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Hospitals improve patient care by reducing blood transfusions: Study

A Loyola University Hospital study has demonstrated how the hospital has improved patient safety and cut costs by reducing the number of blood transfusions.

7 Oct 2010

CWRU researcher receives New Innovator Award to advance synthetic platelet technology

A Case Western Reserve University researcher will receive a $2.3 million New Innovator Award today to further develop and broaden the uses of synthetic platelets and the technology that makes them work.

4 Oct 2010

McLean Researchers receive award to create first clinic-ready human induced iPS cells

Belmont, MA-Researchers at Harvard Affiliated McLean Hospital have been awarded a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health Director's Opportunity Award to continue their research into creating human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells using a method aimed at eliminating the risk of cancer and other problems associated with other options such as genome-integrating viral methods.

30 Sep 2010

Scientists discover protein to regulate blood stem cells’ activity for leukemia treatment

A discovery made by Dr. Tarik Möröy, President and Scientific Director and Director of the IRCM, and his team was recently published in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. The researchers found that a protein can regulate certain characteristics of blood stem cells, which could lead to a better treatment for leukemia patients.

17 Sep 2010

AABB to honor blood-collection professionals worldwide

Blood collection professionals are the connection between blood donors and the life-saving blood therapies people rely on every day. Blood-collection professionals will be recognized in communities worldwide September 12-18, 2010, as part of the 6th Annual Blood Collectors Week, sponsored jointly by Fenwal Inc. and AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks).

13 Sep 2010

Plaque-causing bacteria increases risk of heart attack

Plaque-causing bacteria can jailbreak from the mouth into the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart attack says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham.

6 Sep 2010

NYBC calls for blood donations as Hurricane Earl approaches

New York Blood Center, serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and New Jersey, calls upon our communities to please donate blood and platelets, as the East Coast braces for Hurricane Earl. While donations from Rh-negative types are especially crucial, healthy people of all blood types and ethnicities are encouraged to donate.

3 Sep 2010

BARDA awards contract to develop treatment for ionizing radiation exposure

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) today awarded a $153 million contract to Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc. of San Carlos, Calif., to continue developing a new way to treat an illness caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation which can damage the body's cells - the type of radiation that would come from a nuclear blast.

3 Sep 2010

Cellerant Therapeutics signs contract with BARDA to develop CLT-008 therapy for ARS

Cellerant Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel hematopoietic stem cell-based cellular and antibody therapies for blood disorders and cancer, announced today that it has signed a contract valued at up to $153 million over five years with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health and Human Services, to develop CLT-008, a cellular therapy for the treatment of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS).

2 Sep 2010

Jefferson scientists receive grant to study genetics of platelet gene expression

Scientists at Jefferson Medical College have received a four-year, $3 million National Institutes of Health grant funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study variations of platelet function, specifically, the genetics of platelet gene expression. The study aims to find data that can be translated into novel therapeutic strategies and develop better predictors of cardiovascular disease.

30 Aug 2010

Study finds BMI, thrombogenic factor increases cardiovascular risk

Although having a high body mass index (BMI) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, researchers are only beginning to understand how BMI affects the physiological processes involved in the development of the disease. Now, a study of a subset of women in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS), suggests that as BMI increases, so do platelet reactivity and thrombogenic microvesicles and activated protein C in the blood-all of which contribute to the formation of atherothrombosis and associated cardiovascular events.

30 Aug 2010

FDA denies accelerated approval of Genentech's trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1) BLA for metastatic breast cancer

In its review of the BLA, the FDA stated the T-DM1 trials did not meet the standard for accelerated approval because all available treatment choices approved for metastatic breast cancer, regardless of HER2 status, had not been exhausted in the study population.

27 Aug 2010

Cerus to acquire BioOne's commercialization rights for INTERCEPT Blood System

Cerus Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire BioOne Corporation's commercialization rights for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma, subject to approval of the transaction by BioOne's shareholders. In 2004 and 2005, Cerus and its partner at the time, Baxter International, licensed the commercialization rights for INTERCEPT platelets and plasma to BioOne for an Asian territory, which included China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

25 Aug 2010

Study finds high glucose level blocks infectious bacteria detection, affects immunity

Research led by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease such as kidney damage and circulation problems.

24 Aug 2010

FDA extends review on Acetadote for non-acetaminophen acute liver failure

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended its review of the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the use of Acetadote® (acetylcysteine) Injection in patients with non-acetaminophen acute liver failure.

21 Aug 2010

Bolder BioTechnology receives $600,000 NIH SBIR grant to study long-acting IL-11 analog in ARS

Bolder BioTechnology, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling $600,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of The National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of using our novel, long-acting IL-11 analog to accelerate platelet recovery and improve survival in a mouse model of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS).

18 Aug 2010

Scientists identify possible therapeutic strategy for reducing leukemia risk from chemotherapy

A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia. Their finding also may explain, they say, why some other age-related hematological disorders develop.The study, reported in "Cell Stem Cell" and reviewed in Cell Stem Cell and Cell, opens a new frontier for studying the molecular underpinnings of adult leukemia.

17 Aug 2010

FDA grants new 510(k) clearance for Fenwal's Amicus blood cell separator

Fenwal Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fenwal a new 510(k) clearance for its Amicus® blood cell separator.

13 Aug 2010

NYBC calls for blood donations

New York Blood Center, serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, calls upon the communities it serves to remember your neighbors during this slow, late summer period for blood donations – and schedule a donation appointment or consider sponsoring a blood drive, because patients' needs do not take a summer break.

12 Aug 2010

Certain human leukemias can be treated by targeting stem-cell microRNAs: Research

Hematopoietic stem cells provide the body with a constant supply of blood cells, including the red blood cells that deliver oxygen and the white blood cells that make up the immune system. Hematopoietic-or blood-stem cells must also make more copies of themselves to ensure that they are present in adequate numbers to provide blood throughout a person's lifetime, which means they need to strike a delicate balance between self-renewal and development into mature blood-cell lineages. Perturb that balance, and the result can be diseases such as leukemia and anemia.

5 Aug 2010