drug trials

19 Stories

After Aduhelm Debacle, New Alzheimer's Drug Emerges

Biogen, partner Eisai: Clinical trial for lecanemab shows promising 27% slowing of cognitive decline

(Newser) - Last year, the FDA approved aducanumab , marketed as Aduhelm , a controversial drug made by Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai to treat Alzheimer's. Things didn't go well, though, with expert opposition to the costly medication and a final death blow to its place in the market after Medicare...

NYU Researcher Quits Over Bogus PTSD Study

Data rejected and 8 studies suspended

(Newser) - New York University medical school research into using a marijuana-like drug to treat PTSD sufferers turned out to be so flawed that eight studies were suspended and the data was rejected as unreliable, the New York Times reports. Federal investigators found that the research led by Dr. Alexander Neumeister failed...

Botched Drug Trial Leaves Man Brain Dead

And 2 more are hospitalized in France

(Newser) - A drug trial in France has gone horribly wrong, leaving one healthy volunteer brain-dead; three other men may have suffered irreversible brain damage, another has "neurological problems," and a sixth is hospitalized with less severe problems, reports AP . Details on what happened, including what drug was being tested...

Alzheimer's Drug Shows Startling Promise
 Alzheimer's 
 Drug Shows 
 Startling 
 Promise 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 22, 2015 12:28 PM CDT

Alzheimer's Drug Shows Startling Promise

Puts brakes on mental decline, but not without side effects

(Newser) - "Encouraging" Alzheimer's news: Biogen Idec's drug aducanumab has been shown to slow mental decline in patients with early or mild Alzheimer's disease in a small drug trial, the full results of which were released Friday. The New York Times reports 166 patients were randomly given low...

Arthritis Drug Makes Hairless Man Very Hairy
Arthritis Drug Makes
Hairless Man Very Hairy
in case you missed it
Jun 22, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Arthritis Drug Makes Hairless Man Very Hairy

25-year-old grew full head of hair, plus everything from eyebrows to armpit hair

(Newser) - It turns out an FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis drug might just cure baldness—at least the form caused by a rare immune disease. During an eight-month trial of the drug, a 25-year-old man whose body was nearly hairless grew, well, a lot of it, including plenty atop his head, armpit hair,...

'Groundbreaking' Drug Stalls Breast Cancer

Palbociclib appears to double time before disease worsens: study

(Newser) - A new breast cancer drug may help prevent the disease from getting worse, a study shows—and some experts are seeing major benefits ahead. Palbociclib almost doubled the time patients survived without seeing their disease progress, Reuters reports, noting that the women in the study had the most common form...

Loosen Up Pot Restrictions—So We Can Study It

Much more data needed on medical effects of marijuana: Devinsky, Friedman

(Newser) - A story making the rounds on social media goes like this: A young girl's epileptic seizures went from hundreds a week down to just a few a month after her parents began treating her with marijuana. Her case prompted families of children with similar disorders to move to Colorado...

Company Pulls Drug for Lou Gehrig's Disease

Biogen ends development after it fails drug trial

(Newser) - An experimental drug that showed promise of becoming the first effective treatment for Lou Gehrig’s Disease is being pulled by its manufacturer because it performed miserably in a major drug trial. Biogen says its drug, dexpramipexole, did nothing to improve the condition of patients or extend their lives, reports...

Boosting 'Good' Cholesterol Doesn't Help, May Hurt
Boosting 'Good' Cholesterol Doesn't Help, May Hurt
study says
May 27, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

Boosting 'Good' Cholesterol Doesn't Help, May Hurt

Test of drug niacin halted when results became clear

(Newser) - Raising your “good” HDL cholesterol might not be such a good idea. A federally funded study into the effectiveness of the HDL booster niacin has been abruptly cut off, after it became clear that the drug did nothing to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke—and in...

Trial Drug Offers Hope for Ovarian Cancer Patients

Early test on small number of women yields improved survival rate

(Newser) - A new drug being developed in Britain could someday prolong the lives of thousands of women suffering ovarian cancer, the Guardian reports. Eight of the 18 women involved in the trial, all of whom had been given less than a year to live, saw their tumors stabilize or shrink under...

Obama's Drugs Czar: More Treatment For, Less War On

Kerlikowske says key is to reduce demand

(Newser) - President Obama’s choice for drug czar signals a 180-degree pivot from the Bush administration’s policies, the Washington Post reports. The White House says it’s pushing to use alternative drug courts that would mandate treatment, rather than jail, for offenders. That’s a big break from President Bush’...

Tanning Drug Approved for Trials

Long available online, injection gets nod from regulators

(Newser) - A self-tanning drug long available in various incarnations over the Internet has been approved for human trials in the US, Wired reports. “It's a bioabsorbable implant that you just inject into the skin,” says a pharma rep of afamelanotide. “It stimulates melanin production.” The drug made...

New Drug Promises Better Sleep for the Jet-Lagged

Substance works a lot like today's popular but unregulated melatonin supplements

(Newser) - A new drug promises to put an end to jet lag and enable better sleep for travelers, swing-shift crews, and insomniacs, the Economist reports. Tasimelteon works a lot like today's popular but unregulated melatonin supplements, bonding with brain receptors to stimulate melatonin production and REM sleep. The distinction is significant...

Drug May Cut Heart Attack Risk in Half

'Blockbuster' study could transform preventative care

(Newser) - A simple test and drug prescription can prevent hundreds of thousands of heart attacks and strokes, researchers say. Announced today at an American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans, the study of almost 18,000 volunteers in 26 nations confirmed that inflammation leads to heart disease—and can be counteracted...

Combo Heart Pills Enter Trials in London

The cheap drugs could halve deaths from heart attack, stroke

(Newser) - Trials begin this week in London on a cheap "polypill" that could cut heart attack and stroke deaths in half worldwide, the Guardian reports. The pill combines four drugs—aspirin, a cholesterol-lowering statin, an ACE inhibitor, and thiazine to battle high blood pressure. The aim is to sell it—...

A Pill a Day Could Keep HIV Away
A Pill a Day Could Keep
HIV Away
Aug 4, 2008 7:24 AM CDT

A Pill a Day Could Keep HIV Away

Massive 15,000-person trial will test drug's effectiveness

(Newser) - With 2.7 million people contracting HIV every year, the race is on to test the efficacy of a daily pill meant to prevent the virus, the New York Times reports. After recent unimpressive results in tests of vaccines and microbicides, the PrEP drugs are now some scientists’ leading hope...

Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise
Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise
Jun 17, 2008 6:10 PM CDT

Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise

Bapineuzumab could be a blockbuster if it passes final trials

(Newser) - A drug currently in experimental trials seems to be effective in battling Alzheimer's disease, the pharmaceutical companies developing it tell the Wall Street Journal. Bapineuzumab—developed by Elan and Wyeth—seems to be helpful in improving cognitive ability in those stricken by the disease, though much more so in patients...

8 Worrying Drug Side Effects
8 Worrying Drug Side Effects
Mar 7, 2008 7:14 PM CST

8 Worrying Drug Side Effects

FDA-approved medications pass clinical trials, but the real world uncovers more

(Newser) - Despite rigorous testing, some drugs have side effects that only rear their ugly heads when introduced to the general population. Forbes catalogs some of the weirdest:
  1. Anti-smoking drug Chantix can cause insomnia and nightmares.
  2. Diet drug Alli can have unforeseen gastrointestinal side-effects; these can be counteracted by eating a low-fat
...

Big Pharma Goes East to Test Drugs
Big Pharma Goes East to Test Drugs
Nov 19, 2007 8:09 PM CST

Big Pharma Goes East to Test Drugs

Low costs lure R&D, but critics doubt product safety

(Newser) - Big Pharma is testing more drugs in China, where studies cost less and a big, aging population has more chronic ailments, Time reports. But critics question the country's product safety and ponder the fate of tested patients. Even Big Pharma is concerned—about intellectual property rights—but the lure of...

19 Stories