Biotechnology Animations – Biotechnology Illustrations

Revlimid (Lenalidomide) For Myeloma - Phase III Study Findings
An evaluation of lenalidomide's (Revlimid) long-term 'maintenance' efficacy for patients with multiple myeloma has demonstrated considerable improvements from the time to progression and overall survival for those suffering from this often-fatal form of hematologic cancer. The May 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that Dr. Philip L...

Global Medical Research Urgently Requires International Treaty
In this week's PLoS Medicine, a team of international experts argue that in order to improve the fairness, coherence, sustainability, and efficiency of medical research worldwide, an international treaty is required...

Could A Compound Found In Red Wine And Red Grapes Change The Course Of Alzheimer's Disease?
A national, phase II clinical trial examining the effects of resveratrol on individuals with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer's disease has begun as more than two dozen academic institutions recruit volunteers in the coming months. R. Scott Turner, M.D., Ph.D., director of Georgetown University Medical Center's Memory Disorders Program, is the lead investigator for the national study...

Growth Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Halted By Combining Two MTOR Inhibitors
The combination of two inhibitors of protein mTOR stops the growth of primary liver cancer and destroys tumour cells, according to a study by researchers of the Group of Metabolism and Cancer at Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). The study results are been published on the online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine...

Stem Cell Therapy To Treat PAD In Clinical Trial
Research led by vascular surgeons at Dartmouth-Hitchcock may offer new hope to sufferers of peripheral artery disease, the cause of nearly 60,000 lower-limb amputations annually, through the use of a patient's own stem cells. Richard J...

Registered Clinical Trials Criticized
In the May 2 issue of JAMA, a study reveals that clinical studies registered in clinicaltrials.gov between 2007-2010 are dominated by small, single-center trials. In addition, the studies include significant heterogeneity (different in nature, hard to compare) in methodological approaches, including the use of data monitoring committees, randomization, and blinding...

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - Phase III SERAPHIN Outcome Study Meets Primary Endpoint
The initial analysis of Actelion's macitentan, a novel dual endothelin receptor antagonist that resulted from a tailored drug discovery process, has met its primary endpoint in a pivotal, long term, event-driven SERAPHIN Phase III trial...

Researchers Urge More Patient-Centered Care For African-American Breast Cancer Survivors
African-American breast cancer survivors were satisfied with their cancer treatment, but most were never offered clinical trials opportunities or support services during or after their treatment, according to a study by a UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher and her community partner, Rev. Tammie Dynse...

Mismatch Between Global Disease Burden In Youths And Research Devoted To Pediatric Patients
Although children are more likely than adults to suffer from many diseases, few clinical trials are being conducted to test drugs in pediatric patients, according to a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston. Drug studies in children are important because children often respond differently to medications than adults...

Significant Improvement In Disability Scores With Alemtuzumab
Genzyme presented additional data at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology from its Phase II CARE-MS II trial, which demonstrated that the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), i.e...

Health Research Strategy Not Present In Many Nations
International experts have written in this week's issue of PLoS Medicine that even though medical research from low-and middle-income countries has steadily risen in the last few decades, many countries still fail to have anything similar resembling a health research strategy...

Financial Conflicts Of Interest - Does Disclosure Worsen Bias?
Last month, PLoS Medicine published an article of an examination of the financial conflicts of interest of members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which is responsible for updating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)...

Ultra-Long-Acting Insulin Degludec, Two Phase 3 Studies Published
Two Phase III studies, published in The Lancet, reveal that ultra-long-acting insulin degludec considerably reduced rates of nocturnal hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes by 25%, compared to insulin glargine. Insulin degludec is an investigational compound developed by Novo Nordisk...

New Evidence Is Helping Explain Additional Health Benefits Of Aspirin
Researchers in Canada, Scotland and Australia have discovered that salicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin, directly increases the activity of the protein AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), a key player in regulating cell growth and metabolism. AMPK which is considered a cellular fuel-gauge is switched on by exercise and the commonly used anti-diabetic medication metformin...

Oral Cancer Detection Could Dramatically Increase With Saliva Test
A Michigan State University surgeon is teaming up with a Lansing-area dental benefits firm on a clinical trial to create a simple, cost-effective saliva test to detect oral cancer, a breakthrough that would drastically improve screening and result in fewer people dying of the world's sixth most common cancer...