News (Updated May 22,
2011)
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* Reuters is not
responsible for the content in this press release.
Fri May 20, 2011 9:29am
EDT
This information is
subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian
Securities Trading Act.
(
Bionor Pharma ASA has
today received confirmation of submission of patent applications in the
The
Bionor Pharma's technology
relates to identification of peptide regions on proteins important for viral
replication, followed by modifications of these regions to enhance immune
responses. The properties to be protected in the platform patents involve
general means to enhance these immune responses. These common properties will be
the basis for the development of current and future specific vaccines, which
also will be protected by individual product patents.
"Building IP
around our vaccine technology will contribute to protect our leading position
within modified peptide vaccines and support our freedom to operate, says CEO
Henrik Lund. "These patent submissions are among the measures necessary to
be well positioned for future out-licensing and commercialization of our vaccine
candidates in
Fri, May 20 2011
* Edurant approved for
previously untreated patients
* Must be used as part of
antiretroviral regimen
NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters)
- A Johnson & Johnson HIV drug won U.S. approval for use in combination with
other drugs in patients who have not received prior treatment for the virus that
causes AIDS, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
The drug, a once-a-day
pill to be sold under the brand name Edurant, works by blocking viral
replication and was approved to be taken as part of an antiretroviral therapy
regimen designed to suppress the amount of HIV in the blood.
Edurant, known chemically
as rilpivirine, is likely to be used in combination with HIV drugs sold by
Gilead Sciences Inc
"Patients may respond
differently to various HIV drugs or experience varied side effects. FDA's
approval of Edurant provides an additional treatment option for patients who are
starting HIV therapy," Edward Cox, director of the FDA's Office of
Antimicrobial Products, said in a statement.
Edurant was approved based
on clinical trials in which it was shown to be as effective in lowering viral
load as Bristol-Myers Squibb's HIV drug Sustiva, the agency said.
The most commonly reported
side effects seen with Edurant in clinical trials included depression, insomnia,
headache and rash. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot. Editing by Robert MacMillan)
By Bill Berkrot
Patients who took a
combination of two drugs just 12 times over three months fared as well as those
who received the standard treatment that requires 270 daily doses, according to
a landmark U.S. government study released on Monday.
"New, simpler ways to
prevent TB disease are urgently needed, and this breakthrough represents one of
the biggest developments in TB treatment in decades," Thomas Frieden,
director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a
statement.
The far less onerous
regimen involves taking rifapentine, an antibiotic sold by French drugmaker
Sanofi <SASY.PA> under the brand name Priftin, along with isoniazid, an
effective tuberculosis drug in use since the 1950s.
The study results,
presented at a medical meeting on Monday, could mark a major advance in
preventing TB in countries with low-to-medium incidence of the highly infectious
disease, according to the CDC, which sponsored the study.
While many people believe
TB to be a largely conquered disease of the past, there were more than 11,000
cases reported in the
The 10-year study included
more than 8,000 patients with latent TB infection, meaning they have the
tuberculosis bacteria in their bodies but no symptoms and are not contagious.
More than 11 million Americans are positive for latent TB, the CDC said, with
Asians, other minorities and foreign-born individuals disproportionately
affected.
Between 5 percent and 10
percent of people with latent TB develop the disease. Those with a weakened
immune system are particularly susceptible.
BETTER COMPLIANCE
While the results mark a
significant finding for fighting TB in countries like the
Worldwide, TB kills an
estimated 1.7 million people each year, and the number of new cases -- around
9.4 million -- is higher than at any other time in history, according to the
World Health Organization.
In the
The combination therapy
was found to be safe and as effective as the standard regimen in preventing new
cases of TB disease, according to researchers who presented the data at the
American Thoracic Society International Conference in
Seven cases of TB occurred
among those receiving the new treatment regimen, compared with 15 cases among
those on the lengthy standard treatment, researchers said.
While the old one-drug
method works, patient compliance has traditionally been a problem.
"Ensuring that those
who need treatment both begin and complete the lengthy, cumbersome isoniazid
regimen is challenging," Frieden said.
In the CDC study, 82
percent completed the new, shorter regimen, compared with a 69 percent
completion rate for the standard nine-month regimen.
"By effectively
treating latent TB infection, not only can we reduce the potentially deadly
consequences among those individuals, but we can also prevent many others from
ever becoming infected," Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's
Given the promising
results and potential for far higher patient compliance under the new regimen,
CDC said it had begun working on new guidelines for its use in the
By Joshua Howat Berger (AFP)
– 22 May, 2011
JOHANNESBURG — A white
South African woman runs the local operations of India's largest drug company,
Ranbaxy, and the second largest, Cipla, is listed on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange.
Unlike most multinational
companies, India's "big three" pharmaceuticals -- Ranbaxy, Cipla and
Dr Reddy's -- have carefully cultivated their local credentials by bringing
South Africans into the top corporate echelons.
Ranbaxy and Cipla have
also won fans by slashing the price of anti-AIDS drugs, saving countless lives
in the country with the world's largest HIV epidemic.
"They've been very
strategic in terms of how they've positioned themselves in
"That reflects one,
their understanding of the market and two, their commitment to
Cheap generic drugs have
been the catalysts of that growth, and Africa has been a key market, buying 14
percent of
The relationship was
cemented in 2001 when Cipla announced it would supply anti-AIDS drugs to
"Indian
pharmaceutical companies have been absolutely critical in bringing down the cost
of treatment," Francois Venter, head of the South African HIV Clinicians
Society, told AFP.
"If the cost of
treatment hadn't come down, there would be very many fewer people on the
drugs."
Sub-Saharan
Thanks to cheap Indian
drugs, it has been able to increase the proportion of AIDS patients on treatment
from two percent in 2003 to 37 percent in 2009.
But the Indian firms have
gained more than just goodwill in the bargain. Providing discount generics has
been big business and helped the Indian industry displace its Western rivals.
South African firm Aspen
Pharmacare took the lion's share of the contract, but Ranbaxy's local joint
venture Sonke won 4.5 percent of the deal and Cipla Medpro, Cipla's local
subsidiary, won 1.9 percent.
Ranbaxy, today
Cipla, the country's
sixth-largest pharmaceutical, has announced a $36-million upgrade to its plant
in the eastern city of
Verachia said the thriving
pharmaceutical partnerships are part of a larger vision of south-south
cooperation that
"We share a very
close diplomatic and political relationship in that both countries are advancing
the interests of the south," he said.
"That close and
burgeoning political relationship has translated into quite a strong commercial
relationship."
Copyright © 2011 AFP.