British pharmaceutical company Mylan is introducing Paliperidone, a generic version of Janssen's Invega, in extended-release tablets in 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 6 mg and 9 mg dosages in the U.S. Paliperidone is used to treat schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. It is used in conjunction with monotherapy and as an adjunct to mood stabilizers or antidepressants in adults.

Molecular reference laboratory Symbiodx, located in the Pacific Northwest, has partnered with multi-sided technology platform Cure Forward to enhance precision medicine; the new collaboration will make it possible for patients to have easier access to their genomic data, meaning there will exist a greater chance for them to be involved in relevant clinical trials, as part of Symbiodx's goal to provide next generation sequencing (NGS) assay for cancer. 

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given a positive opinion that recommends marketing authorization; Mepolizumab will be commercialized under the name Nucala, and the group will become an add-on treatment for severe refractory eosinophilic asthma found in adult patients.

Inactivity is one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease, but it can be difficult to manage in light of so many jobs that require workers to sit at a desk all day; however, primary care physician Michael Rakotz, M.D., director of chronic disease prevention with the American Medical Association's Improving Health Outcomes initiative, offers simple tips to decrease your risk for heart disease, even when work requires long periods of physical inactivity.

The drug life-cycle of the 4.3 billion prescriptions Americans fill out every year is not over until the medicine has been consumed in its entirety or discarded of properly; accidental exposure or intentional misuses are direct results of improper medicine disposal, but, thankfully, Deputy Director for Regulatory Programs in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA Dr. Douglas Throckmorton knows how best to dispose and take care of them.

Americans suffering from moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) now have access to an FDA-approved treatment, due to the fact that the FDA has finally approved its drug, which is called Humira, the North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie announced today; this announcement comes as the result of 17 years of development and 12 years of clinical trials.

According to a report by the Food & Drug Administration, some medicines may contain ingredients that cause photosensitivity -- photosensitivity is what makes a person sensitive to sunlight and cause rashes or other unwanted effects like sunburn-like symptoms -- and a range of products, including those applied to the skin or any medicines taken by the mouth or injected, can cause these side effects.

While physicians are equipped to treat patients, they can't make all the decisions for them, so it is imperative that patients educate themselves about the potential risks and alternatives associated with their care in order to make informed decisions; this topic was the focus of a recent event hosted by the Alliance for Health reform, during which a panel of health analysts spoke about tools patients can use to make better decisions about their healthcare.

The Breast Cancer Research Fund (BCRF) has pledged $48.5 million to support breast cancer research efforts in 2015 and 2016, with grants to 240 grantees on five continents; this announcement comes as the foundation prepares for two research symposia during the month of October, with the first of these events being a research symposium and luncheon called “Understanding Women’s Risk for Breast Cancer and Other Cancers.” 

Americans living with rheumatoid arthritis now have another generic medication option to consider.

A recent study has found the majority of women whose doctors request genetic testing for the BRCA genetic mutation do not receive the recommended counseling prior to testing.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found a method to create shelf-stable drugs that do not require refrigeration to store and will be less expensive to manufacture.

Researchers seeking a non-surgical way to treat precancerous cervical lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) have released clinical study findings showing a vaccine has eradicated those lesions.

Thirty-four abstracts from the chronic hepatitis C clinical development program of global research-based biopharmaceutical firm AbbVie were recently accepted for presentation at The Liver Meeting, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Eagle Pharmaceuticals has been granted a U.S. patent for its bendamustine hydrochloride (HCl) formulation administered in a 50 mL bag within 10 minutes. The product is indicated for use in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and patients with indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has progressed during or within six months of treatment with rituximab or a rituximab-containing regimen.

A recent study by the NYU Langone Medical Center indicated that an experimental drug the National Cancer Institute library of chemical compounds originally found to be a potential brain and basal-cell cancer treatment actually reduced the symptoms of mice afflicted with a form of multiple sclerosis.

BodyA Canadian research team under the leadership of Dr. Mark Ware of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montréal, Canada recently completed a national multi-center study on the safety of medical cannabis use among patients with chronic pain.

A Boston Medical Center (BMC) program that incorporates addiction treatment into primary care for patients who either have or are at risk of contracting HIV was recently proven to decrease patients' dependence upon substances and increase the odds that they might seek treatment; findings gleaned from the program were published online in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

Eli Lilly and Co. and Incyte Corp. have announced the achievement of positive top-line results of RA-BEGIN, the Phase 3 study for baricitinib, an investigational treatment for moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA); test subjects for the RA-BEGIN study had limited or no prior treatment with methotrexate, and they had no knowledge of other conventional or biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). 

A clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, Cellectar Biosciences Inc., recently received initial notice of an award for a Phase I-II Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant issued for one of its cancer treatment drugs; the grant is for up to $2.3 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which will be used to fund development of Cellectar's PDC platform for targeted delivery of I-125, a radiotherapeutic isotope that may be effective against micro-metastatic disease.