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Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. And babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life.

18 May 2012

SQI closes second tranche of private placement

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a life sciences company that develops and commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray diagnostics, announced today it has raised gross proceeds of CDN $2.333 million through the second tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 1,333,428 units priced at $1.75 per Unit.

18 May 2012

Mylan receives final FDA approval for Clopidogrel Tablets ANDA

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Clopidogrel Tablets USP, 75 mg and 300 mg.

18 May 2012

Spectrum initiates ZEVALIN and MGd Phase 2 combination study in NHL

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in hematology and oncology, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 study evaluating ZEVALIN (ibritumomab tiuxetan) Injection for intravenous use + rituximab in combination with motexafin gadolinium (MGd) in patients with rituximab-refractory low-grade or follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

18 May 2012

Covidien launches new HALO ablation catheter to treat Barrett's esophagus

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced the launch of the HALO90 ULTRA Ablation Catheter, the latest addition to the HALO family of catheters for the endoscopic treatment of Barrett's esophagus.

18 May 2012

FDA approves Emergent’s BioThrax sBLA to treat anthrax disease

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to change the administration schedule of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) to a three-dose primary series of intramuscular injections at 0, 1, and 6 months.

18 May 2012

Kudzu root components may treat alcoholism and curb binge drinking

An extract of the Chinese herb kudzu dramatically reduces drinking and may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism and curbing binge drinking, according to a new study by McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers.

18 May 2012

HTA intends to commence modified ‘Dutch Auction’ tender offer

Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. announced today that it intends to commence a modified "Dutch Auction" tender offer to purchase up to $150 million of its shares of Class A common stock from its stockholders.

18 May 2012

Multiple companies receive FDA approval to sell generic Plavix

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved generic versions of the blood thinning drug Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), which helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by making it less likely that platelets in the blood will clump and form clots in the arteries.

18 May 2012

Proposed FY13 State, Foreign Operations appropriations bill has 'mixed results' for USAID's global health programs

"On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee will vote on a State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2013, which will include funding levels for global health and other programs at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)," Ashley Bennett, senior policy associate at the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) writes in the coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog.

18 May 2012

Agfa HealthCare opens state-of-the-art, worldwide R&D facility for clinical imaging IT solutions development

Facility is a center of excellence for the design of innovative solutions that will bring further revolutionary developments for radiology, pathology and healthcare delivery as a whole to image-enable the Electronic Health Record (EHR)

17 May 2012

Common risk factors for behavioral problems in US, Great Britain children

Children in the United States and Great Britain share a number of common risk factors that increase the likelihood that they will have behavioral problems-and Britain's broader social welfare programs don't appear to mitigate those risks, according to a new study in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior (JHSB).

17 May 2012

Blood platelet concentrates improve healing after dental implant procedures

Restoring the front teeth after a traumatic injury poses a particular challenge—biologically, functionally, and aesthetically. Even when all the procedures of a successful implant are followed, healing of tissues can still be an unpredictable element. One approach to improving the outcome of this type of implant is the use of blood platelet concentrates.

17 May 2012

Inovio SynCon avian influenza vaccine demonstrates broad coverage

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that its SynCon avian influenza vaccine generated protective HAI titers against six different unmatched strains of H5N1 in a phase I clinical trial - a distinct clinical achievement on Inovio's path to develop universal influenza vaccines.

17 May 2012

Generic versions of Lipitor to hit pharmacy shelves

In just days, a number of generic versions of Lipitor will hit pharmacy shelves. Pfizer's 180-day generic exclusivity agreement for the medication expires at the end of the month. That will bring a host of new generic alternatives, and potential confusion, to more than 3 million Americans looking to control their cholesterol and reduce the cost of their drug therapies.

17 May 2012

Scientists investigate how ApoE4 gene contributes to Alzheimer's disease

A well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report May 16 in the journal Nature.

17 May 2012

Some states receive more than $181M in grants to help implement new health care law

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 million in grants to help implement the new health care law. The grants will help states establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

17 May 2012

$Age alone is not a contraindication to surgical fixation of C2 fractures$

Age alone is not a contraindication to surgical fixation of C2 fractures

For older adults with "C2" fractures of the upper (cervical) spine, surgery and nonsurgical treatment provide similar short- and long-term outcomes, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

17 May 2012

Insight into why diabetics suffer from increased pain and temperature sensitivity

Why diabetics suffer from increased pain and temperature sensitivity is a step closer to being understood and effectively treated.

17 May 2012

Lenalidomide following stem cell transplant can halt progression of blood cancer

Multiple myeloma patients are better equipped to halt progression of this blood cancer if treated with lenalidomide, or Revlimid-, following a stem cell transplant, according to a study co-authored by a physician with the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.

17 May 2012