The veteran bloodthinner heparin has been found in a small UK trial to help improve breathing when inhaled by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
News
FDA approves heart protection label change for Repatha
US regulators have approved Amgen’s Repatha as the first PCSK9 inhibitor to prevent heart attacks, strokes and coronary revascularisations in adults with cardiovascular disease.
Orphan status for Shire’s experimental UC drug
US regulators have granted Shire’s investigational therapy SHP647 orphan status for the treatment of pediatric patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC).
Pfizer’s Somavert to be funded by NHS Wales
Pfizer’s Somavert will be funded by NHS Wales as a treatment for eligible, adult patients with acromegaly in the third-line setting.
Men twice as likely to develop oral cancer than women
Men are more than twice as likely to develop oral cancer than women, show new figures released by Cancer Research UK.
NHS England moves to accelerate progress on CHD standards
NHS England has unveiled new plans to for tightening up implementation of standards for congenital heart disease (CHD) services across the country, to ensure that patients receive “the best possible care”.
NHS England confirms cull of low-value treatments
Fish oil, herbal remedies and homeopathy are among ‘low-value’ treatments that NHS England is recommending are no longer provided by the NHS, in a move it says should generate millions of pounds of savings each year.
ViiV trials drug for HIV prevention in women
ViiV Healthcare has initiated a Phase III study exploring the efficacy of long-acting cabotegravir for the prevention of HIV infection in sexually active women.
Novartis says Cosentyx effective for nail, palmoplantar psoriasis
Novartis says Cosentyx is the first biologic to show long-term efficacy in nail and palmoplantar psoriasis, which can impact up to 90 percent of psoriasis patients.
EU regulators review AZ’ Tagrisso for first-line use in lung cancer
European regulators are reviewing AstraZeneca’s application to market Tagrisso for the first-line treatment of adults with locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours have EGFR mutations.
GSK, MMV submit malaria drug in the US
GlaxoSmithKline and the Medicines for Malaria Venture are seeking permission to market single-dose tafenoquine in the US to prevent relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria.
Stellar results for Novartis, Teva anti-CGRP migraine drugs
The New England Journal of Medicine has published two separate studies showing that CGRP-targeting therapies – namely Novartis’ erenumab and Teva’s fremanezumab – significantly cut the number of headache days in patients with episodic or chronic migraine, respectively.
Alkermes licences experimental MS therapy to Biogen
Dublin, Ireland-based Alkermes has licensed ALKS 8700, a novel, oral, small drug molecule in Phase III development for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, to US biotech Biogen.
Avelumab fails to improve survival in gastric cancer
Merck and Pfizer have revealed that a Phase III trial assessing avelumab in patients with gastric cancer after two prior therapeutic regimens failed to hit its primary target of showing an improvement in survival.
NICE issues guidelines on asthma
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published new guidelines designed to improve the diagnosis and management of asthma.
