Semagacestat Trials Stopped: What Does this Mean?

August 20, 2010

This week there has been a large setback for the pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, when they surprisingly ended their trials of the Alzheimer’s drug Semagacestat: The company said patients who had taken the drug, intended to reduce plaque in the brain, actually showed worse cognitive functioning and less ability to perform daily living tasks than [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

The Implications of the Spinal Test for Alzheimer’s

August 19, 2010

By far the biggest news this week is the report about a spinal test for Alzheimer’ disease with a “100%” success rate. That 100% needs to be put in quotes because there are caveats, but still this is major news on the biomarker front. Here is the news: In their study, researchers at Ghent University, [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

ADNI Collaboration May Accelerate Alzheimer’s Treatments

August 18, 2010

The ADNI initiative is innovative in that it helps the scientific community co-create a solution to the Alzheimer’s problem. The role of NIH and the FDA is only to help coordinate the effort and the goal is to conduct studies and share the data openly along the way so that others can leverage that data moving forward. Nobody eventually owns the data, but any treatment that results from the use of this data can become tomorrow’s blockbuster for a pharma company. While the initiative received its skepticism initially, scientists have not had much of a choice than to engage. Everyone realizes that they cannot solve the Alzheimer’s problem themselves and that it is necessary to bring minds and hands together to scale and speed up the discovery effort.

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s May Share Treatment Potential

August 17, 2010

It would be challenging to predict two different diseases using a biomarker test for tau and amyloid alone. We will need to be more specific than that. This is a good start, but we will need to trace specific biomarkers that show up in excess amounts exclusively in each of these diseases.

The market for such biomarkers is getting greener as new developments take shape. Research around proteins involved in the genesis and progression of neurological diseases as well as the methods used to quantify them will be key in helping us grasp the overall problem and find ways to treat the diseases.

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Gum Problems May Contribute to Alzheimer’s Disease

August 13, 2010

It has already been determined that gum and mouth health are enormously important for the health of the overall body and conversely health conditions can aggravate problems with teeth and gums. A new study regarding Alzheimer’s and gum health reveals a direct correlation between the two. To begin, how important is gum health to the [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Higher Cardiac Index Protects Brain Function

August 12, 2010

Our organs need blood to function properly, since blood delivers oxygen and other nutrients essential for metabolic processes, and also carries away wastes. The brain is no different. If the brain does not receive an adequate blood flow, it will be damaged. The more frequently there is damage, as with elderly persons who have had [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

New Alzheimer’s Guidelines and Impact of Biomarkers on Early Diagnosis

August 11, 2010

Guidelines for the pre-clinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease seem to be the subject of conversations today. People are now realizing that we are quite far from any means to treating the disease or slowing its progression. Consequently, they suggest that it might not be a good idea to let people know about the impending disease condition very early. Also, there is not much evidence to suggest that testing according to these guidelines will be perfect. There is a chance that someone who is told that they are at high risk for having Alzheimer’s may not be eventually affected by it. Therefore, there is some question as to the benefits of providing an early diagnosis.

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Biomarker Tests Can Revolutionize Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Treatment

August 10, 2010

Research around P97 (melanotransferrin), which forms an important portion of the Bioasis intellectual property, has shown that a simple P97 test can provide clinicians with an indication of neurological disease in the brain. This molecule is at the center of our Cognitest technology which can serve as a packaged test ready to be used in a clinical setting for testing blood for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.

The Alzheimer’s Association has taken a major step in facilitating research towards facing the Alzheimer’s challenge. The new guidelines will certainly create opportunities for new technologies that uncover the secrets of this disease while allowing affected individuals to get treatment early on.

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Cladribine Granted FDA Fast Track Review Status

August 6, 2010

Back in March, we had taken stock of Merck Serono, the developer of the oral MS pill Cladribine. Last year, this drug’s NDA application for Fast Track approval was rejected by the FDA, mostly due to concerns of incompleteness. It is now back in contention thanks to an approval in Russia and a priority review [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

Venture Capital Financing Warms Slowly in 2010

August 5, 2010

Venture Capital bank accounts and their effect on the pharma/biotech industry received great coverage in the IN VIVO blog recently. For our readers who belong to the investor community, this can be a great resource for staying up on the latest deals across the entire pharma/biotech space as well as the opportunities where they can [...]

  • Share/Bookmark
Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →