Help could be on the way for compulsive gamblers- scientists say drugs used to treat substance abuse could work for pathological gamblers too.

US researchers tested medications on two different groups of gamblers- those who are driven by urge and those who are unable to control their impulse to gamble.

Those driven by urge responded well to medications that block the brain opioid system or certain receptors for a neurotransmitter called glutamate.

New Zealand drug developer and manufacturer Virionyx has changed its name to Innate Therapeutics as it begins a big push with its new immune therapy drug.

The Auckland-based company is due to start Phase 1 trials on its immune response drug, MIS416, which the company believes helps the immune system fight diseases such as cancer.

Chief executive Simon Wilkinson says studies had shown the drug could significantly reduce the number and size of metastatic breast cancers and lung cancers.