Biotechnology news

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announces that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the 42nd and 43rd Presidents of the United States, will appear together for a moderated discussion at the 2010 BIO International Convention, which will be held May 3-6 in Chicago, Ill. at McCormick Place.

American farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) crops widely since their introduction in 1996 because of the tangible benefits that biotech varieties deliver. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. farmers have embraced biotech varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn at the rate of 91 percent, 88 percent and 85 percent, respectively.

"Teva Pharmaceuticals, a leading manufacturer of generic drugs, has been aggressively lobbying Congress to scrap provisions in the health care bills it claims would shut it out of the biologic drug market for too long," Roll Call reports.

Epiphany Biosciences announced results from its Phase 2b dose-ranging study of EPB-348 (valomaciclovir) in patients with shingles (herpes zoster) infection. The study's primary endpoint was non-inferiority of once-daily valomaciclovir compared to thrice-daily valacyclovir in terms of time to complete crusting of the shingles rash.

CNSBio Inc. will present recent Phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial data for CNSB015, an orally administered potassium channel modulator used in combination with opioids for the treatment of neuropathic pain, at the 12th International Conference on the Mechanisms and Treatment of Neuropathic Pain on November 20-21, 2009 in San Francisco, CA. Dr.

Alarming trends captured in clinical study metrics show the glaring discrepancy between the miniscule number of sites that are able to enroll the amount of patients study sponsors are requesting and the amount of sites that cannot.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Dong-A PharmTech, Co. Ltd. announced that it has completed a 240 patient once-a-day dosing clinical study of udenafil, its new long acting phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor for erectile dysfunction (ED).

Merz Pharmaceuticals announced Xeomin®, the first botulinum toxin type A free from complexing proteins has been granted an extension of indication for post-stroke spasticity of the upper limb presenting with flexed wrist and clenched fist in adults in various European countries.

"Congressional Democrats' intensifying efforts to pay for their healthcare overhaul and provide more relief for consumers are threatening to unravel a White House deal with the pharmaceutical industry and turn one of Washington's most powerful lobbies against the legislation," the Los Angeles Times reports.

InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN) announced that the on-going Phase 2b study conducted by Roche of ITMN-191 (RG7227) combined with standard of care (SOC) PEGASYS® (peginterferon alfa-2a) and COPEGUS® (ribavirin) in HCV treatment-naive patients has been modified. The Phase 2b study has four dosage cohorts: SOC; 300mg q8h plus SOC; 600mg q12h plus SOC and 900mg q12h plus SOC.