Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have shown that a combination of 2 topical drugs can trigger an immune response against precancerous skin lesions. The study was published yesterday in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The 2 drugs, calcipotriol and 5-fluorouracil, have been in use for years – topical 5-fluorouracil is […]
Research & Development
Ivenix CEO Randle looks to reboot the infusion pump
Ivenix CEO Stuart Randle began his foray into drug pump delivery systems at Baxter in 1988, when he led the company’s effort to develop the 1st needle-free IV system. More than 20 years later, when he was approached about the corner office at Ivenix, Randle revisited the infusion pump industry and saw that the technology had not kept up […]
Novartis backs off from 2016 date for testing Google autofocus lens
Novartis (NYSE:NVS) is reportedly backing off a 2016 start date to test its autofocusing contact lens in clinical trials, but it told Reuters that the product is “progressing steadily” in its collaboration with Google (NSDQ:GOOGL). In 2014, CEO Joe Jimenez said he hoped the lens would be on the market in 5 years and last year he said his […]
Artificial pancreas deemed safe for hospitalized patient use
U.K. researchers have reportedly demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the artificial pancreas in Type II diabetes patients in a general hospital ward. The team’s work was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The closed-loop insulin delivery system can monitor blood sugar levels and change the insulin delivery rate accordingly, without the need for skin-pricks and […]
Restoring blood vessels to tumor cells aids delivery of chemotherapy
Researchers from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium say they have found a way to repair dysfunctional blood vessels which allow cancer cells to escape from the blood stream and reach other organs, and which play a vital role in cancer metastasis. In a study published in Cancer Cell, researchers describe how they manipulated the blood […]
Athenex, Lilly ink clinical collaboration for 1st oral formulation of paclitaxel
Athenex said today that it inked a clinical collaboration deal to conduct a phase Ib study for its oral form of paclitaxel, Oraxol, with Eli Lilly‘s (NYSE:LLY) vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 antagonist, Cyramza. Patients with advanced gastric and esophageal cancer will be enrolled in 2017 at sites in the U.S. and Asia, where […]
Report: Apple looks at iPhone for monitoring Parkinson’s patients
Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) is reportedly conducting internal research into whether its iPhone and Apple Watch could be used to monitor drug dosage and wellness data for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The company hopes to show the effectiveness of mobile monitoring, sources told Fast Company. Patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease may only visit their doctor at 6-month intervals, which […]
New drug capsule delivers medicine for weeks after swallowing
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spurred by a challenge from Bill Gates, developed a star-shaped drug capsule that can gradually release medication and stay in the stomach for to 2 weeks after being swallowed. The study, published yesterday in Science Translational Medicine, described the team’s work using the capsule to deliver an anti-parasitic drug, invermectin, which […]
Adherium touts Smartinhaler asthma study
Adherium (ASK:ADR) touted data from an independent study of its Smartinhaler respiratory disease management tool in children with poorly controlled asthma. The STAAR study was conducted at Sheffield Children’s Hospital in the UK and the results were published this month in Thorax. The New Zealand-based company found that in children with poorly controlled asthma, introducing its […]
Nanoparticle “barcodes” help track cancer drug efficacy
Researchers from Technion Institute of Technology in Israel reported on a method of tagging cancer drugs with “barcodes” to monitor tumor growth. The team detailed their methods in a study published in the November issue of Nature Communications. The nanoparticle drug delivery system are tagged with synthetic DNA, which act as barcodes used to track the tumor’s response […]
