Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Bayer HealthCare, Onyx to present data on Nexavar tablets at ESMO Congress

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) today announced that more than 20 studies evaluating the use of Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets will be presented at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, October 8-12, 2010 in Milan, Italy.

7 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 7, 2010

Today's headlines include stories on waivers given some companies that offer only minimal health insurance coverage, insurers' political efforts during this campaign season and efforts in New York to bar the use of food stamps to buy soda.

7 Oct 2010

AnalizaDx SIA technology, Nanosphere Verisens assay effective for prostate cancer diagnosis

At the annual meeting of the North-Central American Urological Association, Mark Stovsky, MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Medical Center, and principal investigator, presented positive data combining the AnalizaDx SIA technology with the Nanosphere Verisens ultra-sensitive PSA assay.

7 Oct 2010

IDEV Technologies completes $46 million Series D round of financing with PJC Capital

IDEV Technologies, Incorporated, an emerging leader in the development and commercialization of minimally invasive medical technologies, today announced that it has completed a $46 million Series D round of financing, with Piper Jaffray & Co.'s Merchant Banking Fund and a leading strategic global healthcare company as the two new investors.

7 Oct 2010

Vivaglobin therapy effective for patients with primary immunodeficiency

Vivaglobin (subcutaneous immunoglobulin [IgG]) (SCIg) is an effective and safe initial therapy for treatment-naive patients with primary immunodeficiency (PI) and may offer an attractive alternative to intravenous IgG (IVIg) therapy in the newly diagnosed, according to data presented today at the XIVth Meeting of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies.

7 Oct 2010

Should Medicare consider cost-effectiveness when setting reimbursement rates?

Medicare reimbursement rates should be based on how cost effective the treatment is for a particular illness, according to a piece by two policy experts in the October edition of Health Affairs.

7 Oct 2010

IMS launches new Recommendations to manage postmenopausal vaginal atrophy

To mark World Menopause Day on 18th October 2010, the International Menopause Society (IMS) is launching new Recommendations for the management of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy, a distressing condition that will affect up to half of women after menopause.

7 Oct 2010

Semi-synthetic opioid may improve withdrawal symptoms in infants

Thousands of infants each year have exposure to opioids before they are born. Over half of these infants are born with withdrawal symptoms severe enough to require opioid replacement treatment in the nursery. Such treatment is associated with long hospital stays which interferes with maternal/infant bonding. Now, a team of researchers at Thomas Jefferson University has tested a semi-synthetic opioid they say has the potential to improve the treatment of these newborns, which could save hundreds of millions in healthcare costs annually if future tests continue to show benefit.

7 Oct 2010

DSM project on carbon dioxide footprint reduction receives European Outsourcing Awards

DSM Pharmaceutical Products, the custom manufacturing organization of Royal DSM NV, is pleased to announce that their submission for the European Outsourcing Awards, organized by Via Media UK Ltd, entitled Achieving substantial carbon dioxide footprint reduction for the scale up of a drug intermediate was an award recipient at the 6th October ceremony held in Paris, France.

7 Oct 2010

Hizentra therapy effective for primary immunodeficiency patients

Hizentra (IgPro20) provides primary immunodeficiency (PI) patients with a safe and effective alternative to other immunoglobulin therapies when given in equivalent doses, according to Phase III pivotal trial data presented today at the XIVth Meeting of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID).

7 Oct 2010

UEM, San Diego School of Medicine enter partnership to address medical human resource needs in Mozambique

Aimed at enhancing the capacity of Mozambique's flagship medical school, Universidade Eduardo Modlane (UEM), in pre- and postgraduate medical education, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UEM entered into a partnership in 2007 to address both short and long-term medical human resource needs in Mozambique.

7 Oct 2010

CDC selects Northrop Grumman to compete for task orders in CIMS contract

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to compete for task orders to provide information management and technology services in support of the CDC's global health mission under a $5 billion indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract.

7 Oct 2010

Rising Medical, Align team up to enhance rehabilitation care for patients

Experiencing speed and efficiency in the healthcare process remains a rarity. Now two companies are adding those essential variables to ensure healthy, accurate outcomes. Rising Medical Solutions, a medical cost containment company, and Align Networks, a physical medicine provider network, have built an electronic integration that picks up the pace of healthcare.

7 Oct 2010

Study explains importance of identifying global pandemic risk factors to predict spread of diseases

A recent study led by Dr. Parviez Hosseini, a senior research fellow from EcoHealth Alliance (formerly Wildlife Trust), explains the importance of identifying global pandemic risk factors as early as possible, in order to predict the spread of diseases like H1N1 "swine" flu and SARS. "Predictive Power of Air Travel and Socio-Economic data for Early Pandemic Spread," recently published in the scientific publication PLoS ONE, examines the interplay among travel, trade, and national healthcare resources in predicting the emergence and spread of H1N1 and other viruses.

7 Oct 2010

Caris Target Now molecular tumor profiling increases PFS in cancer patients

Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, today announced highlights from a multi-center, prospective, pilot study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

7 Oct 2010

IOM: Nurses can take bigger role in medical care

Nurses could take a bigger role and more responsibility in medical care - a move that could lower costs and stave off a physician shortage - without putting patients at risk, Reuters/Yahoo reports.

7 Oct 2010

Feds try to address hospitals' and doctors' concerns about accountable care organizations

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz told a meeting of 300 health industry representatives Tuesday his agency would explore an 'expedited review process' for hospitals and doctors looking to determine if new partnerships they form to provide care would violate antitrust laws. He was one of several top federal officials trying to address the concerns of hospitals and doctors.

7 Oct 2010

EONS launches new initiative to improve pain management for cancer patients

The European Oncology Nursing Society launches first European nurse initiative to examine current practices in breakthrough cancer pain and look at ways of improving patient outcomes in palliative care

7 Oct 2010

Gallup: Fewer get insurance from employers

A new poll has found that fewer adults have employer-sponsored than did two years ago, UPI reports.

7 Oct 2010

Cincinnati Children's Hospital receives $12 million grant to create IBD registry

Building on the success of previous efforts among researchers and caregivers to improve the care of chronically ill children, a $12-million grant to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will allow creation of a registry system unlike any before it, providing information in real time on thousands of cases around the country – and eventually the world.

7 Oct 2010