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Gilead presents Phase IIa data for HCV therapy at The Liver Meeting 2010

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced data from a Phase IIa study showing that its investigational compounds GS 9190 and GS 9256, used in conjunction with current standard of care therapies, produced substantial suppression of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) within 28 days of treatment.

1 Nov 2010

Presidio to present PPI-461 data for HCV infection at AASLD meeting

Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that Nathaniel Brown, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, will present a late-breaker poster, "Safety and Pharmacokinetics of PPI-461, a Potent New Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A Inhibitor with Pan-Genotype Activity" at the 61st AASLD meeting in Boston, MA, on November 1, 2010.

30 Oct 2010

Pharmasset's PSI-938 phase I monotherapy trial shows positive result for HCV treatment

Pharmasset, Inc. reported positive preliminary results today from its phase I monotherapy trial of PSI-352938 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV). PSI-938 is a guanosine nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infection.

28 Oct 2010

Examining genetic material of egg cells may inform about embryos health

Fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) require a couple and the doctor to place the risky bet that the multiple eggs they choose to fertilize will produce an embryo that will thrive in the uterus. Researchers cannot biopsy eggs directly because that would destroy them, but a new discovery by professors at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital could lead to new insights about how eggs develop and ultimately inform judgments about how the embryos they produce will fare. The idea is to examine the genetic material the egg cells discarded when they were first forming, to see which genes they were expressing.

26 Oct 2010

Helicos names Illumina and Life Technologies as additional defendants in lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences

Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today that it has amended its lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. for patent infringement by naming Illumina, Inc. and Life Technologies Corporation as additional defendants.

From Illumina, Inc. 25 Oct 2010

Oral cancer linked to oral sex: Study

Swedish researchers have found that the Human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer in women is also a risk factor for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) or oral and throat cancer in men even if they do not smoke or consume alcohol.

21 Oct 2010

FibroGen announces initiation of FG-3019 phase 2 study for reversing liver fibrosis

FibroGen, Inc. today announced initiation of a phase 2 study to compare the efficacy of FG-3019, a human monoclonal antibody against connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), with placebo in reversing liver fibrosis (scarring of the liver) due to chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV).

15 Oct 2010

New, affordable technology for cervical cancer screening

Current cervical cancer screening is time consuming and expensive, but now new breakthrough technology developed by European researchers should allow large-range screening by non-medical personnel with almost immediate results and at a much lower cost.

15 Oct 2010

IMD receives EPO patent for NADiA ultra-sensitive protein detection and cell phenotyping platform

IRIS International, Inc. a leading manufacturer of automated in-vitro diagnostics systems and consumables for use in hospitals and commercial laboratories worldwide, and a provider of high value personalized diagnostics testing services through its CLIA certified molecular diagnostics laboratory, today announced that Iris Molecular Diagnostics (IMD)has been granted Patent No. EP1842226B1 by the European Patent Office (EPO) covering aspects of IMD's NADiA ultra-sensitive protein detection and cell phenotyping platform, which can detect proteins in the femtogram (1 quadrillionth) per milliter range and phenotype single cells.

14 Oct 2010

cobas TaqScreen DPX Test now available with CE Mark: Roche

Roche announced today that the cobas TaqScreen DPX Test for use on the cobas s 201 system is now available with the CE Mark. It is the first IVD test to offer complete coverage of all human genotypes of parvovirus B19 (B19V) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in one assay.

5 Oct 2010

Abbott to commercialize Celera's CE-marked KIF6 genotyping assay outside U.S.

Celera Corporation and Abbott today announced that they have signed an exclusive distribution agreement to market Celera's CE-marked KIF6 diagnostic test for use on Abbott's CE-marked m2000™ instrument system. The KIF6 genotyping assay detects a genetic marker that may be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation and patient assessment for the identification of individuals at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), and in patients for whom statin treatment is being considered.

20 Sep 2010

Scientists develop computer model to examine genetic switch for TB dormancy

An examination of a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress has allowed Rice University bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari to zero in on a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy.

18 Sep 2010

Pall launches GeneDisc Rapid Microbiology System for advanced microbial quality monitoring

Pall Corporation, a global leader in filtration, separation and purification, today announced the introduction of the GeneDisc® Rapid Microbiology System for advanced microbial quality monitoring. This system represents Pall's latest quality assurance innovation for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

From Pall Corporation 17 Sep 2010

TriLink signs licensing agreement to use CleanAmp dNTPs in Biofortuna's PCR kits

TriLink BioTechnologies, Inc. announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Biofortuna Ltd. (Biofortuna) for use of CleanAmp dNTPs in Biofortuna's freeze dried in vitro diagnostic PCR kits.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers unveil protection mechanism of telomeres from DNA repair

In the latest issue of the journal Nature, Miguel Godinho Ferreira, Principal Investigator at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) in Portugal, lead a team of researchers to shed light on a paradox that has puzzled biologists since the discovery of telomeres, the protective tips of chromosomes: while broken chromosome ends generated by DNA damage (such as radiation or cigarette smoke) are quickly joined together, telomeres are never tied to each other, thus allowing for the correct segregation of the genetic material into all cells in our body.

9 Sep 2010

Helicos accuses PacBio of patent infringement, files lawsuit

Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. for patent infringement. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, accuses PacBio of infringing four patents and seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages.

9 Sep 2010

Quintiles new lab in Japan achieves CAP accreditation

Quintiles today announced that its new lab in Tokyo, Japan has received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), joining the largest network of fully harmonized, CAP-accredited central labs in the world.

7 Sep 2010

Idenix Pharmaceuticals receives clinical hold order from FDA for IDX184, IDX320 programs

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases, today announced that the company received verbal notice on Friday, September 3, 2010 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the IDX184 and IDX320 programs have been placed on clinical hold.

7 Sep 2010

Human endogenous retroviruses may provide insight evidence to HIV diagnosis

Why is it so hard to isolate and purify human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Why has no one been able to see, by electron microscopy, a single HIV particle in the blood of AIDS patients, even those who have a "high viral load" Why does HIV seem to mutate with startling rapidity. AIDS researchers have not been able to come up with answers to these questions.

4 Sep 2010

Inhibitex completes INX-189 Phase1a trial for HCV

Inhibitex, Inc., announced today that it has successfully completed a Phase1a, first-in-man, single ascending dose trial of INX-189, its nucleotide polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infections. In this trial, 42 healthy volunteers received either a single oral dose of INX-189, ranging from 3 mg to 100 mg, or placebo. The Company plans to present detailed results from this trial during a future scientific meeting.

2 Sep 2010