Release date set for NAOMI heroin project results. Several groups advocating the downtrodden of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside released Friday what they claimed were key findings from a trial project that provided prescription heroin to addicts.

Health fears raised over electronic cigarettes. Health campaigners today raised fears about the soaring popularity of electronic cigarettes, claiming not enough is known about their contents.

Australia begins bottled beer, sunscreen exports to India. South East Asia News.Net Thursday 9th October, 2008 Two iconic products of the Australian lifestyle, sunscreen and beer, are the latest to join the growing list of exports strengthening the economic ties..

Report: J&J paid at least $68 million to settle birth-control patch suits. Johnson & Johnson has paid at least $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits related to its Ortho Evra birth-control patch, which has been linked to harmful blood clots, Bloomberg News reported, citing..

City woman's fatal drug OD spurs $3.7M lawsuit. The drug-overdose death of an Edmonton woman was the result of negligence by her physician and pharmacists, a $3.7-million lawsuit claims.

Peregrine completes patient enrolment Phase II study of bavituximab. This is the company's second Phase II study for the treatment of breast cancer. This multi-center, open-label safety and efficacy trial aims to assess patients' overall response rate to a regimen combining..

Evotec Announces Phase I Initiation With P2X7 Antagonist. Evotec AG announced today that Phase I clinical studies for its proprietary, small molecule P2X7 receptor antagonist have been initiated. The P2X7 receptor is an ATP-gated ion channel primarily expressed on cells of the immune system and is thought to play an important role in inflammatory processes through the regulation of a number of proinflammatory cytokines.

88.7% Of Ulcerative Colitis Patients In Remission Remained Relapse-Free At 12 Months With Once Daily Mezavant XL. Shire Limited, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that data published in Gut show that 64.4% of patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis who achieved clinical and endoscopic remission maintained this at 12 months when given two mesalazine 1200mg gastro-resistant, prolonged release tablets once a day as a maintenance therapy.

Massive Transfusion At Major Trauma Centers To Be Studied By UT Researchers. The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston a $9.2 million grant to conduct a multi-center clinical trial that could lead to an improved survival rate for trauma patients - both soldiers and civilians -- who require massive blood transfusions. The university's Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences is contracting with the U.S.

Is Couple Therapy Better Than Individual Psychotherapy In Alcoholism? Alcohol abuse serves as a chronic stressor between partners and has a deleterious effect on relationship functioning.

When Nothing Else Works: Therapy Approved By FDA For Treatment-resistant Depression. Millions of patients with treatment-resistant clinical depression, who have struggled for years with disability and how to cope with their condition, now have an option that could help them lead more productive and successful lives. The NeuroStar TMS Therapy system, developed by Neuronetics, Inc.

FDA Continues Review Of Takeda's New Drug Application For Alogliptin, A DPP-4 Agent For Type 2 Diabetes. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced that Takeda Global Research and Development Center, Inc., a wholly owned United States subsidiary, received notification that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not be able to complete its review of the alogliptin New Drug Application by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of October 27, 2008.

Phase III Study Showed Rituxan In Combination With Chemotherapy Improved Progression-Free Survival In Patients With Relapsed Chronic Leukemia. Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec today announced that a global Phase III study of Rituxan® in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival, as assessed by investigators, in patients with previously treated CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia compared to chemotherapy alone. There were no new or unexpected safety signals reported in the study.

Cyclacel Announces Completion Of Enrollment In Phase 2 Trial Of Sapacitabine In Elderly AML. lCyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the completion of enrollment as per protocol in the Phase 2 clinical trial of sapacitabine, the Company's oral nucleoside analogue, in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Interim results from this trial are expected to be available by the end of 2008 and final results during the second half of 2009.

Inspire Initiates Phase 1 Trial Of INS117548 For Glaucoma. Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial with INS117548 Ophthalmic Solution for the treatment of glaucoma. The placebo-controlled, dose-escalating trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and intraocular pressure -lowering effects of INS117548 in approximately 60 subjects with early stage glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

FDA To Continue Review Of Alogliptin NDA - New Treatment Option For Diabetes Type 2 Patients. PPD, Inc. today announced that Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited reported that Takeda Global Research and Development Center, Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, received notification that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not be able to complete its review of the alogliptin new drug application by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of October 27, 2008.

Single NX-1207 Dose Significantly Improved BPH Symptom Scores And Significantly Reduced Prostate Size After 90 Days. Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation is please to announce that the presentation of NX-1207 clinical study data at the AUA South Central Section annual meeting in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM was featured in the Urology Times, the widely distributed and most read publication of U.S. urologists.

CEO Roundtable On Cancer Offers "Common Language" To Jump Start Cancer Clinical Trials. Potentially life-lengthening cancer therapies could enter clinical trials and ultimately reach cancer patients dramatically faster thanks to legal contract language created by the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, a nonprofit group of cancer-fighting CEOs. The group hopes to shorten the drug testing process by making available "common language" for clinical trial contracts through a set of standardized contract templates for use by NCI-designated cancer centers and the pharmaceutical industry.

Mental, Physical Care In The U.S. Placed On Same Payment Level In Medical Insurance Policies. The $700-billion bailout bill signed into law last week by President George Bush included a provision which placed medical and physical care on an equal footing insofar as insurance coverage is concerned. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:01:21 GMT.

Bipolar Disorder Also Lingers In Children, Study Says. An 8-year study has shown that bipolar disorder found in adults also affects children. The study also shows that children with bipolar illness causes severe mood swings in almost half of the adults studied. Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:17:54 GMT.