Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Merge Healthcare executes definitive commitment letter for $200M of bridge financing to acquire AMICAS

Merge Healthcare Incorporated today announced that it and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. have executed a definitive commitment letter for $200 million of bridge financing to finance, in part, Merge’s proposed acquisition of AMICAS, Inc..

24 Feb 2010

Osiris Therapeutics' net income for fourth-quarter 2009 increases to $15.7M

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., the leading stem cell therapeutic company focused on developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions in the inflammatory, cardiovascular and orthopedic areas, announced today its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

24 Feb 2010

BioMarin Pharmaceutical reports GAAP net income of $4.7M for fourth-quarter 2009

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. GAAP net income was $4.7 million ($0.05 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to GAAP net income of $24.5 million ($0.21 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2008, which included a $30.0 million payment from Merck Serono related to the approval of Kuvan in the EU.

24 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 24, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the run-up to tomorrow's White House health summit as well as the latest from Capitol Hill regarding the outlook for health reform.

24 Feb 2010

FDA's warning over LABA medications for asthma: AANMA offers guidance

Today Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) offered guidance to help patients understand recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings about Advair ® (fluticasone and salmeterol), Foradil ® (formoterol), Severent ® (salmeterol) and Symbicort ® (budesonide and formoterol), daily inhaled medications containing a long-acting beta agonist (LABA, a 12-hour bronchodilator).

24 Feb 2010

Diabetic Neuropathy: Drug having disease-modifying potential will earn 40% patient share in the U.S

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, a drug that has disease-modifying potential would earn 40 percent patient share in the U.S., according to surveyed U.S. neurologists. Similarly, in Europe, such a drug would earn a comparable patient share of 43 percent, according to surveyed European neurologists.

24 Feb 2010

PIA hails the elimination of medical malpractice insurers from draft of bill

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents is hailing the elimination of medical malpractice insurers from the draft of a bill restricting the limited federal insurance antitrust exemption under the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

24 Feb 2010

HealthGrades names Good Samaritan Hospital as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010

Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles is named as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010 by HealthGrades, Inc., the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

24 Feb 2010

IBM Maximo software helps GNL ensure optimal performance of equipment in fight against emerging infectious diseases

In the fight against emerging infectious diseases, The Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), one of two National Institutes of Health funded bio-containment laboratories in the United States, is benefiting from IBM software to ensure the optimal performance of all equipment functioning within its facility. The GNL, which is dedicated to the study and prevention of emerging infectious diseases, will use IBM Maximo Asset Management Software to help automate, manage and ensure the performance of its 3,000 operating assets in one of the world's most complex medical research environments.

24 Feb 2010

Research study to develop new model of health care delivery for patients

GE Healthcare, Intel Corporation and Mayo Clinic are investigating a new model of health care delivery for patients at increased risk of rehospitalization that is designed to meet patients' needs where they are, including in their homes.

24 Feb 2010

Emerging oral atypical antipsychotics to compete in increasingly crowded schizophrenia drug market

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, in the world's major pharmaceutical markets, emerging oral atypical antipsychotics will compete against each other and against established drugs for the same niche patient population in the treatment of schizophrenia.

24 Feb 2010

NJPA files lawsuit against state's health service providers for violating patient confidentiality rights

The New Jersey Psychological Association, the professional organization representing more than 2,100 psychologists who treat hundreds of thousands of people throughout the state, announced today that it filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey State Health Benefits Commission, Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. and Magellan Health Services alleging violation of patient confidentiality rights provided by the New Jersey Practicing Psychology Licensing Act.

24 Feb 2010

Joint science advisory issues messages for diabetics at risk for heart disease and stroke

The data are inconclusive on heart risks from a class of blood sugar-lowering drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) such as pioglitazone (Actos) or rosiglitazone (Avandia), but the medications should be used with close monitoring from healthcare providers according to a joint science advisory from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

24 Feb 2010

PressureWire Aeris technology now available to hospitals using Horizon Cardiology Hemo solution

St. Jude Medical, Inc. announced today its wireless PressureWire™ Aeris technology, which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery blockages by measuring Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), will now be available to hospitals using the McKesson Horizon Cardiology Hemo™ solution.

24 Feb 2010

Ion Torrent to award two Ion Personal Genome Machine sequencers through grant program

Ion Torrent™ today announced that it will award two Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) sequencers in April 2010 through a grant program designed to help make DNA sequencing accessible to all scientists.

24 Feb 2010

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

The House Subcommittee for the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia heard testimony today on HR 4489, the “FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act.” The proposed bill would reform many aspects of how the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to provide prescription drug benefits to federal workers.

24 Feb 2010

Clinicians and industry experts convene to discuss meaningful use of EHR technology at HIMSS conference

Leading industry experts and clinicians of pioneering CPOE installations will join an interactive Town Hall session, “Meaningful Use When It Comes to Medications in the Workflow,” at the HIMSS Annual Conference, to be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia.

24 Feb 2010

UK pharmacists overwhelmingly prefer dispensing preservative-free drugs

MeadWestvaco Corp. announced today results from an online survey of 100 pharmacists in the UK regarding their preference for dispensing preservative-free nasal medications. The survey showed that 67 percent of UK pharmacists have a preference for dispensing a preservative-free drug. This percentage increased significantly to 84 percent after the benefits of preservative-free drugs were reviewed with these pharmacists.

24 Feb 2010

State Round up: Utah struggling with state online health exchange; California cracks down on discount health plans

The Salt Lake Tribune: "Utah lawmakers this year have spared no energy trumpeting their dislike for federal health reform, passing bills asserting states' right to govern themselves. But Utah's own health care fix, an online insurance market called the Utah Health Exchange, has gotten off to a wobbly start. And legislation to repair it, sponsored by Republican House Speaker Dave Clark, came under siege last week. ...The debate left some reform advocates privately wondering if the topic has become too toxic to handle" (Stewart, 2/23).

24 Feb 2010

XIFIN joins PMC to help evolve reimbursement policies and practices that support personalized medicine

XIFIN Inc., the leading provider of revenue cycle management for diagnostic service providers, has joined the Personalized Medicine Coalition, an educational and advocacy group dedicated to advancing the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine, defined as the application of genomic and molecular data to better target the delivery of healthcare by determining a person's predisposition to a particular disease or condition.

24 Feb 2010

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Merge Healthcare executes definitive commitment letter for $200M of bridge financing to acquire AMICAS

Osiris Therapeutics' net income for fourth-quarter 2009 increases to $15.7M

BioMarin Pharmaceutical reports GAAP net income of $4.7M for fourth-quarter 2009

First Edition: February 24, 2010

FDA's warning over LABA medications for asthma: AANMA offers guidance

Diabetic Neuropathy: Drug having disease-modifying potential will earn 40% patient share in the U.S

PIA hails the elimination of medical malpractice insurers from draft of bill

HealthGrades names Good Samaritan Hospital as One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2010

IBM Maximo software helps GNL ensure optimal performance of equipment in fight against emerging infectious diseases

Research study to develop new model of health care delivery for patients

Emerging oral atypical antipsychotics to compete in increasingly crowded schizophrenia drug market

NJPA files lawsuit against state's health service providers for violating patient confidentiality rights

Joint science advisory issues messages for diabetics at risk for heart disease and stroke

PressureWire Aeris technology now available to hospitals using Horizon Cardiology Hemo solution

Ion Torrent to award two Ion Personal Genome Machine sequencers through grant program

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

Clinicians and industry experts convene to discuss meaningful use of EHR technology at HIMSS conference

UK pharmacists overwhelmingly prefer dispensing preservative-free drugs

State Round up: Utah struggling with state online health exchange; California cracks down on discount health plans

XIFIN joins PMC to help evolve reimbursement policies and practices that support personalized medicine

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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