Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

DR Systems announces eight new contracts with U.S. healthcare facilities

DR Systems, makers of the Unity™ RIS/PACS, today announced eight new contracts with healthcare facilities across the U.S. The contracts total more than $2.37 million. The eight facilities are:

22 Dec 2009

Briggs Medical Service Company files lawsuit against Veridian Healthcare

Briggs Medical Service Company ("Briggs"), of West Des Moines, Iowa, through one of its affiliates, D-M-S Holdings, Inc. ("D-M-S") of Waukegan, Illinois, has filed a lawsuit against Veridian Healthcare, LLC ("Veridian"), and individuals Steven M. Bisulca and Michael Mazza in United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Case 1:09-cv-07726 D-M-S Holdings, Inc. v. Veridian Healthcare, LLC. et al).

22 Dec 2009

ZymoGenetics restructures license and collaboration agreements on RECOTHROM

ZymoGenetics, Inc. today announced a restructuring of the U.S. co-promotion and ex-U.S. license and collaboration agreements with Bayer Schering Pharma AG and Bayer HealthCare relating to RECOTHROM® Thrombin, topical (Recombinant).

21 Dec 2009

New iPhone application software on healthy food options

Men’s Health magazine’s latest iPhone Application launch, “Eat This, Not That!” is now the most downloaded app in the Healthcare & Fitness category within the Apple iTunes store.

21 Dec 2009

Technologies for optimizing medication adherence in older adults needed

Avoiding medication-related errors and improving medication adherence among older adults could save the nation billions of dollars and save thousands of lives, according to information included in "Technologies for Optimizing Medication Use in Older Adults," a recent report produced by the non-profit Center for Technology and Aging, and available at www.techandaging.org.

21 Dec 2009

Effectiveness of VSEL stem cells in regenerative medicine demonstrated at the ASH meeting

NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NBS), which is a leading provider of pre-disease adult stem cell collection, processing and long-term storage services, and holds the exclusive, worldwide license to VSEL(TM) technology that uses very small embryonic-like stem cells isolated from peripheral blood, announced today that five posters and two oral presentations at the prestigious American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans in early December demonstrated the basic cellular mechanisms of very small embryonic-like stem cells.

21 Dec 2009

Bioject Medical Technologies completes a Series G Preferred Stock financing

Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., a leading developer of needle-free injection therapy systems, today announced that on December 18, 2009, it completed a Series G Preferred Stock financing with each of Life Sciences Opportunities Fund II, L.P., Life Sciences Opportunities Fund (Institutional) II, L.P. (collectively, the “LOF”), and Edward Flynn for the purchase of an aggregate of 92,448 shares of its Series G Convertible Preferred Stock at a price of $13.00 per share.

21 Dec 2009

Senate Democrats win overnight procedural vote; move one step closer to approving health bill by Christmas

The New York Times: "After a long day of acid, partisan debate, Senate Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the decisive margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health care system."

21 Dec 2009

Health insurance industry reports decline in net income

According to a new analysis by Highline Data, the leading data provider of financial and marketing information on insurance companies, the health insurance industry reported a decline of 12.4 percent in net income, to $8.2 billion, as of September 30 compared to the same period in 2008.

21 Dec 2009

ValueOptions employs TriZetto’s Clinical CareAdvance application

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that ValueOptions® Inc., the nation’s largest independent behavioral healthcare and wellness company, recently went live with TriZetto’s Clinical CareAdvance® application 4.41 and expects to launch TriZetto’s Personal CareAdvance® application in early 2010.

21 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

We usually associate presidential leadership with the pursuit of goals that, though initially unpopular, serve America's long-term interests. Obama has reversed this (Robert Samuelson, 12/21).

21 Dec 2009

TessArae's RM-Flu test granted FDA EUA

TessArae, LLC, a privately held company, and Affymetrix Inc., (NASDAQ:AFFX) today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to TessArae for its TessArray® Resequencing Influenza A Microarray Detection Panel for the Detection of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Virus (TessArray RM-Flu test) for the duration of the declaration of emergency unless revoked earlier. The declaration of emergency will expire on April 26, 2010, unless terminated earlier or renewed.

21 Dec 2009

Sanofi-aventis to acquire Chattem for $1.9 billion

Sanofi-aventis and Chattem, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which sanofi-aventis is to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Chattem in a cash tender offer for $93.50 per share, or approximately $1.9 billion.

21 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 21, 2009

From today's headlines, the biggest overnight news is the Senate's vote to move its sweeping health reform bill one step closer to the finish line.

21 Dec 2009

Fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2009 results announced by Prospect Medical Holdings

Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., which owns and operates five community-based hospitals and manages the medical care of approximately 177,000 HMO enrollees in southern California, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter and year ended September 30, 2009.

21 Dec 2009

More than 40 groups join together to oppose Senate healthcare bill, hold online Virtual Vigil

More than 40 groups have joined together to oppose the Senate healthcare bill, and will hold an online "Virtual Vigil" starting at 9 pm tonight and wrapping after the Senate votes around 1 am.

21 Dec 2009

Abortion compromise does not address core problem in Senate health bill, says Cardinal DiNardo

The Senate health reform bill should not move forward in its current form, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City said December 19, as senators proceeded closer to a vote.

21 Dec 2009