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HemaQuest closes additional $4M to Series B financing

HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing small molecule therapeutics for sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia and EBV-related cancers, announced today the closing of an additional $4M to its Series B financing by new investor, Latterell Venture Partners. This investment brings the total Series B financing to $16M.

28 Jul 2010

Kyowa Hakko Kirin initiates Phase 2 trial of ARQ 197 for gastric cancer: ArQule

ArQule, Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2, single agent trial with ARQ 197 in gastric cancer by Kyowa Hakko Kirin, its exclusive licensee for the development and commercialization of ARQ 197 in the Asian territory consisting of Japan, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea and Taiwan. Initiation of this trial will trigger a $5 million milestone payment to ArQule from Kyowa Hakko Kirin.

28 Jul 2010

Redpoint Bio issued patent that covers high-throughput screening technology

Redpoint Bio Corporation, a company focused on the development of healthier foods and beverages and new approaches to the treatment of diabetes and obesity, today announced the issuance of Patent No. 7,749,730 B2 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled "High Throughput Screening Assay for the TRPm5 Ion Channel."

28 Jul 2010

United Therapeutics second-quarter total revenues increase to $137.5 million

United Therapeutics Corporation today announced its results of operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

28 Jul 2010

Vitro Diagnostics, Mokshagundam Biotechnologies enter contract to develop stem cell-derived food

Vitro Diagnostics, Inc., dba Vitro Biopharma, announced that it has entered into a contract with Mokshagundam Biotechnologies, a private research organization established to develop alternative meat sources, to develop cell culture medium for use in exploration of alternative food sources derived from stem cells.

28 Jul 2010

New book introduces practical information on how to find job opportunities

For those with an aptitude in science and an interest in working with medical discovery teams, careers at drug, medical device, and contract research organization companies can be fulfilling. A new book from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Career Opportunities in Clinical Drug Research, introduces readers to entry-level clinical job opportunities and explains how to qualify for them.

28 Jul 2010

Aphios awarded US patent for compositions, methods for treating diseases involving 5-α reductase enzyme

Aphios® Corporation today announced that it was awarded United States Patent No. 7,744,935 B2 for "Compositions and Methods for Inhibiting 5-α Reductase," granted June 29, 2010. This invention is related to compositions and methods for treating diseases involving the 5-alpha (α) reductase enzyme.

28 Jul 2010

New funding made available to tackle common cause of food poisoning in the UK

Up to £2 Million is being made available today to tackle the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK - Campylobacter. Three of the UK's main public funders of food safety research have come together to invite research proposals to find out more about the organism and how best to control it. To provide safe and nutritious food for a growing world population it is important to reduce the incidence of food poisoning. Campylobacter species are responsible for more than 300,000 cases of food poisoning a year in England and Wales.

28 Jul 2010

Medtronic reports FDA Panel's affirmative votes on AMPLIFY rhBMP-2 Matrix for posterolateral spine fusion

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel today voted 9 for and 4 against (1 abstention) on safety and 10 for and 3 against (1 abstention) on effectiveness, that data including results from a large, prospective randomized clinical trial demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of AMPLIFY™ rhBMP-2 Matrix for fusions of the lower spine in patients with degenerative disc disease.

28 Jul 2010

SurModics, EGEN continue collaboration on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry and EGEN, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing nucleic acid (DNA and RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases, are pleased to announce they have executed a continuation of their feasibility collaboration focused on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes.

28 Jul 2010

Response Biomedical announces shareholder approval for $8 million private placement

Response Biomedical Corporation announced that at the Company's Special General Shareholders' Meeting held today in Vancouver, shareholders approved the private placement of an aggregate of 13,333,333 common shares, at a price of Cdn. $0.60 per Offered Share, to Caduceus Private Investments III, LP, OrbiMed Associates III, LP and Caduceus Asia Partners, LP for gross proceeds of approximately Cdn. $8 million.

28 Jul 2010

Integral Molecular receives patent for Lipoparticle membrane protein technology

Integral Molecular, Inc. today announced the issuance of a key patent covering its technology for deriving high concentrations of membrane proteins. The patent, issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covers the core composition of Integral Molecular's Lipoparticle technology, a novel cell-free format for deriving highly-concentrated membrane proteins for antibody development, drug discovery, and biomedical research.

28 Jul 2010

Genzyme accepts CMS decision for delaying Renvela administration to dialysis patients

Genzyme Corp.today said it welcomed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' decision not to include oral medications without IV equivalents in Medicare's End Stage Renal Disease patient benefit. According to the final rule, these medications, including Genzyme's Renvela (sevelamer carbonate), will not be included in the bundle until January 1, 2014.

28 Jul 2010

Mediomics receives additional $460,000 in STTR Phase II grant for PINCER protein assay development

Mediomics, LLC has received an additional $460,000 in a renewal of its 2nd year STTR Phase II grant (R42GM079891) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Since 2007, Mediomics has received over one million dollars of STTR funding to develop its quick and sensitive homogenous PINCER™ protein assay. The major goal of the second year project is to further increase the sensitivity of the biosensor.

28 Jul 2010

Affymetrix to develop, commercialize Axiom Chinese myDesign Genotyping Array

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced that it will develop and commercialize the Axiom Chinese myDesign Genotyping Array, the first product that provides maximum power for genome-wide association studies specifically on Chinese populations.

28 Jul 2010

DIATHERIX Laboratories opens rapid response diagnostic panels for STD, HSV

DIATHERIX Laboratories ,adds a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) panel and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) panel to its line up of highly sensitive, rapid response diagnostic panels. The HSV panel identifies herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 and the STD panel identifies 10 sexually transmitted diseases simultaneously, many of which cannot be accurately identified by current testing methods. These STD organisms, if not appropriately treated, can cause diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoeae, chlamydia, bacterial vaginosis, etc. and may lead to blindness, infertility or complications during pregnancy.

28 Jul 2010

Antigenics announces positive results of AG-707 genital herpes vaccine

Antigenics announced positive results with AG-707, an investigational therapeutic vaccine being developed to treat herpes simplex virus-2,the virus that causes genital herpes, in infected patients. Developed by Antigenics, the vaccine triggers a cellular immune response, stimulating both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

28 Jul 2010

InterMune second-quarter total revenue decreases to $5.9 million

InterMune, Inc. today announced results from operations for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010. InterMune also highlighted its recent clinical development and business activities, and provided forward-looking financial guidance for 2010.

28 Jul 2010

Research on method to open blood-brain barrier for safe cancer drug delivery

One of the human body's most powerful defensive tools, the blood-brain barrier is a chemical labyrinth that prevents toxins and viruses in the bloodstream from reaching the brain. This foolproof security system, however, limits the ability of physicians to deliver drugs directly to the brain, making it difficult to treat brain tumors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are endeavoring to solve this problem by investigating new methods for bypassing the blood-brain barrier and combating the spread of brain cancer.

28 Jul 2010

MabCure's MAbs 94% accurate in identifying ovarian cancer

Biotechnology company MabCure, Inc. today announced that a confirmatory study demonstrated the company's proprietary monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) successfully identified ovarian cancer in blood (94 percent accuracy) and with no false positives or cross-reactions with benign ovarian tumors or healthy blood. MabCure's serum diagnostic test is the first to recognize unique tumor markers or cancer fingerprints present only in ovarian cancer, the deadliest of all gynecological cancers.

28 Jul 2010