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Hospira commences EPO Phase I U.S. clinical trial in renal dysfunction patients with anemia

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced the start of a U.S. Phase I clinical trial of its biosimilar erythropoietin (EPO) in patients with renal (kidney) dysfunction who have anemia, an important step on the road toward introducing a biosimilar product in the United States. Erythropoietin is a treatment for anemia associated with chronic renal failure and chemotherapy.

26 Jul 2010

Common myths around drinking

There are so many stories around alcohol and drinking that it's hard to know what to believe.

26 Jul 2010

Calibra Medical's Finesse insulin patch-pen receives FDA clearance for use with Novo Nordisk's Novolog

Calibra Medical announced today it received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Finesse™ insulin patch-pen for up to three-day use with Novo Nordisk's Novolog® rapid acting insulin. Combining the mealtime therapy-adherence benefits of insulin pumps with the simplicity and affordability of syringes and pens, Calibra's novel bolus-only patch-pen is a small, adhesively attached, flat device that can be operated discretely through clothing to deliver mealtime, snack time, and correction bolus insulin in seconds.

26 Jul 2010

FDA grants Biovest's BiovaxID vaccine Orphan Drug Designation for mantle cell lymphoma

Biovest International, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to BiovaxID®, Biovest's personalized cancer vaccine, for a second lymphoma indication: mantle cell lymphoma. Mantle cell lymphoma is an aggressive and lethal B-cell blood cancer for which there is no current consensus standard-of-care.

26 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 26, 2010

Today's headlines include news about the politics of implementing the new health reform law as well as the ADA's 20th anniversary.

26 Jul 2010

Medtronic glucose monitoring device helps owners manage pets’ diabetes

The treatment of diabetes was revolutionized in 1922 when insulin was isolated from dogs. Since then, significant advances in human medicine have made diabetes more manageable for patients. Now, human medicine has returned the favor and used these advances to help dogs with diabetes. A University of Missouri researcher is using a continuous glucose monitoring device - commonly used in humans with diabetes - to help treat dogs and other animals. The device, which provides a detailed glucose picture of an animal over several days, will help pet owners manage their pets' diabetes.

26 Jul 2010

Methodist surgical team completes first phase training to implant new total artificial heart

A 13-member surgical team from the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center completed the first phase of training to implant a new total artificial heart designed to completely replace the heart's function while the patient waits for a heart transplant. Methodist will be the first hospital in Texas to offer this total heart replacement.

26 Jul 2010

Mismanagement of diabetes leads to fatal accident

One of the worst case scenarios that can happen to a diabetic is if he or she falls into a hypoglycemic coma. This is caused by a severe deficiency in glucose levels found in the blood which causes the brain to seek other energy sources at the same time shutting down other important body functions. If treatment is delayed or neglected by the diabetic person, such a coma can cause not only loss of consciousness but also irreversible brain damage and death.

26 Jul 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim announces European CHMP Positive Opinion for TWYNSTA

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a Positive Opinion for the approval of TWYNSTA®. It will be indicated in adults whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled on amlodipine and is also indicated as replacement therapy in adult patients receiving telmisartan and amlodipine from separate tablets can instead receive tablets of TWYNSTA containing the same component doses.

26 Jul 2010

Scientists develop nanoprobe to detect blood vessel growth in tumors

Formation of new blood vessels, also known as angiogenesis, is crucial for sustained tumor growth and cancer metastasis. Recently, clinically available therapies to suppress the growth of these vessels have been available to improve patient survival in some cancer types. Accurate detection and quantification of blood vessel growth using nonsurgical methods would greatly complement current therapies and allow physicians to quickly assess treatment regimens and adjust them as necessary. In the work published in the August issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Kessinger and coworkers have incorporated nanotechnology, material science, and the clinical imaging modality MRI, to create a nanosized probe capable of noninvasively visualizing and quantifying the blood vessel growth in tumors in a preclinical model.

26 Jul 2010

HTG patients face increased risk for heart disease, stroke: Study

It can make blood look like cream of tomato soup. Patients with high levels of triglycerides in their blood, a disease called hypertriglyceridemia face an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. HTG affects one in 20 people in North America and is also associated with obesity, diabetes and pancreatitis. Most people now understand the importance of LDL, the bad cholesterol and HDL, the good cholesterol, to their overall health.

26 Jul 2010

Inhibiting fatty acid synthase can reduce atherosclerosis: Study

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to significantly reduce atherosclerosis in mice that does not involve lowering cholesterol levels or eliminating other obesity-related problems.

26 Jul 2010

Experimental treatment for sickle cell disease enters Phase 3 clinical trials

An experimental treatment for sickle cell disease developed at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute has entered Phase 3 clinical trials, David I. Meyer, PhD, LA BioMed president and CEO announced today.

26 Jul 2010

Babesiosis disease on the rise in Lower Hudson Valley: NYS DOH

Babesiosis, a rare and occasionally fatal tick-borne disease caused by microscopic parasites known as Babesia which infect red blood cells, is on the rise in the Lower Hudson Valley according to the NYS DOH, including the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan and Rockland.

23 Jul 2010

Reducing calorie intake can restrict growth, spread of brain cancer: Researchers

Researchers at Boston College, MA, have found that reducing calorie intake can restrict the growth and spread of brain cancer. Writing in ASN NEURO, Laura Shelton and colleagues report success with mice suffering from glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive and invasive form of primary human brain cancer.

23 Jul 2010

First generic version of Lovenox receives FDA approval for DVT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic version of Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium injection), an anti-coagulant drug used to prevent deep vein thrombosis, a potentially deadly blood clotting condition.

23 Jul 2010

Preclinical data of new acamprosate prodrug to be presented at International Fragile X Conference

XenoPort, Inc. announced today that it has discovered a novel prodrug that has the potential to improve significantly the blood concentration of acamprosate compared with the currently approved formulation of acamprosate. Preclinical data on this new product candidate will be presented tomorrow at the National Fragile X Foundation's 12th International Fragile X Conference in Detroit, Michigan.

23 Jul 2010

Choice between late-term abortion or keeping an unhealthy foetus

Most pregnant women whose foetus is proven to have a genetic abnormality choose to have an abortion, but reaching that decision is a painful, exhausting process for most of them. "The women's doubt, pain and sorrow make abortion more moral - in the eyes of society as well as her own," says Sølvi Marie Risøy, a researcher at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, University of Bergen.

23 Jul 2010

Insulin action may provide link between bone health, metabolic disease: Study

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that insulin, the sugar-regulating hormone, is required for normal bone development and that it may provide a link between bone health and metabolic disease, such as diabetes.

23 Jul 2010

NVCI, CSN and Workforce CONNECTIONS partner to launch ARRA funded nursing internship program

Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) is launching its Plus One Program, a paid nursing internship initiative to equip nursing graduates with advanced training to give them an edge in today's competitive nursing job market. After completing a paid one-year internship at NVCI, participants will become oncology nurses, a highly sought-after specialty. These specialized jobs have the potential to pay increased wages, provide excellent benefits and support articulated career ladders within the field of oncology.

23 Jul 2010