Anti-Aging Drugs: November 2006 Archives

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that two-year data from three Phase III pivotal trials demonstrate the long-term efficacy of ORENCIA(R) (abatacept) in adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as methotrexate and TNF antagonists. The data also demonstrate that ORENCIA provided clinically meaningful improvements in multiple aspects of health-related quality of life and physical function, sustained improvements in pain and had a consistent safety and tolerability profile through two years of treatment. These data will be presented at the upcoming 2006 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting.

The findings are from analyses of the ongoing open-label, long-term extension component of Phase III pivotal trials investigating ORENCIA, including the AIM (Abatacept in Inadequate responders to Methotrexate), ATTAIN (Abatacept Trial in Treatment of Anti-TNF Inadequate Responders) and ASSURE (Abatacept Study of Safety in Use with other Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapies) trials.

A new drug that could prevent old age blindness is being developed, according to researchers.

‘Lucentis’, the drug that is being designed to combat the wet type of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), has the potential to prevent blindness in several people, while helping many others to regain their lost vision.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lucentis has prevented vision loss in 90% of the patients studied. A remarkable improvement in vision was reported in 33% of those experimented on . 716 patients, who formed the subject of the clinical study, received an injection of the drug every month for two years.

This is for the first time that a drug that is used in the treatment of AMD, has been found capable of improving vision. The drug is due to obtain license in Europe by the end of this year.

source IANS