Pharmafocus

Pharmafocus | February 15, 2017

A new dual action drug developed as part of a collaboration between biopharmaceutical oncology firm Almac Discovery and The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) could be used to treat cancer patients in whom all other treatment avenues have failed. In development for 10 years, ALM201 entered the clinical trial stage in 2015 and the research team at RCSI have now established the maximum tolerated dose, as lead researcher Proffesor Tracy Robson explained: “We started off with a low dose ...

Pharmafocus | February 15, 2017

MSD, known as Merck in North America, has announced that it has been forced to cancel a Phase 2/3 trial studying the potential therapeutic effects of verubecestat in Alzheimer’s patients. The failure of the drug to show efficacy draws into question how amyloid plaques are being targeted and whether this is now a viable target for treatment. The trial was stopped by an independent panel of experts that concluded that there was “virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect”. The ne...

Pharmafocus | February 15, 2017

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have invented a new method of drug delivery that relies on magnets to deliver medication to the patient. The device is activated via a magnet above the skin, with different levels of doses being administered via differing strengths of the applied magnet. The delivery option could potentially provide an alternative to patients who are unable to take numerous pills or have intravenous injections....

Pharmafocus | February 14, 2017

Plastic electronics could be the next big thing for pharma production and treatment , according to a new report on the use of the tool in healthcare devices from IP licensable technology database InnovationDB. Plastic electronics allow for the creation and printing of circuitry onto virtually any surface, be it rigid or flexible, using organic semiconducting materials. This opens up the development and application of electronic devices in areas which were not previously possible....