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Report: Green tea catechins may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea - renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties - do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases.

19 Feb 2010

FDA's proposed label changes for LABA asthma medications: GSK reviews

GlaxoSmithKline is reviewing label changes proposed today by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for asthma medications containing long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs), such as GSK's Advair (salmeterol / fluticasone propionate). GSK and makers of the other affected medicines containing LABAs have 30 days to agree with the proposed changes or state why they are not warranted.

19 Feb 2010

Asthma: LABAs should not be used alone

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that drugs in the class of long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) should never be used alone in the treatment of asthma in children or adults. Manufacturers will be required to include this warning in the product labels of these drugs, along with taking other steps to reduce the overall use of these medications.

19 Feb 2010

New resource for parents to combat childhood obesity

In October 2009, two national non-profit organizations teamed together to launch a free resource for parents to help them combat childhood obesity in their homes and communities.

19 Feb 2010

FDA accepts filing of Jazz Pharmaceuticals' NDA for sodium oxybate

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing the New Drug Application (NDA) for JZP-6 (sodium oxybate) for the treatment of fibromyalgia.

19 Feb 2010

FDA approves Rituxan-FC combination therapy for CLL

Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, and Biogen Idec announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Rituxan® (rituximab) in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for people with previously untreated and previously treated CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

18 Feb 2010

Rituxan, intended for patients with CLL receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rituxan (rituximab) to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow cancer.

18 Feb 2010

AltraVax acquires vaccine development technology package from Maxygen

AltraVax, Inc., a new, privately-held biopharmaceutical company, has acquired a vaccine development technology package from Maxygen, Inc. that gives AltraVax an exclusive license to develop vaccines for infectious diseases and is targeting influenza, a treatment for hepatitis B and HIV.

18 Feb 2010

Ear candles can cause serious injuries, warns FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to steer clear of ear candles -- hollow cones that are about 10 inches long and made from a fabric tube soaked in beeswax, paraffin, or a mixture of the two.

18 Feb 2010

BIOGUARD wound dressings with Quick-Med’s NIMBUS antimicrobial technology to be sold by Medline Industries

Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. announced today that its licensee, Derma Sciences, Inc., has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Medline Industries whereby Medline will market and sell BIOGUARD™ wound dressings with Quick-Med’s proprietary NIMBUS antimicrobial technology. The agreement covers the acute care segment of the health care market, which includes nearly 6,000 hospitals in the United States plus surgery centers, wound care centers, and other associated health care facilities. Sales under this new agreement are expected to start later this month.

18 Feb 2010

Dow AgroSciences and the Victorian Government announce new research alliance

A new research alliance between the Victorian Government and Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, will create 30 new Victorian agricultural biotech jobs, the Premier John Brumby announced this week.

18 Feb 2010

Spectranetics fourth-quarter revenues rise up 11%

Spectranetics Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

18 Feb 2010

HHS Secretary to address on health disparities at NABJ conference

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will deliver the keynote address at the National Association of Black Journalists annual conference on Health Disparities, March 4-6, 2010 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G. Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

18 Feb 2010

Gilead Sciences’ “Quad” regimen for HIV exhibits antiretroviral activity comparable to Atripla

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced Phase II clinical trial results today showing that its investigational fixed-dose single-tablet “Quad” regimen of elvitegravir, GS 9350 (cobicistat) and Truvada® (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the treatment of HIV infection exhibited antiretroviral activity comparable to that of Atripla® (efavirenz 600 mg/ emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg).

18 Feb 2010

Phase 3b ODIN study of once-daily PREZISTA in HIV-1 adults presented at CROI 2010

In a new study of treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected adults with no PREZISTA® (darunavir) resistance-associated mutations (RAMs), 72 percent of patients in the PREZISTA/ritonavir (r) (800/100 mg) once-daily arm achieved undetectable viral loads (<50 copies/mL) compared with 71 percent of patients in the PREZISTA/r (600/100 mg) twice-daily arm. The study met its primary objective of non-inferiority. These data from the Phase 3b ODIN study were presented today at CROI 2010, the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, in San Francisco.

18 Feb 2010

Rondaxe and TD2 announce cancer drug development alliance

TGen Drug Development (TD2) and Rondaxe Enterprises today announced a strategic alliance that will help emerging companies speed new high-quality treatments to cancer patients.

18 Feb 2010

NCI's NCL to conduct characterization studies of Celator Pharmaceuticals' HDPN formulation

Celator Pharmaceuticals today announced that the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), operated by SAIC-Frederick (Frederick, Maryland), has agreed to conduct characterization studies to advance the development of the company's nanoparticle drug formulation technology.

18 Feb 2010

Sorin Group's newest generation C5 HLM system receives FDA clearance

Sorin Group, a global company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of its newest generation C5 Heart-Lung Machine (HLM).

18 Feb 2010

First lady Michelle Obama announces Let's Move! campaign against childhood obesity

First lady Michelle Obama has announced her new campaign against childhood obesity - Let's Move! And that's just what she wants children to do. And just because she knows the big man in the White House, do not expect the government to fund this initiative.

18 Feb 2010

Asuragen announces agreement to develop and manufacture RNA Control Kits for Affymetrix

Asuragen Inc., a leading molecular biology diagnostic company and service provider, today announced an agreement to develop and manufacture RNA Control Kits for Affymetrix. The RNA Control Kit is intended for use with in vitro transcription (IVT) reagent kits for clinical molecular diagnostic applications that Asuragen has licensed and supplied to Affymetrix.

18 Feb 2010