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Health reform policy: Flexible spending, device taxes and waivers

One health law provision will be a bummer for people who use the tax-free dollars stored in flexible spending accounts, Kaiser Health News reports. "Starting in January, you'll no longer be able to use your FSA for over-the-counter drugs and medicines unless you have a doctor's prescription. Experts agree that the new rules will likely discourage people from tapping their FSAs for routine purchases of aspirin, vitamins, cough medicine and other drugstore essentials" (Andrews, 11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Investigations examine Medicare’s dialysis system, CT scanners and drugs

ProPublica reports on the costs and risks associated with dialysis: "In 1972, after a month of deliberation, Congress launched the nation's most ambitious experiment in universal health care: a change to the Social Security Act that granted comprehensive coverage under Medicare to virtually anyone diagnosed with kidney failure, regardless of age or income.

10 Nov 2010

Survey says majority of voters want some or all of health law repealed

The Washington Post: "A new Kaiser Family Foundation post-election poll suggests that a majority of people who voted on Nov. 2 favor repealing some or all of the health-care legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year. ... Political strategists continue to debate just how much of an impact healthcare had on the 2010 midterms.

10 Nov 2010

NeoPharm, Insys complete merger

NeoPharm, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of new and innovative therapeutic applications of drugs for cancer and other diseases, today announced it has completed its merger with Insys Therapeutics, Inc., a Phoenix, AZ based pharmaceutical company.

10 Nov 2010

Federal inspectors crack down on corrupt drug company executives

"Federal inspectors want to prevent drug-company executives from doing business with the U.S. government when their companies are convicted of Medicare fraud," The Washington Post reports. New guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services say "executives can be barred from contracting with federal health programs when they knew, or if the inspector general concludes they should have known, about fraud at their firms."

10 Nov 2010

Biovista and Pfizer enter pilot research collaboration

Biovista announced today that it has entered into a pilot research collaboration agreement with Pfizer. The aim of the collaboration is to identify new indications for a number of undisclosed Pfizer development candidates, using Biovista's Clinical Outcome Search Space (COSS) technology.

10 Nov 2010

Phytomedics awarded $244,000 QTDP grant for development of RA drug

Phytomedics, Inc., a transformational healthcare company developing a novel portfolio of drugs and consumer products solely derived from plant sources, announced today that it has been awarded a grant in the amount of $244,000 under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program to advance the development of its lead product PMI-001 for Rheumatoid Arthritis. PMI-001 is presently in Phase 2b/3 development.

9 Nov 2010

NeuroDerm commences enrollment in ND0801 Phase 2a clinical study of ADD/ADHD in adults

NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today that patient enrollment has begun in a Phase 2a clinical study of ND0801, a new product for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) in adults. ND0801, based on a new, proprietary combination with nicotinic actions, is being developed as a dermal patch and will be evaluated for the treatment of cognitive impairment in several disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and advanced Parkinson's disease, among others.

9 Nov 2010

Insuring your health: OTC medicines cut from 2011 flexible spending accounts

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "The health-care overhaul has taken some of the flex out of flexible spending accounts, which let workers pay medical expenses with pretax dollars. Starting in January, you'll no longer be able to use your FSA for over-the-counter drugs and medicines unless you have a doctor's prescription" (11/9).

9 Nov 2010

Hypernetworking and hypertexting bad for kids in more ways than one: Study

According to a new study adolescents who text excessively or who are hooked on social networking sites are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors like smoking and binge drinking than their peers who are not similar users. Scientists at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine surveyed 4,257 high school students from an urban county in the Midwest to look at the health effects of communications technology usage.

9 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 9, 2010

Today's news includes reports about the Supreme Court's decision regarding an early challenge to the health law.

9 Nov 2010

Study finds lack of medication adherence among people with RA and lupus

People with rheumatic diseases don't take their medication on a regular basis, and this leads to poor outcomes in their disease treatment, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010

Excessive texting and networking raise new health concerns for teens

Texting while driving can be a deadly combination for teenagers. Yet, new data released today reveal that the dangers of excessive texting among teens are not limited to the road. Hyper-texting and hyper-networking are now giving rise to a new health risk category for this age group.

9 Nov 2010

Study demonstrates preventive effect of urate lowering therapy on cardiovascular mortality

The use of urate lowering therapy might successfully prevent death from cardiovascular disease in people with gout, according to research presented at the Nov 2010, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010

Priaxon and Technical University Munich partner to develop anti-infective agents against infectious diseases

Priaxon AG, Munich, and the University Hospital Rechts der Isar (Technical University Munich) announce their cooperation for the development of new, highly selective anti-infective agents against a novel protein target class of widely spread infectious diseases. Their joint project is supported in the framework of the top cluster support project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, coordinated by BioM GmbH.

9 Nov 2010

Innovative method for in-cell gene manipulation

A cross-disciplinary Small Medicine and Advanced Research Translation (SMART) team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has announced a breakthrough in the precision in-cell gene scission at pre-designed sequence sites using Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissors (ATLANS) and a custom build photonic device.

9 Nov 2010

Johns Hopkins scientists identify protein mechanism that regulates cell division

By tracking the flow of information in a cell preparing to split, Johns Hopkins scientists have identified a protein mechanism that coordinates and regulates the dynamics of shape change necessary for division of a single cell into two daughter cells.

9 Nov 2010

Study demonstrates potent anticancer properties of quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced the publication of a research article in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry [18:7966-7974, 2010] on the anticancer activity of quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds.

9 Nov 2010

Children with JIA face increase risk of developing cancer

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have a two to threefold increased risk of developing cancer compared to similarly-aged children without JIA, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta. The same study also reported no cases of cancer in children with JIA who were exposed to anti-TNF therapy.

9 Nov 2010

Joint complaints attributed to breast cancer drugs not linked with inflammatory arthritis or autoimmune disease

A new study suggests joint complaints attributed to aromatase inhibitors (AI), popular breast cancer drugs, are not associated with inflammatory arthritis or autoimmune disease. Because of that, researchers say women who were primarily concerned about the threat of arthritis should be encouraged to continue taking the medication. The findings of the study will be presented Tuesday, Nov. 9 at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta, Georgia

9 Nov 2010