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Surgery Partners to acquire NovaMed for $214 million

NovaMed, Inc., a leading operator of ambulatory surgery centers in partnership with physicians, today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Surgery Center Holdings, Inc. ("Surgery Partners") in a transaction valued at approximately $214 million, including the assumption or repayment of approximately $105 million of indebtedness.

21 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 21, 2011

Today's headlines highlight the House GOP's plans to advance the "replace" part of their strategy to reverse the health overhaul.

21 Jan 2011

HHS announces new funding opportunity for states to implement Health Insurance Exchanges

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new funding opportunity for grants to help states continue their work to implement a key provision of the Affordable Care Act - Health Insurance Exchanges.

21 Jan 2011

Approaches designed to motivate drug development for children needed

Recent legislative and regulatory actions make great strides toward establishing much needed incentives for pharmaceutical companies and others to develop and test more medications for pediatric rare diseases, including pediatric cancers, according to commentary by experts from Children's National Medical Center. The commentary appears in the January 19 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

21 Jan 2011

Math may help assess how rapidly stem cells and cancer-causing cousins increase numbers

The difficult task of sorting and counting prized stem cells and their cancer-causing cousins has long frustrated scientists looking for new ways to help people who have progressive diseases.

21 Jan 2011

inVentiv Health to acquire Campbell Alliance and i3

inVentiv Health, Inc., a leading provider of outsourced clinical development, launch and commercialization services to the global healthcare industry, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Campbell Alliance, a leading management consulting firm specializing in serving the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Yesterday, inVentiv announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase i3 from Ingenix.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 21 Jan 2011

How Dems who voted against the health law decided their repeal positions

Three House Democrats voted with Republicans to repeal the health law. But others, who voted against the legislation the first time around, chose to side with their party caucus.

21 Jan 2011

HCLA testifies that medical lawsuit abuse threatens patient care

The Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA) testified today before the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives in a hearing titled, "Medical Liability Reform – Cutting Costs, Spurring Investment, Creating Jobs." Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, a spokesperson for the HCLA, called on the Congress to "create a climate for patient centered care by reforming a medical liability system that continues to put everyone's health care at risk."

21 Jan 2011

EMA CHMP issues negative opinion against Biogen Idec's FAMPYRA for multiple sclerosis

Biogen Idec announced today that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a negative opinion recommending against approval of FAMPYRA to improve walking ability in adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the European Union. Biogen Idec intends to appeal this opinion and request a re-examination of the decision by the CHMP.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers map complex choreography used by immune system's T cells to recognize pathogens

Researchers have for the first time mapped the complex choreography used by the immune system's T cells to recognize pathogens while avoiding attacks on the body's own cells.

21 Jan 2011

Initiative to eliminate cervical cancer in North Carolina

Patricia Gregory of Cary was only 24 years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Now a mother of an 11-year-old daughter, she considers herself blessed to have a child, as cervical cancer can make women unable to bear children.

21 Jan 2011

What protects certain diabetics from complications?

Much research has been carried out on why diabetics develop complications. Now researchers are asking the question the other way around. They want to know why some diabetic patients do not develop complications. What is it that protects them? The PROLONG study could provide the answer.

21 Jan 2011

RBM, SMA Foundation collaborate to develop plasma protein biomarkers for spinal muscular atrophy

The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and Rules-Based Medicine, announced today that they have reached the first milestone in a program to develop a panel of plasma protein biomarkers for SMA using RBM's Multi-Analyte Profiling technology platform.

21 Jan 2011

CWLA disappointed with House's vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization, is speaking out against the House of Representatives' vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

21 Jan 2011

Vasopressin in the brain maintains size of vasopressin neurons even when body fluid becomes more diluted

The anti-diuretic hormone "vasopressin" is released from the brain, and known to work in the kidney, suppressing the diuresis.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers discover several key mutations in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Through a grant provided by the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered several key mutations in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

21 Jan 2011

AARP opposes health law repeal, writes letter to Congress

AARP CEO A. Barry Rand sent a letter to Members of Congress yesterday in advance of a scheduled vote on legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In his letter, Rand said, "While we respect that there are those who do not support the ACA, AARP opposes repeal because the new law includes many vital provisions important to older Americans and their children."

21 Jan 2011

MedImmune announces MEDI-573 preclinical results against many solid tumors

MedImmune's Oncology group announced today preclinical results showing that MEDI-573, a targeted monoclonal antibody, broadly suppresses pathways that have been shown to play a critical role in the development and progression of many solid tumors.

21 Jan 2011

WSJ: Insurers' profits on the rise

Health insurers' fourth-quarter reports will provide an early glimpse into how much wind the health overhaul could take out of plans' profits—and, so far, Wall Street estimates don't look all that bad for the industry (Johnson, 1/20).

21 Jan 2011

Vibrio cholerae kills E. coli bacteria

Just over a year after the earthquake in Haiti killed 222,000 people there's a new problem that is killing Haitians. A cholera outbreak has doctors in the area scrambling and the water-borne illness has already claimed 3600 lives according to officials with M-dicin Sans Fronti-res (Doctors without Borders).

21 Jan 2011