Recent Bio News
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Poniard Pharmaceuticals Announces Phase 2 Trial Of Picoplatin In Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Meets Primary Endpoint And Study Objectives Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PARD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, announced final data from a randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The study met its primary objective, as picoplatin in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLPI regimen) was associated with a statistically significant reduction in [...] |
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FDA Approves First Percutaneous Heart Valve The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Medtronic Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve and Ensemble Delivery System, the first heart valve to be implanted through a catheter, or tube, in a leg vein and guided up to the heart. This new approach to the treatment of adults and children with previously implanted, poorly functioning pulmonary [...] |
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Lupin Receives US FDA Tentative Approval For Memantine HCl Tablets Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) announced that it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its Memantine Hydrochloride tablets, 5mg and 10mg. Lupin’s Memantine HCl tablets are AB-rated to Namenda® tablets indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Namenda had annual sales of approximately [...] |
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Vaccine Approach Extends Life Of Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients In a newly published clinical trial, patients with metastatic prostate cancer who received a vaccine of harmless poxviruses engineered to spur an immune system attack on prostate tumor cells lived substantially longer than patients who received a placebo vaccine, report researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and affiliated organizations. The findings will be published by the [...] |
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AAN Guideline Evaluates Treatments For Kids With Cerebral Palsy A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society finds botulinum toxin type A to be an effective treatment for spasticity, muscle tightness that interferes with movement, in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, but poses some risk. The guideline is published in the January 26, 2010, issue of Neurology®, [...] |
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Rush University Medical Center Leads Nationwide Clinical Trial Of Nutritional Drink For Alzheimer’s Rush University Medical Center is leading a nationwide clinical trial of a nutritional drink to determine whether it can improve cognitive performance in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. The study follows recently released results from an earlier trial conducted in Europe showing that the drink, called Souvenaid, improved verbal recall in people with mild disease [...] |
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New Therapeutic Approach Identified For Kidney Disease Associated With Lupus Investigators have identified a new disease mechanism and therapeutic approach for a type of advanced kidney disease that is a common cause of complications in patients with lupus. The study was led by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery and appears in the January 25 online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy [...] |
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Genome Sequencing Study Finds Clues To Unraveling The Causes Of Deadly Epidemics A team of collaborating scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, the Broad Institute in Boston, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) have sequenced almost 100 full genomes from three successive epidemics of flesh-eating bacteria. This has resulted in the first precise explanation of [...] |
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Beyond The Ice: Technique For Preserving Pre-Transplant Livers Promises To Improve Patient Outcomes And Expand The Organ Pool Preserving organs on ice prior to transplantation, an approach known as cold storage or CS, has been the standard practice in liver transplant for 20 years. Now there is new evidence that a technique called hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) may offer an improvement, according to the first-ever study comparing the impact of the two techniques [...] |
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ASCP Foundation Awarded Grant For Medication Optimization Study Using Monitor-RX The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) Foundation has been awarded a grant in the amount of $93,465 from the Center for Technology and Aging for a research project utilizing Monitor-Rx to optimize the medication regimens of older adults. The ASCP Foundation was selected as one of five grant recipients out of 47 applicants to [...] |
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Elan Drug Technologies Welcomes The NDA Approval Of MS Drug AMPYRA™ (Dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets Elan Drug Technologies, a business unit of Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. AMPYRA™ will be marketed in [...] |
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Re-appointments To The Advisory Board On The Registration Of Homeopathic Products The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Appointments Commission are pleased to announce the re-appointment of the Chair and one member to the Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products (ABRHP). The ABRHP is an independent body that works closely with the MHRA, advising UK health ministers on the regulation of homeopathic [...] |
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Diabetes UK’s Annual Professional Conference Is Drawing Closer Diabetes UK’s Annual Professional Conference (APC) is coming to the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in Liverpool from 3 to 5 March 2010. The APC is the only event of its kind in the UK that is exclusively for healthcare professionals and scientists working in the area of diabetes. One of the largest in the UK It is [...] |
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A Deafening Silence – Children And Young People With Diabetes Feel They Are Being Ignored Thousands of children and teenagers with diabetes in the UK are left disenfranchised and at risk of developing serious health complications, because they feel healthcare professionals and schools don’t always listen to their needs and help them control their diabetes. This is the finding of a report by Diabetes UK. We are now calling for improved [...] |
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Paradigm Shift In Hepatitis C Testing May Curb The Numbers Affected, Says Expert The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the US National Academy of Sciences, is urging healthcare providers to take steps to battle liver-damaging hepatitis B and C, which are often overlooked viruses. Surprisingly, hepatitis B and C together infect three to five times more Americans than the AIDS virus does. In the next 10 years, [...] |
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The Johns Hopkins Hospital Wins Ana Award For Outstanding Nursing Quality The American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest nursing organization in the United States, has recognized The Johns Hopkins Hospital for consistently yielding outstanding patient outcomes that are tied directly to the high quality of nursing care. Other hospitals receiving the award include: - Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, Colo. – Teaching Hospital (three-time winner) - Columbus Regional [...] |
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The Good Surgeon Guide, UK GoodSurgeonGuide.co.uk, regulated by BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) was launched in September 2009 and is the first website of its kind. The site is the UK’s only Cosmetic Surgery review website and should be the first port of call for anyone considering cosmetic surgery, aesthetic treatments or cosmetic dentistry. The site can also [...] |
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Deputy Minister Announces £1.7 Million To Develop And Improve Services For Adults With Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Wales Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Social Services, announced an investment of £1.7 million, over three years, to develop and improve services for adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their carers and their families. This new funding, released in response to recommendations made by the Adults with ASD Task and Finish Group, will move forward pioneering work [...] |
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How ‘Random’ Lasers Work When University of Utah scientists discovered a new kind of laser that was generated by an electrically conducting plastic or polymer, no one could explain how it worked and some doubted it was real. Now, a decade later, the Utah researchers have found these “random lasers” occur because of natural, mirror-like cavities in the polymers, [...] |
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Cancer Treatments Vary At County Vs. Private Hospitals Researchers at Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and colleagues have found that prostate cancer treatments varied significantly between county hospitals and private providers. Patients treated in county hospitals are more likely to undergo surgery while patients treated in private facilities tend to receive radiation or hormone therapy. These findings were [...] |
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Police Mental Health Champion Wins Social Justice Commendation – MIND, UK A policeman who has revolutionised relations between people with mental health problems, the police force and their wider community has been awarded a prestigious commendation for his contributions to social justice. PC Richard Harwin, from Hackney Metropolitan Police, received recognition at Wednesday night’s Una Padel Award for his innovative liaison work with his local Mind [...] |
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RNs Urge Congress To Overturn Court Ruling-”Disastrous Decision For American Workers, Democracy” The nation’s largest nurses union urged Congress to act quickly to reverse the Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, calling it a “disastrous ruling for American workers and American democracy.” “The healthcare debate of the last year has provided a sobering reminder of the already pervasive influence of giant pharmaceutical and insurance [...] |
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BMA/RCN Humanitarian Fund Announces £25,000 For Health Projects In The Developing World NHS teams planning humanitarian work overseas can apply for grants of up to £3000 from the BMA/RCN Humanitarian Fund from last friday (22 January 2010). The total amount available for projects in 2010 will be £25,000 – comprising, £20,000 from the BMA, and £5,000 from the Royal College of Nursing. Last year, 29 grants were awarded from [...] |
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FDA Schedules Public Meeting On Premarket Clearance Process For Medical Devices The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has scheduled a public meeting on Feb. 18, 2010, to discuss key challenges related to the premarket notification, or 510(k) process, used to review and clear certain medical devices marketed in the United States. The FDA receives more than 3,000 510(k) submissions each year. The public [...] |
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BVA Sends Strong Message On Anthelmintic Use, UK The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has launched a guidance poster containing powerful messages to vets to encourage the responsible use of anthelmintics in grazing animals, following ongoing concern about the development of resistance to these medicines. Anthelmintics are used throughout the world for the treatment of worms and other endoparasites in sheep, cattle, goats and horses, [...] |
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Biogen Idec And Swedish Orphan Biovitrum Announce First Patient Dosed In Global Registrational Trial Of Long-Acting Hemophilia B Therapy Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (STO: BVT) announced that the first patient was dosed in a registrational, open-label, multicenter trial designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the companies’ long-acting, recombinant Factor IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) in hemophilia B patients. The trial, called the B-LONG study, will determine the [...] |
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New Informative Website Launched To Help People With Oral Mucositis And Their Carers From today, a new resource is available to help people with Oral Mucositis.. Oral Mucositis (OM) is a side effect of cancer therapy and is characterised by a red, swollen and ulcerated mouth and tongue. The painful condition, associated with both chemo- and radiotherapy can prevent sufferers from talking and even eating – and [...] |
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Biogen Idec Issues Statement On U.S. Approval Of AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) today issued the following statement regarding the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. The U.S. FDA approval was granted on January 22, 2010. AMPYRA will be marketed in [...] |
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APX Alarm Partners With International Aid Serving Kids To Assist With Haiti Relief Efforts APX Alarm, one of the nation’s largest home security companies, today announced that it has partnered with International Aid Serving Kids (IASK) to help support the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. In response to Haiti’s desperate need for medical supplies, IASK and APX Alarm are holding a “Medical Supply Drive” tomorrow at the new APX Alarm corporate [...] |
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Court Of Appeals Affirms Favorable Decision Regarding Generic Prevacid(R) SoluTab Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a Nov. 10, 2009, District Court decision that the Company’s generic version of Takeda’s Prevacid® (lansoprazole) SoluTab does not infringe U.S. Patent No. 5,464,632. Teva’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market lansoprazole orally disintegrating tablets [...] |
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Biovail Comments On Proposed Generic Wellbutrin XL(R) Trial Biovail Corporation (NYSE/TSX: BVF) today commented on a proposed clinical trial recently announced by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. According to Teva, the trial is intended to address reports of inefficacy and adverse events by consumers who switched from Wellbutrin XL® 300 mg, Biovail’s FDA-approved brand of the antidepressant, bupropion hydrochloride, to Budeprion XL, Teva’s generic [...] |
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Data Show Progression-Free Survival Advantage With Sutent(R) In Patients With Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors Pfizer Inc. announced final results from a randomized Phase 3 trial of Sutent (sunitinib malate) in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, a type of cancer which originates in the hormone-producing area of the pancreas. Sunitinib more than doubled the time patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors lived without disease progression compared with patients treated with [...] |
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Sanomedics Supports Haiti Relief With Significant Medical Equipment Donation Sanomedics International Holdings (Pink Sheets: SIMH) announced a significant donation to Haiti earthquake relief efforts today, consisting of over $35,000 worth of the company’s Non-Contact Infrared Thermometers. Working with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who will be providing immediate air shipment to Haiti and in-country distribution, Sanomedics hopes this donation will assist [...] |
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Ob-Gyns Encouraged To Screen Women For Depression During And After Pregnancy Screening for depression during pregnancy and afterward benefits women, infants, and families, according to a new Committee Opinion issued today by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the College) and published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Because pregnancy and the postpartum period are pivotal times to identify women suffering from depression, [...] |
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Studies Identify Significant Findings In Treating People Living With GI Cancers Seven additional studies on the early detection, treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal cancers were highlighted today by the co-sponsoring organizations of the 2010 GI Cancers Symposium. The symposium is being held January 22-24 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Florida. Abstract 3 Transhiatal approach is superior to left thoracoabdominal approach for treating certain forms of esophageal [...] |
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5 Tips For Keeping New Year’s Resolutions All Year Long As January comes to a close, will your New Year’s resolution end with it? If you find yourself struggling to keep your resolution, you’re not alone, says William Manard, M.D., Saint Louis University assistant professor of family and community medicine. According to Manard, the most common New Year’s resolutions are health focused, such as losing weight, [...] |
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Despite Treatment, Depressed Workers Have Decreased Productivity Employees with depression have higher costs related to short-term disability and absenteeism-even after receiving antidepressant therapy, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Led by Suellen Curkendall, Ph.D., of Thomson Reuters Healthcare, Washington, D.C., the researchers used insurance claims [...] |
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Geisinger Researchers Awarded Funds For Personalized Healthcare Project Researchers at Geisinger Medical Center recently received funding totaling more than $44,000 from a Geisinger Health System (GHS) – NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC) collaborative project focusing on personalized healthcare. The grant, titled “Expanding Comparative Effectiveness Research in Orthopedics by Capturing Uniform Measures of Patient-Reported Functional Outcomes at Two Institutions”, will permit Geisinger to administer electronic [...] |
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Response To Alcohol Advertising Study – The Stroke Association, UK In response to the alcohol advertising study in the BMJ, Joe Korner, Director of Communications at The Stroke Association said: “Drinking too much alcohol is known to cause long-term harm to your health. So it is of great concern if companies are pushing against the boundaries of advertising guidelines on alcohol, as this report suggests. We know [...] |
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Engineers Seek To Stem Massive, Deadly Flow Of Heart Disease Virginia Tech researcher Pavlos Vlachos and his students in the College of Engineering have a tall order to tackle: Stem the grim progression of heart disease, which kills hundreds of thousands of people each year in the United States alone. Vlachos, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Advanced Experimental Thermofluid Engineering Research [...] |
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Listen To Your Heart When It Comes To Substance Abuse And Mental Health The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) would like to remind Americans that substance abuse and mental health problems affect those with heart disease. In fact, nearly a million Americans experiencing a serious psychological disorder in the past year also suffered from heart disease. Similarly more than a quarter of a million Americans who [...] |
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New Plan Puts Heart Attacks On Fast Track Heart attack patients won’t go to the emergency room as part of a new University of Kentucky plan designed to reduce those patients’ risk of dying by nearly 8 percent for every half hour shaved off the time between the ambulance and treatment at the hospital. In most cases, heart attack sufferers go straight to the [...] |
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Even Younger People Should Consider Cholesterol Screening If you think heart disease is a disease of the middle aged, think again. Experts recommend that cholesterol screening should begin as early as 20 years of age because it is a key indicator of heart-attack risk, and should be rechecked at least once every five years. Atherosclerosis begins early, says Dr. Anand Rohatgi, cardiologist with UT [...] |
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IsoRay Announces World’s First Cesium-131 Colon Cancer Treatment At Cornell Medical Center IsoRay, Inc. (AMEX:ISR), announced that on October 10, 2009, Dr. Bhupesh Parashar, Dr. A Gabriella Wernicke and Dr. KS Clifford Chao from the Department of Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Jeffery Milsom from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, at Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world’s first Cesium-131(Cs-131) implant for the treatment of colorectal cancer. This implant [...] |
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Applied Biosystems Forensic DNA Kit Approved For Use By The National DNA Index System Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE) announced that its AmpF STR® MiniFiler™ PCR Amplification Kit has been approved for inclusion in the National DNA Index System (NDIS), a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation database that facilitates the electronic comparison and exchange of DNA profiles between participating local, county, state, and federal law [...] |
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Family Doctors Unveil Unique 10-Year Vision To Tackle Challenges Head On, Northern Ireland Family doctors in Northern Ireland unveiled on Wednesday a unique 10-year vision in a major bid to tackle healthcare challenges head on – and provide patients with continued access to the best possible services. The Future of General Practice strategy, compiled jointly between the British Medical Association (BMA(NI)) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP(NI)) [...] |
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New End Of Life Assistance Bill In Scottish Parliament With the new End of Life Assistance Bill being published in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SCHB) indicated that it was very concerned about the consequences this Bill may have on vulnerable individuals and society. Indeed, the SCHB recognises that crossing the boundary between acknowledging that death is inevitable and taking active [...] |
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Britons May Be Avoiding Wheat Unnecessarily, UK Too many people are self-diagnosing food allergies and could be restricting their diet unnecessarily, according to a new report by the University of Portsmouth and commissioned by the Flour Advisory Bureau. Research shows that up to 20 per cent of adults think they suffer from a food allergy or food intolerance. However evidence suggests that the [...] |
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Let’s Hear It For Audiologists, Europe Hearing professionals working in the NHS have a chance to be recognised as the country’s best following the launch of an exciting audiology competition. The 2010 Audiologist of the Year award has been launched to find the year’s outstanding hearing professional. Hearing aid battery maker Rayovac is organising the competition to celebrate hearing healthcare and recognise the [...] |
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Swine Flu Pandemic Weekly Report Thursday 21 January 2010, Wales “Whilst numbers of infections continue to drop we are now in the traditional flu season and I encourage anyone invited to receive a swine flu jab to take up the offer. “We are now vaccinating children aged from six months and up to five years. I strongly recommend parents and guardians of young children take up [...] |
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