Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
RESEARCH PROTOCOL
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE COUNCIL of Europe’s committee of ministers has adopted the “first international text harmonising ethical and legal standards in biomedical research”. Once ratified, the protocol will cover the non-EU council’s 45 council member countries, including Russia. It sets standards concerning acceptable risks for research participants, and details information they should receive before giving their consent.…
ANTI-VIRAL RESISTENCE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PAN-European network of 55 medical specialists has been launched to combat the growing resistance of viruses to anti-viral drugs. The Vigilance against Viral Resistance (VIRGIL) project has been given Euro 9 million by the European Commission and will start by examining resistance to treatments for viral hepatitis and influenza.…
EU LINKS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s ad hoc GMP inspections services group has proposed changes to the EU’s pharmaceuticals good manufacturing guide regarding reference samples and retention samples (http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/pharmacos/docs/Doc2004/july/gmp_an19proposal.pdf). Also, the Commission has published guidelines on the filing of plasma master files and vaccine anti-gen master files by marketing approval applicants and holders, (http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/pharmacos/docs/Doc2004/july/vamfpmf.pdf).…
PLANT DRUGS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A JOINT European research project has been given Euro 12 million in European Commission funding to perfect techniques for producing antibodies and vaccines from plants to prevent and treat major human diseases, such as AIDS, rabies and TB.…
ETHNIC DRUG
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FIRST drug specifically designed for a single ethnic group is awaiting approval in the United States. The drug called BiDil was tested to treat heart failure in black patients after NitroMed, the company that sponsored the trials, argued that African Americans have a higher rate of heart failure than Americans as a whole and that they tend not to respond to some existing heart failure drugs as well as other groups.…
CANADA LESIONS
BY MONICA DOBIE
A NEW cream that boosts the immune system to recognise, seek out and destroy dangerous pre-cancerous cells has been approved in Canada to treat skin lesions caused by sun exposure. The cream called Aldara represents a less painful way of removing lesions than traditional surgery with liquid nitrogen or a razor.…
CAMEL MILK PRODUCTION
STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL
CAMEL milk could provide economic salvation to millions of Sahara nomads, who are roaming the deserts with a potentially valuable and untapped commodity. So says the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which points to mushrooming camel milk bars in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, informal exports from Ethiopia to Djibouti, the development of camel cheese in Mauritania and plans to make chocolate with Arabian peninsular camel milk.…
EFTA NORWAY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Free Trade Area (EFTA) Court has been asked to rule whether Norway’s alcohol advertising ban (regarding wine) is legal under the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. This imposes much European Union (EU) legislation onto signatory countries, including that guaranteeing free trade between EEA and EU member countries.…
ITALY ENERGY DRINKS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is pushing Italy to comply with a July 2003 European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that required it to amend legislation limiting the amount of caffeine in locally-sold energy drinks to 125mg per litre. The Court found the legislation a barrier to the free movement of goods because it effectively banned some imported energy drinks in Italy, which could face ECJ fines over the row if it refuses to comply.…
SWEDEN CASE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWEDEN is being taken to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its long-running dispute with the European Commission about restrictions on travellers personally importing alcohol from other European Union (EU) member countries. Brussels wants Sweden to remove a ban on Swedish consumers using independent intermediaries to import alcoholic drinks.…