Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Pharmaceutical advances offer new options for health outcomes

Pharmaceutical advances offer new options for health outcomes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-May-2013
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Contact: Aimee Frank
newsroom@gastro.org
407-685-4030
Digestive Disease Week

Research presented at DDW 2013 feature new drugs for IBS, hepatitis C

Orlando, FL (May 20, 2013) Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) explores pharmaceutical advances for treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatitis C.

An international study holds promising results for patients suffering from IBS-D. In the phase II study, researchers found that the drug ibodutant significantly improved symptoms in more than 50 percent of the individuals treated.

"While there's been a lot of progress in medicines for IBS with constipation, we haven't seen the same in IBS with diarrhea," said Jan Tack, MD, professor and director of the division of gastroenterology and internal medicine at Leuven University in Belgium. "Up to this point, we haven't been able to provide a pharmaceutical option for this patient group that successfully manages the pain associated with the condition."

IBS is an extremely common condition, affecting an estimated 10 percent of adults. Funded by Menarini, the double-blind, multinational study recruited 559 patients with IBS-D who were randomized and treated with 1, 3 or 10 mg of ibodutant or a placebo. Patients took an oral tablet once daily for eight consecutive weeks. Researchers found that 10 mg was the most effective dose and that it worked best for females.

"These are exciting findings that could bring a lot of relief to many patients," said Dr. Tack said. "We're looking forward to moving into phase III to confirm our findings with a much larger sample of patients."

New therapy for patients with hepatitis C examined

New research suggests that an investigational therapy for patients with hepatitis C can achieve high response rates in a wide range of patients, even those who respond poorly to current treatments. The study examined the safety and efficacy of interferon-free regimens, including three direct-acting antiviral drugs with and without ribavirin, for 12 or 24 weeks, in patients with chronic hepatitis C who were either treatment-nave or had previously failed standard treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin.

In the phase II study, researchers found that the treatment regimens achieved high sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, an efficacy measure of a hepatitis C treatment, in non-cirrhotic patients with HCV genotype-1 (GT 1). SVR was achieved by 98.7 percent of treatment-nave patients and 93.3 percent of prior nonresponders after 12 weeks of treatment with three direct-acting agents with ribavirin.

"Hepatitis C genotype 1 is the most common type of hepatitis in the U.S., and many of these patients are still quite difficult to treat with current interferon-based therapies," said Frederick Nunes, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Penn Medicine. "This includes specific populations such as African Americans and patients with high body mass or pre-diabetes. These results suggest that highly effective regimens like this one may overcome that difficulty, without the need for interferon."

###

Assigning 247 patients to 12- or 24-week regimens, researchers found that four weeks after treatment, SVR rates were high regardless of patient characteristics previously associated with poorer response to interferon therapy. Funded by AbbVie (formerly Abbott), the study's results hold particular significance for patients who are older, black, Hispanic or have a higher body mass index.

Dr. Tack will present data from the study "Efficacy of ibodutant, a selective antagonist of neurokinin 2 receptors, in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D): the results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase II study (The IRIS-2)," abstract 520, on Monday, May 20, at 8 a.m. ET in Room 300 of the Orange County Convention Center.

Dr. Nunes will present data from the study "Interferon-free Regimens of ABT-450/r, ABT-267, ABT-333, and Ribavirin Achieve High Sustained Virologic Response 4 Weeks Post-Treatment (SVR4 ) Rates in Patients With Chronic HCV Genotype 1 Regardless of Race, Ethnicity, or Other Baseline Characteristics" abstract 514, on Monday, May 20, at 8 a.m. ET in Room 203AB of the Orange County Convention Center.

Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18 to 21, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org.

Follow us on Twitter @DDWMeeting; hashtag #DDW13. Become a fan of DDW on Facebook.


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Pharmaceutical advances offer new options for health outcomes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Aimee Frank
newsroom@gastro.org
407-685-4030
Digestive Disease Week

Research presented at DDW 2013 feature new drugs for IBS, hepatitis C

Orlando, FL (May 20, 2013) Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) explores pharmaceutical advances for treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatitis C.

An international study holds promising results for patients suffering from IBS-D. In the phase II study, researchers found that the drug ibodutant significantly improved symptoms in more than 50 percent of the individuals treated.

"While there's been a lot of progress in medicines for IBS with constipation, we haven't seen the same in IBS with diarrhea," said Jan Tack, MD, professor and director of the division of gastroenterology and internal medicine at Leuven University in Belgium. "Up to this point, we haven't been able to provide a pharmaceutical option for this patient group that successfully manages the pain associated with the condition."

IBS is an extremely common condition, affecting an estimated 10 percent of adults. Funded by Menarini, the double-blind, multinational study recruited 559 patients with IBS-D who were randomized and treated with 1, 3 or 10 mg of ibodutant or a placebo. Patients took an oral tablet once daily for eight consecutive weeks. Researchers found that 10 mg was the most effective dose and that it worked best for females.

"These are exciting findings that could bring a lot of relief to many patients," said Dr. Tack said. "We're looking forward to moving into phase III to confirm our findings with a much larger sample of patients."

New therapy for patients with hepatitis C examined

New research suggests that an investigational therapy for patients with hepatitis C can achieve high response rates in a wide range of patients, even those who respond poorly to current treatments. The study examined the safety and efficacy of interferon-free regimens, including three direct-acting antiviral drugs with and without ribavirin, for 12 or 24 weeks, in patients with chronic hepatitis C who were either treatment-nave or had previously failed standard treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin.

In the phase II study, researchers found that the treatment regimens achieved high sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, an efficacy measure of a hepatitis C treatment, in non-cirrhotic patients with HCV genotype-1 (GT 1). SVR was achieved by 98.7 percent of treatment-nave patients and 93.3 percent of prior nonresponders after 12 weeks of treatment with three direct-acting agents with ribavirin.

"Hepatitis C genotype 1 is the most common type of hepatitis in the U.S., and many of these patients are still quite difficult to treat with current interferon-based therapies," said Frederick Nunes, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Penn Medicine. "This includes specific populations such as African Americans and patients with high body mass or pre-diabetes. These results suggest that highly effective regimens like this one may overcome that difficulty, without the need for interferon."

###

Assigning 247 patients to 12- or 24-week regimens, researchers found that four weeks after treatment, SVR rates were high regardless of patient characteristics previously associated with poorer response to interferon therapy. Funded by AbbVie (formerly Abbott), the study's results hold particular significance for patients who are older, black, Hispanic or have a higher body mass index.

Dr. Tack will present data from the study "Efficacy of ibodutant, a selective antagonist of neurokinin 2 receptors, in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D): the results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase II study (The IRIS-2)," abstract 520, on Monday, May 20, at 8 a.m. ET in Room 300 of the Orange County Convention Center.

Dr. Nunes will present data from the study "Interferon-free Regimens of ABT-450/r, ABT-267, ABT-333, and Ribavirin Achieve High Sustained Virologic Response 4 Weeks Post-Treatment (SVR4 ) Rates in Patients With Chronic HCV Genotype 1 Regardless of Race, Ethnicity, or Other Baseline Characteristics" abstract 514, on Monday, May 20, at 8 a.m. ET in Room 203AB of the Orange County Convention Center.

Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18 to 21, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org.

Follow us on Twitter @DDWMeeting; hashtag #DDW13. Become a fan of DDW on Facebook.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/ddw-pao051613.php

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Fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins

May 20, 2013 ? The miniaturization of electronics continues to create unprecedented capabilities in computer and communications applications, enabling handheld wireless devices with tremendous computing performance operating on battery power. This same miniaturization of electronic systems is also creating new opportunities in biotechnology and biophysics.

A team of researchers at Columbia Engineering has used miniaturized electronics to measure the activity of individual ion-channel proteins with temporal resolution as fine as one microsecond, producing the fastest recordings of single ion channels ever performed. Ion channels are biomolecules that allow charged atoms to flow in and out of cells, and they are an important work-horse in cell signaling, sensing, and energetics. They are also being explored for nanopore sequencing applications. As the "transistors" of living systems, they are the target of many drugs, and the ability to perform such fast measurements of these proteins will lead to new understanding of their functions.

The researchers have designed a custom integrated circuit to perform these measurements, in which an artificial cell membrane and ion channel are attached directly to the surface of the amplifier chip. The results are described in a paper published online May 1, 2013, in Nano Letters.

"Scientists have been measuring single ion channels using large rack-mount electronic systems for the last 30 years," says Jacob Rosenstein, the lead author on the paper. Rosenstein was a PhD student in electrical engineering at the School at the time this work was done, and is now an assistant professor at Brown University. "By designing a custom microelectronic amplifier and tightly integrating the ion channel directly onto the amplifier chip surface, we are able to reduce stray capacitances that get in the way of making fast measurements."

"This work builds on other efforts in my laboratory to study the properties of individual molecules using custom electronics designed for this purpose," says Ken Shepard, professor of electrical engineering at the School and Rosenstein's adviser. The Shepard group continues to find ways to speed up these single-molecule measurements. "In some cases," he adds, "we may be able to speed things up to be a million times faster than current techniques."

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/technology/~3/LPXV4eezxRk/130520154259.htm

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

LinkedIn's disappointing outlook eclipses big 1Q

(AP) ? LinkedIn's rapidly rising stock got demoted late Thursday after the online professional networking service released a forecast calling for its earnings growth to slow later this year as the company hires more workers, invests in data centers and tweaks the way that it shows online ads.

The predicted deceleration overshadowed another stellar performance during the first three months of the year. As has been the case in every reporting period since LinkedIn Corp. went public two years ago, both the company's first-quarter earnings and revenue topped the analyst estimates that steer Wall Street expectations.

But management's projections for both the current quarter ending in June and the full year came in below analyst projections, rattling investors who have become accustomed to LinkedIn delivering nothing but pleasant surprises.

The letdown dampened the feverish interest in LinkedIn's stock, which surpassed $200 for the first time Thursday. After closing at $201.67, LinkedIn's shares tumbled $20.45, or more than 10 percent, to $181.22 in extended trading.

Even if the sell-off carries through into Friday's regular trading session, LinkedIn's stock still will have more than quadrupled from its initial public offering price of $45. As of Thursday's close, the shares had surged by 76 percent so far this year compared to a 12 percent gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

LinkedIn has thrived by establishing itself as the go-to place for employers to find talented workers and for people to get job tips and other advice to manage their careers. It doesn't cost anything for people to set up a professional profile on the site. The Mountain View, Calif., company makes most of its money by charging employers and headhunters for analytical tools and additional access to LinkedIn profiles and the site, such as the ability to send messages to users.

The service now has 225 million members, up from 202 million members at the end of last year.

LinkedIn is now adding more content, giving its audience more reasons to return to its website more frequently and to stay for longer periods. The company hopes that will lead to more advertising to supplement its revenue. As part of that process, LinkedIn plans to place more ads within the stream of the personal updates appearing in the middle of its members' individual pages rather displaying them on the sides.

The switch is a strategy already used by social networking leader Facebook Inc. and online messaging service Twitter to make it easier to show ads on mobile devices. LinkedIn plans to make the transition gradually to minimize the chances of irritating its members, CEO Jeff Weiner told analysts during a Thursday conference call.

LinkedIn's profits also will be lowered by the expenses for expanding the company's payroll and building data centers to run its online services.

"There are some incremental investments coming into play," Steve Sordello, LinkedIn's chief financial officer, told analysts during the conference call.

LinkedIn earned $22.6 million, or 20 cents per share, in the first quarter. That's up from $5 million, or 4 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 45 cents per share in the latest quarter, well above analysts' expectations of 30 cents, based on a poll by FactSet.

Revenue grew 72 percent from last year to nearly $325 million ? about $7 million above analyst projections.

Analysts, though, are likely to revise their estimates for the rest of the year.

LinkedIn expects second-quarter revenue between $342 million and $347 million for the April-June period. Analysts had forecast $360 million.

For the full year, LinkedIn believes its revenue will range from $1.43 billion to $1.46 billion. That's $20 million more than the company had predicted a few months ago, but analysts have been counting on full-year revenue of $1.5 billion.

Another figure that troubled investors is LinkedIn's forecast for its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA. This measure provides an inkling of how much money the company is likely to make. LinkedIn expects full-year EBITDA of $330 million to $345 million for the full year, below analysts' expectations of $363 million.

___

AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-02-US-Earns-LinkedIn/id-43a20253b45a423685d865a9fd6dc11c

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LinkedIn 1Q net, revenue soar; outlook falls short

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) ? LinkedIn Corp. continued its uninterrupted streak of beating analysts' expectations with its quarterly results on Thursday as earnings and revenue soared, but its outlook for the rest of the year disappointed Wall Street and its stock plunged in extended trading.

Shares of the online professional networking service fell $21.67, or 10.8 percent, to $180 after hours. The stock had closed above $200 for the first time after hitting a record high of $202.91 earlier in the day in anticipation of the results.

LinkedIn Corp. earned $22.6 million, or 20 cents per share, in the first quarter. That's up from $5 million, or 4 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 45 cents per share in the latest quarter, well above analysts' expectations of 30 cents.

Revenue grew 72 percent to $324.7 million from $188.5 million. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue of $317.6 million, according to a poll by FactSet.

LinkedIn went public in May 2011 at a share price of $45. Its stock has soared since as the company has consistently beat expectations with its results. As of Thursday's closing, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's stock was up 75.6 percent year to date, compared with a 12 percent increase for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

LinkedIn has thrived by establishing itself as the go-to place for employers to find talented workers and for people to get job tips and other advice to manage their careers. It doesn't cost anything for people to set up a professional profile on the site ? the company makes most of its money by charging employers and headhunters for analytical tools and additional access to LinkedIn profiles and the site, such as the ability to send messages to users.

LinkedIn's forecast for the current quarter and the full year implied that its winning streak could end. The company said it expects revenue between $342 million and $347 million for the April-June period. Analysts had forecast $360 million.

For the full year, LinkedIn expects revenue of $1.43 billion to $1.46 billion, an increase of its previous guidance range by $20 million but still below analysts' forecast of $1.5 billion.

Another figure that likely gave investors pause is LinkedIn's EBITDA forecast, said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. The company expects this figure ? earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ? to be $330 million to $345 million for the full year, below analysts' expectations of $363 million.

LinkedIn said it has 225 million members, up from 202 million at the end of last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/linkedin-1q-net-revenue-soar-outlook-falls-short-202444205.html

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