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GAVI Alliance reaches agreement with drugmakers on reduced-price pneumococcal vaccines

Several drugmakers have reached an agreement "to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations," according to GAVI Alliance, Reuters reports.

15 Mar 2010

Brain Science Institute, Eisai sign licensing agreement to develop GCPII inhibitors

Johns Hopkins University's newly formed Brain Science Institute's NeuroTranslational Program has entered into a licensing agreement with pharmaceutical company Eisai Inc. to discover and develop small molecule glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) inhibitors.

15 Mar 2010

Study finds implant durability not affected by high-impact sports participation

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients may be able to participate in high-impact sports without increasing risk of early implant failure, according to a new study presented today at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

15 Mar 2010

FDA warns patients and physicians about the efficacy of Plavix treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today added a boxed warning to the anti-blood clotting drug Plavix (clopidogrel), alerting patients and health care professionals that the drug can be less effective in people who cannot metabolize the drug to convert it to its active form.

15 Mar 2010

ACCORD Lipid trial: New research into atherogenic dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetes

Cardiovascular risk can be reduced by an additional 31 percent in type 2 diabetes patients with atherogenic dyslipidemia, the common combination of elevated triglycerides (TG, 204 mg/dL or 2.3 mmol/L or higher) and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, 34 mg/dL or 0.88 mmol/L or lower).

15 Mar 2010

Prioritizing end of life care for cancer patients

Despite the advances and groundbreaking research being performed in the area of cancer treatment, sometimes cancer cannot be cured. In this situation, patients and their families are faced with complex emotions and a variety of end of life issues and decisions.

15 Mar 2010

Confident Democrats predict House passes health bill this week

"Top aides to President Obama hit the Sunday talk shows to proclaim that by the time they air again, the U.S. House will have signed off on major health care legislation. 'I believe it is going to happen this week,' said White House political adviser David Axelrod, speaking on ABC's This Week. 'I think we're going to have a vote'" (Jackson, 3/14).

15 Mar 2010

MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals full-year 2009 revenues rise 67.7%

MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its 2009 fourth quarter and full-year results, that it is further restructuring to reduce expenses, and that it is evaluating strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

12 Mar 2010

Increased focus on role of nurses in health care

CNN reports that specialist nurses last year were paid higher average salaries than primary care doctors. "Primary care doctors were offered an average base salary of $173,000 in 2009 compared to an average base salary of $189,000 offered to certified nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs, according to the latest numbers from Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a physician recruiting and consulting firm."

12 Mar 2010

States face health spending cuts

President Obama's demand to delete 'special deals' in the health care package would eliminate $500 million in extra Medicaid cash for Massachusetts, but Bay State lawmakers say they are confident the state would recoup that and probably more once negotiations are complete.

12 Mar 2010

UVA, Merck collaborate to discover novel drugs for women's reproductive health

The University of Virginia in Charlottesville today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) to discover novel drugs for women's reproductive health.

12 Mar 2010

ARS study underlines the importance of vitamin D and its ability to help body utilize calcium

Increasing calcium intake is a common--yet not always successful--strategy for reducing bone fractures. But a study supported in part by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) underscores the importance of vitamin D and its ability to help the body utilize calcium. The study also may explain why increasing calcium alone isn't always successful in dealing with this problem.

12 Mar 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Health reform is back from the dead. ... But reform still has to run a gantlet of misinformation and outright lies. So let me address three big myths about the proposed reform, myths that are believed by many people who consider themselves well-informed, but who have actually fallen for deceptive spin (Paul Krugman, 3/11).

12 Mar 2010

ampliPHOX detection technology of InDevR in beta site-testing in anticipation of upcoming product launch

InDevR, developer of advanced life science products, announced that its ampliPHOX Colorimetric Detection Technology is being beta site-tested in anticipation of an upcoming product launch. The original intellectual property was licensed from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

12 Mar 2010

Democrats look for consensus on final health overhaul package

Democrats Thursday looked for a way forward on a health reform bill as colleagues in the House worried about abortion, other provisions and Senate passage of a reconciliation measure.

12 Mar 2010

Christian groups combat high health premiums by paying each other's bills

Some evangelical Christian groups in America are driving down health care costs in their own way, by helping each other pay medical bills instead of paying premiums.

12 Mar 2010

Eisai, Johns Hopkins University's BSI enter into licensing agreement for GCPII technology

Eisai Inc. today announces that it has entered into a licensing agreement with the Johns Hopkins University's Brain Science Institute related to Eisai's GCPII (glutamate carboxypeptidase II) technology.

12 Mar 2010

Texas rethinks disease management program

Since 2004 Texas has run a disease management program they believed would improve care for Medicaid patients and save the state money. "The company said it would use persistent phone calls, a 24-hour hotline, and house visits if necessary to persuade Medicaid patients to take better care of themselves, saving the state an estimated $14 million a year in hospitalizations and other costs."

12 Mar 2010

XOMA initiates Phase 2 clinical trial of XOMA 052 in Type 1 diabetes patients

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of XOMA 052, its antibody to interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), in Type 1 diabetes patients. Funding for the trial is being provided by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the largest patient advocacy organization of Type 1 diabetes research worldwide.

12 Mar 2010

Stimulus funds boost Utah health IT pipeline

Utah's health department will use $6.3 million in federal dollars to build a "computer pipeline" that will allow doctors and hospitals to share patient information, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

12 Mar 2010