Research

Study highlights tragedy of avoidable adverse drug reactions

Following the publication of a study into the frequency of Adverse Drug Reactions, First DataBank has spoken out at the tragedy of these avoidable and sometimes fatal errors. The study by PLos One entitled "Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospital In - Patients: A Prospective Analysis of 3695 Patient-Episodes" was covered this week by the BBC and highlighted that "one in seven hospital patients experience adverse drug reactions, half of which are completely avoidable".

SmartCell to use plant cells as pharmaceutical factories

SmartCell, an EU-funded project, has been awarded EUR 6 million to develop tools to synthesise valuable pharmaceutical products using plant cells. The project is a consortium of 18 partners from the EU, Switzerland and the US. The partners include 14 leading research institutes and universities as well as 2 small- and medium-sized enterprises and 2 major industrial enterprises. The project has a total budget of EUR 8.5 million and is scheduled to run for 4 years.

New EU-funded research reveals how influenza virus hijacks human cells

EU-funded scientists in France have defined an important drug target in the influenza virus. The study, published in the journal Nature, shows a high-resolution image of a crucial protein that allows the virus to 'hijack' human cells and multiply. The study is part of the FLUPOL (Host-specific variants of the influenza virus replication machinery) project, funded with EUR 1.97 under the Policy support budget line of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

Manhattan Research Releases Top Pharma Brand Product Sites by Consumer Satisfaction

Lantus (Sanofi-Aventis), Advair (GlaxoSmithKline), and Singulair (Merck) are the top pharmaceutical brand sites in terms of consumer visitor satisfaction, according to pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research. The findings are from ePharma Consumer® v8.0, the company's latest study and strategic advisory service focused on how consumers find and use pharmaceutical resources online.

BioGenes as new designated partner in EU funded dementia project

BioGenes GmbH, a specialist in sophisticated antibody development, has been chosen as a new partner of cNEUPRO. cNEUPRO is a EU funded research project to analyse neurodegenerative diseases and discover novel biomarkers, and so improve early and differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia.

Commission Takes Steps to Promote Patient Safety in Europe

The Commission has recently adopted a Communication and proposal for a Council Recommendation with specific actions that Member States can take, either individually, collectively or with the Commission, to improve the safety of patients. Each year, in the EU, between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to hospitals suffer harm from the healthcare they receive, including from healthcare associated infections. Much of that harm is preventable.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Assess the Effect of Therapy

During the 12th Annual Scientific Sessions (January 29 to February 1, 2009) of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), the world's major international society for cardiovascular imaging, the role of magnetic resonance imaging to assess the effect of therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction will be demonstrated in a series of papers.

Research & Development

Study highlights tragedy of avoidable adverse drug reactions

SmartCell to use plant cells as pharmaceutical factories

New EU-funded research reveals how influenza virus hijacks human cells

Manhattan Research Releases Top Pharma Brand Product Sites by Consumer Satisfaction

BioGenes as new designated partner in EU funded dementia project

Commission Takes Steps to Promote Patient Safety in Europe

Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Assess the Effect of Therapy

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