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CPRIT extends Company Investment application date to January 12, 2010

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) announced today that it has extended the deadline to January 12, 2010 to file a letter of intent to submit a proposal for the Company Investment request for application (RFA). The RFA is available on the CPRIT website, www.cprit.state.tx.us/funding.html.

22 Dec 2009

ADHD Support Twitter page from Shire

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the launch of its newest online Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) resource, the ADHD Support Twitter(TM) page (http://twitter.com/adhdsupport), derived from the Shire award-winning online educational resource, ADHDSupport.com.

22 Dec 2009

Genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released by scientists

People who identify as African-American may be as little as 1 percent West African or as much as 99 percent, just one finding of a large-scale, genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released today.

22 Dec 2009

Relatives of men with cryptorchidism or hypospadias not at risk of developing testicular germ cell cancer

Boys with the sexual birth defects known as hypospadias and cryptorchidism are at risk for developing testicular germ cell cancer, but their relatives are not, according to a new study published online December 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Dec 2009

Study results of CSL’s pandemic H1N1 2009 vaccine published in JAMA

CSL Limited, Australia’s leading biopharmaceutical company, announced the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published data from a clinical trial conducted in Australia to study CSL’s pandemic H1N1 2009 ‘swine’ flu vaccine.

22 Dec 2009

WuXi PharmaTech chosen for the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2009 List

WuXi PharmaTech, a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device research and development outsourcing company, with operations in China and the United States, announced that it had been selected for the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2009 List, the only company in China to receive this award for the past six years. The Deloitte program recognizes technology companies in the Asia Pacific region that have achieved the highest rates of revenue growth during the preceding three years.

22 Dec 2009

TB bacterium does not contain genes needed for spore formation

But a new study by researchers at Loyola University Health System and other centers casts doubt on the TB spore theory. Researchers were unable to detect spores in TB cultures and demonstrated that the TB bacterium doesn't even contain genes related to those needed to produce spores. Researchers also failed to find any spores in frogs infected with TB bacteria, which would have been expected if TB bacteria produced spores in the course of infection.

22 Dec 2009

AADA lauds indoor tanning tax in the health system reform legislation

The American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) applauds the decision of the U.S. Senate to substitute a 10 percent federal excise tax on indoor tanning services for the proposed tax on cosmetic procedures in the Senate's health system reform legislation (H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2009). The indoor tanning tax, as proposed to Senate leadership by the AADA, furthers its goal of promoting wellness and prevention, and removes the harmful unintended consequences associated with a tax on cosmetic surgery procedures.

22 Dec 2009

Seniors concerned over cost and coverage in 2010 Medicare enrollment plans

The 2010 annual enrollment period for individuals with Medicare plans ends Thursday, December 31. According to customer service specialists at Health Plan One, an online insurance brokerage and Medicare information portal, while seniors have been inquiring about plans' physician networks, changes to drug formularies, and plan eliminations and introductions in their states, the top three most discussed topics surround plan cancellations, premium increases and Medicare supplement alternatives.

22 Dec 2009

Cell Therapeutics supports Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. announced today its support of the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America's (PhRMA) "Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, revised July 2008" (PhRMA Code). Adherence to the Code is voluntary for commercial biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

22 Dec 2009

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009

Researchers use hydrogels to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue

Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.

22 Dec 2009

US Family Health Plan achieves 2009 member satisfaction

One might call it “the little healthcare plan that could.” While the debate over healthcare reform rages, the US Family Health Plan, a Department of Defense-sponsored healthcare plan administered by CHRISTUS Health of Houston for about 11,000 military family members in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana, has achieved a 2009 member satisfaction rating 44.5 percent above the national average.

22 Dec 2009

ZEGERID OTC approval triggers $20M milestone payment to Santarus

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has received the $20 million milestone payment previously announced on December 1, 2009 relating to the approval of ZEGERID OTC™ (omeprazole 20 mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100 mg capsules) under its over-the-counter (OTC) licensing agreement with Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., the consumer healthcare division of Merck & Co., Inc. Schering-Plough and Merck merged on November 3, 2009.

22 Dec 2009

New data shows more number of women are attending breast screening program

The number of women attending breast screening has risen, with nearly two million accepting invitations from the NHS Breast Screening Programme in 2007/08, new figures show.

22 Dec 2009

Persistent disparities exist in melanoma diagnosis

White and Hispanic individuals are being diagnosed with melanoma more frequently in recent years, whereas Hispanic and black patients continue to have advanced skin cancer at diagnosis, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Dec 2009