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Australian stem cell line offers fresh approach to diabetes cure

Australian researchers have developed the country’s first diabetes specific stem cell line, a major advance for patients suffering from the chronic disease.

21 Oct 2010

Zyvox achieves higher clinical success rate than vancomycin in MRSA nosocomial pneumonia study

Results of a new international phase 4 study of patients with nosocomial pneumonia due to proven methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) demonstrated that the antibiotic Zyvox® (linezolid) achieved a statistically significantly higher clinical success rate compared with vancomycin for the primary endpoint. The ZEPHyR (Linezolid in the treatment of subjects with nosocomial pneumonia proven to be due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) study was the largest ever conducted in this population.

21 Oct 2010

PolyMedix plans PMX-60056 Phase 2 clinical trial in interventional cardiology

PolyMedix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has announced plans for a Phase 2 clinical trial of PMX-60056 in interventional cardiology, and the establishment of a focused Heptagonist Clinical Advisory Board (CAB). PMX-60056 is a synthetic small-molecule designed to reverse the anticoagulant activity of heparin and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH).

21 Oct 2010

Baxter third quarter net income increases 12% to $595 million

Baxter International Inc. today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2010, and provided its fourth quarter and updated full-year 2010 financial outlook.

From Baxter International Inc. 21 Oct 2010

ISCTM to develop solutions for CNS clinical trial methodology

The International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) met recently to develop solutions to challenges facing CNS clinical trial methodology.

21 Oct 2010

New PharmaDeals v4 online resource to support pharmaceutical industry

In the current BioPharma economic climate; with smaller companies desperately needing the right development partners for survival and larger ones needing to support their existing businesses through making the right deals, having the best, most comprehensive, intelligence and insights are absolutely essential for success.

21 Oct 2010

Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

Research identifies key regulators that control transmission of malaria parasite

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

21 Oct 2010

Female sex hormones help women survive after trauma

Women who have been severely injured are 14 percent more likely to survive than similarly injured men, according to a new Johns Hopkins study, a difference researchers believe may be due to the negative impact of male sex hormones on a traumatized immune system.

21 Oct 2010

Nonprescription drug manufacturing and marketing costs increase: Kline

A number of costs associated with nonprescription drug manufacturing and marketing have increased over the past two and a half years. Certain material costs for plastic bottles and blister packs have risen by double digits during this time, increasing packaging expenses.

21 Oct 2010

Tel Aviv University research links obsessive-compulsive disorder to common childhood illness

A common infection in children, strep throat can lead to problems with a child's heart, joints or brain if left untreated. And when the brain is involved, motor and mental functioning may be compromised, leading to syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

21 Oct 2010

FDA asks manufacturers to add new warnings to labeling of prostate cancer drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today asked manufacturers to add new warnings to labeling of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, a class of drugs primarily used to treat men with prostate cancer.

21 Oct 2010

Scientists suggest enzyme that modifies 4-quinolones can reduce microbial infection

So disease-causing bacteria in the body finally have multiplied to the point where their numbers are large enough to cause illness. What's next? They get out their "smart phones" and whisper "Let's roll!" That's how an article in ACS' monthly Chemical Reviews describes the substances "smart phones of the microbial world" that bacteria use to transmit chemical signals that launch infections and monitor their environment.

21 Oct 2010

Researcher identifies two risk markers for Alzheimer's disease

Risk markers could play an important role in this. These are substances linked to Alzheimer's that are found in unusually high or unusually low quantities in patients who go on to develop the disease.

21 Oct 2010

Plant-derived compound for treatment of nicotine addiction also effective against alcoholism

South Dakota State University researchers have demonstrated for the first time that a plant-derived compound used to treat nicotine addiction also has significant effects against alcohol addiction.

21 Oct 2010

Research on Reaper protein provides new treatment strategies for cancer

Our cells live ever on the verge of suicide, requiring the close attention of a team of molecules to prevent the cells from pulling the trigger. This self-destructive tendency can be a very good thing, as when dangerous precancerous cells are permitted to kill themselves, but it can also go horribly wrong, destroying brain cells that store memories, for instance. Rockefeller University scientists are parsing this perilous arrangement in ever finer detail in hopes that understanding the basic mechanisms of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, will enable them eventually to manipulate the process to kill the cells we want to kill and protect the ones we don't.

21 Oct 2010

Scientists find potential Achilles Heel in JC polyomavirus

The JC polyomavirus doesn't strike very often, but it's a mean bug that preys on people with weakened immune systems, including people with AIDS, and almost always kills them. Now an international team of scientists at Brown University, the University of T-bingen in Germany, and Imperial College in London has found a potential Achilles Heel and painted a target on it: The virus must bind to a very specific sugar molecule dangling from the side of the brain cells it attacks.

21 Oct 2010

Metabolon receives patent for biomarkers to determine PPAR-affecting drugs

Metabolon, Inc., leaders in global metabolomics, biomarker discovery and biochemical analysis, announced today the grant of US Patent 7,807,138 entitled "Biomarkers of Metabolic Responses to Hepatic Drugs". The USPTO awarded the patent to Metabolon on October 5, 2010. This is the 13th patent issued to Metabolon and the second in its portfolio of biomarker patents.

21 Oct 2010

Researchers identify common link among malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with investigators of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) of France led by Nicolae Ghinea, PhD, have found a common link among several malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer. This breakthrough may ultimately provide a new diagnostic or therapeutic target to detect cancer early or stop tumor growth.

21 Oct 2010

Cost of health plans rise, but health law only one reason

Most Ohioans will face higher health insurance premiums starting in January with hikes ranging from 8 percent to 18 percent giving rise to fresh complaints about the White House-backed health care law.

21 Oct 2010