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First Edition: December 15, 2010

Today's major health policy news is full of second-day stories and analysis regarding Monday's health law decision by a federal court judge in Virginia.

15 Dec 2010

iTech Medical receives CE Mark approval for Muscle Pattern Recognition System

iTech Medical, Inc., a medical information technology company, announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for the commercial sale of the Company's Muscle Pattern Recognition (MPR) System in Europe. This approval allows for the marketing and sale of the device in the European Union (EU) and all countries recognizing the CE Mark.

15 Dec 2010

PharmaNet launches Initiator and PKS technology platforms to improve clinical study timelines

PharmaNet Development Group, Inc., a leading provider of clinical development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, generic drug and medical device companies, is pleased to announce that it is launching two technology platforms – Initiator™ and PKS™ - that will provide dramatic improvements in clinical study timelines by accelerating data acquisition and the processing of final client reports in its Phase I clinics. By providing clients with real time data faster, sponsors can make informed decisions about their products earlier in the process.

15 Dec 2010

Targeting mutant BRAF can kill cancer cells, but cannot finish off melanoma

This past summer saw a revolution in melanoma therapy. Patients whose melanoma lesions contain a mutation in the BRAF gene were successfully treated with a BRAF-specific inhibitor, PLX4032. Reports of the drug trial described shrinking tumors and improved health. Yet seven months after therapy began the tumors returned and resumed growing. Now, scientists at The Wistar Institute explain why: the tumor learns to signal around the blocked gene by adjusting its molecular wiring.

15 Dec 2010

Customer satisfaction with health insurance falls 2.7%, says ACSI report

Steady or improving customer satisfaction with several types of financial services is not enough to overcome the customer satisfaction challenges of the health insurance industry, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The report covers customer satisfaction with banks, credit unions, health insurance, life insurance and property & casualty insurance.

15 Dec 2010

SBUMC to rename and dedicate ALS clinic as Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence

For Chris Pendergast, every Christmas he has been alive to celebrate with his family for the past 17 years has been a gift unto itself. Indeed, in 1993 the then 44-year-old elementary school teacher from Miller Place on Long Island was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - ALS - the always fatal degenerative neuromuscular disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was told that he had, at best, three to five years to live.

15 Dec 2010

Charité begins implementation of MGN1601 clinical phase I/II study in renal cancer

The Charité - Medical University of Berlin has today begun the implementation of the clinical study phase I/II with the renal cancer medication MGN1601 (ASET Study). With this MOLOGEN AG product, an innovative cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of advanced renal cancer is entering the first important test phase.

15 Dec 2010

New report on improving outcome of pregnancy

Moms and babies everywhere deserve high quality health care, and a new report from the March of Dimes and its partners offers providers a vision for how to offer top-notch services while giving moms practical tips to help them make smart choices.

15 Dec 2010

Demand for clinical research professionals double

ResourcingPoint announces that demand for clinical research professional placement has doubled in the last two months. An increase in clinical activity across the industry, coupled with a strategic expansion of the ResourcingPoint database of professional staff, has enabled significant clinical outsourcing growth for the company. A variety of different companies, from emerging device to large pharma and CROs, rely on ResourcingPoint for their contracting needs.

15 Dec 2010

BSGI/MBI provides additional information when conventional imaging is indeterminate in diagnosing breast cancer

Dr. Barbara Ward and others of Weinstein Imaging determined that Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging/Molecular Breast Imaging (BSGI/MBI) provides additional information when conventional imaging is indeterminate and greater confidence is required to improve diagnostic accuracy. The data from the retrospective study demonstrated that BSGI contributed significantly to patient management by detecting cancer in 7 of the 73 patients (9%), and was presented last week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

15 Dec 2010

Lung protective strategy after brain death doubles lungs eligible for donation

Use of certain measures for lung preservation after brain death in potential organ donors resulted in a nearly doubling of lungs eligible for donation, compared to a conventional strategy that is used, according to preliminary research published in the December 15 issue of JAMA.

15 Dec 2010

Innovative research investigates importance of reading to newborns in the NICU

The first few days after birth is an important time when babies learn to recognize the sound of their parents' voice and the parents in turn bond with their children. However, the separation between parents and newborns admitted to the intensive care unit can be very difficult and can disrupt the early development of this relationship.

15 Dec 2010

Develogen enters license, collaboration agreement with MedImmune on insulin beta cell regeneration

Evotec AG today announced that via its subsidiary Develogen AG it has entered into a license and collaboration agreement with MedImmune (the global biologics unit of AstraZeneca), in the diabetes therapeutic area, with a particular focus on the regeneration of insulin producing beta cells. The license gives MedImmune exclusive access to a portfolio of research programs and represents the first deal executed by Evotec on beta cell regeneration assets and capabilities.

15 Dec 2010

HELM purchases 30% shareholding in Amarin

Effective September 28th, 2010, Hamburg based HELM AG has purchased a 30% shareholding in Amarin Technologies S.A. a privately owned pharmaceutical development company in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

15 Dec 2010

Early intervention for children with autism improves I.Q., language and social skills

Early intervention for children with autism, as young as 6 months of age, may change the development trajectory for later symptoms of the disorder according to a research project being spearheaded by the MIND Institute at the University of California Davis Medical Center. A recent study published by Pediatrics recorded randomized trials of daily therapy through games and pretend play for children, which demonstrated an improvement in I.Q., language and social skills.

15 Dec 2010

joimax to present C-Camsource HD Twister for endoscopic spinal surgery at 5th German Spine Congress

The 5th German Spine Congress (5. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Wirbelsaulengesellschaft (DWG)) will take place from 16 to 18 December 2010 at the Congress Centre in Bremen. joimax(R) is proud to present the innovative HD 5-in-1 complete system at their booth no.20: The C-Camsource(R)HD Twister offers state-of-the-art HD technology and works with both the joimax(R) HD endoscopes and HD flat screens producing an extremely precise and sharp picture and video imaging for endoscopic spinal surgery.

15 Dec 2010

MDMA produces friendliness, playfulness, and loving feelings in laboratory setting

MDMA or 'ecstasy' increases feelings of empathy and social connection. These 'empathogenic' effects suggest that MDMA might be useful to enhance the psychotherapy of people who struggle to feel connected to others, as may occur in association with autism, schizophrenia, or antisocial personality disorder.

15 Dec 2010

RPCI forms Photolitec to develop photosensitizing compounds used in photodynamic therapy

Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) on December 13, 2010, announced the formation of Photolitec, LLC, a new life-sciences company at RPCI that will develop photosensitizing compounds used in photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is an innovative cancer treatment pioneered at RPCI by scientist Thomas J. Dougherty, Chief Emeritus of the Institute's Photodynamic Therapy Center.

15 Dec 2010

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Profectus Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, announced today that its GENEVAX™ IL-12 pDNA adjuvant has significantly improved the vaccine-induced response rate in a Phase I clinical study of an experimental DNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection.

15 Dec 2010

Medical News

First Edition: December 15, 2010

iTech Medical receives CE Mark approval for Muscle Pattern Recognition System

PharmaNet launches Initiator and PKS technology platforms to improve clinical study timelines

Targeting mutant BRAF can kill cancer cells, but cannot finish off melanoma

Customer satisfaction with health insurance falls 2.7%, says ACSI report

SBUMC to rename and dedicate ALS clinic as Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence

Charité begins implementation of MGN1601 clinical phase I/II study in renal cancer

New report on improving outcome of pregnancy

Demand for clinical research professionals double

BSGI/MBI provides additional information when conventional imaging is indeterminate in diagnosing breast cancer

Lung protective strategy after brain death doubles lungs eligible for donation

Innovative research investigates importance of reading to newborns in the NICU

Develogen enters license, collaboration agreement with MedImmune on insulin beta cell regeneration

HELM purchases 30% shareholding in Amarin

Early intervention for children with autism improves I.Q., language and social skills

joimax to present C-Camsource HD Twister for endoscopic spinal surgery at 5th German Spine Congress

MDMA produces friendliness, playfulness, and loving feelings in laboratory setting

RPCI forms Photolitec to develop photosensitizing compounds used in photodynamic therapy

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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