Pharm quick links

Hyperactivity drugs to be studied for heart risk from Bloomberg online. The FDA has forced manufacturers of ADHD meds to provide warnings of possible heart risks, some due to possible structural heart defects. I wonder if there is a problem with those children who have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or if it's every been considered.

Novartis says new study data shows efficacy, tolerability of Galvus from Forbes online. A clinical trial involving subjects with type 2 diabetes showed that those taking Galvus (vildagliptin) in addition to metformin were four times more likely to achieve their HbA1C goals. The findings for this DPP-4 inhibitor (incretin enhancer) were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting. The FDA issued an approvable letter for the drug this past February, while an EU committee had a positive report recommending authorization.

Celera enters oncology research collaboration with Merck to develop pharmacogenomic tests from a Celera presss release;

Celera will evaluate the use of certain gene expression profiles identified by Merck with the goal of developing diagnostic predictors for use in Merck’s clinical trials, and to potentially form the basis for commercial companion diagnostic tests for oncology therapies.