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ZocDoc launches in Boston region

Today ZocDoc, a free online service for patients to find a doctor and instantly book appointments, launches in the Boston region. In Massachusetts, where patients experience the longest wait times in the country for doctor appointments, ZocDoc is able to reduce wait times to mere hours.

17 Sep 2011

Concealing sexual orientation may have an adverse effect on workplace function

Could working with an openly gay individual undermine a co-worker's on-the-job performance? Not likely, according to a recent UCLA Anderson School of Management study. In fact, concealing one's sexual orientation may actually have an adverse effect on workplace function.

17 Sep 2011

World should provide funding for peacekeeping troops to ensure humanitarian aid routes in Somalia

With the retreat of the Islamist extremist group al-Shabab out of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, where famine is threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, "the U.N.-backed peacekeeping force can and should be quickly expanded," according to Somalia's prime minister and the U.N. envoy to the nation, in order to "allow the force to move out from the capital to secure routes for aid," a Washington Post editorial states.

17 Sep 2011

Millennium ranked fifth among best biopharmaceutical companies in the world

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced that Science magazine has named it among the best biopharmaceutical companies in the world for the fourth consecutive year. Each year Science conducts a survey to determine the top employers in the biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and related industries worldwide.

17 Sep 2011

LifePoint Hospitals' board authorizes new $250M stock repurchase program

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors, at a regularly scheduled meeting, has authorized a new stock repurchase program that will allow for repurchases of up to $250 million of its common stock over the next 18 months. Amounts available under the Company's previously announced share repurchase program were exhausted during the current fiscal quarter.

17 Sep 2011

AHRQ: Hospital readmissions comparatively higher among black COPD patients

For patients age 40 and over with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hospital readmissions within 30 days of initial treatment were 30 percent higher among blacks than Hispanics or Asians and Pacific Islanders and about 9 percent higher than whites in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Sep 2011

Leaders should push for more frontline health workers

"Innovation can transform a company, a culture, and even the world. But innovation doesn't have to come in the form of a gadget. It can come in the form of a smiling neighbor knocking at a family's door, toting some basic supplies and the skills to address matters of life and death," Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece.

17 Sep 2011

Additional data on safety, tolerability of Cempra's solithromycin to be presented at 51st ICAAC

Cempra Pharmaceuticals today announced abstracts to be presented on its fourth generation macrolide and novel fluoroketolide antibiotic, solithromycin (CEM-101), at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), September 17 to 20, 2011, in Chicago. The abstracts provide additional data that demonstrate the safety and routes of administration of CEM-101, a new generation macrolide.

17 Sep 2011

InNexus Biotechnology announces incentive stock options

InNexus Biotechnology Inc., a biopharmaceutical company creating and developing innovative solutions for cancer, inflammation and other difficult-to-treat diseases, announces that it has, effective August 26, 2011, granted incentive stock options to purchase an aggregate of 1,068,683 common shares without par value in the capital of the Company to certain persons who are either a director, officer, employee or consultant of the Company.

17 Sep 2011

MedPAC 'doc fix' could undermine seniors' care, jeopardize local jobs, and destabilize key health sector

Commenting on an initial outline from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to address the sustainable growth rate formula used to fund physicians, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care said news reports of proposed Medicare cuts of $49 billion over ten years for post-acute care providers -- on top of the many cuts already in effect -- would severely undermine seniors' care, jeopardize local jobs, and further destabilize a key U.S. health sector already reeling from a series of budgetary and regulatory actions.

17 Sep 2011

House Republicans launch new attacks on health law regulations

The medical-loss ratio requirement is one of the prime GOP targets. Democrats responded that Republicans were trying to roll-back key consumer protections. In other health law implementation news, HHS announced new funding for community health centers, and groups interested in setting up health insurance co-ops are seeking certain HHS "tweaks" in the regulations.

17 Sep 2011

Hologic to showcase automated systems for cervical cancer screening at IPV, Berlin

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostic products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, will focus on two new, ready-to-market automated options for cervical cancer screening at the International Papillomavirus Conference & Clinical Workshop (IPV) September 17th through 22nd in Berlin, Germany.

From Hologic, Inc. 17 Sep 2011

Elan commences planned measures to reduce indebtedness

Elan Corporation, plc announced today that it has commenced planned measures to reduce its indebtedness using the cash proceeds received in connection with the combination of its EDT business with Alkermes Inc., which closed today.

17 Sep 2011

New insight into how nervous system regulates immunity

Scientists have identified a surprising new role for a new type of T cell in the immune system: some of them can be activated by nerves to make a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) that blocks inflammation. The discovery of these T cells is novel and suggests that it may be possible to treat inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the nerves and the T cells. The study was published this week in Science.

17 Sep 2011

Deficit panel moves deliberations behind closed doors

The 12-member 'super committee' held a private meeting Thursday and emerged with few details, though a co-chair acknowledged that their work won't be easy. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are signaling the different courses they want to see the panel follow. Also, congressional Democrats are getting increasingly worried about what might become of Medicare and Medicaid.

17 Sep 2011

Researchers show how protein fortilin promotes growth of cancer cells

Researchers have shown for the first time that the protein fortilin promotes growth of cancer cells by binding to and rendering inert protein p53, a known tumor suppressor. This finding by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch may lead to treatments for a range of cancers and atherosclerosis, which p53 also helps prevent, and appears in the current print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

17 Sep 2011

Bayonne Medical Center resolves outstanding issues with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield

Bayonne Medical Center (BMC), announced today that it has resolved all outstanding issues with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest provider of health insurance in the state of New Jersey. As of October 1, 2011, Bayonne Medical Center will be considered in-network for all services for Horizon subscribers.

17 Sep 2011

Household income level not associated with intellectual disability or ASD, finds new study

New research from the University of Utah in collaboration with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) shows that the presence or absence of intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) varies with risk factors such as gender, parental age, maternal ethnicity, and maternal level of education.

17 Sep 2011

Afghanistan facing challenges in effort to eradicate polio by end of 2012

"Afghanistan is intensifying efforts to eradicate polio by the end of next year, but security remains a major challenge especially in the southern provinces where the virus is localized, says" Arshad Quddus, head of the WHO polio program in Afghanistan, IRIN reports.

17 Sep 2011

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions leases 70,000-square-foot space in Phoenix

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, a leading provider of scientific information and analytics to pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals, today announced the signing of an 8-year lease on 70,000 square feet of new office space in the Biltmore Financial Center office park in Phoenix, AZ.

17 Sep 2011