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Synta Pharmaceuticals' STA-9090 inhibits WT1 protein in AML

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced that preclinical results presented at the “Bridging the Gap 2010” Hematologic Conference, held in Singapore City, Singapore, February 5-7, 2010, shows that STA-9090, a potent inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), inhibits the Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) protein, a key transcription factor that drives disease progression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as well as certain other leukemias. STA-9090 is currently enrolling patients in two clinical trials in AML and other hematologic cancers.

9 Feb 2010

Merck's asthma drug formoterol/mometasone to garner global peak year sales of more than $250M

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, following its expected launch this year for the treatment of asthma, Merck's formoterol/mometasone will garner peak year sales of more than $250 million in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

9 Feb 2010

Mediterranean diet can avoid brain infarcts, reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease

A Mediterranean diet may help people avoid the small areas of brain damage that can lead to problems with thinking and memory, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.

9 Feb 2010

PM vows to provide better preventive care for cancer patients

The prime minister has pledged to introduce one-to-one support at home for all cancer patients if the government stays in power after the forthcoming general election.

9 Feb 2010

Advanced paternal age increases autism risk only when the mother is younger

Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with autism, regardless of the father's age, according to an exhaustive study of all births in California during the 1990s by UC Davis Health System researchers. Advanced paternal age is associated with elevated autism risk only when the father is older and the mother is under 30, the study found.

9 Feb 2010

Doctors do not follow evidence-based guidelines for treating low back pain, says report

Australian general practitioners often treat patients with low back pain in a manner that does not appear to match the care endorsed by international clinical guidelines, according to a report in the February 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2010

NIH awards over $15M for Tulane University's collaborative effort to combat VHF

Corgenix Medical Corporation, a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, and Tulane University, today announced a major extension of the collaborative effort to combat viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), an effort that will generate an additional $800,000 in contract revenue for Corgenix over the life of the contract.

9 Feb 2010

New report identifies similarities and differences in educational preparation among nursing professions

Today, the three Colleges that regulate nursing in the Province of Alberta, the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA), the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Alberta (CRPNA) and the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA), released Knowledge and Education at Entry to Nursing Practice in Alberta (2009), a report that identifies the similarities and differences in educational preparation among the nursing professions.

9 Feb 2010

Gastric banding surgery offers fewer complications, but more research needed

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery can effectively treat obesity in adolescents and seems to offer a better alternative than gastric bypass surgery, but further study is needed to determine whether it's better than nonsurgical options, a UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeon writes in an editorial in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 Feb 2010

Health hazards: Clinging tobacco smoke reacts with nitrous acid and produces dangerous carcinogens

Nicotine in third-hand smoke, the residue from tobacco smoke that clings to virtually all surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished, reacts with the common indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce dangerous carcinogens. This new potential health hazard was revealed in a multi-institutional study led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

9 Feb 2010

60% of pregnant women never tested for CHD

Three out of five women who have given birth to a child with a congenital heart defect (CHD) -- the number-one birth defect and leading killer of infants and newborns -- were never tested for the defect during pregnancy. This is according to a survey just released by Little Hearts, Inc., a national organization that provides support, education, resources, networking and hope to families affected by congenital heart defects.

9 Feb 2010

Denosumab exhibits superiority over Zometa in treatment of prostate cancer men with bone metastases

Amgen today announced that a pivotal, Phase 3, head-to-head trial evaluating denosumab versus Zometa® (zoledronic acid) in the treatment of bone metastases in 1,901 men with advanced prostate cancer met its primary and secondary endpoints.

9 Feb 2010

The anti-trust exemption for health insurers: Meaningful or not?

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold writes about legislation to repeal this exemption. "With comprehensive health care legislation foundering in Congress, the House is turning to a narrower piece of legislation that lawmakers hope has widespread, populist appeal: repealing the antitrust exemption for health and medical liability insurers.

9 Feb 2010

Finding provides new insight into economic behavior of human beings

Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their colleagues have tied the human aversion to losing money to a specific structure in the brain-the amygdala.

9 Feb 2010

ebrary introduces new subscription database in Medical Technology

Health care companies that design and manufacture medical devices, equipment, and instruments can now help their technologists, engineers, and other employees conduct research more efficiently and effectively, resulting in greater cost savings and faster development times for new products.

9 Feb 2010

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses. These viruses include the strains for the current seasonal and H1N1 influenzas. Genentech and Roche also have a non-exclusive right to manufacture, develop and market diagnostic tests for group 1 influenza.

9 Feb 2010

Seven-day exercise plan for reducing cancer risk

Being active for at least 30 minutes every day reduces your risk of developing some types of cancer. Fitness experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have designed an exclusive exercise plan based on this evidence that will fit into almost anyone's lifestyle.

9 Feb 2010

Phase 1 trial of Cerus' INTERCEPT red blood system meets primary endpoint

Cerus Corporation announced today that its Phase 1 trial of red blood cells treated with the INTERCEPT Blood System met its primary endpoint, with preliminary analysis demonstrating that greater than 75 percent of treated cells continued to circulate 24 hours following transfusion. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is a pathogen inactivation treatment the company is developing to protect against transmission of infectious diseases through red blood cell transfusions. An estimated 70 million units of red blood cells are transfused worldwide each year.

9 Feb 2010

Analysts: If health reform fails, expect more industry mergers

BusinessWeek: "With Congress' sweeping overhaul of the health system stalled, industry will seek its own answers to a push by government and the private sector to rein in costs, said Curtis Lane, senior managing director at MTS Health Partners, a New York-based equity fund."

9 Feb 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals receives 'Notice of Allowance' from USPTO

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded a Notice of Allowance for the “Soutschek and Manoharan” patent (Application No. 10/916,185), which covers certain chemically modified siRNAs of any length directed to any target, including siRNAs with sterol conjugates for in vivo delivery.

9 Feb 2010