Home » Posts tagged 'manufacturing' (Page 10)
Tag Archives: manufacturing
H7N9 vaccines in development–where are we?
Since early 2013, the newly emergent H7N9 avian influenza virus has been infecting humans in China, leading to the temporary closure of numerous poultry markets in a bid to control the outbreak. In recent weeks, the rate at which new cases are reported has been declining – but some experts are asking whether this is just the calm before the storm. The development of a vaccine against the virus is therefore still of great interest – but where are we with vaccine development?
Inovio Pharmaceuticals announced on July 8th that in a preclinical study of its influenza DNA vaccine, 100% of the vaccinated animals were protected against sickness and death when challenged with a lethal dose of A/Anhui/1/13 strain of H7N9 virus. On the same day, Novavax made an announcement that enrolment had begun for a Phase I clinical trial of its monovalent virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate – again based on the A/Anhui/1/13 strain
read all at
J and J Submits Leukemia Drug, Ibrutinib for Approval
IBRUTINIB
1-[(3R)-3-[4-amino-3-(4-phenoxyphenyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-1-yl]piperidin-1-yl]prop-2-en-1-one
New Drug Application Submitted to U.S. FDA for Ibrutinib in the Treatment of Two B-Cell Malignancies
If approved, ibrutinib will address a high unmet need in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia and relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma
RARITAN, N.J., July 10, 2013
Janssen Research & Development, LLC announced the submission of a New Drug Application for ibrutinib to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its use in the treatment of previously treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and for its use in the treatment of previously treated patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The regulatory submission for ibrutinib is supported by data from two pivotal Phase 2 studies, one in relapsed/refractory CLL/SLL (PCYC-1102) and one in relapsed/refractory MCL (PCYC-1104), both of which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine online on June 19, 2013. Ibrutinib is a novel Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor being jointly developed by Janssen and Pharmacyclics, Inc. for the treatment of B-cell malignancies.
If approved, ibrutinib would be the first in a class of oral BTK inhibitors and is one of the first medicines to file for FDA approval via the new Breakthrough Therapy Designation pathway. Ibrutinib will be co-commercialized in the U.S. by Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Pharmacyclics.
“The FDA submission is another important milestone for ibrutinib since we formed our strategic partnership with Pharmacyclics just 18 months ago,” said Peter F. Lebowitz, M.D., Ph.D., Global Oncology Head, Janssen. “Both companies recognize that there is great unmet need among these patient populations, and together in close collaboration with the FDA, as part of its Breakthrough Therapy Designation pathway, we have been able to accelerate the ibrutinib development program for the benefit of patients.”
About Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a slow-growing blood cancer that starts in the white blood cells (lymphocytes), most commonly from B-cells. CLL is the second most common adult leukemia. Approximately 16,000 patients in the US are diagnosed each year with CLL. The prevalence of CLL is approximately 113,000 in the US. The disease is a chronic disease of the elderly with an average survival of about 5 years. Patients commonly receive multiple lines of treatment over the course of their disease.
In CLL the genetic mutation 17p deletion occurs when the short arm of chromosome 17 is missing. Del 17p is associated with abnormalities of a key tumor suppressor gene, TP53, which results in poor response to chemoimmunotherapy and worse treatment outcomes. It occurs in about 7% of treatment naive CLL patients and is estimated to be approximately 20% to 40% of relapsed or refractory patients harboring the mutation.
About Ibrutinib
Ibrutinib , previously publicly known as PCI-32765, is an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of various types of cancer. It was first synthesized at Celera Genomics as a selective inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk).It was later discovered to have anti-lymphoma properties in vivo by scientists at Pharmacyclics, Inc.Ibrutinib is currently under development by Pharmacyclics, Inc and Johnson & Johnson‘sJanssen Pharmaceutical division for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma,diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. It also has potential effects against autoimmune arthritis.
Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Pharmacyclics entered a collaboration and license agreement in December 2011 to co-develop and co-commercialize ibrutinib. Ibrutinib was designed to specifically target and selectively inhibit an enzyme called Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK). BTK is a key mediator of at least three critical B-cell pro-survival mechanisms occurring in parallel – regulation of apoptosis, adhesion, and cell migration and homing. Through these multiple signals, BTK regulation helps to direct malignant B-cells to lymphoid tissues, thus allowing access to a micro environment necessary for survival.
The effectiveness of ibrutinib alone or in combination with other treatments is being studied in several B-cell malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia and multiple myeloma. To date five Phase III trials have been initiated with ibrutinib and a total of 26 trials are currently registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Pharmacyclics
Pharmacyclics® is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and immune mediated diseases. Our mission and goal is to build a viable biopharmaceutical company that designs, develops and commercializes novel therapies intended to improve quality of life, increase duration of life and resolve serious unmet medical healthcare needs; and to identify promising product candidates based on scientific development and administrational expertise, develop our products in a rapid, cost-efficient manner and pursue commercialization and/or development partners when and where appropriate.
Presently, Pharmacyclics has three product candidates in clinical development and several preclinical molecules in lead optimization. The Company is committed to high standards of ethics, scientific rigor, and operational efficiency as it moves each of these programs to viable commercialization.
The Company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol PCYC. To learn more about how Pharmacyclics advances science to improve human healthcare visit at http://www.pharmacyclics.com.
Omthera files heart drug anti-triglyceride, Epanova with FDA
july, 10, 2013
Omthera Pharmaceuticals, which is in the process of being acquired by AstraZeneca, has filed its anti-triglyceride drug Epanova with regulators in the USA.The Princeton, New Jersey-based company is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to sell Epanova, a coated soft gelatin capsule containing a mixture of polyunsaturated free fatty acids derived from fish oils, for the treatment of patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. The submission is based on two Phase III trials (EVOLVE and ESPRIT) examining the effectiveness of Epanova in lowering very high triglycerides, and in reducing non-HDL cholesterol in combination with a statin. Both trials were conducted under a special protocol assessment with the FDA.

The filing will please AstraZeneca which announced at the end of May that it will buy Omthera for $12.70 per share, or around $323 million. In addition to the cash payment, each Omthera shareholder will receive contingent value rights of up to $4.70 per share – or around $120 million in total – if specified milestones related to Epanova are achieved.
When the deal was announced, Omthera chief executive Gerald Wisler said he expects AstraZeneca to “maximise the value of Epanova not only as a monotherapy treatment for dyslipidemia but also as a treatment for cardiovascular disease in combination with Crestor (atorvastatin)”, the firm’s cholesterol blockbuster.
Chelsea Therapeutics Resubmits New Drug Application for NORTHERA(TM) (droxidopa) for the Treatment of Symptomatic NOH
![]()
Droxidopa
Submission Includes Successful 300 mg Bioequivalence Study
* Six Month Review Decision Expected Under PDUFA
July 9, 2013
— Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. today announced that it resubmitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market NORTHERA(TM) (droxidopa), an orally active synthetic precursor of norepinephrine, for the treatment of symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (NOH) in patients with primary autonomic failure (Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy and pure autonomic failure), dopamine beta hydroxylase deficiency and non-diabetic autonomic neuropathy.
http://www.pharmalive.com/chelsea-resubmits-northera-nda
L-DOPS (L-threo-dihydroxyphenylserine; Droxidopa; SM-5688) is a psychoactive drugand synthetic amino acid precursor which acts as a prodrug to the neurotransmittersnorepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline).[1] Unlike norepinephrine and epinephrine themselves, L-DOPS is capable of crossing the protective blood–brain barrier(BBB)
Sandoz launches Phase III clinical trial for biosimilar etanercept

Etanercept
is made from the combination of two naturally occurring soluble human 75-kilodalton TNF receptors linked to an Fc portion of an IgG1. The effect is an artificially engineered dimeric fusion protein.
• Sandoz continues to advance biosimilar pipeline with seven Phase III trials across five molecules
• Global program underscores Sandoz’s leadership in biosimilarsHolzkirchen, Germany, June 24, 2013 – Sandoz, the global leader in biosimilars, announced it has initiated a major Phase III clinical trial with its biosimilar version of etanercept (Amgen’s Enbrel®).
Read more at
http://www.drugs.com/news/novartis-begins-enbrel-phase-iii-trial-45414.html
| Etanercept (trade name Enbrel) is a biopharmaceutical that treats autoimmune diseases by interfering with tumor necrosis factor (TNF; a soluble inflammatory cytokine) by acting as a TNF inhibitor. It has U.S. F.D.A. approval to treat rheumatoid, juvenile rheumatoid andpsoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis. TNF-alpha is the “master regulator” of the inflammatory (immune) response in many organ systems. Autoimmune diseases are caused by an overactive immune response. Etanercept has the potential to treat these diseases by inhibiting TNF-alpha. Etanercept is a fusion protein produced by recombinant DNA. It fuses the TNF receptor to the constant end of the IgG1 antibody. First, the developers isolated the DNA sequence that codes the human gene for soluble TNF receptor 2, which is a receptor that binds to tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Second, they isolated the DNA sequence that codes the human gene for the Fc end of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1). Third, they linked the DNA for TNF receptor 2 to the DNA for IgG1 Fc. Finally, they expressed the linked DNA to produce a protein that links the protein for TNF receptor 2 to the protein for IgG1 Fc. The prototypic fusion protein was first synthesized and shown to be highly active and unusually stable as a modality for blockade of TNF in vivo in the early 1990s by Bruce A. Beutler, an academic researcher then at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, and his colleagues.[2][3][4] These investigators also patented the protein, selling all rights to its use to Immunex, a biotechnology company that was acquired by Amgen in 2002. It is a large molecule, with a molecular weight of 150 kDa., that binds to TNFα and decreases its role in disorders involving excess inflammation in humans and other animals, including autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and, potentially, in a variety of other disorders mediated by excess TNFα. In North America, etanercept is co-marketed by Amgen and Pfizer under the trade name Enbrel in two separate formulations, one in powder form, the other as a pre-mixed liquid. Wyeth is the sole marketer of Enbrel outside North America excluding Japan whereTakeda Pharmaceuticals markets the drug. Etanercept is an example of a protein-based drug created using the tools of biotechnologyand conceived through an understanding afforded by modern cell biology. |
Promising Antiviral Compounds Discovered

Scientists sifted through thousands of potentially efficacy compounds and managed to identify two promising candidates for the development of drugs against human adenovirus, a cause of ailments ranging from colds to gastrointestinal disorders to pink eye
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified two promising candidates for the development of drugs against human adenovirus, a cause of ailments ranging from colds to gastrointestinal disorders to pink eye. A paper published in FEBS Letters, a journal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, describes how the researchers sifted through thousands of compounds to determine which might block the effects of a key viral enzyme they had previously studied in atomic-level detail.
Quad Pill for HIV Appears Safe in Renal Disease
Published: Jul 7, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR — HIV patients with mild to moderate renal impairment appear to tolerate treatment with a combination tablet that contains drugs known to impact kidney function, a phase III, open-label, two-cohort study found.
The treatment group receiving the four-drug combination of elvitegravir, cobicistat, tenofovir DF, and emtricitabine, branded as Stribild
Orexo gets FDA OK for opioid dependence drug
Regulators in the USA have given the green light to Orexo of Sweden’s Zubsolv as a treatment for opioid addiction.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Zubsolv, a once-daily sublingual formulation of Reckitt Benckiser’s Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) which currently dominates the market. It is indicated for use as maintenance treatment for people suffering from opioid dependence and should be used as part of a complete treatment plan to include counselling and psychosocial support
read all at
http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/13-07-05/Orexo_gets_FDA_OK_for_opioid_dependence_drug.aspx
FDA clears Aurobindo’s Rizatriptan Benzoate orally disintegrating tablets
India-based Aurobindo Pharma has obtained final FDA approvals to manufacture and market Rizatriptan Benzoate orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) 5mg and 10mg (ANDA 203062)…
read more at
Rizatriptan (trade name Maxalt) is a 5-HT1 agonist triptan drug developed by Merck & Co. for the treatment of migraine headaches. It is available in strengths of 5 and 10 mg as tablets and orally disintegrating tablets (Maxalt-MLT).
Maxalt obtained approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 29, 1998. It is a second-generation triptan.
Rizatriptan is available only by prescription in Australia, the United States, Canada andNew Zealand. Similarly, it is classed as a POM (Prescription Only Medicine) in the United Kingdom, Italy (as Rizaliv), Israel (as Rizalt), The Netherlands, Croatia and Spain (asMaxalt)

Anthrax Killer from the Sea
Anthrax Killer from the Sea
Unusual antibiotic from a marine actinomycete is effective against anthrax
http://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/4972631/Anthrax_Killer_from_the_Sea.html
- Anthracimycin, a Potent Anthrax Antibiotic from a Marine-Derived Actinomycete,
Kyoung Hwa Jang, Sang-Jip Nam, Jeffrey B. Locke, Christopher A. Kauffman, Deanna S. Beatty, Lauren A. Paul, William Fenical,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201302749
DRUG APPROVALS BY DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO
.....










