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LFA encouraged by FDA Advisory Committee vote on BENLYSTA for autoimmune disease lupus

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Arthritis Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly (13 to 2) to recommend BENLYSTA® for approval as a treatment for the autoimmune disease lupus. If FDA approved, BENLYSTA would become the first new treatment for lupus in 52 years. While today's vote is a positive step, the FDA still must make a final decision to approve BENLYSTA in the coming weeks.

17 Nov 2010

Fat-derived stem cells can boost heart function following acute attack

Fat cells liposuctioned from a patient's belly can safely boost heart function after a heart attack, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

17 Nov 2010

Mirna to present data on miRNA Replacement Therapies for cancer at CPRIT Conference

Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., a leading developer of microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics, announced today that it will present new data at the inaugural CPRIT Innovations in Cancer Prevention and Research Conference, November 17-19, 2010 in Austin, TX.

17 Nov 2010

National Medical Center specialist wins best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology

David Wessel, MD, senior vice president for Hospital-Based Specialties at Children's National Medical Center, won the best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology by the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young.

17 Nov 2010

U-M researcher awarded $600,000 grant for study of progesterone in treatment of children with TBI

A University of Michigan researcher has received a two-year, $600,000 grant to plan a randomized controlled study of progesterone for the treatment of traumatic brain injury in children.

17 Nov 2010

Alkermes's ALKS 33 drug candidate offers potential treatment for multiple disease indications

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the presentation of promising preclinical results for its proprietary opioid modulator, ALKS 33, showing the drug candidate's potential in multiple disease indications.

17 Nov 2010

Combination doxorubicin-sorafenib treatment improves survival in patients with inoperable advanced liver cancer

Treatment of inoperable advanced liver cancer with the agent doxorubicin (routinely used to treat this condition) in addition to the agent sorafenib resulted in greater overall survival and progression-free survival, compared to patients who received treatment with doxorubicin alone, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA.

17 Nov 2010

Enzon presents data on three investigational mRNA antagonists at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented data from preclinical studies of three investigational messenger RNA (mRNA) antagonists. These antagonists are based on the locked nucleic acid (LNA) technology platform targets licensed from Santaris Pharma A/S.

17 Nov 2010

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass), have received a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract in the amount of $750,000.

17 Nov 2010

Stratatech receives SBIR grant to develop anti-infective living human skin substitute

Stratatech Corp., a privately-held regenerative medicine company, today announced that it has been awarded a $3.5 million Fast-Track SBIR grant to expand the development of its anti-infective living human skin substitute.

17 Nov 2010

ALLOZYNE's AZ17 antagonist shows positive data for treatment of autoimmune diseases

ALLOZYNE Inc. announced today positive data from preclinical studies evaluating AZ17 which is a novel bispecific Th17 antagonist that inhibits the differentiation and effector function of human Th17 cells in vivo.

17 Nov 2010

Progenics initiates ONO-3849 phase 2 clinical trial for OIC in Japan

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 2 clinical trial of subcutaneous methylnaltrexone in Japan by its collaborator, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The drug, designated ONO-3849 in Japan, is being evaluated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with advanced illness such as cancer.

17 Nov 2010

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Optivia Biotechnology Inc., a leading provider of in vitro transporter assay services, today announced that the company and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an innovative system for characterizing the role transporter proteins play in the disposition of drugs by the liver.

16 Nov 2010

Color of tablet appears to be integral component for OTC product

According to recent research the color, shape, taste and even name of a tablet or pill can have an effect on how patients feel about their medication. Choose an appropriate combination and the placebo effect gives the pill a boost, improves outcomes and might even reduce side effects. Now, researchers at the University of Bombay, New Mumbai, India, have surveyed users of over-the-counter (OTC) medication to find out just how much the color of a tablet influences patient choice.

16 Nov 2010

New mathematical method predicts dominant strain of influenza virus

Rice University scientists have found a way to predict rapidly whether a new strain of the influenza virus should be included in the annual seasonal flu vaccine. While it sometimes takes new flu strains up to three years to become dominant worldwide, the new method can predict whether they will become dominant as little as two weeks after the sequence first appears in the GenBank database, the National Institutes of Health's collection of all publicly available DNA sequences.

16 Nov 2010

New mechanism breaks drug resistance in ovarian cancer

Drug resistance is a major obstacle in curing ovarian cancer but new research from the Centenary Institute has discovered a treatment that kills ovarian cancer cells in a new way that can break the resistance mechanism.

16 Nov 2010

Fisetin slows onset of motor problems, delays death in three models of Huntington's disease: Study

Fisetin, a naturally occurring compound found in strawberries and other fruits and vegetables, slows the onset of motor problems and delays death in three models of Huntington's disease, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study, published in the online edition of Human Molecular Genetics, sets the stage for further investigations into fisetin's neuroprotective properties in Huntington's and other neurodegenerative conditions.

16 Nov 2010

Bayer presents results from Phase III ROCKET AF trial for atrial fibrillation at American Heart Association

Bayer today announced the results from the pivotal, double-blind Phase III, ROCKET AF trial. In the study, rivaroxaban demonstrated superiority to warfarin in reducing the risk of stroke and non-CNS systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

16 Nov 2010

Celladon presents data on Phase 2 CUPID clinical trial for advanced heart failure at American Heart Association

Targeted Genetics Corporation announced that its partner, Celladon Corporation, today presented 12-month data from its Phase 2 CUPID clinical trial of MYDICAR demonstrating significant improvements in clinical outcomes and key disease markers in advanced heart failure patients treated with the genetically-targeted enzyme replacement therapy.

16 Nov 2010

ViroPharma presents data on Cinryze C1 esterase inhibitor for HAE at ACAAI Meeting

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced data in four poster presentations and two oral presentations relating to Cinryze (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), November 11 through 16 in Phoenix, Ariz.

16 Nov 2010

Efficacy News and Research

LFA encouraged by FDA Advisory Committee vote on BENLYSTA for autoimmune disease lupus

Fat-derived stem cells can boost heart function following acute attack

Mirna to present data on miRNA Replacement Therapies for cancer at CPRIT Conference

National Medical Center specialist wins best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology

U-M researcher awarded $600,000 grant for study of progesterone in treatment of children with TBI

Alkermes's ALKS 33 drug candidate offers potential treatment for multiple disease indications

Combination doxorubicin-sorafenib treatment improves survival in patients with inoperable advanced liver cancer

Enzon presents data on three investigational mRNA antagonists at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

Stratatech receives SBIR grant to develop anti-infective living human skin substitute

ALLOZYNE's AZ17 antagonist shows positive data for treatment of autoimmune diseases

Progenics initiates ONO-3849 phase 2 clinical trial for OIC in Japan

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Color of tablet appears to be integral component for OTC product

New mathematical method predicts dominant strain of influenza virus

New mechanism breaks drug resistance in ovarian cancer

Fisetin slows onset of motor problems, delays death in three models of Huntington's disease: Study

Bayer presents results from Phase III ROCKET AF trial for atrial fibrillation at American Heart Association

Celladon presents data on Phase 2 CUPID clinical trial for advanced heart failure at American Heart Association

ViroPharma presents data on Cinryze C1 esterase inhibitor for HAE at ACAAI Meeting

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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