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Cargill recalls four tons of ground beef products due to E. coli O26 recent outbreak

The recent outbreak of E. coli O26 linked to three illnesses and the recall of four tons of ground beef products produced by Cargill Meat Solutions is the precise reason these pathogens need to be monitored, says Seattle food safety attorney Bill Marler.

30 Aug 2010

Scientist finds man-made chemical enzyme to neutralize toxin

For the first time ever, a completely man-made chemical enzyme has been successfully used to neutralise a toxin found naturally in fruits and vegetables. While studying for her PhD in chemistry at the University of Copenhagen Dr. Jeannette Bjerre showed how a novel so called chemzyme was able to decompose glycoside esculin, a toxin found in horse-chestnuts.

27 Aug 2010

Cedarlane to distribute Pfenex's high value reagent proteins in Canada, U.S.

Pfenex Inc. and Cedarlane today announced that they have entered into a non-exclusive distribution agreement. Cedarlane will market and distribute high value reagent proteins produced by Pfenex to researchers in Canada and the United States.

25 Aug 2010

Castor bean genome may help prevent potential bioterrorism events

A research team co-led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), University of Maryland School of Medicine, today published the sequence and analysis of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) genome in Nature Biotechnology.

23 Aug 2010

NCF announces formal disease model for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The National CFIDS Foundation Inc., of Needham Mass, has announced its formal disease model for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) also known as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) as well as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). According to the NCF, a subgroup of patients with CFS fit a unique disease profile based on a model for a radioactive toxin.

21 Aug 2010

US WorldMeds announces acquisition of Solstice Neurosciences for $35M

US WorldMeds, LLC, a Kentucky-based specialty pharmaceutical company that develops unique products to address unmet medical needs, today announced it has acquired Solstice Neurosciences, Inc. for $35 million. The acquisition expands US WorldMeds' operations, adds to the company's growing portfolio of products and enhances the company's ability to create and deliver high-quality specialty pharmaceutical products to its targeted global markets.

16 Aug 2010

Soligenix’s net loss for second-quarter 2010 decreases to $1,577,000

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today its financial results for the second quarter of 2010.

13 Aug 2010

Intellect Neurosciences receives patent for Alzheimer's disease vaccine

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc a biopharmaceutical company with an internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to RV01 and RV02, the Company's two lead vaccine candidates. The Notice of Allowance is a written communication stating that the patent application has been allowed and will be granted as a new patent. RV01 and RV02, generated using the Company's RECALL-VAX technology, have the potential to delay the onset of or prevent Alzheimer's disease in individuals susceptible by age, genetic or other risk factor.

11 Aug 2010

Elusys awarded second contract to develop Anthim for treatment of anthrax infection

Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has been awarded a second contract year of funding valued at $40.6 million for the advanced development of Anthim for the prevention and treatment of anthrax infection following a biowarfare attack. This funding is in addition to $16.8 million already received under this contract and is part of a potential five year contract award totaling up to $143 million if all options are exercised by the Government.

5 Aug 2010

Allergan second-quarter diluted EPS increases to $0.78

Allergan, Inc. today announced operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. Allergan also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a second quarter dividend of $0.05 per share, payable on September 7, 2010 to stockholders of record on August 17, 2010.

3 Aug 2010

Xeomin receives FDA approval for treatment of cervical dystonia

Merz Pharmaceuticals today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), a botulinum toxin type A for the treatment of adults with cervical dystonia or blepharospasm. According to an epidemiology study conducted in Rochester, Minnesota, the prevalence of focal dystonia, which includes cervical dystonia and blepharospasm, is estimated at 295 per million people in the U.S.

2 Aug 2010

New findings on snake venom toxin hold promise for developing heart disease, cancer therapies

Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are this week releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer. The Japanese team is reporting in a Journal of Biological Chemistry "Paper of the Week" that they are optimistic that inhibiting a protein found on the surface of blood cells known as platelets may combat both irregular blood clotting and the spread of certain cancers throughout the body.

30 Jul 2010

FDA clears IL's new point-of-care total bilirubin assay

Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) today announced that it has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the first-ever, rapid point-of-care, lab-quality blood test for measuring total bilirubin (tBili) in newborns.

28 Jul 2010

New study links facial expressions with written language

Your facial expression may tell the world what you are thinking or feeling. But it also affects your ability to understand written language related to emotions, according to research published in the July issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

20 Jul 2010

Elusys, Lonza partner for commercial production of Anthim antibody for inhaled anthrax treatment

Elusys Therapeutics and Lonza today announced an agreement for the scale-up and commercial production of Anthim, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody in late-stage development for the treatment of inhaled anthrax. Under the new contract, Lonza will provide process scale-up, technology transfer, validation, and commercial manufacturing at one of its facilities in the USA. The manufacturing process for Anthim was optimized for full scale production by Lonza under a separate agreement announced in 2009.

16 Jul 2010

Microbiologists work to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved prevention, cleanup

A team of microbiologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory is working with Tuskegee University and Mississippi State University to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved prevention and cleanup.

15 Jul 2010

FDA clears Meridian Bioscience's new illumigene C. difficile molecular amplification assay

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio today announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new molecular amplification assay, illumigene™ C. difficile. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and, in severe cases, a life-threatening inflammation of the colon.

14 Jul 2010

New treatments to alleviate symptoms of muscular dystrophy, depression and dementia

Scientists researching a toxin extracted from the venom of the honey bee have used this to inform the design of new treatments to alleviate the symptoms of conditions such as muscular dystrophy, depression and dementia.

12 Jul 2010

Federal food safety agencies commended for supporting Food Safety Working Group

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today commended federal food safety agencies for their accomplishments supporting the charge of President Obama's Food Safety Working Group, which advises the President on how to upgrade the U.S. food safety system for the 21st century.