Industry - Pharmaceuticals latest news

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Pharmaceutical company Skyepharma said Thursday that its third Phase III efficacy study evaluating Flutiform for the treatment of mild to moderate asthma has met its primary endpoints. The company said it is the third of several clinical efficacy studies being carried out in preparation for regulatory filing and completes the original core clinical trial program. The group said the overall development program remains on schedule for a new drug application to be filed in the first quarter of 2009.

Paul Freiman, CEO and president of Neurobiological Technologies Inc., will retire Dec. 31, the company said Wednesday. (NTII) (NEOL) (NBY)

Aryx Therapeutics Inc. said Wednesday that Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals Inc. is exercising an option to end its collaboration with the company on development of a drug for chronic constipation and indigestion. (PG) (ARYX)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Mylan Inc. (NYSE: MYL) said Thursday its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application for Linezolid tablets. Linezolid is the generic version of the antibiotic known as Pharmacia and Upjohn's Zyvox Tablets.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The benchmark drug stock indexes rose for a second day on Thursday, boosted once again by strong buying of shares of European drugmakers. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index climbed 1.2% to 297.5 and the Amex Biotechnology Index inched up marginally to 744.4. Shares of Sanofi-Aventis were the biggest winners in early trading, up 4% at $35.32. Also gaining were shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC, up 3% at $46.60.

Clark-Holder Clinic, PA, a multi-specialty healthcare group serving West Georgia, has finalized its agreement to join Emory Specialty Associates, LLC, a subsidiary of Emory Healthcare. The new clinic'... [WebWire - Thursday, July 03, 2008]

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The benchmark drug stock indexes rose for a second day on Thursday, boosted once again by strong buying of shares of European drug makers.

Thyroid cancer that has spread to distant sites has a poor prognosis, but an experimental drug that inhibits tumor blood vessel formation can slow disease progression in some patients, a research team... [WebWire - Thursday, July 03, 2008]

Diane Scott-Lichter Tapped to Oversee AACR's Dynamic Publications Program - - PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announces the appointment of Diane Scott-Lichter as pu... [WebWire - Thursday, July 03, 2008]

Erwin Van Meir, PhD, professor of neurosurgery and hematology and medical oncology, Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, has earned a three-year, $600,000 research grant from the Goldhirsh Found... [WebWire - Thursday, July 03, 2008]