Affiris AG of Austria has received $1.5 million from the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the US to start a Phase 1 study of a new vaccine for Parkinson’s disease. The therapeutic vaccine candidate targets the protein, alpha-synuclein.
Pevion Biotech AG said that data from an ongoing first-in-human trial of a therapeutic vaccine against Candida in healthy volunteers elicited high levels of specific antibodies and a 100% mucosal immune response rate.
The European Court of Justice is scheduled to issue a judgment on 18 October 2011 in a case concerning the patentability of technology based on the use of human embryonic stem cells. The case involves a German researcher, Oliver Brüstle.
AstraZeneca Plc has announced plans to invest $200 million in a new manufacturing facility in China Medical City, Taizhou, Jiangsu province. The site will produce both intravenous and oral solid medicines for the company’s business in China.
A team of US scientists has used cloning technology to create embryos from the skin cells of diabetic patients, and then derived stem cells from these embryos. This is thought to be the first such procedure using patient-specific cells.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Juvisync (sitagliptin and simvastatin) from Merck & Co, the first combination drug for Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol to be put on the market as a single tablet.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis (tadalafil), for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and for the treatment of both BPH and erectile dysfunction when the conditions occur simultaneously.
A pivotal Phase 3 trial of teriflunomide, a new oral medication for multiple sclerosis, has shown that the drug significantly reduced relapse rates and disability progression, compared with placebo, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Vernalis Plc said it set to receive €0.5 million from the privately-owned French pharmaceutical company, Servier, following the achievement of a research milestone in the companies’ oncology drug discovery collaboration.
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd of Switzerland has announced that its chief executive and chief financial officer will step down from the board of directors of the company, leaving the board to be composed entirely of non-executive directors.