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MRL announces acquisition of world's largest cryo-preserved human cancer tissue bank

Molecular Response (MRL), a privately held molecular diagnostic services company and a leader in the identification of target populations for high value therapeutics, announced today the acquisition of the world's largest cryo-preserved human cancer tissue bank—more than 144,000 specimens procured over 20 years. The company acquired the tumor bank, along with properly de-identified clinical information and validated test procedures, as part of a major acquisition of key assets formerly owned by Oncotech.

17 Nov 2010

Type 2 diabetes market in Mexico to grow to $1.22 billion in 2014: Report

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, forecasts that the type 2 diabetes market in Mexico will grow to $1.22 billion in 2014. Drivers of this growth include increasing prevalent population, expanding medical insurance coverage as well as the launch and use of new drugs in the market.

17 Nov 2010

Maine has most improved health care quality; Kansas needs more dentists

Maine Public Broadcasting Network News: "Nationwide, Maine is most improved when it comes to health care quality, according to 2009 statistics from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In one year, Maine jumped from 12th place to fourth best in categories ranging from cancer to patient safety, from maternal and child health to long-term care.

17 Nov 2010

Medicare roundup: Payment cuts irk healthcare industry; officials mull new prostate-cancer treatment

Doctors across the United States are taking a wait-and-see approach while Congress decides whether or not to allow a scheduled 23% cut in Medicare reimbursement rates to take effect on Dec. 1.

17 Nov 2010

Study: EGFR inhibtion may help treat triple negative breast cancer

Scientists believe they may have found a new target for treating triple negative breast cancer - one of the more difficult breast cancers to treat successfully and for which there is no targeted therapy at present.

17 Nov 2010

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass), have received a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract in the amount of $750,000.

17 Nov 2010

Changes to flexible spending accounts; High co-pays prompt abandoned prescriptions

Minnesota Public Radio: "[T]he federal health care reform law is cutting back on what [flexible spending] accounts will cover and how much workers can put into them. … These two changes are designed to raise more tax revenue to help pay for insuring another 32 million Americans beginning in 2014.

16 Nov 2010

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Optivia Biotechnology Inc., a leading provider of in vitro transporter assay services, today announced that the company and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an innovative system for characterizing the role transporter proteins play in the disposition of drugs by the liver.

16 Nov 2010

Isis, Xenon enter collaboration to discover and develop antisense drugs for AI

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today a new collaboration to discover and develop antisense drugs as novel treatments for the common disease anemia of inflammation (AI).

16 Nov 2010

UCSF, Pfizer announce partnership to accelerate translation of biomedical research

UCSF and Pfizer, Inc. have formed a new partnership to accelerate the translation of biomedical research into effective new medications and therapies for patients.

16 Nov 2010

Yukon receives grant under QTDP program for SmartMix delivery platform

Yukon Medical, LLC, a medical device firm located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is proud to announce it has received a grant under the 2010 Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) for their SmartMix delivery platform.

16 Nov 2010

Verastem closes $16 million Series A financing

Verastem, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by targeting cancer stem cells, today announced the closing of a $16 million Series A financing. Founding investor, Longwood Founders Fund, was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Cardinal Partners, and MPM Capital.

16 Nov 2010

Anti-stroke blood thinner shows promise in large clinical trials

In new and extensive clinical trials an experimental blood thinner called rivaroxaban is at least as good at preventing strokes as the drug warfarin – that has been the most widely used agent for the past five decades in people with erratic heartbeats called atrial fibrillations. Researchers said this Monday that this drug also sharply reduces the risk of major bleeding that is seen with warfarin.

16 Nov 2010

Diuretic lessens risk of death from mild heart failure: Study

A new study shows that diuretic pill Inspra (generic – Eplerenone) cuts down the risk of death and hospitalization among people with mild heart failure. The drug that is widely used to treat advanced heart failure, also has value for people with mild disease, says lead researcher Faiez Zannad, of Nancy University in Nancy, France. The results were reported at the American Heart Association's annual meeting and published simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Nov 2010

New findings help identify impact of prenatal environment on early parental care on brain

New findings released today help identify the long-term impact of the prenatal environment and early parental care on the brain. Using animals as models, researchers help explain why early inflammation and a mother's exposure to drugs such as nicotine and high doses of pain killers have lasting consequences for children and even future generations.

16 Nov 2010

Study shows asthma drugs can treat aortic aneurysm

A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that asthma drugs are a potential treatment for aortic aneurysm. These drugs, which block cysteinyl-leukotrienes, could reduce the break down of vessel wall tissue and the dilation of the aortic wall, and thus the risk of its rupturing.

16 Nov 2010

New mechanism breaks drug resistance in ovarian cancer

Drug resistance is a major obstacle in curing ovarian cancer but new research from the Centenary Institute has discovered a treatment that kills ovarian cancer cells in a new way that can break the resistance mechanism.

16 Nov 2010

Hospira launches two-gram vial of gemcitabine hydrochloride for injection

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced it has launched a two-gram vial of gemcitabine hydrochloride for injection.

16 Nov 2010

Researchers develop human cell-based model of Rett syndrome

A groundbreaking study published Friday in the leading scientific journal, Cell, revealed that a team of investigators had successfully generated nerve cells using skin cells from four individuals with Rett syndrome. The study, funded in part by IRSF, was led by Dr. Alysson Muotri at the University of California, San Diego--a leading researcher in the stem cell field.

16 Nov 2010

4SC to present development of resminostat and preclinical drug candidates at EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium

4SC, a drug discovery and development company focused on autoimmune and cancer indications, today announced that it will present four posters and respective abstracts that highlight the development of its lead oncology compound resminostat and several preclinical drug candidates at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium from 16 - 19 November, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

16 Nov 2010