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2010 budget for FDA invests substantially in food and medical product safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is requesting a budget of $3.2 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget - a 19 percent increase over the current FDA fiscal year budget.

7 May 2009

Senate HELP Committee moves up FDA Commissioner-Designate Hamburg's confirmation hearing due to H1N1 outbreak

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has moved to Thursday the confirmation hearing for Margaret Hamburg, President Obama's pick for FDA commissioner, citing the need to address the H1N1 influenza outbreak, the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 May 2009

Chemical found in medical devices impairs heart function

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a chemical commonly used in the production of such medical plastic devices as intravenous (IV) bags and catheters can impair heart function in rats.

3 May 2009

In-body stem cell therapy has enormous potential for bone injuries

Rarely will physicians use the word "miraculous" when discussing patient recoveries. But that's the very phrase orthopaedic physicians and scientists are using in upstate New York to describe their emerging stem cell research that could have a profound impact on the treatment of bone injuries. Results from preliminary work being released today, patients confined to wheelchairs were able to walk or live independently again because their broken bones finally healed.

23 Apr 2009

South Australian hospital battles to contain superbug VRE

The cancer ward at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) in South Australia is currently battling to cope with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Vanocomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), a form of bacteria which lives in the gut.

16 Apr 2009

Scientists discover way to jumpstart bone's healing process

Rarely will physicians use the word "miraculous" when discussing patient recoveries.

14 Apr 2009

FDA imposes restrictions on Coast IRB due to violations

The U.S Food and Drug Administration has announced that Coast IRB, LLC of Colorado Springs, Colo., has agreed to voluntarily halt some aspects of its clinical trial oversight operations due to serious concerns about the company's ability to protect human subjects participating in clinical trials.

14 Apr 2009

Johns Hopkins tightens rules on industry interactions

Johns Hopkins Medicine has adopted a new policy that significantly limits interactions with industry while ensuring effective, principled and appropriate partnerships with drug and medical device makers.

9 Apr 2009

Medtronic commences abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft study

Medtronic, Inc. has announced the start of ENGAGE, the largest ever study of its kind, which will evaluate the performance of the Endurant stent graft, an implantable medical device designed to provide an advanced minimally-invasive alternative to open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

9 Apr 2009

FDA to review 25 medical devices marketed prior to 1976

The FDA today announced that manufacturers of 25 types of medical devices marketed prior to 1976 must submit safety and effectiveness information to the agency so that it may evaluate the risk level for each device type.

8 Apr 2009

Exercise is safe, improves quality of life in patients With chronic heart failure

Behavior treatment works as well as drugs for children with ADHD and bypasses the risk of medication's side effects, a meta-analysis of 174 studies on ADHD treatment conducted at the University at Buffalo, has shown.

7 Apr 2009

Celsion announces promising trial results for ThermoDox in breast cancer

Celsion Corporation has announced that promising Phase I clinical results evaluating ThermoDox for the treatment of recurrent chest wall (RCW) breast cancer were presented by Duke University investigators on Sunday, April 5 at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Society for Thermal Medicine (STM) in Tucson, Arizona.

6 Apr 2009

Torax Medical launches study of new LINX Reflux management system

Torax Medical Inc., a medical device company focused on the minimally invasive treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has commenced a pivotal clinical trial of its LINX Reflux Management System.

5 Apr 2009

Medical leaders call for curbs on conflicts of interest

Calling professional medical associations' (PMAs) dependence on funding from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers a threat to quality patient care and professional integrity, a group of influential medical leaders today urged these organizations to reduce and eventually eliminate industry contributions.

1 Apr 2009

Medgenics’ phase I/II clinical trial shows EPODURE continuous anemia treatment lasting 5 months in kidney disease patients

Medgenics has announced that the latest, encouraging results of the Company's ongoing EPODURE Biopump Phase I/II Clinical Trial were presented at the 45th Conference of the Israeli Society of Nephrology and Hypertension, in Israel on March 27, 2009.

29 Mar 2009

Jaundice an unreliable method of predicting the baby's risk of hyperbilirubinemia

For hundreds of years, doctors, nurses and midwives have visually examined newborn babies for the yellowish skin tones that signify jaundice, judging that more extensive jaundice carried a greater risk of illness.

23 Mar 2009

Coatings that kill superbugs

Researchers at the University of Bath are to be part of a 3 million Euros Europe-wide research collaboration to pioneer research into safer, more effective anti-bacterial plastics and coatings that can be used in items such as food packaging, medical devices to wound dressings, and nappies.

20 Mar 2009

Obama advisers suggest President might not oppose taxing some employer-sponsored health benefits

The Obama administration is "signaling to Congress" that President Obama "could support taxing some employee health benefits" to help offset the cost of health care reform, a move supported by "several influential lawmakers and many economists" but "opposed by union leaders and some businesses," the New York Times reports (Calmes/Pear, New York Times, 3/15).

16 Mar 2009

FDA approves new version of St. Jude Medical internet-based remote care system for implanted medical devices

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the newest version of the Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN), a secure, Internet-based remote care system for patients with implanted medical devices.

16 Mar 2009

University of Florida doctors test targets for Parkinson surgery

Doctors may be able to tailor a specialized form of brain surgery to more closely match the needs of Parkinson patients, according to results from the first large-scale effort to compare the two current target areas of deep brain stimulation surgery, or DBS.

15 Mar 2009