R&D

Expert System for Automatic Analysis of Data Quality in Clinical Trials

In the framework of the development scheme 'Central Innovation Scheme for Medium-sized Businesses' of the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology (BMWI), clinIT AG, based in Freiburg, Germany, has been awarded a six-figure federal grant in cooperation with the Institute for Informatics of the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Faculty for Data Bases and Information Systems.

New discovery: lethal fungus reproduces sexually

Researchers in Ireland and the UK have found that a lethal fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus, reproduces sexually. The findings represent a major breakthrough in the understanding of this pathogen, which causes death in 50% of infected immune-deficient patients.

New mouse model for study of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Italian researchers have bred mice that exhibit similar deficits to those experienced by people with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a prion disease similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The EU-funded study, published in the journal Neuron, provides insights that may help to diagnose prion diseases early, when therapeutic intervention may be effective.

UK's Government and Industry in drug price deal

A new deal has been reached between the UK's Government and the pharmaceutical industry means that more patients will benefit from a wider range of innovative drug treatments at a fair price to the NHS. The flexible pricing scheme agreed will ensure that medicines fairly reflect their value to patients, branded drugs will see their price cut, and industry innovations will be encouraged and rewarded.

EU project IMMIDIET warns: control hypertension in Europe

An EU-funded population study has shown that hypertension, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is a serious problem in Europe. The results of the IMMIDIET project indicate that high blood pressure has become more common in Italy than in England or Belgium, a reversal of the commonly accepted trend.

New drug protects against diet-induced obesity and diabetes

A recent EU-funded study by a Swiss-led international team of researchers has found that a new synthetic drug, developed by researchers in the US, protects against diet-induced obesity. At the same time, it improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and increases exercise endurance by enhancing fat utilisation in certain tissues.

New finding could lead to development of hundreds of new antibiotics

EU-funded scientists have discovered a new molecule in Streptomyces bacteria that could be exploited to make the bacteria produce hundreds of novel antibiotics. The work, which is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was partly supported by the EU-funded ACTINOGEN (Integrating genomics-based applications to exploit actinomycetes as a resource for new antibiotics) project.

More Pharma News ...

A new journal where molecular biology meets clinical research

Research & Development

More Pharma News ...