Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, En Ze Jia Shi Pharmaceuticals, has been issued a patent for controlled-release of oral gliclazide, which is commonly used to control mild to moderate adult-onset Type 2 diabetes.
The patent that covers the composition and preparation methods for the drug through 2030 has been issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China.
Gliclazide falls under the second generation of sulfonylureas, a class of anti-diabetic drugs that stimulate the pancreas to release more insulin.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Zhongyi Liu said that they expect to start clinical trials in 2012 after receiving authorization from the State Food and Drug Administration, with regulatory approval expected in 2014.
A robot designed by Thomas Jefferson University scientists will be used to place therapeutic radioactive seeds in prostate cancer patients in a first-of-a-kind clinical trial.
The study supported by National Cancer Institute, which will enroll 14 patients, was approved by federal Food and Drug Administration to test the device at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
The robot will provide the steadiest and most precise method possible to implant scores of the seeds directly at the site of a cancerous tumor in the prostate gland, eliminating the possibility of human error.
The robot, which is controlled by a physician via a hand-held controller and a computer interface, can systemically and accurately place the seeds with its motorised controls and imaging feedback.
The robot is capable of reverting to manual needle and seed insertion any time the physician desires.
The world's first clinical trial for stem cell therapy has begun, which is still in its very early stages and is still a landmark event.
The trial was announced by Geron Corporation of California recently. The primary objective of this Phase I study is to assess the safety and tolerability of GRNOPC1 in patients with complete American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale grade A thoracic spinal cord injuries.
The test will enroll only 10 people who have suffered recent spinal cord injuries.
This first patient has been enrolled in the Shepherd Center - a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of seven potential sites in the US that may enroll patients in the Geron clinical trial.
The results of those trials will be presented at as many as seven centers around the country.
Scientists from the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU SOM) in Detroit will present the world's largest study that shows the long-term results of fast neutron radiotherapy (FNRT) in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The findings will be formally announced Tuesday, November 2, at the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.
For the study, researchers analysed the results of multiple clinical trials that were held at Karmanos and WSU SOM from 1992 to 2007.
In the study, researchers looked at the effects of FNRT in the treatment of low, intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer cases. Overall survival and biochemical progression-free survival were analysed within risk groups, in groups where post-radiotherapy hormones were used, and by race.
They found that treatment of prostate cancer patients with FNRT resulted in excellent long-term overall survival and biochemical progression free survival for all risk groups, with low rates of late GI and GU toxicities. The use of hormone therapy improved overall survival in low and intermediate risk groups, though not in high-risk groups.
