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Arthritis / Rheumatology News From Medical News Today Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:47:20 +0100 Can-Fite Completed Patient Enrollment For The Confirmatory Phase IIb Trial In Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients With CF101 Can-Fite BioPharma (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has achieved yet another goal by completion of enrollment of 230 patients in its confirmatory phase IIb RA trial. Approximately 230 patients were enrolled to this study, randomized into 3 groups treated with 0.1 mg and 4 mg of CF101, and placebo. Patients are taking the drug for 12 weeks plus 2 weeks of follow-up. The trial is being conducted in 30 sites in Europe and Israel. Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST Pegloticase BLA Filing Accepted For Priority Review By FDA Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVNT) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the Company's Biologics License Application (BLA) for pegloticase, a novel biological drug for treatment-failure gout (TFG) patients. The FDA also granted the Company's BLA with a priority review status which accelerates the review period to six months. Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:00:00 PST Potential Autoimmunity-Inducing Cells Found In Healthy Adults It's not just patients with autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that have self-attacking immune cells - healthy people have them too, according to a new report in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. In healthy adults, however, these cells are maintained in an 'off' state, perhaps explaining their innocuous nature. Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:00:00 PST Phase III Study Showed Rituxan® Decreased The Progression Of Joint Damage In Patients With Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Genentech, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) and Biogen Idec (Nasdaq:BIIB) announced today that a Phase III clinical study of Rituxan® (rituximab) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not previously been treated with methotrexate (MTX) met its primary endpoint. In this study, known as IMAGE, patients received two infusions of either 500 mg or 1000 mg of Rituxan or placebo for up to two treatment courses in combination with a stable dose of MTX. Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST Phase III Study Showed Rituxan® Decreased The Progression Of Joint Damage In Patients With Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) and Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB) announced that a Phase III clinical study of Rituxan® (rituximab) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not previously been treated with methotrexate (MTX) met its primary endpoint. In this study, known as IMAGE, patients received two infusions of either 500 mg or 1000 mg of Rituxan or placebo for up to two treatment courses in combination with a stable dose of MTX. Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:00:00 PST MabThera Inhibits The Destruction Of Joints In Patients With Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Roche announced recently that MabThera (rituximab) can significantly inhibit structural damage to joints in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not been treated with methotrexate (MTX), the current standard of care for RA treatment. Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST Groundbreaking, Inexpensive, Pocket-sized Ultrasound Device Can Help Treat Cancer, Relieve Arthritis A prototype of a therapeutic ultrasound device, developed by a Cornell graduate student, fits in the palm of a hand, is battery-powered and packs enough punch to stabilize a gunshot wound or deliver drugs to brain cancer patients. It is wired to a ceramic probe, called a transducer, and it creates sound waves so strong they instantly cause water to bubble, spray and turn into steam. Tinkering in his Olin Hall lab, George K. Lewis, a third-year Ph.D. Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:00:00 PST CrystalGenomics Announces Positive Phase IIa Results For Osteoarthritis Study Of CG100649 CrystalGenomics, Inc. (Seoul, Korea) and CG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Emeryville, CA) announced positive results from a Phase IIa osteoarthritis (OA) study of the efficacy and safety of a next-generation NSAID, CG100649. The CG100649 treatment group met the primary efficacy endpoint by demonstrating a clinically and statistically significant change in the WOMAC(TM) OA score from baseline to Day 21 (p=0.010) compared to placebo. Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST Preventing A Recurrence Of The Northwick Park Trial Scientists investigating the 2006 Northwick Park drug-trial disaster that left six healthy volunteers hospitalised say they have developed new pre-clinical tests that could have stopped the trial from ever going ahead. But Dr Stephen Poole, speaking at the British Pharmacological Society's Winter Meeting in Brighton, said that research is still "ongoing" to understand why the drug had such an adverse effect in the clinic but not in pre-clinical testing. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:00:00 PST Funding For Building Better Bones And Tissue In The Lab Tissue engineering holds great promise for the treatment of conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, fibrosis, periodontal disease and traumatic injuries. However, bone and cartilage currently produced in the laboratory don't have sufficient strength to function in the body so they're not clinically viable. Dr. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:00:00 PST