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The New York Times: Aetna's former chief executive ponders the new health law

Insurers continue to "ponder" their future under the new order of the health law and, in California, rate increases trigger a blame game.

10 Dec 2010

GOP lawmaker calls government funding bill a 'trojan horse' for health reform

Politics continue to swirl around health overhaul and deficit reduction issues. A new Bloomberg poll, for instance, indicates that the public wants the deficit addressed, but still wants Congress to stay away from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, a GOP senator targets the catch-all spending bill to fund the government as a "trojan horse" to fund the health overhaul. Off the hill, groups are paying particular attention to the words used in discussing health policy issues.

10 Dec 2010

Access announces $6.0 million registered direct offering

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, has entered into definitive agreements with existing and new accredited investors to sell, in a registered direct offering, an aggregate of approximately 2.3 million shares of its common stock at a price of $2.55 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $6.0 million.

10 Dec 2010

Deals, expansions and ACOs mark hospital sector activity

Hospitals and health systems are the subject of proposed deals and acquisitions. Meanwhile, the concept of accountable care organizations continues to trigger interest and curiosity within the health care sector.

10 Dec 2010

OpEds: Palin on the Ryan Roadmap, Seniors and primary care docs, Arizona transplant controversy

[The president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's report] implicitly endorses the use of 'death panel'-like rationing by way of the new Independent Payments Advisory Board—making bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare.

10 Dec 2010

Sound masking therapy is of uncertain benefit when used alone to treat tinnitus

Tinnitus — what many think of as "ringing in the ears" — is the perception of sound without any real acoustic stimulation. Sound masking therapy, a common component of tinnitus treatment, is of uncertain benefit when used on its own, a new evidence review finds.

10 Dec 2010

Elsevier enables text-to-speech option for all ePub book titles

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, announced today that it has enabled the text-to-speech option on all of its ePub book titles. The text-to-speech function enables an e-book to read aloud. This will facilitate access by readers who would otherwise face a range of access challenges through blindness, dyslexia, or motor difficulties.

10 Dec 2010

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

A new report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that for the first time in 50 years, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death.

10 Dec 2010

Positive preliminary results from tivozanib-paclitaxel combination Phase 1b trial in metastatic breast cancer

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating the company's lead product candidate, tivozanib, a highly potent and selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors 1, 2, and 3, in combination with paclitaxel (Taxol®), a standard chemotherapy regimen, in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

10 Dec 2010

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

AARP Pennsylvania State Director Dick Chevrefils released a statement following today's passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill stops a scheduled payment cut to doctors in Medicare, ensuring seniors can continue to see their physicians for the next year.

10 Dec 2010

MMI-USA announces limited launch of new Smart Toe II Hammertoe Fixation System

MMI-USA, a subsidiary of Memometal Technologies S.A., a global orthopaedic manufacturer headquartered in France, announces the limited launch of the new Smart Toe® II Hammertoe Fixation System. The product becomes an important piece of a comprehensive system for forefoot fixation, and reinforces the most widely used franchise of intramedullary implants of this kind in the world.

10 Dec 2010

Roark affiliates acquire Atkins Nutritionals

Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, announced today that its affiliates have acquired Atkins Nutritionals, a leading international weight control and nutrition brand. Atkins' management team, led by CEO Monty Sharma, will remain with the business and invested alongside Roark Capital in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not released.

10 Dec 2010

Pfizer withdraws Thelin for treatment of PAH, discontinues global clinical studies

Pfizer Inc. announced today that, in the interest of patient safety, it is voluntarily withdrawing Thelin® (sitaxentan) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in regions where it is approved (the European Union, Canada and Australia). In addition, Pfizer is discontinuing clinical studies of Thelin worldwide.

10 Dec 2010

Aastrom Biosciences prices public offering

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., a leading developer of expanded autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it has priced a public offering of 10,000,000 units, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company's common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock, at a purchase price of $2.25 per unit for an aggregate offering amount of $22.5 million.

10 Dec 2010

Arena initiates dosing in APD811 Phase 1 clinical trial for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial of APD811, a novel oral drug candidate discovered by Arena that targets the prostacyclin receptor for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH.

10 Dec 2010

Hanger Orthopedic announces pricing of common stock public offering by Ares

Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. announced today the pricing of the previously announced public offering of 2,000,000 shares of its common stock by Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund, L.P. at a public offering price of $20.00 per share. The transaction is expected to close on December 15, 2010. The shares sold were a portion of the currently outstanding shares issued to Ares in August 2008 in connection with the conversion of all of Hanger's Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into common stock.

10 Dec 2010

Weightlifting may help prevent lymphedema following breast cancer treatment

Weightlifting may play a key role in the prevention of the painful limb-swelling condition lymphedema following breast cancer treatment, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Combined with the team's previous findings that the exercise limits a worsening of symptoms among women who already have lymphedema, the new data cements the reversal of long-running advice that breast cancer survivors should avoid lifting anything heavier than five pounds after they finish treatment.

10 Dec 2010

31-year-old mother with Gorham-Stout syndrome goes home with virtually rebuilt spine

Laurie Harms, Los Angeles, feared she'd never hold her infant daughter, Sky, again. A devastating and extremely rare bone-eroding disease - Gorham-Stout syndrome - had left the 31-year-old crumpled in a hospital bed - her neck broken, arms limp and useless, and voice muted by tubes.

10 Dec 2010

AMA welcomes House passage of legislation to stop Medicare physician payment cut for one year

"The AMA welcomes bipartisan House passage of legislation to stop the Medicare physician payment cut for one year. Stopping the steep 25 percent Medicare cut for one year was vital to preserve seniors' access to physician care in 2011. Many physicians made clear that this year's roller coaster ride, caused by five delays of this year's cut, forced them to make difficult practice changes like limiting the number of Medicare patients they could treat.

10 Dec 2010

Ipilimumab in combination with paclitaxel/carboplatin for stage IIIb/IV NSCLC shows superior results

Ipilimumab used in combination with paclitaxel/carboplatin for stage IIIb/IV non-small cell lung cancer showed superior results in progression free survival when compared to paclitaxel/carboplatin alone, according to research presented at the 2010 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology. This symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (ISLAC) and the University of Chicago.

10 Dec 2010

Medical News

The New York Times: Aetna's former chief executive ponders the new health law

GOP lawmaker calls government funding bill a 'trojan horse' for health reform

Access announces $6.0 million registered direct offering

Deals, expansions and ACOs mark hospital sector activity

OpEds: Palin on the Ryan Roadmap, Seniors and primary care docs, Arizona transplant controversy

Sound masking therapy is of uncertain benefit when used alone to treat tinnitus

Elsevier enables text-to-speech option for all ePub book titles

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

Positive preliminary results from tivozanib-paclitaxel combination Phase 1b trial in metastatic breast cancer

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

MMI-USA announces limited launch of new Smart Toe II Hammertoe Fixation System

Roark affiliates acquire Atkins Nutritionals

Pfizer withdraws Thelin for treatment of PAH, discontinues global clinical studies

Aastrom Biosciences prices public offering

Arena initiates dosing in APD811 Phase 1 clinical trial for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Hanger Orthopedic announces pricing of common stock public offering by Ares

Weightlifting may help prevent lymphedema following breast cancer treatment

31-year-old mother with Gorham-Stout syndrome goes home with virtually rebuilt spine

AMA welcomes House passage of legislation to stop Medicare physician payment cut for one year

Ipilimumab in combination with paclitaxel/carboplatin for stage IIIb/IV NSCLC shows superior results

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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