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SNM Clinical Trials Network Workshop: Experts to discuss usage of molecular imaging

On Feb. 2, the final day of the second annual SNM Clinical Trials Network Workshop, experts working in various facets of the molecular imaging community met in Albuquerque, N.M., to discuss the nuts and bolts of using imaging in clinical trials and the challenges and opportunities ahead in the regulatory landscape.

3 Feb 2010

MPR drug information now available for iPhone and iPod touch

MPR – the most widely used drug reference by clinicians – is now available as a free App for the iPhone and iPod touch. The MPR drug database is also available for free for BlackBerry, Palm, and Microsoft Mobile devices, as well as desktop and laptop computers running Microsoft XP and Microsoft Vista (www.empr.com/download).

3 Feb 2010

Hundred millions for biotech-licence

Apeiron Biologics AG (Apeiron) today announced the signing of an agreement granting GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) exclusive rights to APN01 (recombinant human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2, rhACE2), an enzyme biotherapeutic currently in Phase 1 development for the treatment of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

3 Feb 2010

Hypertension drug market to decrease through 2013 due to generic erosion and few emerging therapies

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, in addition to extensive generic erosion, the hypertension drug market will be constrained through 2018 by a pipeline containing very few emerging therapies with novel mechanisms of action. Gilead's darusentan was positioned to be the next emerging therapy with a novel mechanism of action to reach the hypertension market. However, following darusentan's failure to meet its primary endpoint in the recent DORADO-AC Phase III clinical trial, further development of the agent has been terminated.

3 Feb 2010

MV vaccine prevents TB in people with HIV infection

Results from clinical trials conducted in Tanzania show that a new vaccine against tuberculosis, Mycobacterium vaccae (MV), is effective in preventing tuberculosis in people with HIV infection. Findings from the trials, which were conducted by investigators from Dartmouth Medical School in the United States, will be published in the next issue of AIDS, the leading journal in the field of HIV and AIDS research. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

3 Feb 2010

Tips to prevent heartburn

With the Big Game approaching, many football fans across the country are preparing for viewing parties, and the non-stop eating that comes with them. But favorite football foods like pizza, wings and nachos can trigger heartburn, which can end the evening long before the last touchdown.

3 Feb 2010

Scientists are getting closer to prove how cholesterol causes heart disease

By considering molecular-level events on a broader scale, researchers now have a clearer, if more complicated, picture of how one class of immune cells goes wrong when loaded with cholesterol. The findings reported in the February 3rd issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, show that, when it comes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease, it's not about any one bad actor-it's about a network gone awry.

3 Feb 2010

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio's seven Medicaid managed care plans this month will make changes in the prescription drug plans that cover about 1.5 million people, although many of those beneficiaries will not face increased costs.

3 Feb 2010

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

3 Feb 2010

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Entelos, Inc., a simulation and modeling company focused on human health, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,654,955 entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Assessing Metabolic Substrate Utilization” to the Company. These methods further strengthen the Entelos® Metabolism PhysioLab® platform and leverage insights about human physiology that can lead to improved diagnosis, clinical testing, and personalized treatment across a highly variable patient population.

2 Feb 2010

Obama's budget includes a tempered vision of health reform

Democrats' health overhaul efforts are stalled in Congress, but President Obama's 2011 budget offers a "modest" back-up plan, the Associated Press reports. "The budget released Monday contains lots of respectable ideas to squeeze savings, expand coverage and improve quality, but no ambitious change that launches the nation on a path to health care for all."

2 Feb 2010

Vantia Therapeutics initiates Phase IIb trial of VA106483 for nocturia

Vantia Therapeutics, an emerging pharmaceutical company developing novel, small molecule drugs targeting large, underserved medical markets, today announces it has begun its planned Phase IIb trial of its lead development compound VA106483 for nocturia.

2 Feb 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals signs co-development and commercialization agreement with TopoTarget A/S

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that it has entered into a co-development and commercialization agreement with TopoTarget A/S for Belinostat, a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor.

2 Feb 2010

Medco Health Solutions acquires DNA Direct

Committed to being at the forefront of translating personalized medicine from the science to its daily practice in healthcare, Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the acquisition of DNA Direct, Inc., a leader in providing guidance and decision support for genomic medicine to patients, providers, payors and employees.

2 Feb 2010

Novelty may help prevent relapse in drug addicts

The brain's innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.

2 Feb 2010

Overview of newly evolving technologies for diagnosing and monitoring HIV infections

Rising consumer awareness that early diagnosis and treatment can delay the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to anti-immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has had a telling impact on the sales of HIV tests.

2 Feb 2010

Scientists and engineers conduct research on environmental health impacts of nanomaterials

As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, a separate but equally compelling challenge exists.

2 Feb 2010

Extended nicotine patch therapy benefits relapsing smokers trying to quit

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may help more smokers keep their New Year's resolution by helping them quit smoking. Extended use of a nicotine patch - 24 weeks versus the standard eight weeks recommended by manufacturers - boosts the number of smokers who maintain their cigarette abstinence and helps more of those who backslide into the habit while wearing the patch, according to a study which will be published in the February 2 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

2 Feb 2010

Also in Global Health News: Retrovirus enzyme; audit of USAID program; Africa's agriculture

A study published on Sunday in the journal Nature has shed light on the enzyme integrase, "which is found in retroviruses like HIV and is a target for some of the newest HIV medicines," Reuters reports. Scientists at the Imperial College London and Harvard University grew a crystal of integrase in the lab allowing them to see the enzyme's structure. According to the news service, the scientists "said that having the integrase structure means researchers can begin fully to understand how integrase inhibitor drugs work, how they might be improved, and how to stop HIV developing resistance to them," according to the news service (Kelland, 2/1).

2 Feb 2010

New approach may prove useful in labor anesthesia, orthopedics and more

One of the holy grails of local anesthesia is the ability to achieve a long-lasting nerve block that eliminates pain sensation while not affecting motor function. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered an anesthetic approach that seems to do just that.

2 Feb 2010

Drugs News and Research

SNM Clinical Trials Network Workshop: Experts to discuss usage of molecular imaging

MPR drug information now available for iPhone and iPod touch

Hundred millions for biotech-licence

Hypertension drug market to decrease through 2013 due to generic erosion and few emerging therapies

MV vaccine prevents TB in people with HIV infection

Tips to prevent heartburn

Scientists are getting closer to prove how cholesterol causes heart disease

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Obama's budget includes a tempered vision of health reform

Vantia Therapeutics initiates Phase IIb trial of VA106483 for nocturia

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals signs co-development and commercialization agreement with TopoTarget A/S

Medco Health Solutions acquires DNA Direct

Novelty may help prevent relapse in drug addicts

Overview of newly evolving technologies for diagnosing and monitoring HIV infections

Scientists and engineers conduct research on environmental health impacts of nanomaterials

Extended nicotine patch therapy benefits relapsing smokers trying to quit

Also in Global Health News: Retrovirus enzyme; audit of USAID program; Africa's agriculture

New approach may prove useful in labor anesthesia, orthopedics and more

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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