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Medicare commission proposal and MedPAC data shape reform

A proposal for a Medicare Commission passes through the Senate Finance markup while MedPAC data may help rework Medicare spending.

29 Sep 2009

AAP receives grant to promote awareness on childhood obesity

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announces that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, to promote community and regional approaches to obesity prevention. Through the grant, AAP will launch two national grant programs, which are focused on encouraging both established pediatricians and pediatricians-in-training to develop collaborative methods to educate communities about the health effects of childhood obesity.

29 Sep 2009

90-day supply program to improve overall healthcare

Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) today launched a broad initiative for 90-day prescriptions that promotes delivery of maintenance and chronic care medication through its national network of more than 7,000 community pharmacies and employer worksite centers.

29 Sep 2009

pSivida reports interim results of human PK study of Iluvien

pSivida Corp, a leading drug delivery company that has developed two of the only three products approved by the FDA for the long-term, sustained release delivery of drug to treat chronic back of the eye disease, today reported the interim 18-month safety and efficacy results from the first human pharmacokinetic study (PK Study) of Iluvien®. The PK trial is being conducted by Alimera Sciences, the licensee for Iluvien.

29 Sep 2009

Dynavax commences Phase 3 trial for HEPLISAV hepatitis B vaccine

Dynavax Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:DVAX) today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 registration trial for HEPLISAVTM hepatitis B vaccine in individuals with chronic kidney disease. A second registration trial, a Phase 3 lot-to-lot consistency trial, is expected to begin in early 2010. HEPLISAV is an investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine designed to provide increased, rapid protection with fewer doses than current licensed vaccines.

29 Sep 2009

IP Advocate founder to speak on commercialization barriers faced by university faculty inventors

Speaking of the then-divided Berlin, former President Reagan famously admonished Soviet leader Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” In a similar spirit, IP Advocate founder Dr. Renee Kaswan is calling on the university technology transfer system to remove the barriers that keep innovations from moving swiftly into the marketplace.

29 Sep 2009

Sciele Pharma files NDA for glycopyrrolate oral solution

Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi company, today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for glycopyrrolate oral solution to treat chronic, moderate-to-severe drooling in pediatric patients. This condition often results from cerebral palsy as well as from other neurological disorders.

29 Sep 2009

Oculus launches Microcyn Skin & Wound HydroGel OTC

Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a family of products based upon the Microcyn Technology platform, which is intended to treat chronic and acute wounds, today launched Microcyn Skin & Wound HydroGel for both the U.S. professional and over-the-counter markets. The Microcyn HydroGel received FDA 510(k) marketing clearance in May of this year.

29 Sep 2009

Benefits and harms of screening infants for hyperbilirubinemia still unclear

According to a new recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, there is insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening infants for hyperbilirubinemia to prevent chronic bilirubin encephalopathy. Hyperbilirubinemia is a condition marked by a high level of bilirubin in the blood, which is often apparent as yellow-colored skin and eyes (jaundice).

29 Sep 2009

Januvia in combination with metformin or taken alone lowers blood sugar

A post-hoc analysis, presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), of data pooled from studies of 104 weeks in duration showed ‘Januvia’ (sitagliptin), when taken alone or in combination with metformin, provided significant blood sugar lowering over two years.

29 Sep 2009

NECBB reports cord blood banking is on the rise

New England Cord Blood Bank, Inc. (NECBB), a global cord blood processing and storage facility, announced today that the company has seen a consistent and robust increase in the cord blood units being used for transplants within the past few years.

29 Sep 2009

CIGNA encourages people to prioritize their health care plans

How much time does the average person spend reviewing their health care insurance when it’s time to enroll or reenroll in a plan? A recent survey conducted for CIGNA shows that although 78 percent said they give it a lot or some consideration, almost half (46%) of those who say they’re responsible for the review spend less than 30 minutes on the task.

29 Sep 2009

Hospital-at-home care favorable to traditional hospital care

Hospital-at-home care may be a practical alternative to traditional hospital inpatient care for patients with acutely decompensated (suddenly worsening) chronic heart failure, according to a report in the September 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

29 Sep 2009

Ban, Clinton call for increased food security efforts

At a meeting on Saturday of "leaders, ministers, experts and non-governmental organizations from nearly 100 countries," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater urgency in the fight against hunger, Agence France-Presse reports. According to Ban, 2009 has seen an increase in malnutrition rates around the world (9/26).

29 Sep 2009

Kane Biotech's Dispersinb Topical Wound Gel passes cytotoxicity and primary skin irritation tests

Kane Biotech Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms is pleased to announce that DispersinB® Topical Wound Gel has passed the FDA-recommended Cytotoxicity and Primary Skin Irritation tests conducted by WuXi AppTec Inc. (St. Paul, MN) in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). Thus, DispersinB® wound gel is considered non-cytotoxic and non-irritant.

28 Sep 2009

Dialysis patients often not told about transplant options, Newspaper finds

"Thousands of kidney patients in the United States start dialysis without first being told of kidney transplants that would be cheaper and lead to longer lives, according to a four-month newspaper investigation published Sunday," The Associated Press reports.

28 Sep 2009

NIH awards DiscoveryBioMed a Phase 2 SBIR grant for research on hypertension and cystic fibrosis

DiscoveryBioMed, Inc. (DBM) today announced that it has been awarded a $750,000 Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the research into the discovery and development of small molecules to alleviate multiple chronic human diseases including cystic fibrosis (CF), hypertension and chronic kidney diseases with hypertension.

28 Sep 2009

Preclinical data of CardiAQ Valve Technologies' TMVI in vivo study presented at the TCT 2009

Transcatheter heart valve company CardiAQ Valve Technologies (CVT), which is developing the world’s first self-conforming and self-anchoring technology for Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI), announced today that successful results of an acute in vivo study of its TMVI system were disclosed by Dr. Joseph Bavaria during the “Mitral Valve Therapies Prior to and in Human Investigation” program at the “Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009” annual scientific meeting on Friday.

28 Sep 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics announces Phase 1 clinical study to assess three insulin analogs

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the commencement of a Phase 1 clinical study that will assess the effects of three approved prandial (mealtime) insulin analogs administered with its proprietary rHuPH20 (PH20) hyaluronidase enzyme compared to each of the analogs alone. This randomized, three-way cross-over design, euglycemic clamp study will compare the postprandial pharmacokinetics (PK) and glucodynamics (GD) of the insulin analogs.

28 Sep 2009

European Commission grants conditional marketing authorization for Gilead's Cayston

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today that the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization for Cayston® 75 mg powder and solvent for nebuliser solution (aztreonam lysine) for the suppressive therapy of chronic pulmonary infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) aged 18 years and older.

28 Sep 2009