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Cancer Prevention Coalition's statement on new nominated NCI Director

Last Wednesday, the White House nominated Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus as Director of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Apr 2010

Harnessing body's own natural killer cells to battle cancer in children

Work underway at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital seeks to harnesses the body's own immune cells known as natural killer, or NK, cells to help children battle cancer. NK cells are the immune system's warriors. The cells circulate widely in the body, armed with proteins, called enzymes, capable of delivering a deadly one-two punch to viruses and cancer cells.

3 Apr 2010

Aetna HealthFund study shows sustained cost savings for Aetna members

Aetna today announced the results of a study of health care claims and utilization for members in its Aetna HealthFund® consumer-directed plans. The study of two million Aetna members shows sustained savings over time and increased member engagement in their health.

3 Apr 2010

NewsHour examines research of HIV positive patients who can suppress the virus

PBS' NewsHour examines how a team of U.S. researchers is heading up a study in Lima, Peru, of patients living with HIV whose immune systems are able to suppress the virus.

3 Apr 2010

New production method yields hundredsfold more ubiquitylated proteins critical for cancer research

Scientists at the University of Delaware have developed a new method for producing proteins critical to research on cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

3 Apr 2010

Prescription drug spending up in 2009

Prescription drug spending in the United States rose 5.1 percent in 2009, acording to a new report from IMS Health., a data collection company.

3 Apr 2010

Cancer Prevention Coalition submits petition on imminent health hazard from hormonal meat

As reported in a March 18, New York Times editorial, "Honest Food Labels," FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., publicized letters to 17 food companies accusing them of -- "masking undesirable ingredients" -- in their products. She also emphasized the importance of "providing nutrition information that consumers can rely on."

3 Apr 2010

No doughnut hole in global mail-order pharmacy

Thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, Medicare enrollees who enter the dreaded "doughnut hole" -- the Medicare Part D coverage gap that has made seniors responsible for all their drug costs between $2,830 and $6,440 -- will save $250 in 2010. But Betterthanmedicare.com is already saving seniors thousands of dollars, because the global mail-order pharmacy has no doughnut hole.

2 Apr 2010

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals' abstracts on cell cycle inhibitor drugs selected for presentation at AACR meeting

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that six abstracts highlighting translational and preclinical data for Cyclacel's cell cycle inhibitor drugs have been selected for presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, being held from April 17-21, 2010, in Washington, DC.

2 Apr 2010

Scientists identify potential new method for treating sleeping sickness

Scientists have identified a potential new approach to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, which afflicts "tens of thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa" annually, IRIN reports. By targeting an enzyme the sleeping sickness parasite needs in order to survive, researchers say they can kill it without causing harm to the patient (4/1).

2 Apr 2010

2010 Internal Medicine conference at Toronto Convention Center

More than 5,000 internists (adult medicine specialists), subspecialists, medical students, and allied health professionals will meet in Toronto, Canada, for Internal Medicine 2010, the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP), April 22 - 24 (Thursday - Saturday), at the Toronto Convention Center.

2 Apr 2010

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced a Sermo Event Report titled "Is there any Threat to Anti-TNFs from Newer Biologic DMARDs?" In the past year, the FDA has approved four new biologic DMARDs – Actemra (Genentech), Orencia (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Simponi (Centocor Ortho Biotech), and Cimzia (UCB). According to the report, Orencia leads the pack among physicians as the next line of treatment for patients who fail two or more TNF antagonists.

2 Apr 2010

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

IMS Health today reported 5.1 percent growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals and insulins through retail and non-retail channels, reaching $300.3 billion, compared with growth of 1.8 percent in 2008.

2 Apr 2010

Interactive workshop focuses on standardization to improve value and practicality of imaging biomarkers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, SNM and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) are hosting a joint two-topic workshop, April 13-14, 2010 at the Natcher Conference Center of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. The first day of the workshop will focus on general issues of standardization to control variability and inconsistency in methods of acquisition, interpretation and analysis of images in clinical trials.

2 Apr 2010

Study promises new combination cancer therapy for drug resistance

Results reported in the April 2nd issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, reveal a new source for the drug resistance that crops up all too often and quickly in the tumors of cancer patients undergoing therapy.

2 Apr 2010

Tel Aviv University researcher finds link between cigarette smoking and IQ

"Only dopes use dope," goes the memorable warning about drugs. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher cautions that the same goes for cigarettes.

2 Apr 2010

Hospira reaches legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis over oxaliplatin injection patent litigation

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced it has reached a legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis to resolve patent litigation concerning Hospira's U.S. sales of its oxaliplatin injection, a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' oncolytic agent, Eloxatin®.

2 Apr 2010

Gene linked to kidney cancer in children discovered

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have identified two genes linked to Wilms' tumour - a type of childhood kidney cancer - according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research.

2 Apr 2010

Bloomberg examines potential benefits, drawbacks to PrEP

"Gilead Sciences Inc. may learn this year whether its drugs for treating HIV can also stop people from catching the virus in the first place," Bloomberg writes in a piece that examines the potential benefits and drawbacks to using low-doses of HIV/AIDS medications to reduce a person's risk of becoming infected with HIV. According to the news service, the initial results of 10 trials including more than 20,000 people could be available as early as July.

2 Apr 2010

Biotech reports record financial results for 2010 first quarter

Biotech racked up impressive gains for both the month of March and the first quarter of 2010. The Burrill Biotech Select Index posted a 3.7 percent jump in value in March and an 8 percent overall gain for Q1 '10.

2 Apr 2010