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First Edition: August 27, 2010

In the headlines today, news about U.S. plans to step up efforts to crack down on health care fraud.

27 Aug 2010

'Neural inertia' may explain brain's resistance to changes in consciousness

Despite the fact that an estimated 25 million patients per year in the U.S. undergo surgeries using general anesthesia, scientists have only been able to hypothesize exactly how anesthetics interact with the central nervous system. They previously thought that the processes of "going under" and waking up from anesthesia affected the brain in the same way.

27 Aug 2010

New York State permits Genelex Corporation's DNA Drug Sensitivity Tests

The New York State Department of Health has licensed Genelex Corporation's DNA Drug Sensitivity Tests for use by doctors in the state. The issued Clinical Laboratory Permit is for DNA testing of three enzymes, the cytochrome P450s, that process more than 50 percent of the most commonly prescribed medicines.

27 Aug 2010

American features series on HIV/AIDS: Prevention Strategies, MSM, Idus

A Scientific American series examines how recent scientific advances will guide future efforts to thwart HIV/AIDS and also looks at the epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) and injecting drug users (IDUs).

27 Aug 2010

Wall Street Journal reports on pharma's growing interest in emerging markets

Abbott Laboratories will soon acquire the biggest share of India's pharmaceuticals market, about 7%, when the company closes as early as next month on a $3.7 billion takeover of the drugs business of Piramal Healthcare Ltd

27 Aug 2010

Experimental drug PLX4032 holds promise against cancers with faulty BRAF gene

An experimental drug designed to treat cancers with a particular genetic fault has shown promising results in a small clinical trial.

27 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: Disaster preparedness in Asian health sector; PEPFAR in Uganda; Malnutrition in Chad

IRIN reports on disaster preparedness in Asian health sectors. According to the news service, nine countries working with Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) "have emergency preparedness plans in place for their health sectors."

27 Aug 2010

SYSPRO ERP solution support pharmaceutical manufacturers to new FDA regulation

SYSPRO, the leading provider of visionary, pragmatic ERP software, today announced that the company is highly confident that the SYSPRO ERP solution will enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to meet the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations being proposed by Congress.

27 Aug 2010

Hemoglobin variability does not increase mortality in European hemodialysis patients: Study

Fluctuations in blood composition that often arise from commonly used therapies among kidney disease patients are not an independent predictor of adverse outcomes for European hemodialysis patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that although hemoglobin variability is common in kidney disease patients, it does not appear to increase their likelihood of dying early.

27 Aug 2010

Battery of tests for quick assessment of cognitive abilities in Down syndrome patients

Neuroscientists in the Down Syndrome Research Group at the University of Arizona have created a battery of tests that quickly aid in the assessment of the cognitive abilities of persons with Down syndrome.

27 Aug 2010

NICE suggests bortezomib, thalidomide for multiple myeloma patients

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has released draft guidance which recommends the drugs bortezomib and thalidomide as first-line therapies for some patients with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that affects cells in the bone marrow.

27 Aug 2010

Vanda Pharmaceuticals initiates tasimelteon Phase III clinical trial for Non-24-Hour Sleep Wake Disorder

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., today announced it has initiated a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate tasimelteon in patients with Non-24-Hour Sleep Wake Disorder (N24HSWD), a condition experienced primarily by totally blind individuals that results in abnormal night sleep patterns and chronic daytime sleepiness.

26 Aug 2010

AARP Report finds increase in brand-name drug costs outstrips inflation

"Retail prices for some of the most widely used brand-name prescription drugs shot up more than 8 percent in 2009, even as inflation plummeted to a record low, according to a new AARP analysis of retail drug price trends released today.

26 Aug 2010

Lotus Pharmaceuticals initiates R-Bambuterol Clinical Trial I on-schedule

Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a growing developer, manufacturer and seller of medicine and drugs in the People's Republic of China, announced today that it has entered R-Bambuterol Clinical Trial I on-schedule and is on-track to complete in six months. The studies will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the new drug as well as the biological activity by measuring responses in healthy volunteers.

26 Aug 2010

NeoPharm second-quarter net loss decreases to $0.8 million

NeoPharm, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of new and innovative therapeutic applications of drugs for various forms of cancer and other diseases, today announced its second quarter 2010 financial results.

26 Aug 2010

23rd European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress to be held 28 Aug - 1 Sep 2010 in Amsterdam

Mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, addiction and schizophrenia are the core challenge of most health care systems around the world. In the EU alone, each year 27% of the total adult population - this corresponds to 83 Million citizens - suffer from mental disorders. Depression alone affects almost 20 million ranking in the EU as the most disabling disorder of all diseases.

26 Aug 2010

Momenta Pharmaceuticals provides update on generic Lovenox litigation

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, today announced that on August 25, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC's request for a preliminary injunction directing the FDA to suspend and withdraw its approval of the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filed by the Company's collaboration partner, Sandoz, for enoxaparin sodium injection USP, a generic version of Lovenox®. The decision is subject to appeal.

26 Aug 2010

Affordable Care Act that mandates free preventative services goes into effect in September

Starting in September, President Obama's Affordable Care Act will go into effect. The act mandates free preventative services such as cholesterol or breast cancer screenings and tetanus shots. But the question is, will doctors and patients take advantage of these new preventative services? "Unfortunately, thanks to our American healthcare system, we have been programmed to focus on treatment and not prevention," said Dr. David Samadi, a urologic oncologist specializing in prostate cancer treatment and robotic surgery, who is also the Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

26 Aug 2010

PCMA reports increase in retail prices of popular brand-name drugs

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement on a new AARP report that examined retail prices of brand-name drugs and found that the 217 products most used by seniors increased by an average of 8.3 percent during 2009, while over the last five years retail prices for the most popular brand-name drugs increased 41.5 percent:

26 Aug 2010

NCPA releases unbiased, detailed analysis of health care reform costs and benefits

The first detailed and objective consumer's guide on the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has just been released by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), titled "What Does Health Care Reform Mean To You? A Detailed Analysis"

26 Aug 2010