AUTHOR OF THIS BLOG

DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO, WORLDDRUGTRACKER

Roche’s new skin cancer drug now available in UK

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on Roche’s new skin cancer drug now available in UK
Aug 212013
 

AUGUST 20, 2013

Roche's new skin cancer drug now available in UK

UK patients with a certain type of skin cancer can now get access to Roche’s once-daily pill Erivedge following its launch in the country.

Erivedge(vismodegib)胶囊

Erivedge (vismodegib) is the first medicine available in the UK for the treatment of patients with symptomatic metastatic basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or locally advanced BCC that is unsuitable for surgery or radiotherapy.

http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/13-08-20/Roche_s_new_skin_cancer_drug_now_available_in_UK.aspx

 

Erivedge(vismodegib)胶囊

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Brain Cancer Survival Improved Following FDA Approval of Bevacizumab, Mayo Study Finds

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on Brain Cancer Survival Improved Following FDA Approval of Bevacizumab, Mayo Study Finds
Aug 202013
 

 

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new population-based study has found that patients with glioblastoma who died in 2010, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of bevacizumab, had lived significantly longer than patients who died of the disease in 2008, prior to the conditional approval of the drug for the treatment of the deadly brain cancer. Bevacizumab is used to treat patients with certain cancers whose cancer has spread. The study appears in the journal Cancer

http://www.pharmalive.com/study-brain-cancer-survival-improved-following-fda-approval-of-avastin

STR REF –http://www.kidneycancerinstitute.com/Bevacizumab.html

IN CASE U NEED TO CONTACT ME THEN MAIL ME. amcrasto@gmail.com

Bevacizumab (trade name AvastinGenentech/Roche) is an angiogenesis inhibitor, a drug that slows the growth of new blood vessels. It is licensed to treat various cancers, including colorectal, lung, breast (outside the USA), glioblastoma (USA only), kidney and ovarian.

Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). VEGF-A is a chemical signal that stimulates angiogenesis in a variety of diseases, especially in cancer. Bevacizumab was the first clinically availableangiogenesis inhibitor in the United States.


Bevacizumab was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certainmetastatic cancers. It received its first approval in 2004, for combination use with standardchemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer.It has since been approved for use in certain lung cancers, renal cancers, and glioblastoma multiforme of the brain.

At one point bevacizumab was approved for breast cancer by the FDA, but the approval was revoked on 18 November 2011. The approval for breast cancer was revoked because, although there was evidence that it slowed progression of metastatic breast cancer, there was no evidence that it extended life or improved quality of life, and it caused adverse effects including severe high blood pressure and hemorrhaging. In 2008, the FDA gave bevacizumab provisional approval for metastatic breast cancer, subject to further studies. The FDA’s advisory panel had recommended against approval. In July 2010, after new studies failed to show a significant benefit, the FDA’s advisory panel recommended against the indication for advanced breast cancer. Genentech requested a hearing, which was granted in June 2011. The FDA ruled to withdraw the breast cancer indication in November 2011. FDA approval is required for Genentech to market a drug for that indication. Doctors may sometimes prescribe it for that indication, although insurance companies are less likely to pay for it. The drug remains approved for breast cancer use in other countries including Australia.

Clinical trials are underway for many other indications including ovarian cancer, pediatric osteosarcoma, and certain non-malignant eye diseases. In the curative setting (adjuvant therapy), clinical studies are underway in breast cancer and lung cancer.

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Actavis Receives Approval from French Competition Authority for Pending Warner Chilcott Acquisition

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on Actavis Receives Approval from French Competition Authority for Pending Warner Chilcott Acquisition
Aug 102013
 

 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. and DUBLIN, IRELAND – August 9, 2013 – Actavis, Inc. (NYSE: ACT) and Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) today announced that they have received approval from the French Competition Authority for Actavis’ pending acquisition of Warner Chilcott. The companies previously received approval from the German Federal Cartel Office and have now received all ex-U.S. antitrust clearances required to complete the transaction.

read all at

http://www.pharmalive.com/french-authorities-approve-actavis-acquisition-of-warner-chilcott

………………………

………..

 

Bethlehem

 

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Aug 072013
 

AZATHIOPRINE

generic licensing news

http://newsletter.lead-doctors.com/ef1/preview_campaign.php?lf1=932543337a665012625317e9856877

 

Azathioprine is a chemotherapy drug, now rarely used for chemotherapy but more for immunosuppression in organ transplantation and autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease or Crohn’s disease. It is a pro-drug, converted in the body to the active metabolite 6-mercaptopurine. Azathioprine acts to inhibit purine synthesis necessary for the proliferation of cells, especially leukocytes and lymphocytes. It is a safe and effective drug used alone in certain autoimmune diseases, or in combination with other immunosuppressants in organ transplantation.
Click here to contact Douglas Pharmaceuticals about this product.

Azathioprine was synthesized by George Herbert Hitchings and Gertrude Elion in 1957 (named BW 57-322) to produce 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in a metabolically active but masked form, and at first used as a chemotherapy drug.

Robert Schwartz investigated the effect of 6-MP on the immune response in 1958 and discovered that it profoundly suppresses the formation of antibodies when given to rabbits together with antigens. Following the work done by Sir Peter Medawar and Gertrude Elion in discovering the immunological basis of rejection of transplanted tissues and organs, and Schwartz’s researches on 6-MP, Sir Roy Calne, the British pioneer in transplantation, introduced 6-MP as an experimental immunosuppressant for kidney and heart transplants. When Calne asked Elion for related compounds to investigate, she suggested azathioprine, which was subsequently found out to be superior (as effective and less toxic to the bone marrow) by Calne. On 5 April 1962, with regimens consisting of azathioprine and prednisone, the transplantation of kidneys to unrelated recipients (allotransplantation) was successful for the first time.For many years, this kind of dual therapy with azathioprine and glucocorticoids was the standard antirejection regimen, until ciclosporin was introduced into clinical practice (by Calne as well) in 1978.Ciclosporin has now replaced some of the azathioprine use due to a longer survival time, especially in heart-related transplantations.Moreover, despite being considerably more expensive, mycophenolate mofetil is also increasingly being used in place of azathioprine in organ transplantation, as it is associated with less bone marrow suppression, fewer opportunistic infections, and a lower incidence of acute rejection

Azathioprine is a thiopurine linked to a second heterocycle (an imidazole derivative) via a thioether. It is a pale yellow solid with a slightly bitter taste and a melting point of 238–245 °C. It is practically insoluble in water and only slightly soluble in lipophilic solvents such as chloroform, ethanol and diethylether. It dissolves in alkaline aqueous solutions, where it hydrolyzes to 6-mercaptopurine.

Azathioprine is synthesized from 5-chloro-1-methyl-4-nitro-1H-imidazole and 6-mercaptopurine in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The synthesis of the former starts with an amide from methylamine and diethyl oxalate, which is then cyclizised and chlorinated with phosphorus pentachloride; the nitro group is introduced with nitric and sulfuric acid.

The whole process of azathioprine synthesis

Azathioprine (INN, /ˌæzəˈθɵprn/, abbreviated AZA) is an immunosuppressive drug used in organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases and belongs to the chemical class of purine analogues.[1] Synthesized originally as a cancer drug and a prodrug for mercaptopurine in 1957, it has been widely used as an immunosuppressant for more than 50 years.[2]

Azathioprine acts as a prodrug for mercaptopurine, inhibiting an enzyme that is required for the synthesis of DNA. Thus it most strongly affects proliferating cells, such as the T cells and B cells of the immune system.[3][4]

The main adverse effect of azathioprine is bone marrow suppression, which can be life-threatening, especially in people with a genetic deficiency of the enzyme thiopurine S-methyltransferase.[5] It is also listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans).[6]

Azathioprine is produced by a number of manufacturers under different brand names (Azasan by Salix in the U.S., Imuran by GlaxoSmithKline in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Ireland and Great Britain, Azamun in Finland and Imurel in Scandinavia and France, among others).

Azathioprine is used alone or in combination with other immunosuppressive therapy to prevent rejection following organ transplantation, and to treat an array of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, pemphigus, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet’s disease and other forms of vasculitis, autoimmune hepatitis, atopic dermatitis, myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica (Devic’s disease), restrictive lung disease, and others. It is also an important therapy and steroid-sparing agent for inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) and for multiple sclerosis, which are immune-mediated as well.

In the United States it is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in kidney transplantation from human donors, and for rheumatoid arthritis. Other uses are off-label.

 

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Roche’s breast cancer drug patent partly annulled by Indian government

 cancer, Uncategorized  Comments Off on Roche’s breast cancer drug patent partly annulled by Indian government
Aug 062013
 

 

Roche’s breast cancer drug patent partly annulled by Indian government
Patents granted to pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding for the breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) have been partially voided by the Indian government.

read all at

http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/newsroches-breast-cancer-drug-patent-partly-annulled-by-indian-government?WT.mc_id=DN_News

and

http://newdrugapprovals.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/fda-approves-kadcyla-ado-trastuzumab-emtansine-a-new-therapy-for-patients-with-her2-positive-late-stage-metastatic-breast-cancer/

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Aug 052013
 

 the above is only a snap shot, see original animation at the link below

http://www.medindia.net/animation/patent-ductus-arteriosus.asp

You require a Flash plug-in version 8.0 or higher to view the animations. – Download Flash Player 

Read more: 

Health Animation – Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) | Medindia http://www.medindia.net/animation/patent-ductus-arteriosus.asp#ixzz2b42Wqmvy

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Total synthesis outshines biotech route to anticancer drug

 drugs, new drugs, Uncategorized  Comments Off on Total synthesis outshines biotech route to anticancer drug
Aug 052013
 

euphorbia_peplus

This unassuming weed is currently the source for of the anticancer drug ingenol © Floral Images/Alamy

US scientists have developed the first efficient and scalable route for the total synthesis of ingenol – a plant-derived diterpenoid used to treat precancerous skin legions. The work offers cheaper and faster production of the drug than the current, inefficient plant extraction route, and could pave the way for the chemical synthesis of many other complex natural compounds.

read all at

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/08/total-synthesis-outshines-biotech-anticancer-drug-ingenol

.

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India revokes more pharma patents

 PATENTS, Uncategorized  Comments Off on India revokes more pharma patents
Aug 052013
 

 

India revokes more pharma patents

2 August 2013Phillip Broadwith

India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board has revoked one of two patents granted to GlaxoSmithKline for its cancer drug lapatinib. The board decided that, while developing lapatinib itself represents a viable invention, developing the ditosylate salt form (marketed as Tykerb) is an obvious development and therefore not patentable.

The two patents on the tyrosine kinase inhibitor were challenged by German generics company Fresenius Kabi Oncology. The decisions follow a string of similar rulings in which Indian authorities have revoked or refused to grant drug patents, in an effort to drive generic competition.

read all at

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/08/india-revokes-pharma-patents-gsk-tykerb

 

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6-Shogaol, an active constituent of ginger, inhibits breast cancer cell invasion. – GreenMedInfo Summary

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on 6-Shogaol, an active constituent of ginger, inhibits breast cancer cell invasion. – GreenMedInfo Summary
Aug 042013
 

File:Shogaol.png

6-Shogaol, an active constituent of ginger, inhibits breast cancer cell invasion by reducing matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression via blockade of nuclear factor-κB activation.

Abstract Source:

Br J Pharmacol. 2010 Dec ;161(8):1763-77. PMID: 20718733

Abstract Author(s):

H Ling, H Yang, S-H Tan, W-K Chui, E-H Chew

Article Affiliation:

Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Abstract:

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Shogaols are reported to possess anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. However, the antimetastatic potential of shogaols remains unexplored. This study was performed to assess the effects of shogaols against breast cancer cell invasion and to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/6-shogaol-active-constituent-ginger-inhibits-breast-cancer-cell-invasion

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010581/

Shogaol, also known as (6)-shogaol, is a pungent constituent of ginger similar in chemical structure to gingerol. Likezingerone, it is produced when ginger is dried or cooked.

Shogaols are artifacts formed during storage or through excess heat, probably created by a dehydration reaction of the gingerols. The ratio of shogaols to gingerols sometimes is taken as an indication of product quality.

The name ‘shogaol’ is derived from the Japanese name for ginger (生姜、shōga).

Shogaol is rated 160,000 SHU on Scoville scale. When compared to other pungent compounds, shogaol is moderately more pungent than piperine, but less than capsaicin.

  1. McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (2nd ed.). New York: Scribner pp. 425-426.
  2. NSF International Determination of Gingerols and Shogaols in Zingiber officinale rhizome and powdered extract by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.
  3. Ula (1996), op. cit. “The HPLC measures the capsaicinoid(s) in ppm, which can then be converted to Scoville units using a conversion factor of 15, 20 or 30 depending on the capsaicinoid.” This would make capsaicin 15,000,000 SHU

 

more info

6-Shogaol

A bioactive ingredient of ginger root (Zingiber officinale), a medicinal plant having anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic properties and a carminative effect

 

  • Catalog No: APH-02034
  • CAS Number: 555-66-8
  • Chemical Formula: C17H24O3
  • Molecular Weight: 276.37
  • Purity: > 95% determined by HPLC
  • Appearance: Viscous yellow liquid
  • Solubility: Soluble in methanol and ethanol
  • Stability: Unstable at room temperature in the presence of oxygen and light. Stable over extended period at -20°C.
  • Storage: -20°C
  • Shipping: On ice (5°C)
  • Handling: Avoid exposure to oxygen and direct sunlight

6-Gingerol Ginger-Rhizomes6-Shogaol is isolated from the dried or cooked rhizomes or roots of the plant Zingiber officinale (ginger). It is a perennial reed-like plant with annual leafy stems, about a meter (3 to 4 feet) tall. 6-Shogaol is a dehydrated 6-gingerol molecule that has lost a molecule of water during the drying or cooking process.

Ginger produces clusters of white and pink flower buds that bloom into yellow flowers. Because of its aesthetic appeal and the adaptation of the plant to warm climates, ginger is often used as landscaping around subtropical homes. Traditionally, the root is gathered when the stalk withers; it is immediately dried, scalded, or washed and scraped, to kill it and prevent sprouting.

6-Shogaol is isolated from dried or cooked ginger root using ethanol and other organic solvents followed by chromatographic purification. Aphios isolates 6-shogaol utilizing near-critical and supercritical fluids using CXF and CXP enabling technology platforms as alternatives to ethanol and conventional organic solvents techniques.

Biological Activity:

Ginger (Zingiber officinale RoscoeZingiberaceae) is a medicinal plant that has been widely used in Chinese, Ayurvedic and other global herbal medicinal practices since ancient times for a wide array of ailments including arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches, pains, sore throats, cramps, constipation, indigestion, vomiting, hypertension, dementia, fever, infectious diseases and helminthiasis (Ali et al., 2008).

Ginger has been approved for use by Germany’s Commission E, the agency responsible for regulating the use of herbal products in that country (Blumenthal, 1998). Ginger has recently been studied scientifically for its effect on nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness, surgery, pregnancy and cancer chemotherapy.

There may be several mechanisms of action in play relative to the antiemetic properties of ginger. It has been reported that the antiemetic qualities may be derived from ginger’s anti-serotonin 3 effects on the gastrointestinal and central nervous system (Chaiyakunapruk et al., 2006). In a study of guinea pig ileum, it was found that certain ingredients of ginger (6-, 8- and 10-gingerols) inhibit the anti-serotonin 3 receptor function (Huang et al., 1991 and Yamahara et al., 1989). In addition, these active ingredients have been shown to affect gastric motility and potentially have an antispasmodic effect on the gastrointestinal system (Hashimoto et al., 2002 and Suekawa et al., 1984).

Pan et al. (2008) investigated the inhibitory effects of 6-shogaol and a related compound, 6-gingerol, on the induction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in murine RAW 264.7 cells activated with LPS. Their results show that 6-shogaol downregulates inflammatory iNOS and COX-2 gene expression in macrophages by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB by interfering with the activation PI3K/Akt/I κB kinases IKK and MAPK.

References:

Ali B, Blunden G, Tanira M and Nemmar A. (2008). Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): A review of recent research. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 46(2): 409-420.

Blumenthal M, Busse W, Goldberg A, Gruenwald J, Hall T, Klein S, Riggins C and Rister R. (1998). The Complete German Commission E monographs. Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, Austin TX, American Botanical Council.

Chaiyakunapruk N, Kitikannakorn N, Nathisuwan S, Leeprakobboon K and Leelasettagool C. (2006). The efficacy of ginger for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting: a meta-analysis. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 194, 95–99.

Chen C, Kuo M, Wu C and Ho C. (1986). Pungent Compounds of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Extracted by Liquid Carbon Dioxide. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 34(3): 477-480.

Hashimoto K, Satoh K, Murata P, Makino B, Sakakibara I, Kase Y, Ishige A, Higuchi M and Sasaki H. (2002). Component of Zingiber officinale that improves the enhancement of small intestinal transport. Planta Medica. 68:936-9.

Huang Q, Iwamoto M, Aoki S, Tanaka N, Tajima K, Yamahara J, Takaishi Y, Yoshida M, Tomimatsu T and Tamai Y. (1991). Anti-5-hydroxytryptamine 3 effect of galanolactone, diterpenoid isolated from ginger. Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo) 39, 397–399.

Pan M, Hsieh M, Hsu P, Ho S, Lai C, Wu H, Sang S and Ho C. (2008). 6-Shogaol suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced up-expression of iNOS and COX-2 in murine macrophages. Mol Nutr Food Res. 52(12):1467-77.

Suekawa M, Ishige A, Yuasa K, Sudo K, Aburada M and Hosoya E. (1984). Pharmacological studies on ginger: I. Pharmacological action of pungent constituents, (6)-gingerol and (6)-shogaol. J Pharmacobiodyn. 7:836-48.

Yamahara J, Rong H, Iwamoto M, Kobayashi G, Matsuda H and Fujimura H. (1989). Active components of ginger exhibiting anti-serotonergic action. Phytother. Res. 3, 70–71.

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ALL ABOUT ANTIDIABETIC PLANT: COCCINIA INDICA

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on ALL ABOUT ANTIDIABETIC PLANT: COCCINIA INDICA
Aug 032013
 

Introduction
Plants had been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal uses for plants as early as 3,000 BC. Indigenous cultures (such as African and Native American) used herbs in their healing rituals, while others developed traditional medical systems (such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) in which herbal therapies were used;…………………………..

read all at

http://www.pharmatutor.org/articles/all-about-antidiabetic-plant-coccinia-indica

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