Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Emergent declares one-time cash dividend and regular dividend

Emergent Group Inc., a leading provider of mobile medical lasers and surgical equipment, today announced that the Board of Directors has declared a special, one-time cash dividend of $0.50 per share on its common stock as well as a regular dividend of $0.40 per share, for a total of $0.90 payable December 27, 2010 to shareholders of record December 17, 2010.

7 Dec 2010

Matrix's NDA for Abacavir Sulfate receives tentative FDA approval under PEPFAR

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Abacavir Sulfate Tablets, 60 mg. The NDA is based on the reference listed drug Ziagen® by ViiV Healthcare.

7 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 7, 2010

In today's headlines, Senate leaders appear to be nearing a one-year deal on Medicare's physician pay problem.

7 Dec 2010

Ontario Pharmacists' Association praises health profession registration for pharmacy technicians

The Ontario Pharmacists' Association (OPA) welcomes the announcement by the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) that pharmacy technicians in Ontario can now be registered as a health profession.

7 Dec 2010

Selcia's radiochemistry facility granted GMP certificate

Selcia Limited, a leading independent provider of Carbon-14 (C-14) radiolabelling services, is pleased to announce that its radiochemistry facility has been granted a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate for the preparationand C-14 labellingofActive Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)for clinical trials following a successful inspection by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

7 Dec 2010

Idis to manage ViroPharma's named patient program

ViroPharma Incorporated and Idis, the global leader in developing long-term strategic solutions to therapeutic access, today announced that the two companies have partnered to facilitate access to certain ViroPharma products through a named patient program (NPP). ViroPharma's NPP, developed and managed by Idis, will allow international healthcare professionals to prescribe certain products to individual patients until the time that approval is sought in local countries.

7 Dec 2010

Interference with biofilm detachment mechanisms may prevent biofilm-associated infections

Patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities can develop infections as a result of contamination of indwelling medical devices such as catheters with bacteria that are normal inhabitants of the skin of the patient or health care personnel. The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major cause of such infections.

7 Dec 2010

Knee replacement operations cause bacterial infection in the joint

Last year 12 700 knee replacement operations were carried out in Sweden. Most such operations go well, but some patients are affected by bacterial infection in the joint and have to be re-operated. This is a complicated procedure that does not always produce successful results, as shown in a thesis by Anna Stefánsdóttir from Lund University in Sweden.

7 Dec 2010

Scientists identify protein that disseminates biofilm-associated infection

What:Scientists from the National Institutes of Health have discovered how catheter-related bacterial infection develops and disseminates to become a potentially life-threatening condition. The study, which included research on Staphylococcus epidermidis in mice implanted with catheters, could have important implications for understanding many types of bacterial biofilm infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

7 Dec 2010

Sectra second quarter net sales increase 27.3% to SEK 246.9 million

For the first six months, IT and medical technology company Sectra reported a 15.8% increase in net sales to SEK 453.6 million (391.7). Operating profit totaled SEK 7.6 million (16.5), corresponding to an operating margin of 1.7% (4.2). Profit after net financial items was SEK 2.4 million (4.4).

7 Dec 2010

ADHD drug market will decrease from $5 billion in 2009 to $4.1 billion in 2019: Report

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug market in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan will fluctuate modestly over the next decade, decreasing from $5 billion in 2009 to a trough in 2013 before climbing to $4.1 billion in 2019.

7 Dec 2010

People suffering psychotic disorders 12 times more likely to commit suicide

People with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, are 12 times more likely to commit suicide than average, according to research released today by King's Health Partners.

7 Dec 2010

CSC's Leading Edge Forum: Disruptive technologies to reshape delivery of healthcare

CSC's Leading Edge Forum today released a report that identifies a new wave of disruptive technologies that will reshape the delivery of healthcare. These new technologies will help control costs while improving health by ushering in an era of wellness, self-monitoring, increased and earlier detection of disease, and more effective treatments.

7 Dec 2010

FAI releases comprehensive food allergy guidelines

The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) today announced its endorsement of comprehensive food allergy guidelines, released by an Expert Panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Immunology (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). FAI, the largest private source of funding for food allergy research in the U.S., will underwrite the publication of the long-awaited Guidelines as a special supplement to the December 2010 issue of the prestigious Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

7 Dec 2010

Quantros to demonstrate new patient safety improvement solutions at IHI National Forum

Quantros, a leading provider of clinically-focused data management and decision support solutions for the healthcare industry, will demonstrate several new patient safety improvement solutions at the 22nd Annual Institute for Healthcare Improvement National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, Dec. 5 to 8 in Orlando, FL.

7 Dec 2010

Health experts, mobile service providers discuss potential for mobile health in Africa at summit

"Some 80 health professionals and telecom operators [met last week for the mHealth Africa Summit] in the Ghanaian capital Accra to explore ways to use mobile phones for better healthcare delivery," IRIN reports in an article that details a variety of successful projects relaying health information through cell phones in Africa. The article describes how mobile phones are being used in Africa to educate populations about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and improve maternal health, as well as to track medicines and other health supplies, including mosquito nets.

7 Dec 2010

GOP's rallying cry on health reform: states' rights

A Republican senator is planning on introducing legislation this week that would allow state officials to challenge federal regulations before they go into effect. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told The Hill that his states'-rights bill is in large part a reaction to Democrats' healthcare reform law, which Republicans claim would create 159 'boards, commissions, bureaus, programs and offices of the federal government.

7 Dec 2010

Hospitals turn to luxury services to entice patients

Hospitals around the country are seeking to attract more paying customers with high-end services while at the same time find ways to cut down expenses from patients who cannot pay their bills.

7 Dec 2010

Nation's top insurance lawyer suggests people to take steps before changing health insurance policy

By now, Americans everywhere are receiving premium increases and new policy choices when it comes to healthcare. Subscribers' rates are increasing and companies are making decisions about what they plan to do with the rising costs heading their way, says Frank N. Darras, the nation's top insurance lawyer.

6 Dec 2010

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Galderma expand their multi-year collaboration agreement

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, and Galderma, a global leading pharmaceutical company dedicated exclusively to the field of dermatology, announce the expansion of their multi-year collaboration agreement. Based on positive data assessing the activity of NovaBay's Aganocide compounds against impetigo, Galderma has agreed to exercise its option for this indication.

6 Dec 2010