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Opinion: 'Microland' to fight poverty; ensuring quality, timely drugs for Africa

In a Forbes column, Elisabeth Eaves, deputy editor at Forbes, examines the concept of "'microland:' securing rights to small plots of land for the world's poorest."

30 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Drought in East Africa; improving food processing in Africa; Hajj pilgrims must take polio vaccine; fighting insecticide-resistant mosquitoes

"A severe and persistent five-year drought" is pushing "[m]ore than 23 million people ... towards severe hunger and destitution across East Africa, international aid agency Oxfam has warned as it launches a £9.5 million [about $15 million] emergency appeal," the U.K. Press Association reports (9/29). According to Reuters/New York Times, "Malnutrition is now above emergency levels in some areas and hundreds of thousands of valuable cattle are dying" (Wallis, 9/29).

30 Sep 2009

AFRESA Inhalation Powder and AFRESA Inhaler NDA under FDA review

AFRESA® (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder is a well-tolerated, ultra rapid acting insulin able to more closely replicate normal glucose suppression than currently available insulins, according to data presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

30 Sep 2009

EnWave receives R&D funding to develop REV dehydration technologies

EnWave Corporation (TSX VENTURE:ENW)(FRANKFURT:E4U) ("EnWave" or "the Company") today announced that it has received research and development funding from three separate Canadian federal and provincial government agencies totaling $370,000 to continue the Company's development of its Radiant Energy Vacuum ("REV") dehydration technology for food, food cultures, and biopharmaceuticals.

30 Sep 2009

Environmental factors play a major role in early pregnancy losses

Life is all about tradeoffs and recently published research by Virginia J. Vitzthum, a senior scientist at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and professor in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Anthropology, has shown that during periods of intense labor and low food intake, rates of early pregnancy loss can more than double.

30 Sep 2009

Study reveals that most Americans will refuse FDA authorized emergency use H1N1 flu vaccine

A majority of Americans would not take an H1N1 flu vaccine or drug additive authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and University of Georgia study. The study, available online today in Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, found that fewer than 10 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to take such a vaccine or drug and nearly 30 percent remained undecided.

30 Sep 2009

CIHR experts discuss the impact of poverty on health

At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day and 25,000 children die each day due to poverty, according to the World Bank and UNICEF.

30 Sep 2009

CLF award for Baltimore City Public Schools

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) today recognized the Baltimore City Public Schools with the Center's 2009 Award for Visionary Leadership in Local Food Procurement and Food Education.

30 Sep 2009

Soybeans can prevent heart disease and cancer

Soybeans contain high levels of several health-beneficial compounds including tocopherols, which have antioxidant properties. These molecules can be used in the development of functional foods, which have specific health-beneficial properties and can be used in the treatment or prevention of diseases.

30 Sep 2009

Non-domestic air pollution is a major concern, says report

Plumes of harmful air pollutants can be transported across oceans and continents -- from Asia to the United States and from the United States to Europe -- and have a negative impact on air quality far from their original sources, says a new report by the National Research Council.

30 Sep 2009

Flooding in the Philippines could spread infectious diseases, Health Department says

The Health Department in the Philippines "warned Monday of a possible spread of infectious diseases" in the capital of Manila, which has had the largest rainfall "in nearly half a century, according to the government weather bureau," the New York Times reports. Rains have flooded "80 percent of this metropolis of 12 million people" and killed at least 240 so far.

29 Sep 2009

Africa's agricultural sector grew in '08, 'concerted' policy action needed for growth to continue, FAO paper says

The growth of sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural sector in 2008 is a "a break with the past," but "concerted and purposeful policy action" is required for developments to continue, according to a new U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) paper, VOA News reports (De Capua, 9/28).

29 Sep 2009

Renewed GMP certification for China Biologic Products' Qianfeng subsidiary

China Biologic Products, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBPO) ("China Biologic," or the "Company"), one of the leading plasma-based pharmaceutical companies in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), today announced that on September 2, 2009, the PRC's State Food and Drug Administration (the "SFDA") renewed SFDA certification of compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices ("GMP") for the production facility of Qianfeng Biological Products Co., Ltd. ("Qianfeng"), China Biologic's indirectly owned subsidiary.

29 Sep 2009

San Francisco Medical Center acquires a BSD-500 Hyperthermia System

BSD Medical Corporation announced today that the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) has acquired a BSD-500 Hyperthermia System (BSD-500). UCSF is a world leader in hyperthermia and has the largest and most versatile hyperthermia program on the West Coast, and its world-renowned Radiation Oncology team has added the capabilities of the BSD-500 to its growing hyperthermia cancer treatment program.

29 Sep 2009

Acrux reports Phase III trial results evaluating AXIRON for testosterone deficiency

Australian company, Acrux, today announced positive results from a Phase III trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of AXIRON™ in 155 men with testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism), across 26 sites in six countries.

29 Sep 2009

Spectranetics seeks FDA clearance for treating in-stent restenosis in the legs

Spectranetics Corporation today announced that it has filed a 510(k) application with the Food and Drug Administration seeking clearance for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) in the legs with its commercially available peripheral atherectomy products. ISR is caused by the re-growth of tissue within the stent, known as neointimal hyperplasia, which can lead to blockages in the affected leg artery.

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

Repros Therapeutics receives further clarification on the Full Clinical Hold status of Proellex

Repros Therapeutics today announced that the Company has received further clarification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Full Clinical Hold status of Proellex.

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

Fourth annual Food Safety Symposium to be sponsored by Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. continued its commitment to proactively help improve global food safety by co-sponsoring the fourth annual Nation's Restaurant News' Food Safety Symposium.

29 Sep 2009