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CHPA issues statement in response to anti-consumer law on cold and allergy drugs

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association today issued the following statement in response to passage of Senate Bill 437: "Legislation sponsored by Senator Percy Malone and now signed into law places new, onerous burdens on Arkansas families and makes it more difficult for those with common colds and allergies, even basic aches and pains, to get the medications they need. Unfortunately, Senate Bill 437 falls short of the common-sense approach Arkansans expect from their leaders."

28 Mar 2011

New discovery provides insight into complex Rad50 molecular motor function

Over the last years, two teams of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have steadily built a model of how a powerful DNA repair complex works. Now, their latest discovery provides revolutionary insights into the way the molecular motor inside the complex functions - findings they say may have implications for treatment of disorders ranging from cancer to cystic fibrosis.

28 Mar 2011

FDA approves ipilimumab for metastatic melanoma treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today its approval of a new treatment for advanced melanoma, the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat form of skin cancer.

28 Mar 2011

Financial Times examines rise in public, private sector global partnerships for aid delivery

"New models of financing and delivering development programmes are bringing far-reaching changes to the international public sector," with " traditional government-to-government transactions … giving way to complex networks of partners - some of them from the private sector - to provide everything from antiretroviral drugs and girls' education to emergency food supplies," the Financial Times reports in a piece that explores why such changes are taking place and their implications for future funding.

28 Mar 2011

Science Magazine reports on recent push to make preventing, treating cancer a global priority

Science Magazine reports on the recent push to make preventing and treating cancer a global priority, particularly in developing countries, where it's estimated "less than 5% of the world's cancer resources are spent."

28 Mar 2011

Gates discusses foundation's global health priorities in India during visit to country

During a visit to the Indian state of Bihar, Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Thursday discussed his foundation's work in India and global health priorities, ANI/Sify News reports.

28 Mar 2011

Panax ginseng, saffron and yohimbine can boost human sexual function

Looking to spice up your sex life? Try adding ginseng and saffron to your diet. Both are proven performance boosters, according to a new scientific review of natural aphrodisiacs conducted by University of Guelph researchers.

28 Mar 2011

AACR to honor UNC scientist with $181,000 grant for breast cancer research

The American Association for Cancer Research announced today that Carey Anders, MD, assistant professor of medicine and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will receive a Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Grant for Translational Breast Cancer Research. The $181,000 grant will be presented at the organization's 102nd Annual Meeting, to be held in Orlando, Florida, April 2-6.

28 Mar 2011

UT Southwestern receives $36.7 million CPRIT grant for cancer studies

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded more than $36.7 million in new grants to investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center to support cancer-related projects and to recruit pre-eminent cancer investigators.

28 Mar 2011

Geriatrician provides latest Alzheimer drug research developments at International conference

Drugs that can stop or reverse Alzheimer's disease progression are not available yet, but a number of potentially promising clinical trials could hold the key for modifying the treatment of the disease.

28 Mar 2011

Researchers identify genetic conspirators underlying acute myeloid leukaemia

Researchers have described how the most common gene mutation found in acute myeloid leukaemia starts the process of cancer development and how it can cooperate with a well-defined group of other mutations to cause full-blown leukaemia.

28 Mar 2011

GOP looks to reshape Medicaid; Democrats question HHS stance on cuts

Republicans are gearing up to make suggested changes to the Medicaid system, one GOP lawmaker reports. At the same time, some congressional Democrats are unhappy with the administration's efforts to help states find trims in the program.

28 Mar 2011

Bupa announces plans to improve quality of cancer cover

In an industry first, Bupa, the leading international healthcare group, has announced plans to improve the quality of its cancer cover by no longer selling corporate health insurance schemes which feature overall cost or time limits for cancer treatment.

25 Mar 2011

HIV uses base excision repair pathway to insert DNA into host-cell genome

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.

25 Mar 2011

German company steps up production of Radiogardase following Japan nuclear crisis

Heyltex Corporation is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Radiogardase® (Prussian Blue insoluble capsules), the only FDA-approved drug to treat people who have been internally contaminated with radioactive cesium (Cs-137), which is manufactured by Heyl chem. pharm. Fabrik Berlin GmbH in Germany.

25 Mar 2011

Smart Medical to customize NaviAid External Channel Device to suit Crospon's EndoFLIP imaging catheter

Medical device developers, Crospon, based in Ireland and Smart Medical Systems based in Ra'anana, Israel today announced that they have signed a collaborative agreement whereby Smart Medical will produce a custom version of their NaviAid™ external channel endoscope accessory for Crospon, to permit deployment and positioning of Crospon's EndoFLIP™ imaging catheter.

25 Mar 2011

Research Roundup: Parents' knowledge of kids' coverage

Based on analyses of the Food Stamp Program and Oregon Health Plan (the state's combined Medicaid-CHIP program) databases and a statewide survey of families, the authors report that more than 20 percent of parents whose children were not enrolled reported that they were, while more than 11 percent who had children in the OHP program reported their kids were not covered:

25 Mar 2011

XTL announces MinoGuard acquisition

XTL announced on March 24, 2011, it entered into a term sheet to acquire the activity of MinoGuard Ltd. by obtaining an exclusive license to use MinoGuard's entire technology in return for royalties on sales and milestone payments throughout the clinical development process.

25 Mar 2011

Study develops new approaches for sorting out complexities of cancer cells

New drugs that specifically target the mutated genes responsible for cancer growth have shown great success in extending the lives of patients, with far fewer side effects than conventional anti-cancer therapies. Unfortunately, many patients become resistant to these drugs due to secondary mutations.

25 Mar 2011

State News: Study highlights problems in Mass. Connector

Los Angeles officials Thursday unveiled what Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa termed a landmark tentative labor agreement that would greatly increase healthcare and pension contributions for thousands of municipal workers and put an end to some furloughs caused by the city's budget crisis.

25 Mar 2011