Free Interactive Education Program Announced for Those Living With an Overactive Bladder

According to the American Urological Association, approximately 40% of women and 30% of men live with overactive bladder or OAB. Many people with OAB find it difficult to talk to their doctor or loved ones about their condition because of the stigma associated with it. Pro-ficiency, a leading provider of interactive online patient education tools, announces its collaboration with the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) and the Simon Foundation for Continence, in their joint, interactive program, to educate people about how to speak with their healthcare providers and their loved ones to get the care they need. The program also discusses treatment options, how to manage social and lifestyle considerations, and incorporating shared-decision making into visits with health care providers. The program is freely available to all participants. “ACHL & Pro-ficiency previously collaborated on a highly successful OAB educational activity, however, given the depth and breadth of OAB, it was clear that continued education was needed. ACHL is proud to continue the education movement with this most recent program,” adds Amanda Kaczerski, with ACHL. Read more.

Source: Newswire, November 5, 2018

Certain Common Medications Tied to 30% Higher Dementia Risk, Study Finds

Many older adults know that long-term use of certain medications can negatively affect cognition and increase one’s risk of dementia. But a new study suggests that some classes of anticholinergic drugs — particularly those used to treat depression, Parkinson’s and urinary incontinence — carry a higher risk than others. Anticholinergic drugs function by blocking the effects of acetylcholine, a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerves and muscles. They are prescribed to 20% to 50% of older adults in the United States to treat a variety of neurological, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, respiratory and muscular conditions, according to a 2009 study. In the UK, 34% to 48% of older adults take them, another study found. Read more.

Source: CNN, April 25, 2018

LABORIE Medical Technologies and Cogentix Medical Announce Completion of Acquisition

LABORIE Medical Technologies (“LABORIE”) and Cogentix Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGNT) (“Cogentix”) today announced the completion of the acquisition by LABORIE of Cogentix through LABORIE’S affiliate Camden Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a wholly owned subsidiary of LM US Parent, Inc. (“Parent”). After the previously announced completion of the tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Cogentix, LABORIE completed the second step merger under Delaware law, resulting in Cogentix becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. At the effective time of the merger, all shares of Cogentix common stock not purchased in the tender offer (excluding those shares for which holders properly exercised appraisal rights under Delaware law and those held by Cogentix) were converted into the right to receive US$3.85, net to the seller in cash without interest thereon and subject to any required withholding tax, which is the same price that was paid for shares of Cogentix common stock purchased in the tender offer. Cogentix common stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other securities exchange. Read more.

Source: The Virginian-Pilot, April 23, 2018

Urovant Starts Pursuit of Astellas’ Overactive Bladder Drug Myrbetriq with New Phase 3 Trial

A little later than expected, Roivant group company Urovant has started its confirmatory phase 3 program for overactive bladder (OAB) drug vibegron, originally licensed from Merck & Co. The pivotal trial—which was originally expected to get underway last year—will involve around 1,400 adults with symptoms of OAB such as urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency, according to Urovant. The drug already has positive phase 2b and phase 3 data in hand, so if the latest trial is positive Urovant should be able to move ahead with regulatory filings. If approved, it could become a direct competitor to Astellas’ Myrbetriq (mirabegron), the first beta3-adrenergic agonist to reach the market for OAB. And that could present a big commercial opportunity: Astellas reported sales of its drug rose 30% to 93.1 billion yen ($876 million) in the nine months to end-January 2018 with take-up driven by greater tolerability than the widely used antimuscarinic OAB drug class. Read more.

Source: Fierce Biotech, March 28, 2018

Innovus Pharma Announces the Publication of a Successful Clinical Trial in Overactive Bladder and Urine Incontinence Patients for its UriVarx® Product

Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Innovus Pharma” or the “Company”) (OTCQB Venture Market: INNV), an emerging commercial-stage pharmaceutical company that delivers safe, innovative and effective over-the-counter medicine and consumer care products to improve men’s and women’s health and respiratory diseases, today announced that the human clinical trial for the patented formulation in its product UriVarx® product for bladder health was published in the peer reviewed journal, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Schoendorfer et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2018) 18:42). The study was conducted by the team of Dr. Niikee Schoendorfer in Australia in collaboration with the Company’s UriVarx® licensing partner Seipel Group, Ltd. The outcome of this study demonstrated both statistical significance and clinical relevance in reducing symptoms of Overactive Bladder (“OAB”), urinary frequency and/or urgency and incontinence. Read more.

Source: Digital Journal, February 7, 2018