Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Endo Pharmaceuticals total revenues for second-quarter 2010 increase 6% to $396.5 million

Endo Pharmaceuticals today reported financial results for the second quarter 2010. Total revenues during the second quarter of 2010 increased 6 percent to $396.5 million, compared with $373.1 million in the same quarter of 2009. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was $51.5 million, compared with $30.0 million in the comparable 2009 period.

30 Jul 2010

Resveratrol suppresses inflammation and free radicals: Study

Resveratrol, a popular plant extract shown to prolong life in yeast and lower animals due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, appears also to suppress inflammation in humans, based on results from the first prospective human trial of the extract conducted by University at Buffalo endocrinologists.

30 Jul 2010

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Thirty million women will benefit from the new health reform law over the next decade, either through new or strengthened insurance coverage, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. In the first analysis of its kind, the authors report that the law will stabilize and reverse the growing exposure to health costs that women now experience by subsidizing health insurance for up to 15 million currently uninsured women, and strengthening existing coverage for 14.5 million women who are considered underinsured-those who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses.

30 Jul 2010

Actient Pharmaceuticals completes transaction to license, acquire pharmaceutical products from UCB

GTCR, one of the country's leading private equity firms, announced today that Actient Pharmaceuticals, LLC has successfully completed a transaction to license and acquire six pharmaceutical products from UCB, Inc., a subsidiary of UCB SA, an international biopharmaceutical company based in Brussels, Belgium.

30 Jul 2010

VitaPath Genetics launches VitaTrack Folate Tracker

VitaPath Genetics, the Spina Bifida Association and the National Council on Folic Acid today announced the launch of the free iPhone application—the VitaTrack Folate Tracker— which allows women to track their daily intake of folate and folic acid. Maintaining an adequate level of folic acid prior to and during pregnancy can reduce the risk of serious birth defects like Spina Bifida by up to 70%. Studies show that folic acid may also help prevent congenital heart disease, pre-term labor, and cleft lip and palate.

30 Jul 2010

SynCo Bio Partners extends collaboration with Versartis

SynCo Bio Partners today announced an extension of its successful collaboration with Versartis, Inc. following the recent initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with monthly dosing of VRS-859. This news comes less than 12 months since the parties entered into a strategic partnership to manufacture Versartis' lead product VRS-859 (exenatide-XTEN).

30 Jul 2010

Study explores benefits, risks of aggressive blood sugar control in hemodialysis patients

Aggressive blood sugar control does not improve survival in diabetic patients with kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that physicians should individualize blood sugar targets for these patients and not rely on recommendations based on studies in the general population.

30 Jul 2010

Bio-Path commences dosing in Liposomal Grb-2 Phase I cancer study

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.,, a biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I study of its cancer drug candidate, Liposomal Grb-2 (L-Grb-2 or BP-100-1.01), in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

30 Jul 2010

Study on link between SNP and concentrations of serum creatinine

Scientists at deCODE genetics and colleagues at Radboud University in the Netherlands today describe how the impact of a single letter variation in the sequence of the human genome conferring risk of kidney disease varies with age and with the onset of other diseases. The study provides independent confirmation of the association made in an earlier study between a version of the the SNP, located on chromosome 16p12, and risk of chronic kidney disease. It also confirmed the link between the SNP and concentrations of serum creatinine, a key indicator of kidney function.

30 Jul 2010

Orexigen's Contrave COR-I trial results published online in journal Lancet

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. announced that results from its COR-I trial of Contrave® were published online today in the journal Lancet. COR-I was the largest of the four, 56-week, Phase 3 trials supporting the New Drug Application for Contrave, currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Results show that patients taking Contrave were two to three times more likely to lose at least 5% or 10% of their body weight compared to those taking placebo, on both an intent-to-treat (ITT) and completers basis.

30 Jul 2010

Actient Pharmaceuticals completes transaction to license; acquire six pharmaceutical products from UCB

Actient Pharmaceuticals, LLC ,a portfolio company of GTCR, announced today the company successfully completed a transaction to license and acquire six pharmaceutical products from UCB, Inc., a subsidiary of UCB SA, an international biopharmaceutical company based in Brussels, Belgium.

30 Jul 2010

Supplementation of vitamin D protects vascular systems: Study

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, in black teens according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Black teens taking vitamin D supplementation of 2,000 international units (IU) per day had a decrease in central arterial stiffness.

30 Jul 2010

$Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking TZDs at increased fracture risk$

Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking TZDs at increased fracture risk

Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking thiazolidinediones (TZDS), including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, may be at increased risk for fractures according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Men with diabetes taking both loop diuretics and TZDs may also be at increased risk of fractures.

29 Jul 2010

BCBSNC receives CEO Cancer Gold Standard certification

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation, recognizing the organization's commitment to reducing the risk of cancer for employees and their families by promoting healthy lifestyle choices, encouraging early detection through cancer screenings, and ensuring access to quality treatment.

29 Jul 2010

New study shows vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, in black teens according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's www.endo-society.org. Black teens taking vitamin D supplementation of 2,000 international units per day had a decrease in central arterial stiffness.

29 Jul 2010

Cord Blood America announces highlights for 6-month period ended June 30, 2010

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, today announced highlights for the six-month period ended June 30, 2010. The Company believes the period was the most significant and eventful in its history.

29 Jul 2010

Safeguard Scientifics second-quarter aggregate revenue of partner companies increase 47% to $91.6 million

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that aggregate revenue of its partner companies for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was $91.6 million, up 47% from $62.3 million for the same partner companies in the same period of 2009. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the aggregate partner company revenue was $176.9 million, up 45% from $121.8 million for the same partner companies for the same period of 2009.

29 Jul 2010

BD third-quarter revenues increase 3.2% to $1.878 billion

BD, a leading global medical technology company, today reported quarterly revenues of $1.878 billion for the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010, representing an increase of 3.2 percent from the prior-year period, or 3.9 percent on a foreign currency-neutral basis.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 29 Jul 2010

Texas raises organ donor registry; D.C. not ready for medical marijuana sales; L.A. health department facing major service cuts

"Though Texas has the nation's lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state's donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan. 1, when state law required Department of Public Safety clerks to ask all driver's license and ID card applicants whether they would like to register as organ donors. Since then, nearly 70,000 donors a month have joined the pool" (George, 7/27).

29 Jul 2010

Study reveals high rate of atrial fibrillation in patients with early stages of CKD

Millions of Americans in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of having atrial fibrillation (AF) - a major risk factor for stroke - according to new research by investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

29 Jul 2010