Research News and Research

RSS

Wall Street journal examines fundraising efforts by GAVI, Global Fund

The GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "on Friday began an effort to raise as much as $24 billion from members of the Group of 20 nations that will test whether a major push begun a decade ago against infectious diseases can survive the global recession," the Wall Street Journal reports. The two groups held meetings last week in The Hague with government representatives from existing and potential donor nations, according to the newspaper.

30 Mar 2010

Preclinical study of DAS181 for treatment and prevention of ILI published

NexBio, Inc. announced today the publication in the Journal of Infectious Diseases of a preclinical study suggesting that treatment with DAS181 (Fludase®) may reduce the risk of secondary bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

30 Mar 2010

Higher levels of CRP associated with brain changes: Study

New research shows that a high level of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the blood, is associated with brain changes that are linked to problems with executive thinking skills. The study is published in the March 30, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

30 Mar 2010

Senesco Technologies signs definitive agreements with institutional and accredited investors

Senesco Technologies, Inc. has, on March 26, 2010, entered into definitive agreements with institutional and accredited investors for a private placement of up to 11,497 shares of Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company and Warrants to purchase up to 35,928,125 shares of Common Stock for a gross purchase price of approximately $11,497,000.

30 Mar 2010

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Ipsen announce collaboration in DsiRNA research and peptide engineering

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (Dicerna) a second generation RNA interference (RNAi) company, and Ipsen, a global biotechnology specialty care group, announced today that the two companies have entered into an exclusive research collaboration agreement to leverage their expertise in Dicer Substrate siRNA (DsiRNA) research and peptide engineering. The companies will develop novel conjugates of Dicerna's DsiRNA molecules and Ipsen's peptide targeting vectors in the therapeutic areas of oncology and endocrinology.

30 Mar 2010

Tomato genes could be used as future treatment in gene therapy: Study

Tomato genes could be used as a future treatment in gene therapy, according to new research results from Lund University.

30 Mar 2010

Research challenges current thinking about TB bacterium

Two new tuberculosis studies by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers provide good news and bad news about the bacterium that infects nearly a third of the world's population and a disease that kills nearly 2 million people each year.

30 Mar 2010

Acupuncture can help calm anxiety related to dental treatment

Acupuncture can calm highly anxious dental patients and ensure that they can be given the treatment they need, suggests a small study published in Acupuncture in Medicine.

30 Mar 2010

Woman sentenced in Michigan Medicare fraud case; Medicaid fraud alleged in NY dental clinics

Profits came quickly: Over one year, Daisy Martinez ripped off Medicare for $10.7 million at three clinics, and her daughter got $649,000 in just four months as they billed the government for sham drug treatments while luring desperate people off the street with cash, food and painkillers.

30 Mar 2010

Potential new target for treating HCV infection

A team of scientists including University of Utah researchers has discovered that binding of a potent inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus to the genetic material of the virus causes a major conformational change that may adversely affect the ability of the virus to replicate.

30 Mar 2010

Royal Philips Electronics introduces InnerCool RTx Endovascular System

Royal Philips Electronics announced today its launch of the Philips InnerCool RTx Endovascular System for cooling and warming, which provides advanced whole body temperature modulation therapy in a closed-loop system from the inside out. The InnerCool RTx is a high-performance system that can rapidly raise and lower the body temperature of certain non-paralyzed, awake patients of all sizes in the intensive care setting.

From Philips Healthcare 30 Mar 2010

Polls show Dems face uphill climb in selling health votes to electorate

USA Today On Politics Blog: A USA Today/Gallup Poll that will be published in Tuesday's USA Today "shows an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats to convince most Americans that the health care overhaul passed last week will help them and their families. In the poll, 50% call passage of the bill 'a bad thing' and 47% say it was 'a good thing.'" These findings are less favorable than a one-day poll taken a week earlier-- a day after the health overhaul measure was approved by the House of Representatives.

30 Mar 2010

Intellikine, Tragara Pharmaceuticals awarded $1M each for developing new multiple myeloma therapies

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) today announced that two San Diego area biotech firms, Intellikine and Tragara Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will receive funding via its MMRF Biotech Investment Award program. The MMRF Biotech Investment Awards represent a multi-year research grant commitment to fund the early-stage drug development of novel compounds and approaches that show potential in treating multiple myeloma. Based on the companies' achievement of clearly defined milestones, the MMRF will commit a total of $1,000,000 to each company by the end of 2011.

30 Mar 2010

Obama's calm demeanor, Pelosi's firm stand helped push health care law

President Barack Obama and Democrats missed repeated deadlines, fought back cries of 'death panels' and watched healthcare reform nearly die more than dozen times. Through it all, Obama was the steady captain of the ship, his top aides say, a role the president has played since the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign.

30 Mar 2010

Gene expression in breast tissue may help explain pregnancy-associated breast cancer

Expression of inflammatory-related genes in breast tissue of women who have previously given birth may explain the aggressiveness and frequency of pregnancy-associated breast cancer, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

30 Mar 2010

Political ripples of overhaul remain uncertain

Lawmakers received mixed receptions at home after last week's vote, and speculation continues to swirl about how the health overhaul will play out in November's midterm elections.

30 Mar 2010

Enobia Pharma unveils findings from first HPP self-reported patient survey at ACMG 2010

Enobia Pharma Inc. unveiled findings from the first hypophosphatasia self-reported patient survey intended to evaluate the burden of illness associated with HPP at the 2010 American College of Medical Genetics Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting.

30 Mar 2010

Massachusetts governor's race focuses on national health question: Cost control

The Massachusetts governor's race "is focused on the question that now confronts the nation: how to keep spiraling costs from bankrupting the experiment," The New York Times reports.

30 Mar 2010

Cangene extends botulism antitoxin contract with BARDA

Cangene Corporation today reports that it has signed a no-cost modification to extend its botulism antitoxin contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA"). BARDA is the department within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that manages the two biodefence-related, stockpiling contracts Cangene has with HHS.

30 Mar 2010

How the health legislation will affect consumers

The Los Angeles Times explores some key questions: Will insurers continue to raise premiums; when will the Medicare "doughnut hole" close; and, "how do I sign up for my new insurance?" In answer to the last one, the Times writes, "Although there are some provisions that take effect this year, such as bans on lifetime limits and the denial of coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, the part of the bill that provides new insurance options does not take effect until 2014" (Geiger, 3/28).

30 Mar 2010