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Senate Health Committee to begin reform mark up today, finance to follow next week

Senate Democrats are scrambling to reduce the price tag of reform proposals, which initial estimates place at $1.6 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Jun 2009

Honey more effective than antibiotics

In the first study of its kind University of Sydney researchers have found proof that some honeys can be more effective than antibiotics in treating surface wounds and infections.

17 Jun 2009

Circadian Technologies granted significant European patent

Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX:CIR) announced today that its subsidiary company, Vegenics Limited, has been granted European Patent 1749836 covering the use of VEGF-D protein and antibodies to VEGF-D in a broad spectrum of therapeutic indications, including the treatment of cancer.

17 Jun 2009

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.

17 Jun 2009

Household structure and infectious disease transmission

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research at the University of Warwick funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.

17 Jun 2009

Distributed drug discovery for neglected diseases

Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed Distributed Drug Discovery (D3), a new low-cost strategy to accelerate the discovery of drugs to treat neglected diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, leshmaniasis, dengue fever, and Chagas disease.

16 Jun 2009

Agencies and health departments prepare for swine flu

Governments and drug companies are struggling with efforts to prepare for a possible resurgence of swine flu in the fall as well as questioning who should receive swine flu vaccines as they ramp up production.

15 Jun 2009

Medicare tapped for savings to cover reform costs, again

In his weekly Internet and radio address Saturday, President Obama announced a plan to cut $313 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending over the next decade as a way to raise money for overhauling the health care system and covering millions of the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.

15 Jun 2009

GlaxoSmithKline to cut some drug costs in emerging markets

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to decrease the prices of many of its leading medicines in emerging markets following the success of a pilot program in the Philippines, Andrew Witty, GSK's chief executive, said, Financial Times reports. Witty said the price cuts are part of an effort to diversify and expand globally.

15 Jun 2009

Scientists launch Gene Expression Atlas

Today, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) launch a new database, the Gene Expression Atlas, which allows scientists to search and compare gene expression data at unprecedented detail and scope. Observing how gene expression varies in different cell types, tissues and under disease conditions can help researchers understand gene function and to develop new drugs and therapies.

15 Jun 2009

Research leads to advanced trials of new cancer treatment

Prof. Hochberg was successful in isolating the H19 gene in humans and determining that it is significantly expressed in over 33 different forms of cancer, including superficial bladder carcinoma and pancreatic, ovarian and metastatic liver cancer, while laying dormant and non-expressed in non-cancerous cells.

15 Jun 2009

Groundbreaking research may bring novel oral anti-diabetic drugs

Promise is held out for the development of novel oral drugs to control blood glucose levels in diabetes patients as the result of research by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientist.

15 Jun 2009

Dodd's wife serving on health care company boards

The wife of Sen. Chris Dodd, a leading player in this year's attempt at health care reform, serves on the board of three health care companies, The Associated Press reports.

13 Jun 2009

India to promote drugs in Africa after fake Chinese drugs 'made in India' seized

India launched a project to promote its $10.7 billion pharmaceutical industry in Africa after fake drugs labeled "Made in India," but with actual origins in China were seized on the continent, IANS/Hindu reports.

13 Jun 2009

Wall Street Journal examines program to spur vaccine development for developing world diseases

The Wall Street Journal examines a $1.5 billion program supported by Italy, the U.K., Canada, Russia, Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that hopes "to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines for diseases common to poor countries," which is expected to be announced Friday "on the sidelines of a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Eight major industrial powers."

13 Jun 2009

Diabetes drug exenatide promotes weight loss when added to diet and exercise

In combination with diet and exercise, the diabetes drug exenatide helped nondiabetic, obese individuals lose over three times more weight than those receiving a placebo, or dummy treatment, for 6 months.

13 Jun 2009

90 per cent of the world's population won't have access to antivirals in pandemic - generic drugs may help though

Almost 90 per cent of the world's population will not have timely access to affordable supplies of vaccines and antiviral agents in the current influenza pandemic, but it is possible that inexpensive generic drugs that are readily available, even in developing countries, could save millions of lives.

13 Jun 2009

‘Designer molecules’ being developed to fight disease

Researchers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester are developing a new way to make protein based drugs with potential applications in stroke, vascular inflammation, blood vessel formation, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

11 Jun 2009

FDA approves injectable Ibuprofen

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Caldolor, the first injectable dosage form of the common pain medication ibuprofen, to treat pain and fever.

11 Jun 2009

Newly discovered peptide promises hope for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in Japan have detected a peptide in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that can show whether a person is developing Alzheimer's disease. Measuring the level of this peptide could show that the disease process has started, long before any serious damage is done to the brain.

10 Jun 2009