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Viron's Phase 2a trial for VT-111 meets primary, secondary endpoints in ACS patients

Viron Therapeutics Inc. today announced that the results of Viron's Phase 2a trial for VT-111 were published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. In the study led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Research Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute, VT-111, also known as Serp-1, met both its primary and secondary endpoints of safety and biological activity in Acute Coronary Syndrome patients receiving coronary stents.

17 Dec 2010

Whitehead Institute Founding Member named recipient of 2011 Warren Triennial Prize of MGH

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch has been named a recipient of the 2011 Warren Triennial Prize of Massachusetts General Hospital.

17 Dec 2010

Prions responsible for BSE can survive in new host environment

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that prions, bits of infectious protein that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease," have the ability to adapt to survive in a new host environment.

17 Dec 2010

Genentech confirms EMA, FDA updates on Avastin for metastatic breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, confirmed that following the reviews of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in metastatic breast cancer by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the following regulatory announcements were made by the individual health authorities:

17 Dec 2010

Emotional intelligence and cognitive skills sharpen after 60

Older people have a hard time keeping a lid on their feelings, especially when viewing heartbreaking or disgusting scenes in movies and reality shows, psychologists have found. But they're better than their younger counterparts at seeing the positive side of a stressful situation and empathizing with the less fortunate, according to research from the University of California, Berkeley.

17 Dec 2010

Electronic cigarettes much safer than real cigarettes, says BUSPH researcher

In a new report that bucks the concerns raised by the Food and Drug Administration, a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) (sph.bu.edu) researcher concludes that electronic cigarettes are much safer than real cigarettes and show promise in the fight against tobacco-related diseases and death.

17 Dec 2010

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota praises fix of orphan drug discount under 340B program

Families who were facing the prospect of huge increases in the cost of life-saving drugs for their children can breath easier thanks to a new law that will preserve discounts on specialized, so-called "orphan drugs."

17 Dec 2010

UIC introduces robotic kidney transplantation surgery for obese recipients

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are the first to offer robotic kidney transplantation to morbidly obese patients and report fewer complications among this high risk population.

17 Dec 2010

Global Fund approves 79 grants with two-year commitment of $1.7B

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Board of Directors on Wednesday approved 79 grants with a two-year commitment of "$1.7 billion dollars for projects against the diseases, amid warnings that some hard-hit African countries were being left out," Agence France-Presse reports. The commitment, according to Ethiopian Health Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who chairs the Global Fund's board, "shows that even in hard economic times, we can continue to expand the fight against the three diseases" (12/15).

17 Dec 2010

Catalyst receives $4.0M milestone payment from Pfizer under hemophilia Factor VIIa program

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc., the leading company in the discovery and development of engineered proteases, today announced the receipt of a $4.0 million milestone payment from Pfizer Inc. under the terms of the collaboration agreement for the development of improved recombinant human Factor VIIa variants for the treatment of hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

17 Dec 2010

Study suggests blood test may detect persons with CKD

An infrequently used blood test can effectively identify individuals at increased risk of developing complications associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

17 Dec 2010

MDA awards Repligen $1.4M for research of new compound with therapeutic potential for SMA

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced it has awarded $1.4 million in new research funding to the biopharmaceutical firm Repligen of Waltham, Mass., to complete the preclinical work needed to begin human clinical trials of a promising therapeutic compound for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

17 Dec 2010

Merck, sanofi-aventis enter global cancer research and development agreement

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that Merck, has signed a worldwide research and development agreement with sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc., under which Merck Serono and sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc. will collaboratively investigate novel experimental combinations of agents that could block specific pathways in cancer cells. This collaboration could deliver novel targeted oncology treatments with high therapeutic potential.

17 Dec 2010

Researchers discover new molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease through protein interaction

Through a complex analysis of protein interactions, researchers from IRB Barcelona and the Joint Programme IRB-BSC have discovered new molecular mechanisms that may be involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Dec 2010

President signs one-year 'pay-fix'; Medicare tests competitive bidding for common medical equipment

The Kansas City Star reports on a new Medicare program that will apply competitive bidding to common medical equipment and supplies. Meanwhile, President Obama signed into law yesterday a one-year delay in Medicare payment cuts for physicians.

17 Dec 2010

NovImmune obtains additional financing of CHF 20 million

NovImmune announced today, following its July 2010 deal with Genentech/Roche, that it obtained further financing of CHF 20 million. The series B financing round of CHF 20M was led by BZ Bank Aktiengesellschaft.

17 Dec 2010

Pediatric cancer researchers study medulloblastoma for new treatment

Pediatric cancer researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia contributed important expertise to a new landmark study of medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor typically found in children.

17 Dec 2010

Human fetal immune system entirely different from adult immune system

UCSF researchers have shown for the first time that the human fetal immune system arises from an entirely different source than the adult immune system, and is more likely to tolerate than fight foreign substances in its environment.

17 Dec 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals progress in delivery and translation of RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leading RNAi therapeutics company, presented new data at the 2010 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies, being held in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 15-20.

17 Dec 2010

U.S., South Africa sign PEPFAR partnership agreement

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Tuesday signed a "partnership agreement that will guide efforts on fighting HIV/AIDS in the African nation," Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports (Wessels, 12/15).

17 Dec 2010

Medical News

Viron's Phase 2a trial for VT-111 meets primary, secondary endpoints in ACS patients

Whitehead Institute Founding Member named recipient of 2011 Warren Triennial Prize of MGH

Prions responsible for BSE can survive in new host environment

Genentech confirms EMA, FDA updates on Avastin for metastatic breast cancer

Emotional intelligence and cognitive skills sharpen after 60

Electronic cigarettes much safer than real cigarettes, says BUSPH researcher

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota praises fix of orphan drug discount under 340B program

UIC introduces robotic kidney transplantation surgery for obese recipients

Global Fund approves 79 grants with two-year commitment of $1.7B

Catalyst receives $4.0M milestone payment from Pfizer under hemophilia Factor VIIa program

Study suggests blood test may detect persons with CKD

MDA awards Repligen $1.4M for research of new compound with therapeutic potential for SMA

Merck, sanofi-aventis enter global cancer research and development agreement

Researchers discover new molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease through protein interaction

President signs one-year 'pay-fix'; Medicare tests competitive bidding for common medical equipment

NovImmune obtains additional financing of CHF 20 million

Pediatric cancer researchers study medulloblastoma for new treatment

Human fetal immune system entirely different from adult immune system

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals progress in delivery and translation of RNAi therapeutics

U.S., South Africa sign PEPFAR partnership agreement

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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