Biolex Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has completed patient enrollment in the SELECT-2 Phase 2b trial of its lead product candidate Locteron® for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Locteron, controlled-release interferon alpha 2b, is designed to improve patient care by providing a more convenient once-every-two week dosing schedule and by reducing the side effects, including flu-like symptoms, associated with pegylated interferons, the current standard of care.

Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, Plainview, Minn., is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums (thickening agents) that it has manufactured over the past two years, because they might be contaminated with Salmonella. The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products. None of Plainview’s products were sold directly to the public.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Mayo Clinic have developed a computer model that medical doctors can use to determine the best time to begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart disease and stroke. “The research is significant because patients with diabetes are at high risk for cardiovascular disease and statins are the single most commonly used treatment for patients at risk of heart disease and/or stroke,” says Dr.

The risk of cancer possibly increases if patients with diabetes use the long-acting insulin analogue glargine instead of human insulin.

An article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet reports the findings of the INSPIRE trial on treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with interferon gamma-1b (Ifn-g1b). It is written by Professor Talmadge E King Jr, of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA and his team. Results show no improvement in survival compared with placebo. There is no effective treatment for IPF which is a fatal disease.

In a leading medical journal this week US researchers describe the 90-year history of swine flu and warn about working with “freezer” viruses, which they suspect is how an H1N1 virus that closely resembles a temporarily “extinct” 1950s strain resurrected some 20 years later and continues to circulate as a seasonal flu strain today.

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is looking into four recently published registry studies investigating a possible relationship between insulin analogues, in particular insulin glargine, and the risk of cancer. The studies were published on the Diabetologia website on 26 June 2009.

AB Science, a young Paris-based biotech company, announces the pan-European commercial launch of its Masivet veterinary anticancer drug in June 2009. Masivet was approved in November 2008 by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the treatment of dogs with non-resectable grade 2 or 3 mast cell tumours. Masivet’s active pharmaceutical ingredient is masitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today’s announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life. The study also seeks to gather virology data regarding the national onset of the RSV season across the four geographic regions established by the U.S.

A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes to return a result and is simple enough to be performed in a pediatrician’s office.