Positive top-line result for UCB's Cimzia® in psoriatic arthritis

UCB intends to submit regulatory applications for Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol) in psoriatic arthritis, by end of 2012. Top-line results from the RAPID-PsA™ phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Cimzia® in patients with adult onset active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) demonstrated a clinically relevant and statistically significant improvement. Initial analyses suggest that no new safety signals were observed in this study and adverse events were consistent with those seen in other trials of certolizumab pegol.

Bristol-Myers, J&J Collaborate to Study Combination Therapy for Hepatitis C

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. will collaborate with a unit of Johnson & Johnson to study a potential combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C.

The companies will study a regimen that combines Johnson & Johnson's drug TMC435 with Bristol-Myers Squibb's daclatasvir. The clinical trial of the drug cocktail will begin in the first half of 2012. It will include a combination of the two drugs, the drugs plus pegylated interferon and ribavirin, and the drugs plus ribavirin.

Nutra Pharma Announces Publication of a New Mechanism Study of Alpha-Cobratoxin in the Treatment of Pain

Nutra Pharma Corporation, a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) and Pain, announced today that the journal Neuropharmacology will be publishing a mechanism study on the use of Alpha-Cobratoxin, a component of cobra venom, as a treatment for pain.

FDA OKs Drug for Cancer Patients with Weakened Bones

The FDA has approved the osteoporosis drug Prolia as a treatment for some breast and prostate cancer patients whose bones have been weakened by certain hormone therapies for cancer.

Regulatory Affairs & Clinical Research jobs top biotech's "must-hire" list

Which jobs are the most sought-after in the biotech world? Clinical development and regulatory affairs jobs, according to two biotech staffing experts: Victor Kleinman, executive vice president and managing director of the Life Sciences practice at DHR International, and Tom Murphy, senior vice president of life science recruitment at Solomon Page Group. Kleinman and Murphy each have 20-plus years of experience helping biotech and pharma companies meet their staffing needs. And both have insider knowledge on how trends in the industry are affecting the hiring demands in biopharma.