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Amira Pharmaceuticals' LPA1 receptor antagonist program data published in British Journal of Pharmacology

Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that preclinical data from its LPA1 receptor antagonist program has been published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

7 May 2010

Telik first-quarter net loss decreases to $5.3 million

Telik, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. The net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 was $5.3 million, or $0.10 per share, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million, or $0.14 per share, for the same period in 2009.

7 May 2010

Researchers study effects of dark chocolates in reducing heart disease

Volunteers are to have chocolate delivered to their homes and be encouraged to eat 50g of it every day for eight weeks as part of a new research study.

7 May 2010

VA plans to limit surgeries at some of its facilities

The Department of Veterans Affairs will limit the kinds of surgeries at some hospitals after a review of surgical deaths at a hospital in southern Illinois, The Associated Press reports. "Under a new system, the VA has given each hospital a 'surgical complexity' level. Because of that, hospitals in at least five states — Louisiana, West Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois and Washington state — will now only perform less-complicated surgeries. The VA will pick up the tab for patients who have surgeries performed elsewhere" (Hefling, 5/6).

7 May 2010

Sun Pharmaceutical subsidiary granted USFDA approval for generic Namenda tablets

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced that USFDA has granted its subsidiary an approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Forest Laboratories, Inc.'s Namenda 5 mg and 10 mg tablets.

7 May 2010

Weight Watchers reports 4.9% decrease in first-quarter 2010 revenue

Weight Watchers International, Inc. today announced its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended April 3, 2010, and reaffirmed its fiscal 2010 earnings guidance.

7 May 2010

A checklist to stay healthy at every age

Shantanu Nundy, MD, a second-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center may soon find out. Driven by his mother's health questions and the difficulty of providing simple, reliable answers, Nundy collected all of the "generally accepted truths" about preventing disease, organized them into checklists based on age, and persuaded the Johns Hopkins University Press to publish them as Stay Healthy at Every Age: What Your Doctor Wants you to Know.

7 May 2010

The doctor pay fix: Medicare's Groundhog Day

NPR reports on the delayed fix for Medicare physician payments, "Medicare's version of Groundhog Day."

7 May 2010

Pfizer presents data on in vivo activity of PF-04523655 siRNA drug candidate at ARVO annual meeting

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the world leader in clinical development of RNAi-based therapeutics, announced today that researchers from Pfizer, Inc. presented data on in vivo activity of PF-04523655 at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting, being held May 2-6, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale.

7 May 2010

Florida Gov. Crist weighs options on abortion bill

The Palm Beach Post: "Gov. Charlie Crist appears likely to veto a bill requiring women to see ultrasounds before they can get abortions, state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, said today" (Bennett, 5/5).

7 May 2010

Swedish researchers present a new principle for inhibiting atherosclerosis

A new study by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that the immune defence's T cells can attack the "bad" LDL cholesterol and thereby cause an inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis.

7 May 2010

Imprinted genes may be the root cause of gender specific diseases, says study

Pregnancy places competing demands on a mother's physiology: Her body wants to produce a strong healthy baby but not at the expense of her own health. Some of the genes that she passes on to her child therefore try to protect her own body from excessive demands from her child.

7 May 2010

Genzyme to initiate $2 billion stock buyback

Genzyme Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has voted to pursue several actions to increase shareholder value. The company will initiate a $2 billion stock buyback, under which $1 billion of stock will be repurchased in the near term and financed with debt. The additional $1 billion of stock will be repurchased during the next 12 months.

7 May 2010

House health panel ponders price transparency proposals

House lawmakers are considering several bills Thursday to make health care pricing more transparent, Modern Healthcare reports. The Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee "plans to take up a trio of bills aimed at increasing transparency and clarity in healthcare pricing, tackling an issue that has bedeviled the industry for decades and handcuffed efforts to turn everyday people into better purchasers of care."

7 May 2010

IRIN examines possible changes to U.S. food aid policy

IRIN examines the Obama administration's efforts to expand U.S. food aid beyond the distribution of domestically-produced food to countries in need.

7 May 2010

$DMPA injectible contraceptive associated with increased risk of bone fracture$

DMPA injectible contraceptive associated with increased risk of bone fracture

A new study presented today at the World Congress on Osteoporosis (IOF WCO-ECCEO10) in Florence, Italy shows that DMPA, a commonly used injectible contraceptive, is associated with higher risk of bone fracture when used alone, and not in combination with estrogens.

7 May 2010

Mouse study may lead to new therapies for Parkinson's disease

Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease.

7 May 2010

Study analyzes epidemiology of falls among elderly men

Falls and fall prevention are a major concern for the elderly and people with osteoporosis, a common chronic disease which causes weak and fragile bones. People with osteoporosis are at increased risk of fracture, even after a minor fall from standing height.

7 May 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals reports first-quarter net income of $5.5 million from continuing operations

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals today announced its first quarter financial results for the three month period ended March 27, 2010. The Company reported net income from continuing operations of $5.5 million, or $0.11 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.0 million, or $0.14 per share, for the period ended March 28, 2009.

7 May 2010

Tel Aviv researchers develop microscope-based cell scanner to speed research into fat-busting drugs

Anglers rely on fish finders to help them locate the big catch. Now Tel Aviv University researchers in tissue engineering have developed a "fat finder" that can help scientists accelerate their research into new fat-melting drugs.

7 May 2010