People at intermediate risk of cardiovascular disease who have high levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a blood marker for inflammation, could benefit from cholesterol-lowering therapy even if their cholesterol is already at desirable levels. Data indicates that people with only a 5 percent to 20 percent risk of having heart disease in the next ten years, but who have high levels of hsCRP could reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by more than 40 percent.
The study is published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
Link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100824161503.htm
Source:ScienceDaily

The Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for Iluvien (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal insert) has been accepted for filing and granted Priority Review status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Iluvien is Alimera's investigational, sustained drug delivery system that releases sub-microgram levels of fluocinolone acetonide for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME).
Link:http://investor.alimerasciences.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=503420
Source:Alimera

Phase 3 safety and efficacy data comparing tapentadol extended release (ER) tablets, an investigational pain medication, to placebo in patients with moderate to severe chronic osteoarthritis knee pain have been published by Clinical Drug Investigation.
Link:http://www.jnj.com/connect/news/all/Pivotal-Phase-3-Study-Compares-Tapentadol-Extended-Release-Tablets-to-Placebo-in-Patients-with-Chronic-Osteoarthritis-Knee-Pain
Source:Johnson & Johnson

For people suffering chronic pain, smoked cannabis reduces pain, improves mood and helps sleep, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091414.pdf.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/cmaj-scr082410.php
Source:EurekAlert

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) today issued revised practice guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation (AF), including guidance on the role of a novel oral treatment, dabigatran etexilate, for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Dabigatran etexilate is at the forefront of a new generation of oral anticoagulants/direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) targeting a high unmet medical need in the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic thromboembolic diseases.
Link:http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/news/news_releases/press_releases/2010/30_august_2010_dabigatran.html
Source:Boehringer Ingelheim

An Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NanoDTPA an orally administered capsule that is a less invasive treatment alternative to the FDA approved injectable Zn-DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentacetic acid) has been filed. DTPA is used to remove radioactive compounds from the body to help eliminate the contamination. The NanoDTPA capsule is a unique orally-bioavailable fine particle formulation that allows DTPA to be absorbed into the body from the gastrointestinal tract.
Link:http://www.nanotherapeutics.com/news/pdf/Nanotherapeutics_Submits_FDA_New%20Drug_Application_pr08-30-10.pdf
Source:Nanotherapeutics

Notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the agency expects to complete priority review of the eribulin mesylate New Drug Application (NDA) for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer on or before December 30, 2010, which is a three month extension from the original Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of September 30, 2010 has been received. 
A non-taxane, microtubule dynamics inhibitor, eribulin is a synthetic analog of halichondrin B, which is derived from a natural product isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai.  
Link:http://www.eisai.com/view_press_release.asp?ID=129&press=284
Source:Eisai

Clinical descriptors can assist clinicians in identifying patients with various stages of atherothrombosis (abnormal fatty deposits in an artery) who are at high-risk of future cardiovascular events, according to a study that will appear in the September 22 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/jaaj-sir082610.php
Source:EurekAlert

A triggered CDX2 gene tells a cell that it is located in the epithelial tissue of the intestine and thus enables the cell to do its job correctly.
The discovery has now been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/uoc-rta083010.php
Source:EurekAlert

Scientists may be able to explain why proper nutrition is so vital in fighting infection.
They have discovered an amino acid, called arginine, is required to let the body know that it's being attacked by an infection.
The study is published in the August edition of journal Science Signalling.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/uoaf-uoa083010.php
Source:EurekAlert