DRUG APPROVALS BY DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO
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Rare Undersea Discovery Could Extend Your Life by 10, 20 or 30 Years
Scientists are claiming that they have now isolated unusual ingredients in a rare seaweed discovered by fishermen off the coast of Korea that offer incredible health benefits—including the ability to restore blood pressure to normal levels.
The first is Seanol, an extremely rare seaweed extract from Ecklonia Cava that’s proven to be 100 times more powerful than any land-based antioxidant. That’s because it stays working in your body for 12 hours, compared to land-based antioxidants that work for 30 minutes.
“Its secret is its make-up of special polyphenol antioxidants that are a whopping 40% lipid (fat) soluble,” Dr. Lee explains. “Unlike nearly all land-based antioxidants that are water soluble, Seanol’s protective compounds can get into things like the fatty tissues of your brain and penetrate all three layers of your cells, including the outside, the oil-based cell membranes, and your DNA.”
Indeed, Seanol is so powerful, it’s the only FDA-approved Ecklonia Cava marine-algae extract in existence.
The second ingredient is Calamarine, a deep-sea omega-3 discovery that delivers 85% more DHA omega-3s to your heart, brain, joints, and eyes. It’s known to combat everything from fatigue and poor memory, to vision problems, joint pain, mood swings and depression.
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Ecklonia cava is an edible marine brown alga species found in the ocean off Japan andKorea.
It is used as a herbal remedy in the form of an extract called Seanol, a polyphenolic extract. Another phlorotannin-rich natural agent, Ventol, is also extracted from E. cava.[1]
Phlorotannins, such as fucodiphlorethol G,[2] 7-phloro eckol, 6,6′-bieckol,[3] eckol, 8,8′-bieckol, 8,4″‘-dieckol and phlorofucofuroeckol A can be isolated from Ecklonia cava.[4]
Other components are common sterol derivatives (fucosterol, ergosterol and cholesterol).[3]
A brownish colored seaweed, Ecklonia Cava
- Kang, K.; Hwang, H. J.; Hong, D. H.; Park, Y.; Kim, S. H.; Lee, B. H.; Shin, H. C. (2004). “Antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities of ventol, a phlorotannin-rich natural agent derived from Ecklonia cava, and its effect on proteoglycan degradation in cartilage explant culture”. Research communications in molecular pathology and pharmacology. 115-116: 77–95. PMID 17564307.
- Isolation of a New Phlorotannin, Fucodiphlorethol G, from a Brown Alga Ecklonia cava. Young Min Ham, Jong Seok Baik, Jin Won Hyun and Nam Ho Lee, Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2007, Vol. 28, No. 9 1595
- Li, Y.; Qian, Z. J.; Ryu, B.; Lee, S. H.; Kim, M. M.; Kim, S. K. (2009). “Chemical components and its antioxidant properties in vitro: An edible marine brown alga, Ecklonia cava”. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 17 (5): 1963–1973.doi:10.1016/j.bmc.2009.01.031. PMID 19201199.
- Ahn, M. J.; Yoon, K. D.; Min, S. Y.; Lee, J. S.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, T. G.; Kim, S. H.; Kim, N. G. et al. (2004). “Inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and protease by phlorotannins from the brown alga Ecklonia cava”. Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin 27 (4): 544–547.PMID 15056863.
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Calamarine is new super DHA
One of the myths associated with aging is that your body wears out and there is nothing we can do about it. As we get older, we just have to live with chronic disease and the only way to improve the quality of our health and life is to treat the symptoms.
Overwhelmingly, research suggests that this is simply not true. In fact, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Circulation provide documented evidence that consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids from dietary sources and supplements cut the likelihood of an early death.DHA and EPA not only prevent heart disease and sudden death from a sudden heart attack, they lower the risk…
Merck KGaA has entered a collaboration with China-based biotech BeiGene to research a new treatment for cancer.
Merck KGaA has entered a collaboration with China-based biotech BeiGene to research a new treatment for cancer.
The compound, currently known as BeiGene-283, BGB-283 , is a second-generation BRAF inhibitor and is expected to enter clinical development in 2014.
It is designed to work by hindering the action of the BRAF protein, which is thought to play a part in the promotion of cancer cell growth and has been found to be mutated in some cancer patients.
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http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/merck_kgaa_to_research_cancer_drug_with_chinese_biotech_480521
A positive genotoxicity result can throw the fate of a promising drug candidate—in which a firm has invested significant time and money—into doubt
A positive genotoxicity result can throw the fate of a promising drug candidate-in which a firm has invested significant time and money-into doubt. The statistical improbability and challenges of bringing a drug to market become paramount.
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BY WORLD DRUG TRACKER
Automating Lead Optimization
This diagram illustrates the methods used to determine solubility as a compound advances toward further clinical study, and the increasing reach of automation and informatics systems. Initially, screens are run in silico on a library after hits are determined through a high-throughput screen; then various kinetic solubility assays are used to determine the compound’s potency at various concentrations. Two rounds of kinetic solubility assays determine gross and broad solubility (mmol/L) and finite solubility (less than 20 µmol/L) before the compound is advanced into thermodynamic solubility assays. Figure modified from Petereit A, Saal C. What is the Solubility of My Compound? Assessing Solubility for Pharmaceutical Research and Development Compounds. Am Pharm Rev. 2011; 14
The drug discovery business is changing rapidly. More pharmaceutical companies are working with smaller biotech firms to create early-stage compounds, and thus need quicker and standardized solutions to early-stage development problems.
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WORLD DRUGTRACKER
Gilead Announces U.S. FDA Priority Review Designation for Sofosbuvir for the Treatment of Hepatitis C
Sofosbuvir
Isopropyl (2S)-2-[[[(2R,3R,4R,5R)-5-(2,4-dioxopyrimidin-1-yl)-4-fluoro-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-tetrahydrofuran-2-yl]methoxy-phenoxy-phosphoryl]amino]propanoate
http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/usan/sofosbuvir.pdf –for cas no
Jun. 7, 2013– Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for sofosbuvir, a once-daily oral nucleotide analogue inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The FDA grants priority review status to drug candidates that may offer major advances in treatment over existing options. Gilead filed the NDA for sofosbuvir on April 8, 2013, and FDA has set a target review date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of December 8, 2013.
The data submitted in this NDA support the use of sofosbuvir and ribavirin (RBV) as an all-oral therapy for patients with genotype 2 and 3 HCV infection, and for sofosbuvir in combination with RBV and pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) for treatment-naïve patients with genotype 1, 4, 5 and 6 HCV infection.
Sofosbuvir is an investigational product and its safety and efficacy have not yet been established.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide. Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead has operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Sofosbuvir (formerly PSI-7977 or GS-7977) is an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of hepatitis C.[1] It was discovered at Pharmasset and then acquired for development by Gilead Sciences. It is currently in Phase III clinical trials.[2]
Sofosbuvir is a prodrug that is metabolized to the active antiviral agent 2′-deoxy-2′-α-fluoro-β-C-methyluridine-5′-monophosphate.[3]
Sofosbuvir is a nucleotide analogue inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) polymerase.[4] The HCV polymerase or NS5B protein is a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase critical for the viral cycle.
Sofosbuvir is being studied in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, with ribavirin alone, and with other direct-acting antiviral agents.[5] It has shown excellent clinical efficacy when used either with pegylated interferon/ribavirin or in interferon-free combinations. In particular, combinations of sofosbuvir with NS5A inhibitors, such as daclatasvir or GS-5885, have shown sustained virological response rates of up to 100% in people infected with HCV.[6]
Data from the ELECTRON trial showed that a dual interferon-free regimen of sofosbuvir plus ribavirin produced a 24-week post-treatment sustained virological response (SVR24) rate of 100% for previously untreated patients with HCV genotypes 2 or 3.[7][8]
Data presented at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in March 2013 showed that a triple regimen of sofosbuvir, ledipasvir (formerly GS-5885), and ribavirin produced a 12-week post-treatment sustained virological response (SVR12) rate of 100% for both treatment-naive patients and prior non-responders with HCV genotype 1.[9]Gilead has developed a sofosbuvir + ledipasvir coformulation that is being tested with and without ribavirin.
- Sofia, M. J.; Bao, D.; Chang, W.; Du, J.; Nagarathnam, D.; Rachakonda, S.; Reddy, P. G.; Ross, B. S. et al. (2010). “Discovery of a β-d-2′-Deoxy-2′-α-fluoro-2′-β-C-methyluridine Nucleotide Prodrug (PSI-7977) for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus”. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 53 (19): 7202–7218. doi:10.1021/jm100863x. PMID 20845908. edit
- “PSI-7977″. Gilead Sciences.
- Murakami, E.; Tolstykh, T.; Bao, H.; Niu, C.; Steuer, H. M. M.; Bao, D.; Chang, W.; Espiritu, C. et al. (2010). “Mechanism of Activation of PSI-7851 and Its Diastereoisomer PSI-7977″. Journal of Biological Chemistry 285 (45): 34337–34347.doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.161802. PMC 2966047. PMID 20801890. edit
- Alejandro Soza (November 11, 2012). “Sofosbuvir”. Hepaton.
- Tom Murphy (November 21, 2011). “Gilead Sciences to buy Pharmasset for $11 billion”. Bloomberg Businessweek.
- http://www.gilead.com/pr_1757156
- AASLD: PSI-7977 plus Ribavirin Can Cure Hepatitis C in 12 Weeks without Interferon. Highleyman, L. HIVandHepatitis.com. 8 November 2011.
- Nucleotide Polymerase Inhibitor Sofosbuvir plus Ribavirin for Hepatitis C. Gane, E et al. New England Journal of Medicine 368:3444. January 3, 2013.
- CROI 2013: Sofosbuvir + Ledipasvir + Ribavirin Combo for HCV Produces 100% Sustained Response. Highleyman, L. HIVandHepatitis.com. 4 March 2013.
Eating Broccoli Reduces Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Promotes Heart Health
by Elizabeth Renter , MY SCIENCE ACADEMY
It’s not good enough to know that vegetables like broccoli are healthful; we need to know specifically what sort of benefits they deliver, how they deliver those benefits and how we can make the most of them.
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TRAZODONE, DRUG SPOTLIGHT
Trazodone (also sold under the brand names Desyrel, Oleptro, Beneficat, Deprax,Desirel, Molipaxin, Thombran, Trazorel, Trialodine, Trittico, and Mesyrel) is anantidepressant of the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (SARI) class. It is aphenylpiperazine compound. Trazodone also has anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) and sleep-inducing (hypnotic) effects.[1] Trazodone has considerably fewer prominent anticholinergic(dry mouth, constipation, tachycardia) and sexual side effects than most of the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).
Trazodone was originally discovered and developed in Italy in the 1960s by Angelini Research Laboratories as a second-generation antidepressant. It was developed according to the mental pain hypothesis, which was postulated from studying patients and which proposes that major depression is associated with a decreased pain threshold.[2]Trazodone was patented and marketed in many countries all over the world. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of 1981.
- Palazzo, G.; Silvestrini, B.; 1968, U.S. Patent 3,381,009.
- B. Silvestrini, G. Palazzo, DE 164594
- Haria M, Fitton A, McTavish D (April 1994). “Trazodone. A review of its pharmacology, therapeutic use in depression and therapeutic potential in other disorders”. Drugs Aging 4 (4): 331–55. doi:10.2165/00002512-199404040-00006.PMID 8019056.
- ^ Silvestrini B (1989). “Trazodone: from the mental pain to the “dys-stress” hypothesis of depression”. Clin Neuropharmacol12 (Suppl 1): S4–10. doi:10.1097/00002826-198901001-00002. PMID 2568177.
Japanese drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kirin (TYO: 4151) say that it launched its novel Parkinson’s disease drug Nouriast (istradefylline) in Japan on May 30.
Istradefylline (KW-6002), 8-[(E)-2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)vinyl]-1,3-diethyl-7-methyl-3,7-dihydro-1H-purine-2,6-dione, is a selective antagonist at the A2A receptor. It has been found to be useful in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.[1] Istradefylline reduces dyskinesia resulting from long-term treatment with classical antiparkinson drugs such as levodopa. Istradefylline is an analog of caffeine.
1–
- Peter A. LeWitt, MD, M. Guttman, James W. Tetrud, MD, Paul J. Tuite, MD, Akihisa Mori, PhD, Philip Chaikin, PharmD, MD, Neil M. Sussman, MD (2008). “Adenosine A2A receptor antagonist istradefylline (KW-6002) reduces off time in Parkinson’s disease: A double-blind, randomized, multicenter clinical trial (6002-US-005)”. Annals of Neurology 63 (3): 295–302. doi:10.1002/ana.21315. PMID 18306243.
Nouriast, which is the world’s first anti-parkinsonian agent of a first-in-class adenosine A2A receptor antagonist, was listed on the National Health Insurance Drug Price List on May 24, 2013 after the manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan on March 25, the company noted. In clinical trials in Japan, Nouriast improved wearing-off phenomena and was well tolerated in Parkinson’s disease patients
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Otsuka Pharmaceutical Submits New Drug Application in Japan for Tolvaptan for the Treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)
TOLVAPTAN
may 30 2013
- Tolvaptan was discovered by Otsuka in Japan, and its primary results from a global clinical trial involving 1,400 ADPKD patients from 15 countries, which demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the rate of total kidney volume, were published in New England Journal of Medicine in 2012. It is also currently under a fast track review in the US, following our announcement of FDA accepting to review the application in April 2013.
- ADPKD is a hereditary and often physically and mentally burdensome disease characterized by the development of multiple cysts in the kidneys. ADPKD is often associated with pain, hypertension, decreased kidney function and ultimately, kidney failure that may result in hemodialysis or kidney transplantation.
- There are estimated to be approximately 31,000 ADPKD patients in Japan, and the diagnosed prevalence is estimated to be between 1:1000 and 1:4000 globally.
(Tokyo, Japan, May 30, 2013) – Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Today announced it filed an application with the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency in Japan (PMDA) to market its novel compound tolvaptan for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). Phase III clinical trial results that form the basis of the regulatory filing were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2012. The MHLW has designated tolvaptan as an Orphan Drug.http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/release/2013/0603_02.html
Tolvaptan (INN), also known as OPC-41061, is a selective, competitive vasopressin receptor 2 antagonist used to treat hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels) associated withcongestive heart failure, cirrhosis, and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone(SIADH). Tolvaptan was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 19, 2009, and is sold by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. under the trade name Samsca and in India is manufactured & sold by MSN laboratories Ltd. under the trade name Tolvat & Tolsama.
Tolvaptan is also in fast-track clinical trials[2] for polycystic kidney disease. In a 2004 trial, tolvaptan, when administered with traditional diuretics, was noted to increase excretion of excess fluids and improve blood sodium levels in patients with heart failure without producing side effects such as hypotension (low blood pressure) or hypokalemia(decreased blood levels of potassium) and without having an adverse effect on kidney function.[3] In a recently published trial (TEMPO 3:4 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00428948) the study met its primary and secondary end points. Tolvaptan, when given at an average dose of 95 mg per day over a 3-year period, slowed the usual increase in kidney volume by 50% compared to placebo (2.80% per year versus 5.51% per year, respectively, p<0.001) and reduced the decline in kidney function when compared with that of placebo-treated patients by approximately 30% (reciprocal serum creatinine, -2.61 versus -3.81 (mg/mL)-1 per year, p <0.001)[4]
Chemical synthesis:[5] 
- Shoaf S, Elizari M, Wang Z, et al. (2005). “Tolvaptan administration does not affect steady state amiodarone concentrations in patients with cardiac arrhythmias”. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther 10 (3): 165–71. doi:10.1177/107424840501000304. PMID 16211205.
- Otsuka Maryland Research Institute, Inc.
- Gheorghiade M, Gattis W, O’Connor C, et al. (2004). “Effects of tolvaptan, a vasopressin antagonist, in patients hospitalized with worsening heart failure: a randomized controlled trial”. JAMA 291 (16): 1963–71. doi:10.1001/jama.291.16.1963. PMID 15113814.
- (2012) Tolvaptan in Patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease
- Kondo, K.; Ogawa, H.; Yamashita, H.; Miyamoto, H.; Tanaka, M.; Nakaya, K.; Kitano, K.; Yamamura, Y.; Nakamura, S.; Onogawa, T.; et al.; Bioor. Med. Chem. 1999, 7, 1743.
- http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm350185.htm?source=govdelivery
- Gheorghiade M, Niazi I, Ouyang J et al. (2003). “Vasopressin V2-receptor blockade with tolvaptan in patients with chronic heart failure: results from a double-blind, randomized trial”. Circulation 107 (21): 2690–6. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.0000070422.41439.04.PMID 12742979.
New study reveals Iron supplementation may help Velcade work better
bortezomib
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Bortezomib (INN, originally codenamed PS-341; marketed as Velcade by Millennium Pharmaceuticals) is the first therapeutic proteasome inhibitor to be tested in humans. It is approved in the U.S. for treating relapsed multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. In multiple myeloma, complete clinical responses have been obtained in patients with otherwise refractory or rapidly advancing disease.
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Bortezomib was originally synthesized in 1995 (MG-341) at a company called Myogenics, which soon changed its name to ProScript. After promising preclinical results, the drug (PS-341) was tested in a small Phase I clinical trial on patients with multiple myeloma cancer. ProScript ran out of money and was bought by Leukosite in May 1999. Leukosite in turn was bought by Millennium Pharmaceuticals in October 1999. At this point in time, the project had low priority amongst other projects at the company. This changed significantly when one of the first volunteers to receive the drug in the clinical trial achieved a complete response and were still alive four years later. At the time this was a remarkable result. Later clinical experimentation indicates the possibility of a complete response in 15% of patients in a similar condition, when treated with bortezomib.
In May 2003, seven years after the initial synthesis, bortezomib (Velcade) was approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in multiple myeloma, based on the results from the SUMMIT Phase II trial.
Another commercially available bortezomib product – Bortenat (Natco Pharma, India), reportedly contains substantially more active entity than declared, potentially and even more resulting in increase toxicity. Moreover, Bortenat has some other chemical and formulation deviations from the registered ethic product Velcade (Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Janssen-Cilag), with unclear clinical impact.
Pharmacology
Bortezomib bound to the core particle in a yeast proteasome. The bortezomib molecule is in the center colored by atom type (boron = pink, carbon = cyan, nitrogen = blue, oxygen = red), surrounded by the local protein surface. The blue patch is catalytic threonine residue whose activity is blocked by the presence of bortezomib.
Structure
The drug is an N-protected dipeptide and can be written as Pyz-Phe-boroLeu, which stands for pyrazinoic acid, phenylalanine and Leucine with a boronic acid instead of a carboxylic acid. Peptides are written N-terminus to C-terminus, and this convention is used here even though the “C-terminus” is a boronic acid instead of a carboxylic acid.
New Drug Approvals 