Bayer HealthCare today announced the publication of encouraging Phase III data on sorafenib tablets - a treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC/kidney cancer), in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).Sorafenib is the first, multi-kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with advanced RCC who have failed prior interferon-alpha or interleukin-2 based therapy and also 1st line when patients are considered unsuitable for such therapy. [click link for full article]

People with food allergies are always at risk of being accidentally exposed to the foods to which they are allergic, and therefore should always carry an Epi-pen or Twinject device.
This…

Grünenthal announced today that it has been granted a UK licence for its new product Versatis(R) (5% lidocaine medicated plaster). Versatis is licensed for the treatment of neuropathic pain associated with previous herpes zoster (shingles) infection, also known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN)1.Versatis offers a topical and non-systemic approach for the treatment of localised neuropathic pain symptoms associated with PHN, often described as burning, shooting or stabbing. [click link for full article]

The commercial success of the two peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma agonists pioglitazone and rosiglitazone from Takeda & Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes with 2005 global sales of more than US$ 5 bln fuels the R&D of next generation PPAR agonists. Safety concerns and regulatory impediments caused Big Pharma companies to discontinue their first generation, close to market dual PPAR alpha and gamma agonists. [click link for full article]

Each year, tuberculosis kills nearly two million people while an estimated nine million develop the disease - with the hardest-hit areas in AIDS-afflicted developing nations. One of the most pressing challenges is the increase in drug-resistant TB. “No Time to Wait: Overcoming Gaps in TB Drug R&D,” a symposium -  organized by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and supported by Howard P. [click link for full article]

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) saidtoday that it is deeply saddened and shocked by the killing of one of itsemployees during an ambush in southern Sudan on Wednesday, January 10.The WFP employee, Emmanuel Chaku Joseph, was 28 years old. He is the firstWFP staff member to have been murdered in Sudan in years. [click link for full article]

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced the international launch and first implantation of the PROMUS Everolimus-Eluting Stent, making Boston Scientific the only company to offer two distinct drug-eluting stent (DES) platforms. PROMUS is a private-labeled XIENCE V Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System manufactured by Abbott and distributed by Boston Scientific. [click link for full article]

It is with great pleasure the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) announces Robert S. Fennell, III, MD, as the 2007 recipient of the Medal of Excellence Award. The AAKP Medal of Excellence Award recognizes a renal physician who has dedicated his or her career to the advancement and treatment of kidney disease. Dr. Fennell is Professor and Chief of the Pediatric Nephrology Division of the University of Florida, College of Medicine. [click link for full article]

The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities backs the Children’s Society’s call for the Government to provide an independent advocate to all disabled children living away from home, but its Co-Director, Barbara McIntosh, says that the priority should be to provide good local support to every child and their family:”Many children are having to leave their families and friends because local services aren’t providing the necessary support. [click link for full article]

The intensive and prolonged observation of infants at risk for group B streptococcus (GBS) may not benefit the infant and may heighten parental anxiety, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in a recent article in Obstetrics & Gynecology.Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines recommend at least four hours of antibiotics to treat GBS in pregnant women in labor. [click link for full article]