Research News and Research

RSS

Menstrual stem cells may help in treatment of stroke and central nervous system disorders

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. today announced results of a study published this month in the cover article of Stem Cells and Development showing that stem cells found in menstrual blood may one day be a potential source for stem cell therapies in stroke and other central nervous system disorders.

5 Apr 2010

Few veterans seek review of disability rating, panel finds

"Only a small fraction of wounded veterans who could get better benefits have applied in the two years since Congress, acting on concerns the military was cutting costs by downplaying injuries, ordered the Pentagon to review disputed claims," The Associated Press reports.

5 Apr 2010

AllCells expands office, laboratory production space and staff

AllCells LLC, a leading supplier of primary cell types, today announced it has completed its expansion into 10,000 additional square feet of office and laboratory production space located in Emeryville, California.

5 Apr 2010

Conference to combat health care fraud

With estimates of annual losses as much as $230 billion and legitimate costs also skyrocketing, the US health care industry is now looking to better control the impact of fraud. And with the ever-growing amount of data involving health care claims, new automated fraud-fighting capabilities are absolutely required.

5 Apr 2010

Side effects may limit use of Prometheus's Lotronex for IBS

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that thought leaders believe Prometheus's Lotronex has efficacy advantages over current and emerging therapies for non-constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome but side effects associated with the drug limit its use.

5 Apr 2010

Altheos to fund development of ATS907 Rho-kinase inhibitor with completed $20M Series A financing

Altheos, Inc., a privately held early-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed a $20 million Series A financing led by Bay City Capital. New investors Novo A/S, Canaan Partners, Life Science Angels and Atheneos Capital also joined the round. The financing will be used primarily for the development of ATS907, a selective Rho-kinase inhibitor Altheos licensed from Japanese pharmaceutical company Asahi Kasei Pharma. The license also includes a series of highly active compounds (AK138 series) specifically for topical treatment for glaucoma.

5 Apr 2010

Juventas Therapeutics commences enrollment in Phase I trial of JVS-100 for treatment of Class III heart failure

Juventas Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage regenerative medicine company announced it has started enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial for JVS-100 to evaluate safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with Class III heart failure. JVS-100 encodes Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1 (SDF-1) and has been shown in pre-clinical studies to significantly increase cardiac function by promoting cell survival and increasing new blood vessel formation in the damaged organ.

5 Apr 2010

Individualized therapies for treating type 2 diabetes recommended

Chevy Chase, MD-Patients with type 2 diabetes are generally treated similarly despite the fact that they may have underlying differences that could affect their therapeutic response. Seeking to address this critical health issue, an international multidisciplinary group of experts just issued recommendations for individualized treatment in a consensus statement to be published in the April 2010 issue of the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

5 Apr 2010

Tiens Biotech Group's revenues for 2009 decline

Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., http://www.tiens-bio.com , today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

5 Apr 2010

Rosetta Genomics' Philadelphia lab commences FNA cell block sample analysis with miRview squamous test

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, announced today that starting April 1, 2010 physicians are able to send FNA cell block samples to Rosetta Genomics' CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory in Philadelphia for analysis using Rosetta's miRview squamous test. FNA is a less invasive method to obtain tumor cells compared with tumor resections or biopsies.

5 Apr 2010

Selecta Biosciences raises $15M in new Series C financing round

Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing synthetic nanoparticle vaccines, today announced that it has raised $15 million in a Series C financing round. OrbiMed Advisors LLC led the round, with participation from existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, NanoDimension and Leukon Investments. The Series C financing brings the total capital raised by Selecta over the past 15 months to more than $30 million.

5 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 5, 2010

Both the politics and policies of health reform continue to grab headlines, with reports highlighting how lawmakers are faring in their districts during this congressional recess. News outlets also are exploring how specific provisions of the new law will work.

5 Apr 2010

Scientists show carbon nanotubes can be broken down by MPO

A team of Swedish and American scientists has shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme - myeloperoxidase - found in white blood cells. Their discoveries are presented in Nature Nanotechnology and contradict what was previously believed, that carbon nanotubes are not broken down in the body or in nature.

5 Apr 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals reports $15.7M revenue from ZEVALIN sales in 2009

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

5 Apr 2010

Plexiglas robot sees in the dark much like blind cave fish Astyanax

Clever as a blind fish, the underwater robot "Snookie" can orient itself in murky waters with an artificial sensory organ inspired by the so-called lateral-line system, found in fish and some amphibians. The experimental vehicle was developed by researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen within the framework of the CoTeSys (Cognition for Technical Systems) excellence cluster. In the future, the researchers expect such capabilities to enable underwater robots to work autonomously in operations ranging from deep sea exploration to inspection of sewer pipes.

5 Apr 2010

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reviews top cancer stories

Surgeon Jeremy Richmon, M.D., at Johns Hopkins is using robotic assistance to cut away tumors of the tongue and tonsils. Conventional surgery leaves disfiguring neck and jaw scars, but the robotic procedure leaves no scar except for inside the mouth, and he says, patients retain good function of speech and swallowing.

5 Apr 2010

Donate Life America survey reveals pervasive donation myths

According to a new survey by Donate Life America, 43 percent of people are undecided, reluctant or do not wish to have their organs and tissue donated after their deaths. While an improvement over findings from a similar survey last year in which 50 percent reported the same, the statistic illustrates a critical need to continue to increase the level of support for organ donation to save the lives of the more than 105,000 adults and children on the transplant waiting list in the U.S., an average 18 of whom die each day waiting.

5 Apr 2010

Gene duplications can lead to functional diversity in organisms

New information about early Native Americans' horticultural practices comes not from hieroglyphs or other artifacts, but from a suite of four gene duplicates found in wild and domesticated sunflowers.

5 Apr 2010

H70 study: People become more and more different as they age

The older we get, the more different we become. This is the conclusion of a study that followed people from their 70th to their 90th year of life. 'Old people are usually thought of as a rather homogenous group - they are considered to be ill, lonely and unable to take care of themselves. But the truth is that the differences among people grow with age,' says Bo G Eriksson, University of Gothenburg.

5 Apr 2010

Rebirth of the cursed drug Thalidomide

Thalidomide was once a dreaded name in the Pharmaceutical industry. It was initially marketed in some European countries nearly 5 decades back as a sedative and after millions of pregnant women took it for morning sickness it had devastating results on the babies. The babies were born with flippers instead of limbs a condition known as phocomelia. Since then it has been under strict control.

5 Apr 2010