Related Articles Results

Wednesday Apr 21, 2010
GSK and Human Genome's Lupus Drug Fails to Meet Secondary Endpoint in Phase III Trial
Effects of the lupus drug Benlysta (belimumab) appear to wane over time...

Tuesday Mar 16, 2010
New Treatment Approved to Straighten Clenched Fingers
Xiaflex was approved by the FDA last month for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, a condition that affects a person's ability to straighten and use their fingers...

Wednesday Dec 02, 2009
OxyPharma's New RA Drug Shows Positive Phase II Results
Rabeximod, an orally-administered DMARD, showed promise as a new RA treatment during a 16-week study...

Thursday Oct 29, 2009
Uncertain Future for Schering RA Nose Spray
Intranasal immunotherapy with HC gp-39 was safe but produced no clinical benefits in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase II study in RA patients...

Tuesday Oct 13, 2009
Protalix Reports First Data on Generic Enbrel™
Plant cell fusion protein would be first “biosimilar” version of etanercept...

Thursday Sep 24, 2009
Rituximab Improves SSc Lung Function
A small pilot study has established proof-of-principle that rituximab improves lung function in scleroderma...

Thursday Sep 10, 2009
Lodotra Delayed-Release Prednisone Aces Phase III
Nitec Pharma's Lodotra™ delayed-release prednisone met phase III efficacy endpoints. Nitec expects to file for FDA approval in RA...

Monday Aug 31, 2009
Blocking Syndecan-4: A New Way to Treat OA?
Blocking syndecan-4 may represent a whole new approach to treating osteoarthritis...

Friday May 15, 2009
FDA Going Back for Second Look At Menaflex
The US FDA, responding to criticism about the Menaflex approval process, is planning to take another look...

Thursday May 14, 2009
Could a Urine Test Identify Early OA?
Separate sets of collagen degradation markers can differentiate very early knee OA from knee pain that is not due to OA...

Thursday Apr 02, 2009
Hurt Cartilage Harbors Potential OA Cure: Stem Cells
Harnessing the power of chondrogenic progenitor cells in diseased human cartilage may help researchers develop regenerative OA therapies...

Thursday Mar 05, 2009
First Nonsurgical Dupuytren's Rx Likely to Be Auxilium's Xiaflex
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals is requesting expedited approval for Xiaflex™ (clostridial collagenase for injection), a nonsurgical treatment for Dupuytren's contracture...

Wednesday Mar 04, 2009
Drop of Collagenase Provides Non-Surgical Fix for Dupuytren's Disease
A nonsurgical approach using a drop of collagenase to weaken the tissue cord that causes hand contractures in Dupuytren's disease is headed for FDA review...

Tuesday Mar 03, 2009
Tiny Arthroscopic Procedure Patches Up Arthritic Thumb
The most common type of hand arthritis, OA of the thumb, can be successfully repaired using an arthroscopic approach to insert a collagen patch into the carpo-metacarpal space...

Friday Dec 12, 2008
Cartilage Repair Moving from Bench to Bedside
Mosiacplasty may soon be the method of choice for orthopaedic surgeons treating small focal defects in cartilage, but stem cell-based cartilage repair is also moving stealthily down the pike...

Monday Dec 08, 2008
Say Goodbye to Plantar Fasciitis After 15-Minute Treatment
Combining an ultrasound-guided dry needling technique with steroid injection is 95% effective at relieving plantar fasciitis within 3 weeks...

Monday Nov 24, 2008
Scleroderma Stem Cell Transplants Advance, Phase III Studies Recruiting Patients
Pilot data on systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients treated with autologous stem cell transplants suggest durable improvements in skin thickening and lung function. Phase III randomized trials are still open to enrollment...

Friday Nov 21, 2008
EntreMed Reports Antiangiogenic Role of 2ME2 Demonstrated in RA Models
Preclinical results for 2ME2 (Panzem^® or 2-methoxyestradiol) in rheumatoid arthritis demonstrated that 2ME2 involutes rat collagen-induced arthritis and suppresses synovial VEGF and bFGF gene expression...

Thursday Nov 13, 2008
Parathyroid Hormone Patch May Increase BMD and Adherence
A new patch that delivers parathyroid hormone (PTH) may increase spine and hip BMD and avoid some of the compliance issues seen with subcutaneous daily injections of PTH…

Wednesday Nov 12, 2008
Pegloticase Offers Hope to Patients With Worst Types of Gout
Pegloticase (Puricase^®, Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) performed well in two Phase III studies...

Wednesday Nov 12, 2008
Novartis’ ACZ885 Phase III Data Show Rapid, Sustained Clinical Remission in Children and Adults with CAPS, a Group of Rare, Potentially Life-Threatening Autoinflammatory Diseases
Novartis also announced that preliminary results of a phase I/II study in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis showed that most patients treated with ACZ885 achieved substantial clinical improvement within 15 days...

Tuesday Nov 04, 2008
Genentech, Biogen Idec Rituxan Phase III Data in RA Patients Showed Patients who Received Fixed Interval Re-Treatment Maintained Treatment Response; Positive Phase III Data Also Reported for Rituxan plus MTX in Biologic-Naïve RA Patients, Immune Response in Rituxan-Treated Patients Yielded Mixed Results in Phase II Study
Rituxan, in combination with MTX, is indicated to reduce signs and symptoms and to slow the progression of structural damage in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies...

Monday Nov 03, 2008
Tanezumab Reduces Moderate-Severe OA Pain in Phase II Trial
The nerve-growth-factor blocker tanezumab given once every 8 weeks significantly reduced knee OA pain in a phase 2 trial...

Wednesday Oct 29, 2008
Denosumab Bests Alendronate for Increasing Bone Mass
One year of denosumab was more likely to produce a 3% gain in hip or spine bone mass than one year of alendronate...

Tuesday Oct 28, 2008
Syk Kinase Inhibitor R788 (Tamatinib fosdium) Achieves  ACR20 Response Rates Over 60% in Phase II Trial
The oral Syk kinase inhibitor R788 achieved impressive efficacy in a phase II RA trial...

Monday Oct 27, 2008
VGX Initiates Follow-On, Phase I, Multiple Ascending Dose Study for Oral Anti-Inflammatory Drug Targeting RA and Type 1 Diabetes
VGX Pharmaceuticals announced phase I study results that demonstrated that its lead anti-inflammatory compound, VGX-1027, was generally safe and well tolerated in humans...

Wednesday Oct 22, 2008
Biogen Idec Reports Top-Line Results From Phase II Clinical Trial of Baminercept in RA; Will Discontinue Development in RA
The phase II trial of baminercept in RA patients who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy with a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug did not meet its primary endpoint...

Wednesday Oct 08, 2008
Incyte's Topical JAK Inhibitor Shows Positive Proof-of-Concept Results in Two Phase IIa Clinical Trials in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Psoriasis; Phase IIb Expected to Start October 2008
Results from the first study demonstrated that INCB18424 was well tolerated at all doses and significantly improved overall total lesion score (erythema + scaling + thickness)...

Thursday Oct 02, 2008
Vitamin C Protects Some Elderly Men From Bone Loss
Eating nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables can protect elderly men from the bone loss that leads to hip fractures…

Wednesday Oct 01, 2008
Glucosamine/Chondroitin Stumbles Again in GAIT II Study of Knee OA Progression
2-year data from the GAIT trial show no significant effect of glucosamine with or without chondroitin sulfate on progression of joint damage...

Wednesday Sep 24, 2008
Alpharma Announces Positive Results From Pivotal Phase III Efficacy Trial of ALO-01 (Embeda™) Capsules for Pain Relief in Patients With OA
If approved by the US FDA, ALO-01 would be the first opioid medicine to provide a pharmacologic abuse-deterrent feature while effectively treating patients with chronic pain...

Friday Sep 12, 2008
BioCryst Reports Results From Phase IIa Trial of PNP Inhibitor in Psoriasis; No Evidence of Clinical Efficacy
BCX-4208 is a potent, rationally-designed, inhibitor of PNP—a purine salvage pathway enzyme that is essential for the proliferation of activated T-cells...

Wednesday Sep 10, 2008
Arcalyst^® (rilonacept) Reduced Gout Flares by 81% in a Phase II Study Initiating Urate-Lowering Therapy
Based upon these results, a phase III clinical development program will be initiated early in 2009 with Arcalyst in the prevention of gout flares in patients initiating urate-lowering drug therapy...

Monday Sep 08, 2008
ACR Research and Education Foundation Grants Point to New Arthritis Research
New REF grants target RA immunotherapy, inflammation, bone erosions, PAD inhibition...

Thursday Sep 04, 2008
Omeros Enters Into Agreement With Affitech for Anti-inflammatory Therapeutics, Awaits Phase III Clinical Trial Results for Agent
Omeros Corp and Affitech AS have entered into an agreement for the discovery and development of fully human antibodies for Omeros’ MASP-2, which mediates activation of the complement system via the lectin pathway...

Tuesday Sep 02, 2008
Naproxcinod Moves Ahead in Pivotal Phase III Study in Osteoarthritis
The next generation of COX inhibitors is likely to include the nitric oxide-donating CINODs, the first of which (naproxcinod) is in phase III trials...

Friday Aug 22, 2008
While Olympians Chase Medals, Chicken Collagen Advances as RA Immunotherapy
Inducing oral tolerance with chicken type II collagen (CCII) may help alleviate the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with fewer side effects than methotrexate (MTX), Chinese researchers say…

Thursday Aug 21, 2008
Wrinkle Removers, Backed by Science
Scientific evidence has emerged that three anti-aging treatments are clinically effective: topical application of retinol, carbon dioxide resurfacing, and injection of hyaluronic acid…

Wednesday Aug 20, 2008
Zoledronic Acid Prevents Chemo-Induced Bone Loss in Premenopausal Women With Breast Cancer
As the population of breast cancer survivors grows, the risks of life after cancer treatment are becoming a major concern. One risk is bone loss caused by chemotherapy, and phase III data show that a dose of zoledronic acid every 3 months during chemotherapy can prevent this problem in premenopausal women with breast cancer...

Monday Aug 18, 2008
MedImmune, Medarex Report Initiation of Phase IIa Clinical Trial of Fully Human Anti-Interferonα Monoclonal Antibody in Lupus Patients
MedImmune has initiated enrollment in a phase IIa trial with a human monoclonal antibody (MEDI-545) targeting interferonα in adult patients with moderate-to-severe active lupus...

Monday Aug 11, 2008
Hollis-Eden Initiates Phase I/II Clinical Trial With TRIOLEX™ (HE3286) in RA
Hollis-Eden's investigational, nonimmunosuppressive oral drug candidate Triolex™ (HE3286), a stabilized, synthetic analog of a naturally occurring molecule metabolized by the body, is being tested in patients diagnosed with RA who are receiving a stable dose of MTX...

Monday Aug 04, 2008
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Reports Phase IIa Results of PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis; Cream is Well Tolerated but No Significant Improvement in Treated Lesions Compared With Vehicle
Data from from the phase IIa clinical study of a reformulated topical PTH (1-34) for the treatment of psoriasis did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the overall disease severity of treatment lesions or signs and symptoms of psoriasis compared with vehicle gel...

Tuesday Jul 29, 2008
CEL-SCI Announces Positive Preclinical Results Using CEL-2000, a Chimeric Peptide with Bi-Functional Properties, as RA Vaccine
CEL-SCI Corp announced the discovery of CEL-2000, a novel peptide vaccine for the treatment of RA. Tests showed that CEL-2000 is equivalent or possibly superior to Enbrel^® in slowing disease progression and lessening symptoms in mice...

Monday Jul 28, 2008
Chelsea Therapeutics Granted UK MHRA Approval to Begin Phase II Trial of Droxidopa, a Prodrug of Norepinephrine, in Fibromyalgia
Droxidopa, an orally active synthetic amino acid precursor of norepinephrine (NE), is converted by the body into norepinephrine and as a prodrug of NE, provides replacement therapy for NE deficiency...

Tuesday Jul 22, 2008
Ardea Biosciences Advances RDEA806 Into Phase IIa Proof-of-Concept Study for Gout
Ardea Biosciences has received regulatory approval to begin a phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial evaluating RDEA806 in gout patients with hyperuricemia...

Friday Jul 11, 2008
MediGene Puts Phase I Trial Hold on Due to Patient Death in Study of RhuDex^® in a New Formulation; Reports Positive Results With RhuDex in Phase IIa Pilot Trial in RA
One study participant suffered a heart problem some days after a scheduled treatment of RhuDex^®, an orally administered candidate for the treatment of RA; it is currently unclear whether there is any correlation between the death and the drug administration...

Wednesday Jun 25, 2008
Genmab, GSK to Initiate Phase I/II Clinical Trial of Ofatumumab in Subcutaneous Study in RA
A phase I/II study will be initiated soon to evaluate a subcutaneous route of administration of ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20^®) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, stable on methotrexate (MTX)...

Thursday Jun 19, 2008
Baminercept shows good safety, substantial activity against RA in phase II data reported at EULAR
Baminercept alfa, a novel lymphotoxin β-receptor blocker, showed promising safety and efficacy in phase II data reported at EULAR...

Wednesday Jun 18, 2008
Rigel Launches Two Global Phase IIb Clinical Trials of Syk Inhibitor, R788 (fostamatinib disodium), in RA
Rigel currently has small-molecule product development programs in inflammatory/autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thrombocytopenia, and asthma...

Wednesday Jun 18, 2008
ChemoCentryx Completes Enrollment of Phase II/III Clinical Trial of CCR9 Antagonist CCX282-B (Traficet-EN™) in Crohn's; Reports Advancing Second-Generation CCR9 Drug
The trial comprises three discrete phases to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Traficet-EN in inducing a clinical response or remission, as well as maintaining response/remission in Crohn's disease over 12 months...

Monday Jun 16, 2008
Promising Epratuzumab Corticosteroid-Sparing Data Leads to Re-Start of Phase III Studies in Lupus
Phase III studies of epratuzumab in systemic lupus erythematosus have resumed after analysis of early data showed steroid-sparing effects...

Monday Jun 16, 2008
Phase III Data Show Golimumab Efficacy in MTX-Resistant, TNF-Pretreated, Untreated RA
Data from the phase III GO-FORWARD and GO-BEFORE studies show that subcutaneous golimumab improves symptoms, function in RA patients after MTX, anti-TNF failure...

Wednesday Jun 11, 2008
Merck Announces Initiation of Second Phase II/III Pivotal Clinical Study of Atacicept in SLE
Merck and development partner ZymoGenetics have initiated a phase II/III trial of atacicept (formerly TACI-Ig) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Atacicept inhibits the two growth factors BLyS and APRIL that are known to impact disease progression...

Monday Jun 09, 2008
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Completes Enrollment in First of Two Phase III Clinical Trials of Sodium Oxybate (Xyrem^®) to Treat FMS
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced completion of enrollment in the first of two phase III pivotal clinical trials of JZP-6 (sodium oxybate, Xyrem^®) for the treatment of fibromyalgia...

Monday Jun 02, 2008
Osteologix Reports Additional Positive Phase II Data for NB S101 (strontium malonate) for Osteoporosis
Osteologix reported that the osteoporosis drug candidate was well-tolerated and significantly suppressed bone resorption while simultaneously improving bone mineral density (BMD) at 12 weeks...

Monday Jun 02, 2008
Targeted Genetics Reports Positive Interim Findings From Inflammatory Arthritis Phase I/II Trial of tgAAC94; Demonstrates Safety and Preliminary Efficacy, Supports Further Clinical Development
Targeted Genetics Corp's study is designed to assess the safety and potential effect of multiple doses of tgAAC94 administered directly to affected joints of inflammatory arthritis subjects with or without concurrent use of systemic TNF antagonist therapies...

Thursday May 29, 2008
Medarex Initiates Phase II Proof-of-Concept Trials for MDX-1100, a Fully Human Anti-CXCL10 Monoclonal Antibody, in UC and RA
Medarex announced that it has initiated two phase II clinical development programs of MDX-1100, a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets CXCL10 (also known as IP-10), in ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis...

Wednesday May 21, 2008
Amgen’s 2nd Phase III Denosumab Osteoporosis Study Meets Primary, Secondary BMD Endpoints in Alendronate Transition Study; Transition Patients Achieved Superior Gains in BMD
Amgen's trial comparing the effects of denosumab vs continued alendronate therapy on bone mineral density demonstrated superior results for primary and all secondary endpoints...

Wednesday May 14, 2008
Roche’s Fifth Phase III Study for Actemra^® Inhibits Joint Damage and Improves Physical Function of Patients With RA
Roche's Actemra^® (tocilizumab), a humanized interleukin-6 receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody, can significantly inhibit structural damage to joints in patients with RA...

Tuesday May 13, 2008
Osteologix’s IND for NB S101 (strontium malonate) to Treat Osteoporosis Accepted by US FDA
The US FDA has accepted Osteologix's IND application for NB S101 (strontium malonate), a dual-acting bone agent, to treat and prevent osteoporosis...

Monday May 12, 2008
Nuon Raises $27 Million to Advance Tranilast Through Phase II Clinical Trials for Autoimmune Diseases
Nuon completed a $27 million series B financing to advance tranilast, its orally available, small-molecule lead compound...

Thursday May 08, 2008
Trubion Initiates Phase IIb Study of TRU-015, a CD20-directed Drug Candidate, Plus MTX for the Treatment of RA
Trubion's partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has commenced patient dosing in a multicenter, phase IIb clinical trial of TRU-015; previously reported data demonstrated TRU-015's ability to significantly improve RA signs and symptoms...

Tuesday May 06, 2008
Rigel's R788 (fostamatinib disodium) Slows Progression, Prolongs Survival in Murine Lupus Model; Phase II Lupus Clinical Trial Planned Later in 2008
Rigel's lead agent, R788 (fostamatinib disodium), an orally bioavailable spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has successfully treated lupus-prone mice and significantly improved their survival...

Thursday May 01, 2008
Genentech, Biogen Idec Report Phase II/III Trial of Rituxan^® Fails to Meet Primary or Secondary Endpoints in Lupus
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase II/III study of Rituxan^® (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not meet its primary endpoint or any of the six secondary endpoints...

Thursday May 01, 2008
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Reports Positive 12-Month Interim Antibody Data From Phase III Study of Riquent^® for SLE; Significant, Sustained Reductions Observed in Antibodies to dsDNA
Analyses of data in the first 125 randomized patients indicate that for all patients treated with Riquent^® compared with placebo, there were significantly greater reductions in antibodies to double-stranded (ds) DNA...

Thursday May 01, 2008
Widely Used Antiepileptic Drug Accelerates Bone Loss in Young Women
Phenytoin, one of the most commonly used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), causes young women to lose bone mineral density at eight times the normal rate...

Thursday Apr 24, 2008
S. pyogenes-Linked New-Onset Childhood Arthritis Differs in Severity, Duration, from Other Types
Up to 35% of children with new-onset arthritis test positive for S. pyogenes and have a different disease course than children with other forms of inflammatory arthritis; they do not need routine cardiology follow-up, according to a population-based study...

Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Neurochem to Advance Eprodisate (Kiacta™) in Second Phase III Trial for Amyloid A; Marketing Applications Withdrawn in US, EU, and Switzerland
Neurochem (International) Ltd announced that it intends to initiate a second phase III clinical for eprodisate (Kiacta™) to obtain market approval for the treatment of amyloid A (AA) because amyloidosis is a life-threatening disease for which there is no specific treatment...

Wednesday Apr 09, 2008
Amgen Phase III Data Show Denosumab, an Inhibitor of RANK Ligand, Increased Bone Density at Multiple Skeletal Sites in Early and Later Stage Postmenopausal Women
Amgen announced results from its study in women with early and late stage postmenopausal osteoporosis that show twice-yearly subcutaneous injections of denosumab increased bone mineral density (BMD) at all sites measured...

Monday Apr 07, 2008
Radius Fills Enrollment of Phase II Trial of BA058 for Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women; Milestone Triggers $28.3 Million Financing
Radius Health, Inc announced the completion of patient enrollment in its phase II clinical trial of BA058, an analog of hPTHrP (human parathyroid hormone-related protein)...

Tuesday Apr 01, 2008
Trubion Announces SBI-087, a Fully Humanized CD20-directed Compound, as Next-Generation Product Candidate for RA and SLE; TRU-015 to Enter Phase IIb RA Clinical Trial
Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that its collaboration partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application for SBI-087 for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and clinical trial sites are preparing to enroll patients in a phase I study...

Tuesday Apr 01, 2008
Targeted Genetics Announces Completion of Dosing for Phase I/II Clinical Trial of tgAAC94 for Inflammatory Arthritis
Dosing has been completed for Targeted Genetic's phase I/II clinical trial of tgAAC94 administered directly to affected joints of subjects with inflammatory arthritis to reduce inflammation and to avoid the potential for systemic side effects...

Monday Mar 31, 2008
CRP, Anti-CCP, Ultrasound Can Predict Which RA Patients Need Early, Aggressive Treatment to Stave Off Rapid Progression
RA patients with rapidly progressing disease will benefit most from aggressive early treatment with biologics and can be identified using markers such as CRP, anti-CCP, and ultrasound evidence of joint erosion...

Thursday Mar 27, 2008
Anacor’s Phase IIa Psoriasis Trial of AN2728 Achieves Primary, Secondary Endpoints 
Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced positive results from a phase IIa clinical trial of AN2728, a boron-containing inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4), in patients with psoriasis...

Thursday Mar 20, 2008
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Completes Enrollment in a Phase II Study of MM-093, Recombinant AFP, in Patients With RA
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc's phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MM-093, a nonglycosylated, recombinant version of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has completed enrollment...

Thursday Feb 14, 2008
Celgene Reports More Positive Phase II Data on Apremilast in Psoriasis Patients; to Expand Dosing Level, Duration; Accelerate Advancement in Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, RA
Celgene Corp announced positive clinical data from a phase II study of apremilast (CC-10004), its lead orally bioavailable, small molecule inhibitor of TNF/PDE4, in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis...

Wednesday Feb 13, 2008
Hollis-Eden Initiates Phase I/II Clinical Trial With Oral Anti-Inflammatory Drug Candidate Triolexâ„¢ in UC; RA Study Planned in 2Q/08
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that it has begun a phase I/II clinical trial with Triolexâ„¢ (HE3286), an insulin sensitizer for ulcerative colitis...

Friday Feb 08, 2008
Phase III Data Look Good for Ustekinumab (CNTO 1275) in Plaque Psoraisis
Ustekinumab (CNTO 1275), a new monoclonal antibody that blocks interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23, may hold advantages over existing systemic therapies for chronic plaque psoriasis in terms of its convenience and potentially its safety...

Friday Feb 01, 2008
IL-27 Shows Promise for Treating Inflammatory Arthritis
Interleukin-27 (IL-27) can attenuate collagen-induced arthritis when given early in the disease course by blocking Th17 differentiation...

Friday Feb 01, 2008
SantoSolve Reports Topical Analgesic Phase II Study Met Primary Endpoint in Patients With Knee OA
SantoSolve AS announced positive results for 2PX, its topical analgesic formulated for subdermal pain treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee...

Monday Jan 28, 2008
Genentech, Biogen Idec, Roche Report Rituxan® (rituximab, MabThera®) Phase III Trial Meets Study Endpoints in RA; Use as First-Line Biologic Therapy Improves Symptoms 
Genentech, Inc, Biogen Idec, and Roche Pharmaceuticals announced that a pivotal phase III study of rituximab (Rituxan®) met its primary endpoint of greater proportion of biologic-naïve RA patients achieving ACR20 response at week 24, compared with placebo...

Tuesday Dec 18, 2007
Amgen's Pivotal Phase III Data Show Denosumab With Twice-Yearly Dosing Increased BMD Throughout Skeleton in Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer Patients on Adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy; Study Met All Primary and Secondary Endpoints
Amgen Inc announced that pivotal phase III data show that denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that specifically targets the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand, a key mediator of the resorptive phase of bone remodeling, increased bone mineral density throughout the skeleton in nonmetastatic breast cancer patients on adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy...

Tuesday Dec 18, 2007
Rigel's Oral Syk Kinase Inhibitor, R788 (tamatinib fosdium), Achieves Statistically Significant ACR-20, -50, -70 in Phase II RA Clinical Study; Achieves Effect As Early As 1 Week
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that its oral syk kinase inhibitor, R788 (tamatinib fosdium), has demonstrated statistically significant results in treating rheumatoid arthritis patients in a recently completed phase II clinical trial...

Friday Dec 14, 2007
Acologix Reports AC-100 Promotes Articular Surface Restoration and Subchondral Bone Healing in Osteochondral Defect Study in Goats
Acologix, Inc announced preclinical study results demonstrating that AC-100 (Dentonin®) promoted cartilage regeneration in an animal model. Dentonin is a synthetic peptide derived from an endogenous human protein produced by bone and dental cells...

Thursday Dec 13, 2007
MRI Bone Edema Shows Differences, Similarities in RA and OA
MRI bone edema predicts radiographic progression in RA and correlates with pain in OA...

Tuesday Dec 11, 2007
Pain Therapeutics', King's Remoxyâ„¢ Meets Primary Endpoint in Pivotal Phase III Study in OA Patients with Chronic Pain; NDA Filing Expected in Mid-2008
Pain Therapeutics, Inc and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that a pivotal phase III study of Remoxyâ„¢, an abuse-deterrent version of long-acting oxycodone, in osteoarthritis patients with chronic pain met the primary endpoint that was prospectively defined by the US FDA during the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process...

Monday Dec 03, 2007
Targeted Genetics Announces That US FDA Removed Hold on Phase I/II Clinical Trial of tgAAC94 for Inflammatory Arthritis; Phase II Clinical Trial Protocol Design Underway

Targeted Genetics Corp announced that the US FDA removed the hold on the company's phase I/II clinical trial of tgACC94 for inflammatory arthritis, following the agency's review of the safety data thus far on all 127 subjects and all data from a fatal serious adverse event, which led to the death of a patient...

Thursday Nov 29, 2007
Osiris Announces Clinically and Statistically Significant 1-Year Data From Phase I/II Trial of Chondrogenâ„¢; OA Knee Patients Receive Single Injection of Adult Stem Cells Into Knee
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc, a leading stem cell therapeutic company, announced positive 1-year interim results in the evaluation of Chondrogenâ„¢, a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors and formulated for direct injection into the knee...

Thursday Nov 15, 2007
New Rheumatoid Arthritis B-Cell Depletor Advances in Phase II Trials
The experimental B-cell depleting small modular immunopharmaceutical (SMIP), TRU-015 has promising safety and efficacy trials in phase II RA data reported at the American College of Rheumatology...

Wednesday Nov 14, 2007
Trubion Reports Data From Phase IIb and Re-Treatment Studies With TRU-015 in RA Patients 
Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company creating a pipeline of product candidates to treat autoimmune disease and cancer, announced that TRU-015, its lead Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical drug candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), provided statistically significant efficacy after a single infusion of 800 mg or 1600 mg compared with placebo for a 24-week period...

Tuesday Nov 13, 2007
Targeted Genetics Reports Positive Interim Phase I/II Results for tgAAC94 in Inflammatory Arthritis; Tests Indicate tgAAC94 Did Not Contribute to Immunosuppression Leading to Fatal SAE
Targeted Genetics Corp, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced that interim data from its phase I/II trial of tgAAC94 for inflammatory arthritis suggest that the investigational therapy showed improvement in patient-reported outcome measures...

Monday Nov 12, 2007
Biogen Idec's Baminercept, the First Lymphotoxin-β Pathway Inhibitor in Development, Shows Promise in Phase IIa Trial in RA Patients; Phase IIb Underway 
Biogen Idec announced results from its phase IIa trial of baminercept, the first dual-mechanism, lymphotoxin-β (LT-β) and LIGHT pathway inhibitor in development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases...

Thursday Nov 08, 2007
Centocor, Schering-Plough's Anti-TNF Golimumab Significantly Improved Articular, Skin, and Nail Manifestations in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis in Phase III Study; Met Primary and Major Secondary Endpoints
Centocor, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced that patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) receiving monthly subcutaneous injections of golimumab experienced significant and sustained improvements in the joint and skin manifestations of the disease, according to findings from the largest phase III biologic study (GO-REVEAL trial) in PsA subjects...

Thursday Nov 08, 2007
Centocor, Schering-Plough's Anti-TNF Golimumab Significantly Reduced Signs and Symptoms of AS in Phase III Study; Monthly Treatment Yielded Marked Improvements in Physical Function
Centocor, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced that more than half of patients receiving monthly subcutaneous injections of golimumab 50 mg and 100 mg experienced significant and sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), according to the phase III study (GO-RAISE trial) results...

Wednesday Nov 07, 2007
Osteologix Reports Osteoporosis Phase II Trial of Strontium Malonate Meets Primary Endpoint
Osteologix, Inc, a specialty biopharmaceutical company targeting musculoskeletal diseases, announced positive top-line results of an international, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled phase II dose-response of its lead investigational drug, strontium malonate (NB S101) for osteoporosis...

Monday Nov 05, 2007
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase IIa Study of Topical PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a pharmaceutical company that acquires and develops drug candidates primarily for the treatment of dermatologic and immunologic disorders, announced that the first patient has received the initial dose of topical PTH (1-34) in a US multicenter, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, parallel group, phase IIa psoriasis study...

Thursday Nov 01, 2007
Lilly Acquires TRPV1 Antagonist Portfolio Including Phase II Drug Candidate GRC 6211 From Glenmark for Treatment of Pain, Including Osteoarthritic Pain 
Eli Lilly and Co announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, under which Lilly will acquire the rights to a portfolio of transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily 1 (TRPV1) antagonist molecules, including the clinical compound GRC 6211...

Monday Oct 22, 2007
Hollis-Eden Reports Positive Data Demonstrating That Anti-Inflammatory Agent HE3286 (Triolex^TM) Provides Benefit in Animal Models of Ulcerative Colitis and RA; Will Initiate Phase I/II Clinical Study in RA
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a company focused on the development of a proprietary new class of small molecules that are metabolites or synthetic analogs of endogenous adrenal steroid hormones, announced additional data on drug candidate HE3286 (Triolex^TM), an orally active, second generation, synthetic 17-ethynyl derivative of the steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), currently in preclinical and clinical study for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders...

Wednesday Oct 17, 2007
Horizon Initiates Long-Term Phase III Safety Study for GI-friendly NSAID, HZT-501
Horizon Therapeutics, Inc, a privately-held, late-stage biopharmaceutical company, has initiated a phase III follow-on safety study (HZ-CA-304) of its lead product candidate HZT-501, an investigational prescription NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) designed to be "GI-friendly"...

Tuesday Oct 16, 2007
Ocera Completes Enrollment in Phase III Clinical Trial of AST-120 in Fistulizing Crohn's Disease 
Ocera Therapeutics, Inc, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary compounds to treat gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases, announced that it has completed patient enrollment of its double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study in fistulizing Crohn's disease...

Thursday Oct 11, 2007
IL-1ra Gene Therapy Stops Intervertebral Disc Degradation, Explant Study Shows
An in vitro study shows that IL-1 receptor antagonist delivered either directly or by gene therapy can inhibit matrix degradation in human intervertebral disc...

Tuesday Oct 09, 2007
Centocor Reports Infrequently-Administered Subcutaneous Injection of Anti-IL-12/23 Antibody, Ustekinumab, Resulted in Long-Term PASI 75 Response in Phase III Study
Centocor, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced findings from an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study involving 1230 subjects...

Friday Oct 05, 2007
Abbott's Anti-IL-12/23 Antibody, ABT-874, Shows Positive Results for Maintenance of Response in Phase II Psoriasis Study
Abbott Laboratories announced positive study data from an extension to a phase II study demonstrating that a majority of moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients who responded to anti-IL-12/23 (ABT-874) after 12 weeks of treatment maintained a high level of response at 24 weeks, following discontinuation of therapy...

Thursday Oct 04, 2007
Celera Receives Clinical Milestone Payment Based on Merck's Advancement of Odanacatib, a Cathepsin K Inhibitor; Phase III Trial for Osteoporosis Initiated
Celera, an Applera Corp business, announced a clinical milestone payment of $2 million from Merck & Co, Inc, under the cathepsin K inhibitor collaboration agreement between the companies...

Wednesday Sep 26, 2007

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Begins Phase II, Dose-Finding Trial of Cobiprostone, a Chloride-Channel Activator, for the Prevention of NSAID-Induced Ulcers in Arthritis Patients

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a multicenter, phase II, dose-finding trial evaluating the prostone cobiprostone (SPI-8811) for the prevention of ulcers and other gastrointestinal injuries in arthritis patients treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)...

Thursday Sep 20, 2007
Targeted Genetics Provides Update on its Inflammatory Arthritis Phase I/II Trial on Clinical Hold Following Patient Death; Data To Date Does Not Implicate Study Agent
Targeted Genetics Corp, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, reported on the public hearing conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recombinant DNA advisory committee (RAC), which reviewed the serious adverse event (SAE) reported by Targeted surrounding the death of a patient participating in the company's phase I/II trial of tgAAC94 for inflammatory arthritis...

Wednesday Sep 19, 2007
Sosei's Fibromyalgia Phase II Trial of Nonopioid Analgesic, AD 337, Fails to Achieve Primary Endpoint
Sosei Group Corp, an international biopharmaceutical company focused on drug reprofiling, announced that its phase II proof-of-principle trial of AD 337 (an enantiomer of an approved, centrally acting, nonopioid, analgesic) for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) failed to achieve a statistically significant outcome in its primary endpoint at 4 weeks...

Monday Sep 17, 2007
Anesiva Initiates New Phase II Trial of Adleaâ„¢ for Pain Relief Following Total Knee Arthroplasty
Anesiva, Inc, a publicly-held, late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments for pain management, announced that it has initiated a new phase II study of Adleaâ„¢, a long-acting, nonopiate TRPV1 agonist, for the relief of postoperative pain in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA)...

Thursday Sep 13, 2007
Aspreva, Roche Terminate Lupus Nephritis Development Program; Previously Reported Phase III Data Does Not Adequately Support Regulatory Submission
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp announced that Aspreva and Roche have decided not to proceed with a regulatory submission at this time for CellCept (oral mycophenolate mofetil, MMF) as an induction therapy for lupus nephritis...

Wednesday Sep 12, 2007
Trubion's Preliminary Analysis of Phase IIb Results With Immunotherapeutic TRU-015 Show Improvements in RA Signs and Symptoms Compared With Placebo
Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company creating product candidates to treat autoimmune disease and cancer, announced preliminary analysis of results from a phase IIb randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial of its TRU-015 immunotherapeutic product candidate for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Tuesday Aug 28, 2007
Systematic Review Finds No Benefit From Selenium or Vitamins A, C in Arthritis; Raises Methodological Questions About Studies Showing Benefit From Vitamin E
Antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, sometimes combined with selenium, have been widely touted as beneficial for the treatment of arthritis, but a systematic review finds little convincing evidence of efficacy...

Tuesday Aug 14, 2007
Xencor's XProâ„¢1595, a Dominant-Negative Inhibitor of Soluble TNFα, Demonstrates Target Selectivity and Attenuates Experimental Arthritis Without Suppressing Innate Immunity to Infection 
Xencor, Inc, a company developing protein and antibody therapeutics, announced positive preclinical data for XProâ„¢1595 DN-TNFâ„¢, a highly selective, dominant-negative (DN) inhibitor of soluble TNFα and a first-in-class protein therapeutic drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Thursday Aug 09, 2007
Does Collagen Stimulate Its Own Degradation in OA Joints?
Chondrocytes are exposed to collagen in OA cartilage but not in normal joints. This process appears to trigger DDR-2-mediated expression of enzymes that further degrade collagen and add to joint destruction...Xu L et al, and Sandell LJ. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;2663-2673 and 2474-2477.

Thursday Aug 09, 2007
Calcitonin Study Heightens Interest in Antiresorptive Agents to Prevent OA Joint Damage
Calcitonin prevents the development of OA in an animal model and adds to evidence that antiresorptive agents can protect both cartilage and bone...

Tuesday Aug 07, 2007
Medarex Announces Initiation by Licensing Partner Novartis of Phase III Clinical Trial for Muckle-Wells Syndrome, a Rare Inherited Autoinflammatory Disease
Medarex, Inc announced that Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG has advanced ACZ885, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β (IL-1 β), to a phase III clinical trial for Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS), an inherited systemic autoinflammatory disease...

Tuesday Jul 31, 2007

Barrier Therapeutics Announces Positive Phase IIb Data With Oral Rambazoleâ„¢ in Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis


Barrier Therapeutics, Inc, announced positive results from its phase IIb dose-finding study of oral Rambazoleâ„¢, an investigational all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) metabolism blocking agent drug candidate, for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Wednesday Jul 25, 2007
Targeted Genetics' Inflammatory Arthritis Phase I/II Trial Placed on Clinical Hold
Targeted Genetics Corp, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced that after recent discussions with the US FDA, the phase I/II clinical study of tgAAC94, an investigational therapy for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis, has been placed on clinical hold.

Monday Jul 23, 2007
BioCryst, Roche Initiate Phase II Study of PNP Inhibitor for Psoriasis
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a leader in the use of crystallography and structure-based drug design for the development of novel therapeutics, announced the initiation of the first phase II study to evaluate BCX-4208/R3421, an orally available, small molecule, second generation transition-state analog inhibitor of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP).

Friday Jul 20, 2007
OA Experts Discuss Inflammation, Joint Protection, Need for Disease-Modifying OA Drugs
CIAOMed's roundtable of osteoarthritis experts discuss the role of inflammation in OA, the possibility that OA joint damage might be preventable, and the future role of disease-modifying drugs in OA....

Thursday Jul 19, 2007
ACR REF Campaign Taps Brightest Minds to Cure RA
The American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation has awarded $6 million in grant money to 15 arthritis researchers as part of a new "Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis" campaign.

Thursday Jul 19, 2007
Aspreva, Roche Report Preliminary Results for Phase III Study of CellCept in Lupus Nephritis; Fail to Achieve Primary Objective of Superiority to Intravenous Cyclophosphamide

Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp and Roche released preliminary results from a phase III clinical trial comparing CellCept (oral mycophenolate mofetil, MMF) with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVC), the current standard of care in patients suffering from lupus nephritis.

Tuesday Jul 17, 2007
CombinatoRx's CRx-150 Fails to Meet Product Profile in Phase II Trial in RA; Development Discontinued in Favor of CRx-102

CombinatoRx, Inc, pioneering the new field of synergistic combination pharmaceuticals, announced disappointing preliminary results of its multicenter, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of CRx-150, a synergistic cytokine modulator combining the antidepressant amoxapine and the cardiovascular drug dipyridamole, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Tuesday Jul 17, 2007
NicOx Initiates Third Pivotal Phase III Study of Naproxcinod for OA of the Hip
NicOx SA, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nitric oxide-donating drugs targeting the therapeutic areas of inflammation and cardiometabolic disease, announced the initiation of the third pivotal phase III clinical trial for naproxcinod in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip.

Thursday Jul 12, 2007
Roche's Actemraâ„¢ (tocilizumab) Third Phase III Study Achieves Primary Endpoint in RA Patients Who Failed to Respond to Anti-TNFs; Confirms Findings From Previous Multinational Trials
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc announced that the Actemraâ„¢ RADIATE (RheumAtoiD ArthritIs Study in Anti-TNF FailurEs) trial successfully met its primary endpoint in patients with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed to respond to at least one anti-TNF therapy...

Monday Jul 09, 2007
Zap Away Knee OA Pain With Pulsed Electrostimulation
Pulsed electrostimulation may be a safe and effective way to reduce pain and improve function in knee OA patients...

Friday Jul 06, 2007
Chi-Med Announces Positive Phase II Data for Botanical Compound, HMPL-004, in Ulcerative Colitis

Chi-Med, the Hutchison Whampoa-backed pharmaceutical and healthcare group, announced positive results for its phase II proof-of-concept study for HMPL-004 in mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC).

Thursday Jul 05, 2007
Anesiva Announces Phase II Data Showing Substantial, Long-Term Pain Reduction With Adleaâ„¢ (Formerly 4975) in OA of the Knee
Anesiva, Inc, a publicly-held, late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments for pain management, announced preliminary, long-term, follow-up results from a phase II study showing that treatment with Adleaâ„¢ (formerly 4975) in patients with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee produced substantial pain reduction that lasted for up to 12 weeks...

Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Zoledronate Reduces Bone Turnover, Preserves Bone Quality
Once-yearly zoledronate infusion both reduces bone turnover and preserves trabecular bone structure…

Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
Cytos Reports Results From Phase I/IIa Study With Vaccine Candidate CYT007-TNFQb for Treatment of Psoriasis; Demonstrated Safety and Tolerability but Transient Efficacy
Cytos Biotechnology AG, a public biotechnology company that specializes in the discovery, development, and commercialization of a new class of biopharmaceutical products called Immunodrugsâ„¢ reported results from a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind combined phase I/IIa study with CYT007-TNFQb, a novel therapeutic vaccine candidate for the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Friday Jun 22, 2007
Belimumab Improves Symptoms in Nearly Half of Lupus Patients at 52 Weeks, Advances to Phase III Studies
Belimumab produces sustained improvement in SLE symptoms…

Monday Jun 18, 2007
GSK and Genmab Report Positive Phase II Results With Ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) in Patients With RA
GlaxoSmithKline (PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvannia) and Genmab A/S (COPENHAGEN, Denmark) announced positive efficacy data from a phase II study of ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20®), a fully human monoclonal IgG1antibody targeting the CD20 antigen on the surface of B-cells, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Friday Jun 15, 2007
First Phase III Tocilizumab Data Show Rapid Improvement in RA Disease Activity, Confirming Critical Role of IL-6
Results of the first phase III trial of tocilizumab show that the anti-IL-6 monoclonal combined with methotrexate produces fast, sustained improvements in RA signs and symptoms, including a notable number of DAS28 remissions...

Thursday Jun 07, 2007
ChemoCentryx Reports Positive Phase II Clinical Data for the CCR9 antagonist Traficet-EN® in Crohn's
ChemoCentryx, Inc, a privately-held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine system, reported data from its phase II clinical trial of Traficet-EN in moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. Traficet-EN is an oral anti-inflammatory agent that targets the chemokine receptor CCR9...

Friday Jun 01, 2007
HGS and GSK Initiate Second Phase III Clinical Trial of LymphoStat-B^R (Belimumab) in Lupus
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. announced that dosing has begun in BLISS-52, the second of two pivotal phase III clinical trials of LymphoStat-B® (belimumab), a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS®), in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Wednesday May 30, 2007
Bristol-Myers Squibb Receives European Commission Approval for Orencia® in RA
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (RUEIL-MALMAISON, France) announced that the European Commission has granted approval for Orencia® (abatacept), the first and only selective costimulation modulator of T-cell activation, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Wednesday May 23, 2007
Celgene to Advance Clinical and Regulatory Development of Oral Anti-Inflammatory Agents Based on Successful Phase II Trial in Psoriasis; Expands Clinical Program to Include RA and PsA
Celgene Corp (SUMMIT, New Jersey), an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced plans to advance its leading oral anti-inflammatory candidates to address a broad range of inflammatory diseases...

Wednesday May 23, 2007
4SC AG Updates Progress of Phase IIa Clinical Trial in RA

4SC AG, focusing on the discovery and development of novel drug candidates for inflammatory diseases and cancer using a cheminformatics-based technology platform, reported on the progress of a phase IIa clinical trial of its lead drug candidate SC12267, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Wednesday May 16, 2007
AlphaRx and Proprius Report Nonachievement of Primary Endpoints in Their Topical NSAID (Indaflexâ„¢) Phase II Study in Osteoarthritis
AlphaRx Inc (MARKHAM, an emerging drug delivery company, and Proprius Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic services company that focuses on the area of rheumatology and autoimmune diseases, announced that results from the Indaflexâ„¢ 2.5% Topical Indomethacin Cream exploratory phase II clinical trial for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee (INDF-200) did not achieve its primary endpoints....

Tuesday May 15, 2007
TNF-α, IL-1 Mediate Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Blocking TNF-α or IL-1 can slow postmenopausal bone loss...

Wednesday May 09, 2007
Abbott's ABT-874 Shows Positive Results in Phase II Psoriasis Study
 
Abbott Laboratories announced positive results from a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study in which its investigational treatment, ABT-874, a fully human monoclonal antibody designed to target and neutralize interleukin-12 and interleukin-23, significantly reduced psoriasis symptoms in the majority of patients treated...

Thursday May 03, 2007
FDA Approves Labeling Update for Orencia® (Abatacept) to "Inhibiting" Structural Joint Damage in Adults with Moderate-to-Severe RA
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the US FDA has approved an update to the product labeling for Orencia® (abatacept) regarding the progression of structural joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients...

Monday Apr 23, 2007
Rigel Provides Clinical Update of R788 Phase II Trials in ITP and RA

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage drug development company, provided an update on R788, currently involved in ongoing phase II clinical trials in immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Thursday Apr 12, 2007
Cerimon Initiates Global Phase IIb Study of IL-2 Receptor Antagonist, Basiliximab, in Patients With Steroid-Refractory Ulcerative Colitis
Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for  autoimmune diseases, inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases, and pain management, announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a phase IIb clinical study of its lead product candidate basiliximab (SimulectR, Novartis Pharma AG) for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC).

Thursday Apr 05, 2007
Labopharm Reports Data from Phase III Clinical Trial for its Once-Daily Formulation of the Analgesic Tramadol (Tramadol Contramid® OAD) for Osteoarthritis
Labopharm Inc (LAVAL, Québec, Canada), is an international specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of drugs incorporating it's proprietary advanced controlled-release technologies...

Monday Mar 26, 2007
Astion Pharma Raises $6.5 Million to Advance Dermatology Portfolio Including a Drug Candidate in Preclinical Development for Psoriasis and a Candidate in Phase II Clinical Development for the Treatment of Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
Astion Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of treatments for severe skin diseases, announced it has raised approximately $6.5 million of new capital from existing shareholders to fund its development activities in the field of dermatology...

Monday Mar 19, 2007
Medivir Begins Initial Clinical Trial of Osteoporosis Drug Cathepsin K Inhibitor
Medivir AB, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, announced the start of its first osteoporosis clinical trial of MIV-701, an orally bioavailable inhibitor of cathepsin K, a thiol (cysteine) protease that is expressed by osteoclasts and degrades key bone and cartilage matrix proteins, including type 1 collagen...

Thursday Mar 15, 2007
Unigene Receives $5.5 Million Milestone Payment for Calcitonin Collaboration in Initiation of Osteoporosis Phase III Clinical Trial

Unigene Laboratories, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the oral and nasal delivery of large-market peptide drugs, announced that the initiation of a phase III clinical study conducted by Nordic Bioscience, the development partner with Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG, to treat osteoporosis with oral calcitonin has triggered a $5.5 million milestone payment due from Novartis to Unigene...
 

Thursday Mar 15, 2007
Cytochroma Completes Enrollment in Phase II Psoriasis Clinical Trial for CTA018, a Novel Vitamin D Analog
Cytochroma Inc, a privately-held, integrated specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of proprietary products related to vitamin D deficiency and novel vitamin D therapies to treat hyperproliferative disorders such as psoriasis and cancer, announced that it has completed the enrollment of patients in a phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of CTA018, a cream base for chronic plaque psoriasis.

Monday Mar 12, 2007
Novartis, Nordic Bioscience to Initiate Osteoporosis Phase III Program Using Emisphere's Eligen^R Technology for Oral Salmon Calcitonin

Emisphere Technologies, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs, announces that Novartis Pharmaceutical AG and its development partner Nordic Bioscience A/S will initiate a phase III clinical trial for the treatment of osteoporosis with an oral form of salmon calcitonin (SMC021), a new drug candidate, using Emisphere's eligen® delivery technology...

Friday Mar 09, 2007
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Reports Positive Interim Antibody Results From Riquent® Lupus Phase III Trial; Results Imply Greater Probability of Clinical Benefit in the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease as a Trial Outcome
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, announced positive interim antibody results from its ongoing double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized phase III trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium), its drug candidate for the treatment of renal disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Monday Mar 05, 2007
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company Implements Several Modifications and Updates Status of  Phase III Riquent® Study for the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (SAN DIEGO, California) announced its continued progress in enrolling patients in its phase III clinical trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease.

Tuesday Feb 27, 2007
UCB Reports Significant Reduction in Joint Damage From Phase III Results With Cimzia in Rheumatoid Arthritis; Fc Region Present in Conventional Anti-TNFs Is Not Required for Activity
UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced results of an international, multicenter, placebo-controlled phase III study (RAPID 1) involving nearly 1000 patients that evaluated the investigational agent Cimziaâ„¢ (certolizumab pegol)...

Tuesday Feb 20, 2007
Osiris's Chondrogenâ„¢ Adult Stem Cell Therapy Fails to Demonstrate Cartilage Regeneration According to Interim Results from Phase I/II Study
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced that 6-month interim results from its phase I/II clinical study of Chondrogenâ„¢, a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors and specially formulated for direct injection into the knee for the regeneration of the meniscus in the knee and prevention of osteoarthritis, failed to demonstrate significant amounts of meniscal regeneration...

Thursday Feb 15, 2007
HGS and GSK Initiate Phase III Clinical Trial of LymphoStat-B® in Lupus
Human Genome Sciences, Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC announced the initiation of dosing in BLISS-76, one of two pivotal phase III clinical trials of LymphoStat-B® (belimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that blocks the biological activity of B-lymphocyte stimulator, or BLyS®) in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

Thursday Feb 15, 2007
Experts at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Predict Clinically Useful Gene Therapy, Tissue Engineering Will Be Available "in 5 to 10 Years"
Presentations at the AAOS meeting include advances in both gene therapy and tissue-engineered products for cartilage, bone, and tendon repair...

Monday Feb 12, 2007
Biovitrum and Synphora Initiate Phase IIa Study of Prostaglandin Derivative as Psoriasis Treatment
Biovitrum AB, one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in Europe, and Synphora AB (UPPSALA, Sweden), a privately-owned biotechnology company that focuses on prostanoid chemistry, announced the initiation of a phase IIa clinical trial of Synphora's prostaglandin derivative drug candidate JB991 for the treatment of psoriasis.

Thursday Feb 08, 2007
Trubion Completes Enrollment and Dosing of Patients in Phase IIb Clinical Trial of Immunotherapeutic TRU-015 for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company creating a pipeline of product candidates to treat autoimmune disease and cancer, announced it has completed enrollment and dosing of patients in its phase IIb clinical trial of TRU-015, the company's lead Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical drug candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

Thursday Feb 08, 2007
Centocor Releases Phase II Data on CNTO 1275, a Monoclonal Antibody Targeting IL-12/IL-23, for Chronic Plaque Psoriasis

Centocor, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced that phase II data showed that patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who received subcutaneous injections of CNTO 1275 experienced significant clearance of skin disease and significant improvements in quality of life...

Monday Jan 29, 2007
MediGene Initiates Phase IIa Clinical Trial of RhuDex®, an Oral Inhibitor of T-cell Activation, in RA
MediGene AG (MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany), the publicly-held biotechnology company targeting autoimmune diseases and cancer announced the initiation of a phase IIa clinical trial of its drug candidate RhuDex®, a novel, orally bioavailable inhibitor of T-cell costimulation via the CD80-CD28 pathway, in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Thursday Jan 25, 2007
TNF Inhibitors May Protect Against Several Types of RA Cardiovascular Risk
RA patients treated with TNF inhibitors might also gain some protection against CV morbidity and mortality...

Friday Jan 19, 2007
Anesiva's Phase II and Phase III Pivotal Clinical Studies of 4975, a Long-Acting Pain Candidate, to Start in 2007 for Osteoarthritis and Postsurgical Pain (Total Knee Arthroplasty)
Anesiva, Inc. (SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California), a publicly-held, late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic treatments for pain management, announced the planned phase II/III clinical trial program for the development of 4975, a long-acting, nonopioid, capsaicin-based agonist of TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1; formerly known as vanilloid receptor 1 or VR1), a ligand-gated ion channel activated by agonists such as capsaicin and other factors (eg, heat and acidosis), for the acute treatment of severe pain including osteoarthritis (OA) and postsurgical pain...

Tuesday Jan 16, 2007
Can-Fite Completes Enrollment of 250 Patients in Phase IIb RA Trial of CF101, an A3 Adenosine Receptor Agonist; Receives US$1 Million Payment from Seikagaku Corporation
Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on a portfolio of orally bioavailable, highly selective, small molecule A(3) adenosine receptor (A(3)AR) agonists with potent activities in inflammation and cancer, announced the  completion of patient enrollment in a phase IIb rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical trial of CF101, an A(3)AR agonist...

Tuesday Jan 16, 2007
Preclinical Data Support Trial of Gleevec in SSc
The anticancer drug imatinib (Gleevec) can reduce production of extracellular matrix in SSc dermal fibroblasts, has prevented experimental dermal fibrosis in an animal model, and is seen as a "highly promising candidate" for treatment of SSc...

Tuesday Jan 16, 2007
Horizon Therapeutics' Phase III Trial of GI-Friendly NSAID for Mild-to-Moderate Pain Relief, Including Patients With Osteoarthritis, to be Conducted Under a Special Protocol Assessment; Company Raises $15 Million in Series B Financing
Horizon Therapeutics, Inc, a privately-held, late-stage biopharmaceutical company is focusing on the development and commercialization of therapeutic treatments for mild-to-moderate pain management based on innovative combinations of approved pharmaceutical products that seek to improve safety, efficacy, and patient compliance.

Thursday Jan 11, 2007
Rigel Starts Phase II Study of Its Oral Kinase Inhibitor, R788, in Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced that it has initiated enrollment and dosing of patients with refractory immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in a phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product candidate, R788, an oral syk kinase inhibitor that inhibits IgG signaling and blocks the activation of mast cells, macrophages and B-cells that promote swelling and an inflammatory response.

Wednesday Jan 10, 2007
Osiris Receives US FDA Fast Track Status for Prochymalâ„¢ Stem Cell Therapy and Clearance to Start Phase III Clinical Trial in Treatment-Resistant Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced that Prochymalâ„¢, a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors and specially formulated for intravenous infusion, has received fast-track designation from the US FDA, expediting the development of the stem cell treatment for Crohn's disease that does not respond to standard therapies.

Monday Jan 08, 2007
Ethanol Prevents Joint Destruction in Mouse RA Model
Arthritis-prone mice obliged to drink 10% ethanol for 5 weeks were largely protected from developing destructive joint disease...

Monday Jan 08, 2007
MedImmune In-Licenses from Japan Tobacco anti-ICOS Monoclonal Antibody for Inflammatory Diseases
MedImmune, Inc announced an exclusive license agreement with Japan Tobacco, Inc (JT), for a human monoclonal antibody inhibiting inducible costimulator (ICOS), a protein associated with T-cell activation that plays a key role in controlling adaptive immune responses.

Thursday Dec 21, 2006
ZymoGenetics and Serono Begin Phase II Clinical Trial with Atacicept (TACI-Ig) in RA
ZymoGenetics, Inc and Serono announced the start of a phase II clinical trial of their investigational therapeutic atacicept (formerly TACI-Ig) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, dose-finding study will investigate the efficacy of atacicept in patients with an inadequate disease response to prior treatment with TNF inhibitors.

Thursday Dec 14, 2006
Genmab Sees Positive Interim Data for HuMax-CD20 Phase II in Rheumatoid Arthritis; Starts Planning Phase III Studies
Genmab A/S, a human antibody therapeutics company, announced positive results from an interim analysis of the first 100 patients in the ongoing phase II rheumatoid arthritis (RA) study of HuMAX-CD20 (ofatumumab), a fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody targeting the CD20 antigen on B-cells and currently in clinical development as a treatment for active RA, as well as for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Thursday Dec 07, 2006
Osteologix Initiates Phase II Clinical Trial of Strontium Malonate (NB S101) for Osteoporosis
Osteologix Inc, a developer of proprietary therapeutics for the treatment of bone disease and women's health, announced that it has initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II dose-response study in healthy postmenopausal women of its lead investigational drug, strontium malonate (NB S101) for osteoporosis.

Monday Dec 04, 2006
Hollis-Eden's Steroid Hormone Preclinical Drug Candidate HE3286 Gains Positive Data in Model of RA
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc, developing a proprietary new class of small molecule compounds that are metabolites or synthetic analogs of adrenal steroid hormones, announced data on an experimental drug candidate, HE3286, an orally active, second-generation, synthetic steroid hormone currently in preclinical study for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders.

Wednesday Nov 29, 2006
KaloBios Initiates Phase I Clinical Trial of Anti-GM-CSF Antibody for Rheumatoid Arthritis
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a privately-held clinical development company focused on the development of therapeutic antibodies, announced that it has begun treating patients in a phase I clinical trial of its investigational rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapeutic, KB002, an engineered chimeric human monoclonal antibody targeting the cytokine growth factor, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

Wednesday Nov 29, 2006
Millennium Begins Phase II Study of CCR1 Antagonist in Rheumatoid Arthritis 
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced the initiation of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase II study of MLN3897, an orally active, small-molecule antagonist of the chemokine receptor CCR1, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 

Wednesday Nov 22, 2006
Sosei Ends Development of AD 452 Following Failure to Achieve Primary and Secondary Endpoints in Phase IIb Clinical Trial for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sosei Group Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, announced that AD 452, a novel, small molecule cytokine modulator, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on a background of methotrexate, failed to meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in a phase IIb clinical trial. As a consequence of these results Sosei has decided to discontinue with the development of this compound for the treatment of RA.

Tuesday Nov 21, 2006
Study Helps Explain Why Smoking Slows Ligament and Bone Healing
Smoking cigarettes delays cartilage formation in healing bone fractures and slows type I collagen production and recruitment of cells linked to healing of torn ligaments…

Monday Nov 20, 2006
Cytochroma Initiates Phase II Psoriasis Clinical Trial for CTA018, a Novel Vitamin D Analog
Cytochroma Inc, an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of proprietary products related to vitamin D deficiency and novel vitamin D therapies to treat hyperproliferative disorders such as psoriasis and cancer, has initiated the recruitment of patients with chronic plaque psoriasis for a phase II clinical trial with CTA018 cream.

Thursday Nov 16, 2006
Immunomedic, UCB Phase III Trial of Epratuzumab in Lupus Patients No Longer on Clinical Hold
Immunomedics, Inc (MORRIS Plains, New Jersey), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced that their partner, UCB, SA (BRUSSELS, Belgium) has received notification from the US FDA that the clinical hold on existing trials with epratuzumab (a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the B-cell specific surface antigen CD22) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been lifted.

Thursday Nov 16, 2006
Anti-TNF-α Golimumab (CNTO 148), Under Development by Centocor and Schering-Plough, Provides Sustained Improvement in Moderately-to-Severely Active Rheumatoid Arthritis in Phase II Study
Centocor, Inc (HORSHAM, Pennsylvania), a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced that 1-year data, presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Washington, DC, showed that nearly 75% of patients with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving golimumab (CNTO 148) and methotrexate experienced at least 20% improvement in arthritis symptoms (ACR 20) at week 52.

Monday Nov 13, 2006
Biomarkers Might Be Modifiable Risk Factors for RA
Autoantibodies may lead to risk reduction strategies for preventing RA... Holers VM. Presented at ACR 2006 Meeting.

Wednesday Nov 08, 2006
CombinatoRx Syncretic Drug Candidate CRx-102 Achieves Phase II Trial Endpoints in Rheumatoid Arthritis
CombinatoRx, Incorporated announced positive preliminary results of its phase II clinical trial of CRx-102, an oral synergistic combination drug candidate containing the generic cardiovascular agent dipyridamole and an unconventionally low dose (3mg, below the effective human dose) of the generic steroid prednisolone, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Monday Nov 06, 2006
Array BioPharma Reports Success in Two Approaches to Inflammatory Disease: MEK Inhibitor Achieves Phase I Clinical Objectives; p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitor Advances into Clinical Development
Array BioPharma Inc. (BOULDER, Colorado), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of orally active, small molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced preliminary results from a phase I clinical trial evaluating its first-in-class MEK (MAPK kinase) inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Monday Nov 06, 2006
Risedronate Does Not Slow OA Progression or Decrease Pain But May Affect Cartilage Degradation
No effect on OA progression, signs, or symptoms seen in 2-year risedronate study...

Thursday Nov 02, 2006
Disappointing Results in Study of Stem Cells for Cartilage Repair
Hopes that adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) might be used to create chondrocytes for patching cartilage had a setback when researchers found that culturing them in the usual  chondrogenic medium did not produce tissues capable of becoming stable articular cartilage in vivo...

Wednesday Nov 01, 2006
Regeneron's Phase III Clincial Program for Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Trap, a Long Lasting IL-1 Inhibitor, Achieves Primary Endpoints in Studies with Patients Diagnosed with CAPS, a Spectrum of Rare Chronic Autoinflammatory Syndromes
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced positive data from a phase III clinical program designed to provide two separate demonstrations of efficacy for the investigational drug Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Trap within a single group of patients suffering from CAPS (CIAS1-related Autoinflammatory Periodic Syndromes).

Wednesday Oct 25, 2006
NSAIDs/DMARDs Can Thwart Antibiotic-Refractory Lyme Arthritis
Report highlights effective postantibiotic strategies for treating antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis and identifies risk factors for the rare but vexing condition... Steere AC, Angelis SM. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:3079-3086

Tuesday Oct 24, 2006
Xencor Gains $45 Million in Financing to Be Used in Part to Advance Into Phase I Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials, XProâ„¢ 1595, a Dominant-Negative Inhibitor of TNF-α
Xencor, a company developing protein and antibody therapeutics, announced that it raised $45 million in a private financing led by MedImmune Ventures, Inc, and including new investors Novo Nordisk and HealthCare Ventures, as well as existing investor Zen Investments.

Monday Oct 23, 2006
Osiris Reports Positive Initial Results from Pilot Phase II Study of its Prochymalâ„¢ Stem Cell Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced positive results from a pilot 10-patient phase II study using Prochymalâ„¢, an intravenous formulation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy volunteer donors, for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) who had failed to respond to standard treatments, such as steroids and infliximab (RemicadeR, Centocor, Inc).

Thursday Oct 12, 2006
Aspreva Achieves Targeted Patient Enrollment in Phase III Clinical Trial for CellCept In Lupus Nephritis
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation, an emerging pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing, and commercializing new indications for approved drugs and late-stage drug candidates for patients living with less common diseases, announced the completion of the targeted enrollment of 358 patients in its global 117-site phase III clinical trial for CellCept® (mycophenolate mofetil, F. Hoffmann-La Roche) in the treatment of lupus nephritis...

Tuesday Oct 10, 2006
Trubion Initiates Phase IIb Clinical Trial of CD20-Targeted TRU-015 for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer, announced it has initiated a phase IIb clinical trial of TRU-015, the company's lead Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical (SMIPâ„¢) CD20-targeted drug candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) via B-cell depletion...

Friday Oct 06, 2006
Isotechnika's Calcineurin Inhibitor (ISA247) Receives Regulatory Green Light for Phase III Psoriasis Trials in Canada and Germany, Poland Is Pending
Isotechnika Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel immunosuppressive therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for use in the prevention of organ rejection in transplantation, announced that it has received a No Objection Letter from Health Canada and similar approval from the German Competent Authority to conduct a pivotal phase III clinical trial of its lead immunosuppressive, oral calcineurin inhibitor drug candidate, ISA247 (an isomeric cyclosporine A analog mixture), for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis...

Monday Oct 02, 2006
La Jolla Pharmaceutical to Expand Number of Clinical Trial Sites for Its Phase III International Trial of Riquent for the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (SAN DIEGO, Calif.), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases and inflammation, announced  progress and the expansion of its phase III trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium, previously referred to as LJP 394) for the treatment of lupus renal disease, a leading cause of sickness and death in patients with lupus.

Wednesday Sep 27, 2006
UCB, Immunomedic Phase III of Epratuzumab in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on Clinical Hold
UCB, SA, licensing partner of Immunomedics, Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ), announced that it has voluntarily, temporarily suspended dosing in the phase III clinical studies of epratuzumab (humanized anti-CD22 antibody) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) because of end-stage manufacturing observations by UCB during a recent routine quality assurance audit of the Immunomedics facilities.

Tuesday Sep 26, 2006
Genmab Completes Accrual in Anti-CD20 Antibody Phase II RA Study
Genmab A/S, a biotechnology company that creates and develops human antibodies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory conditions, cancer, and infectious disease, announced it has completed enrollment in the HuMax-CD20â„¢ (ofatumumab) phase II study to treat patients with active RA who have failed treatment with one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including biologics.

Thursday Sep 14, 2006
Imatinib Blocks Development of RA in Mouse Model
Imatinib (Gleevec), a drug that has revolutionized cancer treatment, also blocks the development of RA in a mouse model by inhibiting tyrosine kinases that cause joint inflammation and damage.... Paniagua RT, et al. J Clin Invest. 2006 Oct [Epub ahead of print].

Thursday Sep 07, 2006
Rigel Starts Phase II Study of its Oral Kinase Inhibitor, R788, in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced that it has initiated enrollment and dosing of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product candidate, R788, an oral syk kinase inhibitor that blocks the activation of the mast cells, macrophages, and B-cells that promote swelling and an inflammatory response. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending dose, dose ranging study will evaluate up to three doses of R788...

Tuesday Sep 05, 2006
Medarex and GenPat77 to Codevelop Humanized Therapeutic Antibodies Against Immune Modulatory Targets
Medarex, Inc. and GenPat77 Pharmacogenetics AG have entered into a collaborative agreement to develop fully human therapeutic antibody products...

Tuesday Aug 29, 2006
Histogenics Raises $13.1 Million to Advance Its Cartilage and Orthopedic Tissue Regeneration Technologies
Histogenics Corporation announced that it has raised $13.1 million in Series A-1 financing to be used to advance NeoCart®, its lead investigational product, into phase II clinical trials...

Wednesday Aug 16, 2006
Biogen Idec and University of Adelaide Find TWEAK Is a Novel Arthritogenic Mediator; Potential New Pathway in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Disease Process
Biogen Idec announced studies published in the August 15, 2006, issue of the providing evidence that TWEAK (TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis), a TNF family member, is a novel arthritogenic mediator that contributes to joint tissue inflammation, angiogenesis, and destruction, and may inhibit endogenous repair.

Monday Aug 14, 2006
TissueGene Initiates Phase I Study of TissueGene-C in Patients With Degenerative Joint Disease of the Knee Prior to Total Knee Arthroplasty
TissueGene, Inc. announced the initiation of a phase I clinical trial of the company's cell-mediated therapy, TissueGene-C (TG-C).

Thursday Aug 10, 2006
HGS to Initiate Phase III Trials of LymphoStat-B in Lupus; to Receive $24 Million from GSK
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. announced its phase III clinical development plans for LymphoStat-Bâ„¢ (belimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that specifically inhibits the biological activity of B-lymphocyte stimulator [BLyS], a protein required for the development of B-lymphocyte cells into mature plasma B cells) in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Thursday Aug 10, 2006
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Reactivates Enrollment in Phase III Study of Riquent in Lupus; Patients to Receive Higher Doses Than in Previous Studies
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company announced that it has reactivated enrollment in its phase III 12-month treatment trial of RiquentR (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease.

Wednesday Aug 02, 2006
Schering AG Obtains Mixed Results From Two Clinical Trials of Sargramostim for Crohn's Disease: Phase III Fails to Achieve Primary End Points; Phase II Meets Primary and Secondary Endpoints
Schering AG, Germany announced results from two recently completed multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical studies of sargramostim for the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Wednesday Jul 26, 2006
Can-Fite BioPharma Initiates Multi-National Phase IIb Study of A(3) Adenosine Receptor Agonist (CF101) in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Can-Fite BioPharma announced that it has initiated a phase IIb clinical study of CF101 (1-deoxy-1-[6-[[(3-iodophenyl)methyl]amino]-9H-purine-9-yl]-N-methyl-D-ribofuranuronamide), an A3AR agonist exclusively licensed from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Can-Fite's lead drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Friday Jul 21, 2006
UCB's CIMZIATM Achieves PASI 75 at Week 12 of 83% in Phase II for Psoriasis
UCB announced positive results from the first phase II clinical trial of CIMZIATM (certolizumab pegol, CDP870), the first and only PEGylated Fab' fragment of a humanized anti-TNF-α antibody, in the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

Thursday Jul 20, 2006
Bioengineered Cartilage Successfully Transplanted in Osteoarthritic Knees
Cells taken from areas of healthy cartilage can be grown on hyaluronic acid scaffolds and used to patch damaged knees, even joints that have already progressed to osteoarthritis....Hollander AP,  et al. Tissue Engineering 2006;12:1-12.

Tuesday Jul 18, 2006
Protalex Raises $15.2 Million to Advance PRTX-100 in Phase II for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Protalex, Inc, announced that it has raised approximately $15.2 million in gross proceeds in a private placement. Investors participating in this transaction include LBI Group Inc, vSpring Capital, CIDC Inc, Emerging Technology Partners, and additional selected institutional and accredited private investors.

Monday Jul 17, 2006
LTKfarma Starts Operations With Lead Product for Autoimmune Diseases and Leukemia Already in Phase I/II, Names Advisory Board
LTKfarma, a biopharmaceutical company founded in March 2006 and focused on developing and marketing cell therapy products derived from modified T-cells to treat autoimmune diseases and leukemia announced its creation and the appointment of its advisory board....

Wednesday Jul 12, 2006
Foot Orthoses Produce Short-Term Benefits in Plantar Fasciitis
Foot orthoses can improve pain and function from plantar fasciitis in the short-term, but the effects don't seem to last a year…Landorf, KB, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1305-1310.

Tuesday Jun 27, 2006
Entremed's 2ME2 Demonstrates Antiangiogenic Activity in Rat Model of Chronic Autoimmune Inflammatory Joint Disease
EntreMed, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced the presentation of preclinical data for its lead compound, 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2), in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)....

Tuesday Jun 20, 2006
Crescent Diagnostics Raises US$1 Million to Advance the Development of its Novel Bone Quality Testâ„¢ as a Surrogate Marker for Bone Structure
Crescent Diagnostics Ltd, of London, UK, and Limerick, Ireland, announced the completion of a US$1 million funding round led by Seroba BioVentures, a Dublin-based specialist life science venture capital firm...

Monday Jun 05, 2006
PsA Enthesopathy As Cause of Plantar Fasciitis Responds to TNF Inhibitors
The TNF inhibitors infliximab and etanercept are both effective for the treatment of enthesopathy associated with psoriatic arthritis... Ritchlin CT. J Rheumatol. 15 May 2006; [Epub ahead of print]

Thursday Jun 01, 2006
Ocera's AST-120 Improves Anal Fistulas, Begins Phase III Trial in Fistulizing Crohn's Disease
Ocera Therapeutics, Inc, announced the first North American and European pivotal phase III clinical trial of AST-120 in patients with mild to moderate fistulizing Crohn's disease...

Wednesday May 31, 2006
Phase III Data Show P&G's Asacol® Induces Rapid Mucosal Healing in Ulcerative Colitis
Pooled data from two phase III trials show that mesalamine induced mucosal healing in patients with moderately active ulcerative colitis...

Wednesday May 31, 2006
Synta Initiates Phase II Clinical Trials in RA, CVID for Oral Inhibitor of IL-12 and IL-23
Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp announced the dosing of the first patients in its phase IIa clinical studies of apilimod mesylate in RA and CVID...

Wednesday May 31, 2006
NicOx Completes Enrollment Early for Phase III Trial of HCT 3012 in OA
NicOx SA announced early completion of accrual for the first phase III trial of HCT 3012, a novel, proprietary, nitric oxide-donating derivative of naproxen...

Tuesday May 30, 2006
Give Bisphosphonates and Teriparatide Sequentially, Not Together
Alendronate reduces the ability of once-daily teriparatide to stimulate new bone formation in osteoporotic men; the two drugs therefore should not be given concurrently... Finkelstein JS, et al.  J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 9 May 2006; [Epub ahead of print]

Thursday May 25, 2006
Hyperosmolar Dextrose Sweetens Chronic Tendinosis

Ultrasound-guided hyperosmolar dextrose injections into tendon relieve chronic tendinosis... Maxwell NJ, Ryan M, Taunton JE, Wong A. Presented at: American Roentgen Ray Society 106th Annual Meeting; April 30–May 5; Vancouver, BC. Abstract 172.

Wednesday May 24, 2006
ImmuPharma's IPP-201101 Lupus Drug Completes Phase I, Moves into Phase II Trial
ImmuPharma, based in London, UK, announced the successful completion of a placebo-controlled phase I clinical study of its new treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus...

Wednesday May 24, 2006
MacroGenics Raises $45M in Series C Financing to Support Phase II/III Trial of CD3 Monoclonal Diabetes Treatment 
MacroGenics, Inc, of Rockville, Maryland, announced that it has raised $45 million in a Series C financing round...

Monday May 22, 2006
Second Year of FACT Trial Confirms Alendronate Advantage Over Risedronate for Preventing Bone Loss
Twenty-four-month data show that alendronate surpasses risedronate in reducing the risk of bone loss in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis... Bonnick S, et al. Clin Endocrin Metab. 24 April 2006; [Epub ahead of print]

Wednesday May 17, 2006
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Delays Phase IIa Trial of Topical PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, of New York, NY, announced a delay in the phase IIa dosing study of topical PTH (1-34) for psoriasis...

Thursday May 11, 2006
"Fossil Virus" Footprints Found in RA

Human endogenous K10 retroviruses, the residue of infections from generations past, are significantly more active in rheumatoid arthritis patients than in osteoarthritis patients or normal controls and might contribute to the development of autoimmune disease... Ejtehadi HD, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2006;65:612-616.

Friday Apr 28, 2006
Labopharm's Phase III Study for Once-Daily Tramadol Achieves Primary Endpoint in Patients With OA of the Knee
Labopharm Inc, of Laval, Quebec, Canada, announced that the phase III clinical trial for its once-daily formulation of the analgesic tramadol in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee achieved statistical significance for the primary endpoint...

Friday Apr 14, 2006
Testing for Second-Generation Anti-CCP Antibodies in Patients With Early RA is Useful for Predicting Radiographic and Functional Outcomes
Anti-CCP antibodies are a useful diagnostic tool, particularly among seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The presence of anti-CCP antibodies confers prognostic utility for radiographic and functional outcomes... Quinn MA, et al. Rheumatology. 2005;45:478-480.

Thursday Apr 06, 2006
BMP-6 is a Potent Inducer of Chondrogenesis in Adipose-Derived Adult Stem Cells
Bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP-6) stimulates the differentiation of human adipose-derived adult stem (ADAS) cells into cartilage cells... Estes BT, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1222-1232.

Monday Apr 03, 2006
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation Completes Patient Enrollment in Phase III Clinical Trial for Mycophenolate Mofetil (CellCept^R) in Patients With Pemphigus Vulgaris
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation, of Victoria, British Columbia, announced completion of patient enrollment in a global phase III clinical trial to evaluate mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept®)...

Friday Mar 31, 2006
Targeted Liposomal Therapy Shows Promise in RA Animal Models
New research in rats suggests that arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide liposomes that deliver dexamethasone phosphate directly to sites of inflammation show promise in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis... Koning GA, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;34:1198-1208.

Monday Mar 27, 2006
Genmab Reports Positive Phase I/II Clinical Data for HuMax-CD20â„¢ in RA
Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported encouraging safety and efficacy data from its 24-week multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation phase I/II study of HuMax-CD20â„¢...

Monday Mar 27, 2006
EntreMed's 2ME2 Continues to Yield Positive Data in Preclinical Models of RA, Further Supporting the Potential for 2ME2 as a DMARD
EntreMed, Inc, of Rockville, Maryland, announced at the Inflammation and Immune Diseases Drug Discovery and Development Summit held this month in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that daily oral administration (100 mg/kg) of its lead compound, 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2)...

Thursday Mar 23, 2006
Biomarkers May Identify Early Implant Failure or Loosening
New research is helping to identify early biomarkers of prosthetic performance as well as genetic polymorphisms that predict risk of osteolysis... Presented at: 52nd Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society; March 18–22, 2006; Chicago, Ill.

Monday Mar 20, 2006
Vertex's Investigational p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitor Meets Primary Objectives in Phase II Trials for RA
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced that its oral drug candidate, the p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitor VX-702...

Tuesday Mar 14, 2006
York Pharma Announces Positive Phase II Data for Topical Carbenoxolone in Psoriasis
York Pharma plc, of Hitchin, UK, announced that its lead vitamin A pathway inhibitor, carbenoxolone...

Monday Mar 06, 2006
Phase III Data for Centocor's Remicade® Show Rapid and Marked Improvement in Moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis
Centocor, Inc, of Horsham, Pennsylvania, announced the results from its phase III EXPRESS II study of Remicade® (infliximab)...

Thursday Mar 02, 2006
Denosumab Shows Promise in Phase II Study of Bone Mineral Density
Twice yearly injections of denosumab (previously known as AMG 162) significantly increased bone mineral density in the total hip, lumbar spine, distal 1/3 radius, and total body of postmenopausal women compared with placebo... McClung MR, et al. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:821-831.

Wednesday Mar 01, 2006
CombinatoRx Drops Its Phase IIa Oral Product Candidate (CRx-140) for Psoriasis; Drug Candidate CRx-102 Demonstrates Positive Phase II Study Results in Hand Osteoarthritis
CombinatoRx Inc, of Boston, Massachusetts, announced the discontinuance of its phase IIa drug candidate, CRx-140...

Friday Feb 17, 2006
Chelsea Therapeutics Raises $21.5 Million in a Private Placement to Advance Its Antifolate Compound into Phase II trials for RA and Psoriasis
Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd, of Charlotte, NC, announced that it has completed a private placement of its common stock...

Monday Feb 13, 2006
DOV Initiates Phase II Trial of Analgesic Bicifadine in Osteoarthritis
DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc, of Hackensack, NJ, announced the start of its phase II clinical trial of bicifadine, a novel analgesic...

Monday Feb 13, 2006
QuatRx Files for $86.25 Million IPO, Seeks Partner for Phase IIb Trial of Vitamin D Analogue for Psoriasis
QuatRx Pharmaceuticals Co of Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that it has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission...

Monday Jan 30, 2006
Can-Fite BioPharma Submits Clinical Protocol to FDA for Multinational Phase IIb Study of A₃ Adenosine Receptor Agonist for RA
Can-Fite BioPharma, of Petach Tikva, Israel, announced that it has submitted a draft protocol to the US Food and Drug Administration...

Friday Jan 27, 2006
Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibition Improves Raynaud's Disease
New research adds to evidence that because of their vasodilatory properties, phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors may be a useful therapeutic option for the treatment of Raynaud's disease... Caglayan E, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:231-233.

Thursday Jan 19, 2006
Biomarkers Help Predict OA Patients at Greatest Risk of Progression
A single measurement of serum hyaluronic acid or short-term changes in urine C-telopeptide of type II collagen can identify osteoarthritis patients at the greatest risk of disease progression... Bruyere O, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. Published online January 5, 2006; doi:10.1136/ard.2005.045914.

Wednesday Jan 18, 2006
Human Genome Sciences to Advance LymphoStat-Bâ„¢ to Phase III in Lupus
Human Genome Sciences, Inc, announced plans to initiate in 2006 a phase III clinical trial of LymphoStat-Bâ„¢ (belimumab)...

Tuesday Jan 17, 2006
Timely ET May Help Stave Off Cartilage Degradation in Osteoarthritis
Estrogen therapy initiated immediately following ovariectomy staves off the cartilage loss known to accompany menopause... Oestergaard S, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December 8-11, 2005; Boston, Mass. Abstract P294.

Friday Jan 13, 2006
Increases in the Synthesis and Degradation of CTX-II Biomarkers May Predict OA Progression
Biomarkers of type II collagen synthesis and degradation may predict rapid progression among patients with knee osteoarthritis... Garnero P, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December  8-11, 2005; Boston, Mass. Abstract A6.

Wednesday Jan 11, 2006
NicOx Initiates Phase III for HCT 3012, Naproxen Derivative for Osteoarthritis
NicOx SA, a French biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nitric-oxide-donating drugs to treat inflammation, pain, and cardio-metabolic disease...

Wednesday Jan 11, 2006
Manhattan's PTH 1-34, a Topical Treatment for Psoriasis, Enters Phase IIa Trials
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, of New York City, announced the initiation of a phase IIa clinical study of PTH 1-34, a parathyroid hormone-related peptide analog, for the topical treatment...

Thursday Jan 05, 2006
New Study Suggests Raloxifene May Benefit Women with Knee Osteoarthritis
A recent study of women with knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that treatment with raloxifene resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the excretion of key markers of cartilage degradation, pointing to the potential curative effect of this agent and long-term improved outcomes for patients with knee OA... Daniluk S, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December 8–11, 2005; Boston, Mass. Abstract P67.

Wednesday Jan 04, 2006
Oral Calcitonin May Delay Onset of Joint Disease and Relieve Pain of OA
Although calcitonin is an established antiresorptive agent, new research suggests that it also has a role in chondroprotection and may help relieve symptoms accompanying joint disease... Sondergaard BC, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December 8–11, 2005; Boston, Mass. Abstract P133.

Tuesday Dec 20, 2005
Research Outlines Novel Role of IL-1, IGF-1 in Cartilage Damage of Arthritis
A new study by Dutch investigators suggests that interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced suppression of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 3 renders chondrocytes insensitive to insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a novel mechanism that appears to contribute to cartilage damage in arthritis...Van der Loo FAJ, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December 8–11, 2005; Boston, Mass.

Wednesday Dec 14, 2005
Modified Type II Collagen Found to Act as Autoantigen in RA
New research reveals the ability of modified type II collagen to act as an autoantigen in the inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), possibly contributing to the cycle of chronicity associated with the disease…  Nissim A, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:3685-3692.

Wednesday Dec 14, 2005
Emisphere's Oral Drug Delivery Technology (Eligen®) Successful With Oral Salmon Calcitonin for Osteoarthritis
Emisphere Technologies, Inc, of Tarrytown, New York, has announced that an independent pilot study of daily salmon calcitonin therapy...

Tuesday Dec 13, 2005
Osiris to Initiate Phase II Trial of Prochymalâ„¢ for Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc, of Baltimore, Maryland, has announced the start of enrollment for its phase II clinical trial of Prochymalâ„¢...

Tuesday Dec 13, 2005
Research Points to the Importance of Diurnal Variations in Biomarkers for OA Assessment
A recent assessment of a cohort of patients with radiographic knee osteoarthritis uncovered substantial variations in the serum concentrations of key biomarkers of disease activity throughout the morning hours, changes that may affect clinical assessment of disease progression …. Kong SY, et al. Presented at: 10th World Congress of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI); December 8–11, 2005; Boston, Mass. Abstract A8.

Monday Dec 05, 2005
Roche Receives 510(k) Clearance to Market Osteocalcin Test for Osteoporosis
Roche Diagnostics of Indianapolis, Indiana, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration...

Tuesday Nov 29, 2005
Aspreva Reports Success for CellCept® in Active Lupus Nephritis; Completes Enrollment in Phase III for Myasthenia Gravis
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has announced the results of an investigator-initiated trial...

Wednesday Nov 16, 2005
TNF-α Antagonist Adalimumab Shows Promise in AS
Encouraging results from the ATLAS trial suggest that adalimumab and other TNF-α inhibitors may be effective in reducing the signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis... Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif.

Monday Nov 07, 2005
Schering Initiates Additional Phase III Trial for Sargramostim
Schering AG, of Berlin, Germany, announced plans to initiate an additional phase III trial to evaluate sargramostim...

Monday Nov 07, 2005
Positive Phase III Results for Remicade® in Pediatric Crohn's Disease Drives Fast Track Designation for Indication
Centocor, Inc (Horsham, Pa.), announced at the 18th Annual Meeting of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition...

Monday Nov 07, 2005
Abbott's Humira® Demonstrates Maintenance of Clinical Remission in Phase III Extension
Results from a phase III extension study (CLASSIC II) presented at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course of the American College of Gastroenterology in Honolulu, Hawaii...

Monday Nov 07, 2005
UCB Achieves Positive Cimziaâ„¢ Results in Phase III; Will File in US in Early 2006
UCB Pharmaceuticals, Inc, the North American subsidiary of UCB (Brussels, Belgium), announced that a single 400 mg injection of Cimziaâ„¢...

Monday Oct 24, 2005
Chugai and Roche to Present Phase III Efficacy Data for Tocilizumab in RA at ACR Annual Meeting
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, of Tokyo, Japan, and its strategic partner, F. Hoffmann-La Roche of Switzerland, will jointly present phase III clinical trial results on MRA (tocilizumab)...

Monday Oct 24, 2005
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Secures Funding to Commence Re-enrollment of Phase III Trial of Riquent® for Lupus Renal Disease
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Corporation of San Diego, California, announced that it has entered into an agreement...

Thursday Oct 06, 2005
Human Genome Sciences' LymphoStat-Bâ„¢ for Lupus Fails to Meet Primary Endpoints in Phase II Trial

Human Genome Sciences, Inc (Rockville, Md), announced that its investigational drug for lupus, LymphoStat-Bâ„¢, (belimumab) failed to meet the overall primary efficacy endpoints...

Monday Sep 12, 2005
Genmab's HuMax-CD20 in Phase II for RA
Genmab A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), a biotechnology company that creates and develops human antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases, has announced...

Monday Aug 29, 2005
Entremed's 2ME2 Generates More Positive Preclinical Data in Arthritis Models
EntreMed, Inc, of Rockville, Maryland, a clinical-stage company developing treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases...

Sunday Aug 14, 2005
Whatman/Schleicher & Schuell and the Private Institute for Immunology and Molecular Genetics to Market Protein Chip–Based Autoimmune Assay
Whatman/Schleicher & Schuell and the Private Institute for Immunology and Molecular Genetics of Germany...

Tuesday Aug 09, 2005
Aspreva Initiates Phase III for Roche's CellCept in Lupus Nephritis

Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, an emerging pharmaceutical company focused on identifying and developing new drugs and commercializing new indications for approved medications, has announced that patient dosing has begun for the transplant antirejection agent CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil; Roche Pharmaceuticals), for the treatment of lupus nephritis.

Sunday Aug 07, 2005
Biogen Idec and PDL to Collaborate on Three Phase II Antibody Products
Biogen Idec of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Protein Design Labs, Inc (PDL) of Fremont, California...

Thursday Aug 04, 2005
Scientists Develop New Technique to Grow Bone In Vivo
In a development that one day may revolutionize spinal and knee-replacement surgery and the treatment of osteoporosis, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, have demonstrated for the first time that healthy new bone can be grown in one part of the body to repair bony defects at another location... Stevens MM, et al. In vivo engineering of organs: The bone bioreactor. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2005; scheduled to appear online before print. Available at: http://www.pnas.org/.

Sunday Jul 31, 2005
UCB's Cimzia Demonstrates Positive Results in Phase III Trials for Crohn's Disease
USB Pharma, Inc, of Atlanta, Georgia, the biopharmaceutical subsidiary of international pharmaceutical...

Thursday Jun 30, 2005
Doxycycline Slows Osteoarthritis Disease Progression
New study results confirm preclinical data suggesting that doxycycline can slow joint space narrowing in the medial tibiofemoral compartment in knee osteoarthritis, but the common antibiotic did not affect pain...Brandt K, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:2015-2025

Friday Jun 17, 2005
Vertex Inhibitor of p38 MAP Kinase Starts Phase II in RA
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc has initiated a 3-month Phase II clinical trial of VX-702, an orally administered small molecule inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Friday Jun 10, 2005
Angiotech Out-licenses Biomaterial for Cartilage and Orthopaedic Tissue Regeneration
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the incorporation of pharmaceutical compounds into implantable medical devices and biomaterials, announced that it has licensed its ChondroGel^TM biomaterial to Histogenics Corporation for use with its NeoCart^TM cartilage implant in cartilage and orthopedic tissue regeneration applications.

Tuesday Jun 07, 2005
CryoLife Pathogen Protectant for Cryopreserved Tissues
CryoLife, Inc, a biomaterials and biosurgical company based in Atlanta, Georgia, announced the first human implant of cryopreserved orthopaedic tissues utilizing the Clearant ProcessR, a gamma-irradiated radioprotectant designed to inactivate pathogens while maintaining tissue integrity.

Thursday May 12, 2005
Arakis RA Drug Completes Phase IIa Trial
Arakis Ltd announced that in a multicenter Phase IIa, placebo-controlled study, its candidate rheumatoid arthritis compound AD 452, a novel small-molecule cytokine modulator, demonstrated acceptable pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability in RA patients already receiving methotrexate.

Monday May 09, 2005
Synarc Introduces A New Assay for a Biochemical Marker of Cartilage Degradation
New data on Syncart (HELIX-II; Synarc Inc), a competitive polyclonal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) designed to measure the urinary degradation fragment of type II collagen, were published in a recent edition of Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Tuesday Apr 26, 2005
EMEA Approves New Spinal Fusion Indication for BMP-2
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Astellas Pharma Europe announced that dibotermin alfa/absorbable collagen sponge (rhBMP-2/ACS or InductOs®) received additional marketing authorization from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) for the treatment of single level (L4-S1) anterior lumbar spine fusions as a substitute for autogenous bone graft in adults who have had at least 6 months of nonoperative treatment for degenerative disc disease.

Monday Apr 25, 2005
Novel Osteoinductive Molecule May Speed Fracture Healing and Enhance Spinal Fusion
A newly discovered osteoinductive protein promises greater specificity than bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)...UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science [press release]. April 21, 2005.

Friday Apr 15, 2005
Small Interfering RNA Suppresses Inflammation in Mouse Model of Arthritis
Local administratipon of TNF-α-directed siRNA inhibits collagen-induced arthritis in mice, suggesting a potential treatment strategy for RA...Schiffelers, RM. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:1314-1318.

Thursday Apr 14, 2005
Phase III RituxanR Study Demonstrates Clinical Improvement in Treatment-resistant RA
Following positive preliminary findings from a Phase IIb study that evaluated the efficacy and safety of the approved cancer drug Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, Genentech Inc, Biogen Idec and Roche Pharmaceuticals announced that a recent Phase III study has met its primary endpoint based on clinical improvement (ACR 20 responses) at week 24.

Wednesday Apr 13, 2005
Human Genome Sciences' LymphoStat-B® Meets Primary Efficacy and Safety Endpoints in Phase II trial for RA
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. reported results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase II clinical trial indicating that LymphoStat-B (belimumab) administered intravenously is safe, well tolerated, and results in a statistically significant reduction in the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Monday Mar 21, 2005
KaloBios Raises $20 million to Advance Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, of Palo Alto, California, a privately held company devoted to the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies and proteins, announced that it has raised $20 million in its Series B round of financing.

Monday Mar 14, 2005
Alantos Pharmaceuticals Acquires Funding to Develop MMP-13 Inhibitors
Preclinical studies of novel matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) inhibitors, which target the predominant collagenase involved in degradation of articular cartilage, demonstrate their promise as therapeutic agents for patients with osteoarthritis (OA), according to researchers at Alantos Pharmaceuticals, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Saturday Mar 12, 2005
Genzyme Acquires a Second-Generation Cartilage Repair Product; Buys Back Rights to SynviscR
Genzyme Corp has acquired Verigen AG, a private German company that has developed a proprietary cell-therapy product for cartilage repair.

Friday Mar 11, 2005
Rapid Onset of Joint Failure in Mice Lacking Lubricin, the Main Lubricant in Synovial Fluid
A new study of mice lacking the PRG4 gene suggests that it is required to protect the cartilage surface and prevent synovial hyperplasia...Rhee DK, J Clin Invest. 2005; [Epub ahead of print].

Tuesday Mar 08, 2005
Phase II Study of Recombinant Human Alpha-Fetoprotein Initiated in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Alpha-fetoprotein, which is produced by the fetus during pregnancy, is associated with remission of autoimmune diseases during the third trimester, when it reaches peak levels in maternal serum.

Sunday Mar 06, 2005
Oral Formulation of a Small Molecule Kinase Inhibitor in Phase I Study for Rheumatoid Arthritis
A Phase I clinical trial has been initiated to study the safety and pharmacokinetics of a novel candidate drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), R406, an orally administered small molecule syk kinase inhibitor that blocks both IgG and IgE activation of mast cells, macrophages, and B cells.

Wednesday Mar 02, 2005
B-vitamins Help Prevent Hip Fracture In Stroke Patients
Folate and vitamin B12 lower the risk of hip fracture in elderly patients following stroke, possibly due to a reduction in plasma homocysteine levels...Sato Y, et al. JAMA. 2005;293:1082-1088

Wednesday Oct 20, 2004
New Phase III Trial With Abatacept Gives Hope to Methotrexate Nonresponders

A phase III clinical trial reported that nearly half of rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving monthly injections of the T-cell inactivator abatacept achieved at least a 50% reduction in symptoms... Kremer J, et al. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 19, 2004; San Antonio, Texas.

Wednesday Oct 13, 2004
Significant Advantages Favor Alendronate for Bone Protection

A new trial comparing 2 bisphosphonate formulations finds greater benefits with alendronate vs risedronate and no significant differences between the 2 in reported adverse events, including those associated with upper GI tolerability …Rosen C, et al. J Bone Miner Metab. 2004;19(suppl 1):S94. Abstract F412.

Thursday Oct 07, 2004
Emerging Role of Bone Turnover Markers in Clinical Management of Osteoporotic Patients

According to a leading authority at the annual meeting of The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, markers of bone turnover can be a potentially valuable component of the overall management strategy for osteoporosis... (Johnell O, et al. Osteoporos Int. 2002;13:523-526; Eastell R, et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2003;18:1051-1056.)

Tuesday Sep 21, 2004
Potential Osteoarthritis Biomarker Found
Elevated levels of CTX-II, type II collagen-derived fragments, may be an indicator of the presence and progression of OA.

Tuesday Aug 03, 2004
ReGen Biologics Begins Modular FDA Pre-Market Approval Submission for CMI Product

The Collagen Meniscus Implant (CMI) is the first application of ReGen's proprietary tissue growth technology.

Wednesday Jun 09, 2004
Genome-wide Approaches Shed New Light on the Genetic Control of Arthritis
This session, on the opening day of EULAR 2004, revealed insight into the genetic control of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.