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Promising breakthrough in adjuvant development may lead to cost-effective therapeutic vaccines

It should be possible to use therapeutic vaccines to create both cheap and effective drugs for diseases like cancer and allergies. One problem in developing such vaccines has previously been the lack of adjuvants, substances that make vaccines more effective. However, there has now been a major breakthrough in this area. The study, led by Swedish scientists at Uppsala University, is published in the December issue of the journal Vaccine.

17 Dec 2009

New comparison of subsidized COBRA premiums and non-group health insurance premiums

Today eHealth, Inc. released a new comparison of subsidized individual COBRA premiums and non-group health insurance premiums for individuals using data derived from eHealth's December 2009 Cost and Benefits Report and a Families USA Foundation report released in January 2009.

17 Dec 2009

Human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, says study

The most widely used human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, a finding that raises social justice questions that must be addressed to ensure that all sectors of society benefit from stem cell advances, according to a University of Michigan research team.

17 Dec 2009

Sanofi Pasteur uses PHT’s LogPad System and StudyWorks online portal for its Phase II trial

PHT Corporation announced that Sanofi Pasteur is using PHT’s LogPad® System and StudyWorksTM online portal for a Phase II trial to develop a vaccine against the Clostridium difficile bacterium.

17 Dec 2009

Typical smoker acquires one mutation for every 15 cigarettes and all cancers are caused by mutations

Research teams led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute announce the first comprehensive analyses of cancer genomes.

17 Dec 2009

Cannabis for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease treatment

Chemicals found in cannabis could prove an effective treatment for the inflammatory bowel diseases Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, say scientists.

17 Dec 2009

Scientists analyze more than 21 million calls to determine the spread of malaria

University of Florida researchers at work on a malaria elimination study in Africa have become the first to predict the spread of the disease using cell phone records.

17 Dec 2009

Professional treatment can benefit first responders to cope with emotional challenges

Professional first responders are prepared, equipped and trained to handle various emergency situations, from car accidents to terrorist attacks and other major disasters. Today, however, this great responsibility can be particularly burdensome on one's emotions.

17 Dec 2009

Interactive conference session focuses on strengths and weaknesses of new trends in drug benefit plan design

Benefits executives from Caterpillar, Inc., Procter & Gamble, and Delta Air Lines are among the employers who will share innovative approaches to plan design at the 2010 Drug Benefit Conference sponsored by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI).

17 Dec 2009

New application developed by AIM increases health plan staff productivity

A new application developed by American Imaging Management® (AIM) to manage the clinical review of specialty pharmaceuticals has increased health plan staff productivity and the number of drugs reviewed while reducing costs.

17 Dec 2009

FDA Advisory Committee votes against the approval of Tarceva

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 12 to one recommending against approval of the daily pill Tarceva® (erlotinib) for first-line maintenance use in people with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose cancer has not progressed (grown or spread) following first-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.

17 Dec 2009

Proposed health care legislation to set new standards in employer-based insurance system

If proposed health care legislation is enacted, it would set new standards in the employer-based insurance system. Approximately 18.4 million Californians and 161 million Americans under the age of 65 rely upon employer-based insurance for their health care coverage.

17 Dec 2009

ODAC to review Cell Therapeutics' NDA for pixantrone

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) announced today that on February 10, 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) will review the New Drug Application (NDA) for pixantrone for the treatment of relapsed/refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

17 Dec 2009

ODAC to conduct public advisory meeting to review ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals’ NDA for Omapro

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified the company that the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) will conduct a public advisory meeting on 10 February 2010 to review the Company’s NDA for Omapro™ (omacetaxine mepesuccinate) for injection.

17 Dec 2009

Infection control program protects immunocompromised cancer patients from H1N1 infection

Despite a 100-fold increase in H1N1 influenza cases in the Seattle area during spring 2009, an aggressive infection control program to protect immunocompromised cancer patients and thorough screening measures resulted in no corresponding increase in H1N1 cases among the total patient population at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, according to a new study by researchers and physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the SCCA.

17 Dec 2009

JCTM established to advance new research toward clinical applications

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have announced the establishment of the Joint Center for Translational Medicine (JCTM), which will advance experimental research into clinical applications, including the diagnosis and therapy of diseases such as cancer.

17 Dec 2009

Researchers identify genetic markers to help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics

Researchers using a DNA analysis tool developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and UCLA have identified genetic markers that could help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics.

17 Dec 2009

Group of drugs used to treat heart failure shows promise for fighting colon cancer

Scientists in Sweden are reporting for the first time that a group of drugs used to treat heart failure shows promise for fighting colon cancer. The study is in ACS' Journal of Natural Products, a monthly publication. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, with more than 150,000 cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

17 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: Kenya HIV/AIDS; Uganda bill; water project in Philippines; U.N. appeal for Yemen

U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger on Wednesday announced the U.S. would provide $26.5 million (2.7 billion Kenyan shillings) between 2009 and 2013 to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya, the Daily Nation reports (Sinundu, 12/16). In related news, the Standard reports the Kenyan government will be begin the gradual phase out of the antiretroviral drug, Stavudine, which is known to cause adverse side effects (Mwai, 12/15).

17 Dec 2009

More details emerge about UNITAID's plan for patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs

News outlets continued to follow UNITAID's recent announcement to create a patent pool aimed at lowering the cost of HIV/AIDS drugs for low- and middle-income countries. Though UNITAID's board "voted Monday to create a board to run the new patent pool, and set a target of having five AIDS drugs in the pool by mid-2010," the group "punted on the thorny issue of which countries outside of Africa to include in the pool," Forbes reports.

16 Dec 2009

Drugs News and Research

Promising breakthrough in adjuvant development may lead to cost-effective therapeutic vaccines

New comparison of subsidized COBRA premiums and non-group health insurance premiums

Human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, says study

Sanofi Pasteur uses PHT’s LogPad System and StudyWorks online portal for its Phase II trial

Typical smoker acquires one mutation for every 15 cigarettes and all cancers are caused by mutations

Cannabis for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease treatment

Scientists analyze more than 21 million calls to determine the spread of malaria

Professional treatment can benefit first responders to cope with emotional challenges

Interactive conference session focuses on strengths and weaknesses of new trends in drug benefit plan design

New application developed by AIM increases health plan staff productivity

FDA Advisory Committee votes against the approval of Tarceva

Proposed health care legislation to set new standards in employer-based insurance system

ODAC to review Cell Therapeutics' NDA for pixantrone

ODAC to conduct public advisory meeting to review ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals’ NDA for Omapro

Infection control program protects immunocompromised cancer patients from H1N1 infection

JCTM established to advance new research toward clinical applications

Researchers identify genetic markers to help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics

Group of drugs used to treat heart failure shows promise for fighting colon cancer

Also in global health news: Kenya HIV/AIDS; Uganda bill; water project in Philippines; U.N. appeal for Yemen

More details emerge about UNITAID's plan for patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs

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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