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WHO Director-General highlights global health gains, challenges at executive board meeting

During the WHO's recent executive board meeting, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan reflected on public health gains over the past decade and the challenges that lie ahead, Nigeria's Guardian reports. Chan commended the international community's response to H1N1 and global efforts to reduce child mortality, fight malaria and tuberculosis.

27 Jan 2010

Pfizer becomes the latest customer of Benchware Discovery 360

Tripos®, a leading provider of drug discovery informatics products and services, today announced that Pfizer has become the latest customer of Benchware® Discovery 360 (D360). The novel license agreement allows Pfizer to deploy the capabilities of D360 to all scientists within its worldwide research sites.

27 Jan 2010

Prometheus Laboratories executes commercialization agreement with Novartis

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, today announced the execution of a commercialization agreement with Novartis under which Prometheus acquired exclusive rights to distribute, promote and sell PROLEUKIN® (aldesleukin) in the United States.

27 Jan 2010

Massachusetts Department of Public Health grants WDL to Pharmarama

Pharmarama, a leader in the strategic sourcing of comparator drugs for global clinical trials, today announced that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has granted the company a Wholesale Distributor’s License (WDL). The license enables Pharmarama to operate its pharmaceutical cold-chain and ambient storage and distribution facility in suburban Boston to provide extensive sourcing and comparator product storage services for its clients.

27 Jan 2010

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals closes $6.17M Series B-4 private equity financing

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held, clinical stage oncology-focused pharmaceutical company, has announced the closing of its Series B-4 private equity financing of $6,175,000. The Company plans to use the proceeds for its on-going phase I/II clinical trials of its lead cancer drug--CPI-613, research and development, and general corporate purposes.

27 Jan 2010

Neoprobe completes license amendment with The Dow Chemical

Neoprobe Corporation, a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, announced today that it has completed a license amendment with The Dow Chemical Company for a variety of antibodies used in its proprietary surgical oncology system called radioimmunoguided surgery or RIGS®.

27 Jan 2010

AIDS Healthcare Foundation bans Merck's sales representatives for unwarranted pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe, including 18 healthcare centers in California, Florida, and Washington, DC, has banned pharmaceutical sales representatives from Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals, from calling on AHF’s medical providers and staff in its US healthcare centers.

27 Jan 2010

Obama acknowledges mistakes in health overhaul politics and processes

President Barack Obama acknowledged Monday in an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer that mistakes were made in the health reform debate, among the biggest "was the confusing way in which the health bill was shaped." Obama said: "'I think the healthcare debate as it unfolded legitimately raised concerns not just among my opponents, but also amongst reporters that we just don't know what's going on,' and that some 'stray cats' got in the bill." Obama also said he "didn't make a bunch of deals" and "I am happy to own up to the fact that I have not changed Congress and how it operates the way I would have liked" (Mooney, 1/25).

27 Jan 2010

Merck to appeal against U.S. court's ruling in TEMODAR patent infringement lawsuit

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware ruled against the company in a patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

27 Jan 2010

Antibiotics may be effective in fighting MRSA infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Israel's Weizman Institute of Science have found that two antibiotics working together might be more effective in fighting pathogenic bacteria than either drug on its own.

27 Jan 2010

ZIOPHARM receives Notice of Allowance for palifosfamide from U.S. patent office

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for Application Serial No. 11/257,766 entitled “Salts of Isophosphoramide mustard and analogs thereof as anti-tumor agents” with claims directed to compounds, pharmaceutical compositions, and lyophilisates. These claims cover the Company’s proprietary palifosfamide composition (ZIO-201 or ZymafosTM). The Company has recently reported positive randomized Phase II sarcoma interim data for intravenous palifosfamide at the Annual Meeting of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) on November 6, 2009 and expects, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, to initiate a registration trial the first half of 2010.

27 Jan 2010

As state legislatures gear up, federal health overhaul is on their agenda

The New York Times Prescriptions Blog: "The question of equality, or inequality, among states is a major reason President Obama's overhaul of the health care system, and the legislation in Congress to make it happen, seemed to reach the brink of collapse last week." The issue also reflects "one of the biggest challenges" the President and Congressional leaders face in their efforts to overhaul the health care system. The key question: "how to devise a national solution for a problem that varies sharply from state to state."

27 Jan 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to submit additional data for FUSILEV sNDA

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that it has met with the FDA regarding it’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FUSILEV® (levoleucovorin) for injection for the treatment of patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer. In October 2009, the FDA issued a Complete Response letter regarding its sNDA for FUSILEV.

25 Jan 2010

Sagefrog Marketing Group awarded a contract for Agency of Record

Penn Pharma Americas announced today that Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC, a full service marketing, interactive and public relations company, has been awarded a contract for Agency of Record for both marketing and public relations.

25 Jan 2010

CEO Cancer Gold Standard: Four organizations receive accreditation

The American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division, LiDestri Foods, MDU Resources Group, Inc. and WCA Hospital have received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the commitment of these organizations to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle.

25 Jan 2010

IntelGenx and LTS announce strategic alliance

IntelGenx Corp. ("IntelGenx") today announced a strategic alliance with LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG ("LTS") for the exclusive manufacturing of products developed by IntelGenx using its VersaFilm drug delivery technology.

25 Jan 2010

BioScrip signs definitive agreement to acquire Critical Homecare Solutions

BioScrip, Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Critical Homecare Solutions (“CHS”), a leading provider of home infusion and home health agency services to patients suffering from chronic and acute medical conditions.

25 Jan 2010

Formulations market: Network to place the Yorkshire and Humber region at the forefront launched

A collaborative network that aims to put the Yorkshire and Humber region at the forefront of the development of product formulations to improve everyday products is being launched in Leeds.

25 Jan 2010

Proposal for NHI to be the most significant development in South Africa's healthcare sector in 2010

The proposal for a National Health Insurance (NHI) was without doubt the most significant development in South Africa's healthcare sector in 2010. The aim of the NHI is to create universal healthcare coverage for all the country's citizens.

25 Jan 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics and BioAtla sign research collaboration agreement

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix, today announced the signing of an exclusive, worldwide, contract research collaboration agreement with BioAtla, LLC for the development of novel high throughput recombinant protein screening libraries directed against targets in oncology, aesthetic dermatology and inflammation.

25 Jan 2010