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CTT, Bayer sign Research and License Option Agreement

Cancer Targeted Technology (CTT), a Seattle-based biotechnology firm focusing on small molecule cancer enzyme inhibitors for the generation of novel diagnostics and therapeutics, today announced that it has signed a Research and License Option Agreement with Bayer Pharma AG, Germany. Under the agreement, CTT will work with Bayer to optimize a novel PET imaging agent based on its unique inhibitor scaffold that recognizes a validated cancer enzyme biomarker.

15 Dec 2010

Research reveals pattern of declining health among Mexican-American immigrants

Mexican-Americans who are most integrated into the culture including those born in the United States, and not recent immigrants appear less healthy and more likely to require resources to manage their health conditions than more recent, less-integrated migrants, according to a new study from Rice University, Duke University and the University of Colorado Denver.

15 Dec 2010

Anoles key to medically applicable regeneration?

Anolis lizards first entered Arizona State University biologist Kenro Kusumi's life in 1980 when, as a member of a junior curator program, he recorded in his field notebook that he had found an Anolis egg on a field trip. Kusumi still has those notes, along with other memorabilia that document the influence that both his early life and more recent experiences have had on his current pursuits in developmental biology.

15 Dec 2010

Researchers examine expression of toxic mRNA in patients with Fragile X Tremor Ataxia Syndrome

Expression of a toxic RNA that leads to Fragile X Tremor Ataxia Syndrome is modifiable by genetic or pharmacologic means, according to new research from U-M Medical School scientists.

15 Dec 2010

Naltrexone may help treat alcoholism

A little-used medication can help treat alcoholism, an updated review of studies confirms.

15 Dec 2010

Survey reveals 40% of consumers prefer to purchase vision care services during weekends, evenings

An independent, national survey reveals 40 percent of consumers prefer to shop for and purchase vision correction services during evenings or weekends.

15 Dec 2010

Echo acoustic liquid handler improves discovery of potential therapeutics

When the revolutionary Echo® acoustic liquid handler is used in the process of discovering potential therapeutics, important drug candidates are identified that are missed using traditional liquid handlers. In a recently issued patent, the global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca describes the discovery of a novel set of potential cancer therapeutics that was found only when the Echo system was used. Other major pharmaceutical companies have also reported that the Echo liquid handler was a critical platform in discovering drug candidates.

15 Dec 2010

Positive results from Creabilis CT327 Phase IIa study in atopic dermatitis

Creabilis SA, a clinical stage European biotechnology company addressing unmet medical needs in dermatology, announced positive results in the Phase IIa study of its lead product CT327 in atopic dermatitis.

15 Dec 2010

CMS increases reimbursement rate for Cylex's immune cell function assay by 267%

Cylex Incorporated® today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nearly tripled the reimbursement for ImmuKnow®, the immune cell function assay FDA-cleared for the detection of cell-mediated immune response in populations undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for organ transplant. This significant increase was granted in a time when the overall CMS clinical fee schedule experienced a comprehensive decrease in laboratory reimbursement rates.

15 Dec 2010

Positive results from large, multi-center Canadian trial with On-X Prosthetic Heart Valve

On-X® Life Technologies, Inc., today announced the publication of results of a large, prospective multi-center Canadian trial with the On-X® Prosthetic Heart Valve in the November issue of The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.1 According to the results of the report, "The On-X mechanical prosthesis provides favorable intermediate-term results with regard to major thromboembolism, hemorrhage and composites of valve-related complications."

15 Dec 2010

Ipsen discontinues development of chimeric compound BIM 23A760 for acromegaly

Ipsen announced today that the preliminary data from the ongoing phase IIb study in patients with acromegaly for its chimeric compound BIM 23A760 does not meet the expected inhibition of growth hormone (GH) and IGF-1 levels after repeat dosing. Preliminary phase IIb data showed a strong dopaminergic activity but only weak evidence of somatostatinergic activity.

15 Dec 2010

Study broadens understanding of role of IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in AML

Agios Pharmaceuticals, the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the rapidly emerging field of cancer metabolism, today announced the publication of a paper in Cancer Cell that illuminates the mechanism by which 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG), and the mutations in the metabolic genes IDH1 and IDH2 that produce it, may be driving the growth of tumors in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

15 Dec 2010

Study examines the impact on asthmatics related to common environmental mould

Scientists investigating the allergic reactions that asthmatics suffer towards a common mould have discovered that many people with asthma actually had the mould growing in their own lungs.

15 Dec 2010

New hypothesis emphasizes the value of anti-inflammatory approaches to prevent Alzheimer's disease

Karl Herrup thinks that the national research effort to understand Alzheimer-s disease has gone about as far as it can go with its current theories.

15 Dec 2010

Study suggests unexpected role for NLRP3 protein in cancer vaccine development

The promise of vaccines targeted against various types of cancer has raised the hopes of patients and their families. The reality, however, is that these promising treatments are difficult to develop. One of the challenges is identifying a discrete cellular target to stop cancer growth without inactivating the immune system. Scientists at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center report a laboratory finding that has the potential to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

15 Dec 2010

Case study sheds light on pathological course of Alzheimer's disease

A case study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet sheds light on the pathological course of Alzheimer's disease. The brain of the first Alzheimer's patient to display amyloids demonstrable with a PET scanner has been studied, both during progression of the disease and after death.

15 Dec 2010

New HHS Strategy on Multiple Chronic Conditions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today issued its new Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions - an innovative private-public sector collaboration to coordinate responses to a growing challenge.

15 Dec 2010

NCI initiates crolibulin/cisplatin combination Phase II trial in anaplastic thyroid cancer

EpiCept Corporation today announced that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has initiated a Phase II trial with crolibulinTM (EPC2407). The trial will assess the drug's efficacy and safety in combination with cisplatin in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). CrolibulinTM is a vascular disruption and apoptosis inducing agent that has demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in both preclinical and early clinical studies.

15 Dec 2010

Sharing of scientific data could benefit cancer research

The sharing of scientific data in increasingly open ways could benefit cancer research and thus patients, according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal ecancermedicalscience.

15 Dec 2010

Angiogenesis inhibition is a validated strategy for cancer therapy

Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute may have uncovered a mechanism for blocking tumor angiogenesis that involves the patient's immune system, according to findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Dec 2010