Heart Failure News and Research

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Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. It should not be confused with cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction.

Medicare drug benefit appears to help more seniors with heart failure

The Medicare drug benefit may be helping more older Americans with heart failure get the medications recommended for controlling the disease, a new study finds. The study, of nearly 7,000 older heart failure patients in one large insurance plan, found that the number of filled prescriptions for standard heart failure medications increased after the Medicare drug benefit kicked in in 2006. The biggest increase was seen among seniors who had previously lacked any form of drug coverage.

22 Jul 2010

Genentech disappointed with FDA ODAC's recommendation against Avastin

Genentech, Inc., a 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 that use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with paclitaxel for previously untreated (first-line) advanced HER2-negative breast cancer be removed from Avastin's U.S. label.

21 Jul 2010

Acorda Therapeutics awarded $1M C-TRIP grant to support research on GGF2

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded a $1 million Cardiac Translational Research Implementation Program grant to support research on Glial Growth Factor 2, a novel investigational agent for the treatment of patients with heart failure under development at Acorda.

20 Jul 2010

Abortion fight again heats up over high-risk pools, other health reform news

Anti-abortion activists have "scored a victory" after a decision last week by the Obama administration to not allow the new high-risk pools in America to cover most abortions, The Associated Press reports.

20 Jul 2010

GE Capital serves as sole lender to Mitralign for $5 million senior secured credit facility

GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services announced today that it served as agent and sole lender to Mitralign, Inc. for a $5 million senior secured credit facility. Mitralign will use the credit facility for working capital as the company advances development of its mitral valve repair device.

19 Jul 2010

Geron commences enrollment in imetelstat Phase 2 clinical trial for NSCLC

Geron Corporation today announced enrollment of the first patient in a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of its telomerase inhibitor drug, imetelstat (GRN163L), as maintenance therapy following platinum-based induction therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

19 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Today's headlines include the latest news regarding the politics of implementing health reform as well as developments from the international AIDS conference now underway in Vienna.

19 Jul 2010

Over-expression of CIB1 protein triggers biochemical processes that lead to cardiac hypertrophy: Study

Scientists have identified a key molecular regulator of cardiac hypertrophy (enlargement of the heart) that may provide a therapeutic target for a major risk factor of heart failure and early death.

19 Jul 2010

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center on Thursday was ranked in the 2010-2011 Best Hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report, making it one of 152 medical centers nationwide selected out of nearly 2,000 eligible institutions.

16 Jul 2010

BioSTAR biodegradable implant achieves comparable closure rates to Amplatzer ASO

A novel study by Canadian physicians reported that the BioSTARTM biodegradable implant achieved comparable closure rates to the Amplatzer Septal OccluderTM (ASO) in children with atrial septal defect (ASD). The BioSTAR device displayed successful outcomes, while avoiding issues associated with implants containing substantial amounts of metal.

16 Jul 2010

ACTOS offers safety profile regarding risk of CV events in people with type 2 diabetes: Takeda

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee held a joint meeting primarily focused on reviewing the cardiovascular safety of rosiglitazone, as presented by the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline. Following this two day discussion, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. ("Takeda") underscores its position that ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl) offers an established safety profile regarding the risk of CV events in people living with type 2 diabetes.

16 Jul 2010

Activities of TAT fully consolidated into Geron

Geron Corporation today announced that the activities of TA Therapeutics, its joint venture with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are being fully consolidated into Geron.

15 Jul 2010

MD Buyline identifies top emerging technologies with highest impact

This release will explain how these important technologies encourage high utilization rates across multiple service lines, bringing value to hospitals. Reimbursement changes and hospital structure enable technology purchases to generate a sequence of changes throughout service lines and dramatically impact the bottom line.

15 Jul 2010

GSK confirms FDA advisory committees' vote to allow Avandia to remain on the market

GlaxoSmithKline confirmed today that a joint advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to allow Avandia to remain on the market. Committee members voted for recommendations ranging from making no changes to the current label, to revising the label with additional warnings and restrictions to withdrawal from the U.S. market.

15 Jul 2010

Trevena completes $35M Series B financing

Trevena, Inc., the leader in discovery and development of G-protein coupled receptor biased ligands, announced today that it has completed a $35 million Series B financing. Existing investors Polaris Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates led the round, with all other existing Trevena investors - Alta Partners, Healthcare Ventures and Yasuda Enterprise Development Company - also participating in the financing.

14 Jul 2010

Research provides better understanding of drugs used to treat, prevent cardiovascular disease

Using chemical labeling and mass spectrometry-based techniques, Mark Chance, PhD, director of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics and professor of physiology and biophysics; Sayan Gupta, PhD, instructor at the Case Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics; and a research team from the University of Oxford, for the first time, were able to take a high resolution picture of the open state of a K+ channel, allowing them to comparatively analyze gating mechanisms important to heart function and nerve signaling - in addition these techniques have already permitted Case Western investigators to gain a deeper understanding of G-protein coupled receptors.

14 Jul 2010

New research shows Alzheimer's disease may increase risk of other potentially disabling health conditions

Having Alzheimer's disease may increase the risk of getting other potentially disabling health conditions, including seizures and anemia, according to new research presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 in Honolulu, HI.

14 Jul 2010

FDA to decide on Avandia’s fate Wednesday

Avandia, a drug used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes was approved for use in 1999. However controversies have surrounded it since 2007 when a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven E. Nissen published a study in the acclaimed New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that the drug significantly increased the risk for heart problems like heart attacks, heart failure and deaths.

13 Jul 2010

Combined behavioral interventions most effective way to reduce heart disease risk

Combining counseling, extended follow-up with a healthcare provider and self-monitoring of diet and exercise is the most effective way to help patients embrace lifestyle changes that can lower their risk for heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases, according to a scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

13 Jul 2010

Strategies to prevent HACs, reduce cost of care, improve patient experience discussed at QUEST National Meeting

As healthcare providers prepare for the implications of reform, the more than 200 hospitals participating in the QUEST: High Performing Hospitals collaborative are already achieving the goals of improving patient care and reducing costs.

13 Jul 2010

Heart Failure News and Research

Further Reading

Medicare drug benefit appears to help more seniors with heart failure

Genentech disappointed with FDA ODAC's recommendation against Avastin

Acorda Therapeutics awarded $1M C-TRIP grant to support research on GGF2

Abortion fight again heats up over high-risk pools, other health reform news

GE Capital serves as sole lender to Mitralign for $5 million senior secured credit facility

Geron commences enrollment in imetelstat Phase 2 clinical trial for NSCLC

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Over-expression of CIB1 protein triggers biochemical processes that lead to cardiac hypertrophy: Study

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

BioSTAR biodegradable implant achieves comparable closure rates to Amplatzer ASO

ACTOS offers safety profile regarding risk of CV events in people with type 2 diabetes: Takeda

Activities of TAT fully consolidated into Geron

MD Buyline identifies top emerging technologies with highest impact

GSK confirms FDA advisory committees' vote to allow Avandia to remain on the market

Trevena completes $35M Series B financing

Research provides better understanding of drugs used to treat, prevent cardiovascular disease

New research shows Alzheimer's disease may increase risk of other potentially disabling health conditions

FDA to decide on Avandia’s fate Wednesday

Combined behavioral interventions most effective way to reduce heart disease risk

Strategies to prevent HACs, reduce cost of care, improve patient experience discussed at QUEST National Meeting

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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