Despite economic hard times more clinical trials were initiated in 2008 than the previous year, boding well for the industry to weather the recession. Perhaps helping keep the industry active in the coming months and years is an increase in stem cell trials overseas after the U.S. government changed policy and allowed federal fund to be used for the research. All this and a look at how trials results from China are being called into question plus lots more in today’s news…

Clinical research activity up significantly in 2008 – WTN News – Madison,WI,USA - Despite cutbacks in the international biopharma industry, clinical trial activity was up in 2008. Overall, 795 new clinical trials were launched in 2008 … See all stories on this topic

Policy Shift On Stem Cell Research May Produce Effect Overseas – Life Science Leader Magazine – Erie, PA, USA – A total of 2147 clinical trials (Phase I-IV) for stem cell therapies overall were listed, as of June, on NIH’s website: www.ClinicalTrials.gov … See all stories on this topic

Randomized trials published in some Chinese journals: how many are … 7thSpace Interactive (press release) – New York, NY, USA – We investigated the adequacy of randomization of clinical trials published in recent years in China to determine how many of them met acceptable standards … See all stories on this topic

Pharma firms start work on H1N1 vaccine – China Daily – China – Sinovac said it expected to complete production of the first batch and initiate clinical trials of the vaccine by the end of this month. … See all stories on this topic

CBP501 Enters Phase II Trials for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell … Business Wire (press release) – San Francisco, CA, USA – MA Millenium today announced the advancement of CBP501 into Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer … See all stories on this topic

West Virginia Public Broadcasting – Clinical trials for Alzheimer’s drug at BRNI - West Virginia Public Broadcasting – Charleston, WV, USA – By Suzanne Higgins July 6, 2009 · FDA-approved clinical trials are expected this summer on a drug scientists have shown to have great potential as a … See all stories on this topic

Eli Lilly Recruiting for Alzheimer’s Phase III Trial – Drug Discovery & Development – Rockaway, NJ ,USA – Eli Lilly and Company has begun enrolling patients in two separate but identical Phase III clinical trials of solanezumab, previously referred to as … See all stories on this topic

Alzheimer’s Research Pinpoints Antibodies That May Prevent Disease – Science Daily (press release) – USA – Clinical trials now underway are exploring whether this can safely produce cognitive benefits in Alzheimer’s patients, while other trials are treating … See all stories on this topic

Prostate Cancer ‘Homing Device’ Created For Drug Delivery – Science Daily (press release) – USA – A radioimaging application used for body scans is expected to enter clinical trials this fall, and an optical imaging application used to measure prostate … See all stories on this topic

Clinical Trials Update: July 6, 2009 – U.S. News & World Report – Washington, DC, USA - You may qualify for this study of an investigational drug if you have chronic low back pain and have been treating it with mild pain medication … See all stories on this topic

Clinical Trial Shows Tongue Drive System Assists Disabled – Newswise (press release) – USA – “This clinical trial has validated that the Tongue Drive system is intuitive and quite simple for individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries to use,” … See all stories on this topic

The remedy for clinical trial enterprise search; Nottingham … TMCnet – US – Searching for information gathered in multiple formats over a five year period in a clinical trials environment is both a complex and critical requirement. … See all stories on this topic

The Good News: The first clinical trial for healing an injured heart by using a subject’s own  stem cells is underway. Pfizer proactively and voluntarily halted a trial after results showed it was to likely to be successful.

The Bad News: The validity of clinical trials conducted China is under scrutiny because of too many positive results. A columnist says some trials may be rushed and done poorly to get drugs to market quickly.

All in all, another normal day of mixed news about whether trials are mostly helping or harming. Here’s to hoping that on this July 4 eve we start moving in a direction where there’s more good news than bad news for the American people and the global community.

Doubts Cast On Credibility Of Some Published Clinical Trials – Science Daily (press release) – USA- However, all RCTs of pre-market drug clinical trial were authentic, and RCTs conducted at hospitals affiliated with medical universities were more likely to … See all stories on this topic

Some clinical trials found to be biased – Examiner.com - USA – Recently there have been numerous reports suggesting that in the rush to get these drugs to the public, clinical trials may not only be poorly executed … See all stories on this topic

First Clinical Trials Completed of Adult Cardiac Stem Cell Repair – Lifesite – Pittsburgh, PA, USA – Milles is part of a 24-patient clinical trial that is the first test in using adult stem cells from a patient’s own heart to attempt to heal injured heart … See all stories on this topic

Clinical Trials Update – U.S. News & World Report – Washington, DC, USA – If your child (boys aged five to eight and girls aged five to seven) has had allergy symptoms for at least one year, he or she may qualify for this study … See all stories on this topic

Study of Sepracor’s Depression Drug Has Investors Gloomy – Inside Futures – Chicago, IL, USA – As if that disappointment was not bad enough, Sepracor received additional news about clinical trials of the pediatric Lunesta. Lunesta is the company’s … See all stories on this topic

FDA Approves Sanofi Heart Treatment – New York Times – United States – He called for more clinical trials. Stock analysts expect slow adoption of the drug, because of the cautions about its use, but ultimately consider it a … See all stories on this topic

Life Science Leader Magazine – Trials Or Tribulations: Does Patient Recruitment Offer Acceptable ROI? – Life Science Leader Magazine – Erie, PA, USA – Delays in meeting enrollment objectives for clinical trials are clearly a challenge that clinical teams will continue to face in the future … See all stories on this topic

Policy Shift On Stem Cell Research May Produce Effect Overseas – Life Science Leader Magazine – Erie, PA, USA – A total of 2147 clinical trials (Phase I-IV) for stem cell therapies overall were listed, as of June, on NIH’s website: www.ClinicalTrials.gov … See all stories on this topic

Life Science Leader Magazine – Bring Your Oncology Drug To Market Quicker: Think Patients First – Life Science Leader Magazine – Erie, PA, USA – Why is oncology clinical trial enrollment so difficult? The supply of adult cancer patients willing to participate in clinical trials remains stagnant at 3% … See all stories on this topic

Randomized trials published in some Chinese journals: how many are ... 7thSpace Interactive (press release) – New York, NY, USA – We investigated the adequacy of randomization of clinical trials published in recent years in China to determine how many of them met acceptable standards … See all stories on this topic

Pfizer’s Sutent fails in colon cancer, trial halted – Reuters – USA – Pfizer said it would continue to study Sutent in late-stage trials as a potential treatment for various other types of cancer and work to develop other … See all stories on this topic

Embryonic stem cells mimic the characteristics of human cells they are joined with and therapy with the cells could lead to organ replacement and treatments for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and many other conditions. The trial will involve infusing stem cells in up to ten people with very recent spinal cord injuries to see if the cells can help heal their paralysis. Embryonic stem cells have long been considered the most promising new frontier of medical science., Now the trial will help decide whether the promise is mostly hype or is genuine reason to hope.

Stay tuned.