PharmaTimes Clinical News
The latest clinical news from PharmaTimes World News.
Updated: 2 hours 8 min ago
Slow enrolment sets back completion date for Vytorin trial
The forecast completion date for a large-scale clinical trial comparing cardiovascular outcomes with Merck & Co’s Vytorin (simvastatin + ezetimibe) and with simvastatin (Zocor) alone has been set back to June 2013 in the face of slow patient enrolment.
Pharmaron consolidates Chinese presence with Bridge acquisition
Pharmaron, a US-based contract research organisation (CRO) with operations both at home and in China, has consolidated its presence in the latter market by acquiring preclinical specialist Bridge Laboratories China for an undisclosed sum.
£5.3 million for EPSRC regenerative medicine centre
The UK government’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSCRC) is investing £5.3 million over five years in a Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine at Loughborough University.
Cancellations plague PPD in fourth quarter
Contract cancellations and adjustments were worse than expected for PPD in the fourth quarter of 2009, dampening the impact of a financial performance that came in ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
ReNeuron gets final OK for UK stem cell trial
UK-based company ReNeuron Group has crossed the final approval hurdle to taking ReN001, its stem cell therapy for stroke, into patients in its home market.
PCS looking better as Q4 sales drop 5% at Charles River
US-based contract research organisation Charles River Laboratories International is beginning to see a recovery trend in its recession-hit Preclinical Services (PCS) business,.
WuXi delivers on profit but guidance disappoints
WuXi PharmaTech, the international outsourcing company based in Shanghai, China, turned an operating loss of US$56.7 million into a US$13.6 million operating profit between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009.
Phase Forward’s Q4 sales up 22% but guidance disappoints
Phase Forward, the US-based company specialising in data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, hit or exceeded analysts’ targets for income and sales in the fourth quarter of 2009, with revenues jumping 22% year on year.
First call for targets from MRC Centre for Therapeutics Discovery
The new Centre for Therapeutics Discovery set up by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and its commercialisation arm, MRC Technology, to fast-track the discovery and development of novel drugs has issued its first call for targets to academic researchers.
45% growth for ClinTec in “best financial year yet”
A 45% increase in global revenues, an expanded client base and new contracts with 11 of the world’s top 25 pharmaceutical companies helped make 2009 “the best financial year yet” for ClinTec, the company said.
Quintiles expands Phase I capacity in London
US-based biopharmaceutical services company Quintiles has opened an expanded facility for Phase I clinical trials at Guy’s Hospital in London, UK.
Kendle establishing operations centre in Indian economic zone
US-based contract research organisation Kendle has approval from the Indian authorities to set up an operations centre within a Special Economic Zone in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Knowledge Corridor.
AstraZeneca hooks up with CRT in major cancer deal
AstraZeneca and Cancer Research Technology are putting their heads together under a major three-year pact designed to generate “a stream” of new therapies targeting cancer metabolism.
JAMA analysis questions antidepressant drug benefits
Another meta-analysis has cast doubt on the effectiveness of drug therapy as a strategy for tackling depression, specifically the less severe forms of the disease.
MPI Research strikes alliance with needle-free specialist Bioject
MPI Research, the US-based contract research organisation (CRO) focused on preclinical and early clinical services, has formed a strategic alliance with Bioject Medical Technologies, which develops and manufactures needle-free injection therapy systems.
Pharsight releases data analysis tools to FDA
Pharsight, a US-based provider of software and scientific consulting services, has delivered two data analysis tools to the Food and Drug Administration under a Co-operative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).
Zydus Cadila scores Indian first with H1N1 vaccine trial
Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila says it is the first Indian pharmaceutical company to start multicentre clinical trials with a vaccine against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
FDA announces collaborative research on drugs in pregnancy
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has teamed up with private sector and academic researchers in the US for a programme that will study the effects of prescription medicines taken during pregnancy.
WuXi links with Janssen division on preclinical services
WuXi PharmaTech, the R&D outsourcing company based in Shanghai, China, has announced an agreement with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (J&JPRD) to collaborate on preclinical services and associated training.
New microscopy technique could mean more effective beta-blockers
A new nanoscale scanning technique developed at Imperial College London could lead to better-designed beta-blockers to slow the development of heart failure, researchers believe.
