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Wild poliovirus reaches more African countries in 2009, WHO official says

Cases of polio have been reported in some African countries that have eradicated the disease, Luis Gomes Sambo, the WHO's Africa regional director, said Monday at the opening of a child immunisation conference in Zimbabwe, Agence France-Presse reports (12/14). It is the WHO's first annual regional conference on immunization, according to VOA News. Sambo said the conference will review the status of immunization in the 46-country sub-Saharan region (Mafundikwa, 12/14).

15 Dec 2009

A selection of opinions and editorials

In the Senate debate over health care reform, our priority should be to lower costs for American families and small businesses (Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, 12/14).

15 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Drug trafficking in Kenya; violence in S. Sudan; Uganda bill; sleeping sickness

Drug trafficking and use are fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, according to a recent report by the U.N. Security Council, the Nation reports. "A statement from the council's Presidency currently … states that Afghan heroin was being imported, causing a dramatic increase in heroin addiction and spreading HIV/AIDS in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya's two main cities," the newspaper writes.

15 Dec 2009

Genocea Biosciences to develop Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine with UPMC grant

Genocea Biosciences, a leading vaccine discovery and development company, today announced it has been awarded a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Cooperative Research Center for the development of vaccines for Chlamydia trachomatis.

15 Dec 2009

Questions raised on health bills' affordability, cost savings

The Wall Street Journal: "The health-care bills moving through Congress contain little to reward consumers for lowering their health costs, an omission prompting some lawmakers to press for more such incentives. Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) is proposing amendments to the Senate bill that would give people who are eligible for coverage through their employer the option of buying cheaper coverage from the new insurance exchanges -- and pocketing the difference."

15 Dec 2009

Obama urgently pushes lawmakers to pass reform bill

President Barack Obama will meet with Senate Democrats at the White House today and urge them pass legislation as a last chance opportunity for comprehensive health care reform.

15 Dec 2009

Democrats say victorious Lieberman flip-flopped on Medicare buy-in

CNN: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., "an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has emerged as the majority party's main obstacle to its efforts to get a health care bill through the Senate before Christmas. He ratcheted up his public opposition to the bill Sunday by threatening to join a Republican filibuster if the legislation contains either a government-run public health insurance option or a proposed alternative that would expand Medicare to people as young as 55" (Bash and Cohen, 12/14).

15 Dec 2009

Almac Discovery initiates Phase I clinical trial of intranasal Granisetron for CINV

Almac Discovery today announced the start of Phase I clinical trial of the novel intranasal Granisetron product. This product, which uses Archimedes' proprietary ChiSys® delivery technology, is being developed as a rapidly acting, well tolerated and convenient treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

15 Dec 2009

VA struggles to provide better care for increasing numbers of younger, female veterans

New patients using Veterans Affairs health services are more likely to be younger and women. The Associated Press reports on a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsville, W.Va., that is increasingly seeing women in their twenties who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The hospital sees nearly twice as many women it did before the Sept. 11 attacks.

15 Dec 2009

Contentious party politics consume health care debate

The Wall Street Journal's Capital Journal details the tough choices facing Democrats. "At this stage in the sausage-making process that is writing legislation, nobody is under the illusion he or she is working on anything like the perfect health bill, or one that is growing in popularity. A series of recent polls shows the opposite -- that support is eroding the longer the bill hangs in the balance

15 Dec 2009

Prescription drug import amendment divides Senate Democrats

The Senate is battling over a proposed amendment that would allow prescription drugs to be imported from other countries where prices are lower.

15 Dec 2009

Kidney drug plan divides transplant and dialysis supporters

The New York Times: "A Congressional proposal to help pay for drugs needed by transplant recipients to prevent rejection of donated kidneys has run into opposition from dialysis providers, drug companies and the National Kidney Foundation." The groups support extending Medicare drug coverage but say the measure would cut funding for dialysis

15 Dec 2009

After tense meeting, Dems likely to ditch Medicare buy-in plan in health bill

Top Senate Democrats were prepared Monday night to sacrifice proposals to expand Medicare in a bid to win over moderates and amass the 60 votes needed to pass their health legislation, according to news reports.

15 Dec 2009

Tibotec Virco Virology BVBA acquires Ground Zero Software's LAB TRACKER HIV EMR system

Tibotec Virco Virology BVBA today announced the acquisition of LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV, a customized electronic medical record (EMR) system, from the company Ground Zero Software. LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV is a full-service, scalable software platform designed to meet the complex disease-management needs of health care providers who are treating people living with HIV/AIDS.

15 Dec 2009

University of Wisconsin IRB approves GenSpera's G-202 Phase I study for cancer

GenSpera, Inc. announced today that the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, WI, has approved a Phase I study of its target activated pro-drug, G-202, for the treatment of cancer. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approved the study in September. GenSpera expects to enroll the first study patient early in the first quarter of 2010.

15 Dec 2009

Encouraging results from DAVANAT in combination with chemotherapies and biologics

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Brussels Branch of the Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research is testing the ability of DAVANAT® to stop Galectin-3 from blocking the immune system’s action on cancer cells. Peer reviewed studies have demonstrated that Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 induce apoptosis (cell death) in immune system T cells (“Galectins,” Chapter 7, Wiley, 2008).

15 Dec 2009

Celgene announces positive data from its apremilast Phase IIb study for plaque-type psoriasis

Celgene Corporation announced clinical data from an investigational Phase IIb, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of apremilast (CC-10004) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis (PSOR-005). This was a 352-patient, multi-center study in which patients received either 10mg, 20mg or 30mg of apremilast twice per day (BID), or placebo.

15 Dec 2009

Interpersonal Psychotherapy may hold hope for teenager girls at risk of obesity

A team of scientists at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institutes of Health have piloted psychotherapy treatment to prevent excessive weight gain in teenager girls deemed 'at risk' for obesity.

15 Dec 2009

Cellular and subcellular effects of PACE technology presented

SANUWAVE Health, Inc., (www.sanuwave.com), an emerging medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of non-invasive, biological response activating devices in the regenerative medicine area, announced that the cellular and subcellular effects of PACE™ technology were described during a lecture presented this past weekend.

15 Dec 2009

Lytix Biopharma AS receives approval to commence Phase I clinical trials of Oncopore

The Norwegian pharmaceutical company Lytix Biopharma AS today announced approvals from the Norwegian Medicines Agency (”Statens legemiddelverk”) and the Swedish Medical Products Agency (”Läkemedelverket”) to commence Phase I clinical trials of OncoporeTM (LTX-315) for the treatment of cancer.

15 Dec 2009