Medical News

RSS

Enrollment begins in Phase 2 trial of RegeneRx’s RGN-259 in dry eye associated with graft vs. host disease

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the first patient has been screened and is being enrolled in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing the Company's drug candidate RGN-259 in patients with dry eye associated with graft vs. host disease. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, investigator-sponsored trial is expected to enroll a total of 20 patients over the next several months, with data reported later in 2011. RGN-259 is a sterile, preservative-free topical eye drop formulation of the novel therapeutic peptide Thymosin beta 4, or Tβ4.

23 Dec 2010

Patients with over expression of P-Rex1 protein are more likely to develop cancer metastasis

Overexpression or hyperactivation of ErbB cell-surface receptors drives the growth of many breast cancers. Drugs, like Herceptin, that block the receptors' signals halt tumor progression in some patients.

23 Dec 2010

Combination of antigen and wax nanoparticles improves immunogenicity

Particle Sciences, a leading pharmaceutical CRO has formulated a series of wax nanoparticles that, when coupled with an antigen, enhanced its immunogenicity, increasing both systemic and the mucosal immune response.

23 Dec 2010

Zimmer acquires Sodem Diffusion

Zimmer Holdings, a global leader in musculoskeletal care, today announced it has acquired Sodem Diffusion S.A., the manufacturer of SoPlus Orthopaedic Surgical Power Tools based in Geneva, Switzerland.

23 Dec 2010

In State budgets, Medicaid goes under the knife; Costs high for Florida Medicaid's doctor-immunity plan; N.J. practices to launch ACOs

Governors nationwide are taking a scalpel to Medicaid, the jointly run state and federal health-care program for 48 million poor Americans, half of whom are children. The single biggest expense for states, Medicaid consumes about 22 percent of their total $1.6 trillion in expenditures, more than what is allocated to elementary and secondary education, according to a National Governors Association report.

23 Dec 2010

New study reveals statin therapy linked to reduced postoperative mortality

Statin drugs were first introduced to lower blood cholesterol concentrations; however, research is now discovering other benefits. A new study from France, published in the January 2011 issue of Anesthesiology, is the first to analyze the impact of preoperative chronic statin therapy on postoperative adverse events in surgical patients. Findings from the study suggest that statin therapy is associated with reduced postoperative mortality.

23 Dec 2010

Photon-based radiation therapy may result in better survival rate in patients with spinal-cord tumor

A study comparing the long-term outcomes of patients with spinal-cord tumors following radiation therapy suggests that certain subsets of patients have better long-term survival.

23 Dec 2010

Amylin, Lilly submit BYETTA sNDA for type 2 diabetes

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announced that a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the expanded use of BYETTA® (exenatide) injection as an add-on therapy to basal insulin, with or without metformin and/or a thiazolidinedione (TZD) in conjunction with diet and exercise for adults with type 2 diabetes who are not achieving adequate glycemic control.

23 Dec 2010

Medicare pays out big bucks for questionable treatments

News outlets report on various activities related to fraud and abuse in Medicare.

23 Dec 2010

Abbott, AstraZeneca discontinue CERTRIAD development collaboration

Abbott announced today that Abbott and AstraZeneca will discontinue their joint collaboration for the development of CERTRIAD™ (rosuvastatin / fenofibric acid delayed release) Capsules.

23 Dec 2010

Genetic variant of brain receptor molecule may contribute to impulsive behavior

A multinational research team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health has found that a genetic variant of a brain receptor molecule may contribute to violently impulsive behavior when people who carry it are under the influence of alcohol.

23 Dec 2010

Health biz sector ripe for action

Reuters reports that analysts are predicting "a robust year of dealmaking" for health businesses ranging from scientific tool makers to hospital companies.

23 Dec 2010

FDA approves Gardasil for prevention of anal cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the vaccine Gardasil for the prevention of anal cancer and associated precancerous lesions due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in people ages 9 through 26 years.

23 Dec 2010

Researchers discover protein that suppresses melanoma progression

In a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for patients with malignant melanoma, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that a particular protein suppresses the progression of melanoma through regulation of an oncogene, or gene responsible for cancer growth. The study is published in the December 23 issue of Nature.

23 Dec 2010

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Malaria eradication; Moving Haiti forward; Health care financing

"At this critical time when we are concerned about our country's financial well being it is imperative that we curtail our charity to others," Bradley Blakeman, deputy assistant to former President George W. Bush and professor of politics and public policy at Georgetown University, writes in a Fox News opinion piece calling for the U.S., which he says "has done more than its fair share for others since our birth as a nation," to "curtail our foreign aid."

23 Dec 2010

mTORC1 cellular pathway affects aging phenotype

Whitehead Institute researchers have linked hyperactivity in the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) cellular pathway, to reduced ketone production, which is a well-defined physiological trait of aging in mice.

23 Dec 2010

NCI grants U-M Cancer Center $10.7M for study of colorectal and pancreatic cancer

The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a five-year $10.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study colorectal and pancreatic cancer.

23 Dec 2010

Loyola researcher receives $1.3 million NIH grant to study key heart protein

Loyola University Health System researcher Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, has been awarded a four-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a protein that is critical for the normal functioning of the heart.

23 Dec 2010

TMEM106B gene appears to protect against frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Neuroscientists had assumed that a mutation in the progranulin gene, which makes the progranulin protein and supports brain neurons, was sufficient to produce a kind of dementia known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration. But now an international team of scientists led by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have found another genetic factor they say appears to protect against the disorder in progranulin mutation carriers.

23 Dec 2010

Bloomberg: The politics, investments of judges

Three federal judges overseeing challenges to the Obama administration's health-care overhaul own shares of companies in the industry, including insurers and medical-device makers, the government watchdog group Center for Public Integrity reported.

23 Dec 2010