy drug Xeloda. Results of a Phase III study involving 185 patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer found those treated with both drugs saw an almost threefold improvement in how long they lived without their disease getting worse compared with those taking Avastin alone. ...

German Alzheimer's drug developer Probiodrug plans Amsterdam IPO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Probiodrug AG, a developer of treatments for Alzheimer's disease plans to list its shares in Amsterdam via an initial public offer (IPO), it said on Thursday, adding to the growing number of European biotech firms looking to share markets to raise new funds. It is working on drugs to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer as opposed to available treatments which mainly address the symptoms of cognitive decline, Probiodrug said in a statement. ...

Novartis reports positive trials for arthritis drug

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said two late-stage trials showed its drug secukinumab improved symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis associated with the skin disease psoriasis that causes joint pain, stiffness and swelling. The trials, which involved a total of more than 1,000 people, showed the drug improved peripheral joint disease and prevented joint damage compared with a placebo and helped clear patients' skin, Novartis said in a statement on Thursday. ...





{ 0 comments... read them below or add one }