Emphysema News and Research

Latest Emphysema News and Research

What steps should be taken when medicine can't save a life?

Writing for The New Yorker, Atul Gawande explores the central medical issues involved in treating patients with terminal conditions. He asks the question: "[I]f you were the one who had metastatic cancer—or, for that matter, a similarly advanced case of emphysema or congestive heart failure—what would you want your doctors to do? The issue has become pressing, in recent years, for reasons of expense.

28 Jul 2010

Merck signs non-exclusive license agreement with LabCorp for commercialization of genetic test

Merck announced a non-exclusive license agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings for the commercialization of a genetic test that may help predict the response of patients with Hepatitis C virus infection to peginterferon alpha-based therapy.

28 Jul 2010

ProtAffin signs manufacturing contract with CMC Biologics for COPD drug PA401

ProtAffin AG, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of biopharmaceutical products that act by targeting cell-surface glycan structures, today announced it has signed a manufacturing contract with CMC Biologics' Danish operations, located in Copenhagen, Denmark for manufacture of its lead product PA401 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The contract will cover manufacture and supply of PA401 for preclinical development and early clinical development in COPD and related respiratory indications.

27 Jul 2010

More time spent sitting linked to higher risk of death

Study reveals link between allergies, asthma and old age

Mistaken for illnesses like bronchitis and emphysema, exacerbated by medications like aspirin, and overlooked by patients and doctors alike, asthma is a common and highly treatable condition in older adults. And while allergies tend to decrease with age, they also are frequently disregarded as a potential cause of misery for the elderly.

23 Jul 2010

Baxter second-quarter global sales increase 2% to $3.2 billion

Baxter International Inc. today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2010, reporting earnings in line with the company's previously issued guidance of $0.90 to $0.93 per diluted share.

From Baxter International Inc. 22 Jul 2010

Patient advocacy groups, home medical associations call for end to Medicare competitive bidding program

In a letter signed by 58 patient advocacy groups and home medical equipment associations, the American Association for Homecare urged Congress to pass H.R. 3790, a bill to repeal the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment in a budget-neutral manner. The bill currently has 252 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

17 Jul 2010

Rotech Healthcare accepts 17 CMS contracts in Round 1 Rebid of Medicare Competitive Bidding Program

Rotech Healthcare Inc. today announced that it has accepted 17 contracts awarded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the Round 1 Rebid of the national Medicare Competitive Bidding Program. The Round 1 Rebid included nine metropolitan statistical areas. Only contracted suppliers can service Medicare patients for the competitively-bid product categories in these locations, with a few exceptions. The new contracts awarded in Round 1 have a three-year term and are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011.

13 Jul 2010

Researchers develop computer program to accurately simulate protein folding

All proteins self-assemble in a fraction of the blink of an eye, but it can take a long time to mimic the process. And there has been no guarantee of success, even with the most powerful computers - until now.

8 Jul 2010

Uptake Medical completes Series B financing led by Maverick Capital

Uptake Medical, a privately held interventional pulmonology company, announced today that it has concluded its Series B financing from an investment group led by Maverick Capital, a new investor. The company plans to use this capital to obtain the CE mark and introduce its unique proprietary Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation (BTVA) technology outside of the U.S. The company also has begun its approval cycle with the FDA in the U.S.

7 Jul 2010

FDA approves Glassia for treating Alpha 1 deficiency

Kamada, today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Glassia (Alpha 1 Proteinase inhibitor, also known as Alpha-1-Antitrypsin) for the treatment of Alpha 1 deficiency. GlassiaM is now the first and only liquid Alpha- 1-Proteinase Inhibitor worldwide available liquid, ready to use, Alpha- 1-Proteinase Inhibitor on the market.

7 Jul 2010

Fera Pharmaceuticals launches Neptazanetm tablets for reducing intraocular pressure

Fera Pharmaceuticals is pleased to announce the launch of Neptazane (Methazolamide) 25 mg and 50 mg tablets. Both strengths are available in 90 count bottles.

3 Jul 2010

FDA grants IND regulatory clearance for Phase I/II clinical trial of AAT in type 1 diabetics

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Investigational New Drug (IND) regulatory clearance to initiate a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) in type 1 diabetics, based on research by Dr. Eli Lewis of Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

30 Jun 2010

Getting rid of asbestos in Australia

Asbestos that is linked to lung cancer called mesothelioma, is still present in more than one million Australian homes, offices and schools according to reports. And the problem is “compounded by poor community awareness and a disjointed approach from the three levels of government.”

28 Jun 2010

Spiration to become a consolidated subsidiary of Olympus

Olympus Corporation is pleased to announce that an agreement was reached with Spiration, Inc. (Head Office: Redmond, Washington, U.S.A; President and CEO: Rick Shea) in which all shares of Spiration® will be acquired by Olympus Corporation of the Americas, a North American subsidiary of Olympus.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 25 Jun 2010

DRIVE4COPD initiative aims to raise awareness of COPD

In just four months since its launch, DRIVE4COPD has already encouraged more than 100,000 people to be screened to see if they may be at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The country's newest health initiative that aims to raise awareness of COPD in the hopes that people will talk to their doctor and get diagnosed instead of suffering in silence. Currently, half of the estimated 24 million Americans who may have COPD remain undiagnosed and untreated, and most are not diagnosed until they have lost half their lung function.

11 Jun 2010

Medicare bidding program will lead to 'suicide bidding', says Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers

Providers of home medical equipment and services across Pennsylvania are proposing a fiscally responsible alternative to the mislabeled "competitive" bidding scheme currently under way in Medicare that will actually discourage competition, reduce access to care for many of Pennsylvania's more than two million Medicare beneficiaries, and put hundreds of Pennsylvania's homecare providers out of business.

8 Jun 2010

Centocor Ortho Biotech acquires RespiVert

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. today announced that it has acquired RespiVert Ltd., a privately held drug discovery company focused on developing small-molecule, inhaled therapies for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. The company's lead compounds, RV-568 and RV-1088, narrow spectrum kinase inhibitors with a unique profile of anti-inflammatory activities, are progressing into clinical development as potential first-in-class treatments for moderate to severe asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

1 Jun 2010

CSL Behring granted authorization to market Berinert for HAE in Italy and Luxembourg

CSL Behring announced today it has been granted national marketing authorization in Italy and Luxembourg to market Berinert® for the treatment of acute hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks in any body location. This latest authorization brings the number of countries to 28 (in Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia) in which Berinert is now licensed.

28 May 2010

VisEn Medical announces launch of two new imaging agents at EMIM 2010

VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced the commercial launch of two new imaging agents -- ProSense® 750 FAST for expanded versatility in imaging cathepsin activity, and Neutrophil Elastase™ 680 FAST, for imaging of inflammatory elastase activity associated with disease progression and therapeutic response. The launch announcements were made at the European Molecular Imaging Meeting (EMIM) 2010 in Warsaw, Poland.

26 May 2010