Clinical Trials

Some clinical trials financed by the US federal government and pharmaceutical labs exclude gay and lesbian participants, according to a study published Wednesday.

Theravance says it will sell new stock to raise money for drug research or other purposes. Drug developer Theravance Inc. said Wednesday it will sell 7.5 million shares of stock to raise money for general corporate purposes.

Researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday to test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer in a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers launched a unique collaboration on Wednesday aimed at getting cancer drugs to the market more quickly in which three companies will cooperate with the U.S. government and non-profit groups to test five experimental breast cancer drugs.

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have requested more information on an inhaled insulin device being developed by MannKind Corp, sending the company's shares down 24.7 percent.

A low-cost drug known since the time of the Pharaohs improved diabetes symptoms in a Boston study being published today, and its success supports an entirely new way of understanding the disease. The drug, called salsalate, is also being studied as a potential treatment for repeat heart attacks and to stall development of Type 2 diabetes. It's too early to know whether the medication, commonly used to treat arthritis, can fulfill all this potential. But the new study of 108 patients, from researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, found that patients with Type 2 diabetes were better able to process sugar when they added the medicine to their drug regimen. It was the first major study designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of salsalate for diabetics. Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 20 million Americans, generally strikes as people gain weight with age. Scientists have long struggled to understand the connection between weight gain and diabetes. The success of salsalate,

FDA gives BioSante pancreatic cancer treatment 'orphan drug' designation. BioSante Pharmaceuticals has received orphan drug status for its potential pancreatic cancer treatment, the company said Monday.

An experimental blood thinner developed by Merck and Portola Pharmaceuticals was found to be safe and effective in a mid-stage study presented Monday, with a lower incidence of serious bleeding than current drugs.

An experimental blood thinner developed by Merck and Portola Pharmaceuticals was found to be safe and effective in a mid-stage study presented Monday, with a lower incidence of serious bleeding than current drugs.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - An experimental blood thinner being developed by Merck & Co from a new class of drugs appeared to be safe and effective in a mid-stage study that compared three doses against widely used warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Thousands of cardiologists from around the world descend on Atlanta, Georgia this weekend to discuss the latest advances, treatments and care strategies to combat heart disease.

Thousands of cardiologists from around the world descend on Atlanta, Georgia this weekend to discuss the latest advances, treatments and care strategies to combat heart disease.

Pfizer ends study on potential lung cancer drug, committee says it won't meet treatment goal. Pfizer Inc. said Thursday it discontinued a late-stage study of the drug candidate figitumumab in patients with late-stage lung cancer, citing a lack of effectiveness.

Affymax receives $5 million payment for reaching anemia drug development milestone. Biotechnology company Affymax Inc. has received a $5 million milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. for the development of a potential anemia treatment.

As it faces possible further Horizant studies, XenoPort cuts half its staff & trims R&D work. Drug developer XenoPort Inc. is cutting half of its staff and eliminating drug discovery work in order to save money as it prepares to focus solely on drugs already in clinical testing.

Biogen Idec Inc. and its Swiss partner Roche Holding AG yesterday said they halted clinical trials of a new drug being tested on patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus after an outside monitoring panel warned its safety risks outweighed the benefits, resulting in an unspecified number of deaths. The drug, called ocrelizumab, caused ``serious and opportunistic infections, some of which were fatal'' in some of the 2,400 patients being treated in trials in more than 30 countries, according to the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the two diseases. In a medical context, ``opportunistic'' usually refers to infections that attack patients with weakened immune systems. Although yesterday's move represents a development setback for one of 20 drug candidates in the pipeline of Cambridge's Biogen Idec, industry analysts said it could be a short-term financial plus for the biotechnology company. That's because it is likely to prolong the sales life of Rituxan, a Roche-Biogen

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A study suggests that an experimental drug may modestly extend the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer who are no longer responding to other treatments.

Experimental drug modestly boosts survival in men with advanced prostate cancer, study finds. A study suggests that an experimental drug may modestly extend the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer who are no longer responding to other treatments.

Amicus Therapeutics closes $18.5 million stock offering. Amicus Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday it closed an $18.5 million registered direct offering of common stock.