Gold nanoparticles could be an important part of developing a treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to new research published yesterday in the journal ACS Nano. Previous work demonstrated that gold nanoparticles can be an effective vehicle to carry chemotherapy drugs into tumors. They can also act as a target to enhance the impact of radiation on […]
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Mylan, Theravance touts Phase III data for COPD drug
Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) and Theravance Biopharma, Inc. (NSDQ:TBPH) said today that revefenacin, the 1st nebulized bronchodilator in development for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, demonstrated positive results in 2 replicate phase III efficacy studies. Data from more than 1,250 moderate to severe COPD patients showed that both studies met their efficacy and safety endpoints. Revefenacin […]
Akesys, Elixir Medical tout 1st implant for Prava bioresorbable peripheral stent
Akesys Medical and Elixir Medical Corporation said today that it implanted its 1st Prava sirolimus eluting bioresorbable peripheral scaffold for the treatment of blockages in the superficial femoral artery. The scaffold was developed to keep the large artery in the thigh open and restore blood flow to the leg and resorb into the body, making […]
Keystone Nano wins orphan designation for ceramide liver cancer treatment
Keystone Nano said today that its ceramide nanoliposome won orphan drug status from the FDA for the treatment of liver cancer. The designation provides the company with a window of market exclusivity after product approval. The State College, Penn.-based company touted its nanoliposome delivery system as being able to load both water-loving and water-hating compounds and […]
SteadyMed details commercialization plans for Trevyent
SteadyMed Therapeutics (NSDQ:STDY) today detailed the development of its lead drug candidate, Trevyent (treprostinil sodium), for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension using its PatchPump tech at the Parenteral Drug Assn. Conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. PatchPump is the 1st single-use, wearable, pre-filled pump and treprostinil will be the 1st drug integrated with the delivery system, according to the San […]
FDA awards product development grants for rare diseases
The FDA said yesterday that it awarded 21 clinical trial research grants totaling more than $23 million over the next 4 years to stimulate product development for patients with rare diseases. The Orphan Products Clinical Trials Grants Program has awarded more than $370 million to fund more than 590 clinical studies since its creation in […]
Mast Therapeutics inks deal with Philips Respironics for iNeb aerosol delivery device
Mast Therapeutics (NYSE:MSTX) said today that its subsidiary Aires Pharmaceuticals landed a collaborative agreement with Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) sleep and respiratory care subsidiary Philips Respironics. The agreement covers Philips’ iNeb aerosol drug delivery device and Mast’s lead product candidate, AIR001, a sodium nitrite solution for intermittent inhalation. The iNeb system is a portable, small vibrating mesh technology […]
Physicists develop first artificial cell-like vesicles from natural proteins
Researchers at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany have developed cell-like vesicles made from a bilayer of naturally occuring proteins that can be used in an aqueous or an oil-based environment. The team was characterizing naturally occurring proteins called hydrophobins when they observed a strange behavior. “We noticed that the hydrophobins form colonies when they are placed in […]
Physics-modeling software solves drug-delivery engineering problem
Software that models the laws of physics is usually used by theoretical physicists. But a multi-physics program based on “1st principles” can be used in real-world applications, as evidenced by a problem that cropped up for Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) while developing needle-based drug-delivery systems. Bernard McGarvey, a senior engineering advisor for the US pharma giant, said the […]
Aerogen touts study of Solo vibrating mesh for aerosol drug delivery
Aerogen today touted results from a study showing a 32% reduction in hospital admissions when patients were treated using its Solo vibrating mesh aerosol drug delivery system, compared to a small-volume nebulizer. The Chicago-based company’s vibrating mesh is used to treat respiratory disorders such as COPD, asthma, or influenza, all of which are exacerbated in the […]
