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People with SLE more likely to develop hematologic malignancies

People with systemic lupus erythematosus are 1.15 times as likely to develop cancer as the general population and more than 2.5 times as likely to develop hematologic malignancies, such as lymphoma and leukemia, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

8 Nov 2010

ST Cardio Technologies receives $244,479 QTDP Program grant to develop Z6 Cardiac Stimulator

ST Cardio Technologies, an innovative developer of products utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of heart arrhythmias, announced today that it has been awarded a grant of $244,479 under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program. The company's grant is related to the development and clinical evaluation of the Z6 Cardiac Stimulator. The amount awarded to ST Cardio Technologies represents the maximum award for a grant under this program.

8 Nov 2010

Rcopia-MU certified as EHR Module by CCHIT

DrFirst announced today that Rcopia-MU, Version 3, is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as an EHR Module on November 4, 2010, by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

8 Nov 2010

Military leaders look for way to cut health care costs

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is looking for ways to cut health care costs in the nation's military care, "an area that members of Congress have so far been reluctant to tackle," Politico reports. "Gates's drive for efficiency has run the gamut — from overhauling acquisitions to better tailoring military spending for current worldwide missions, including the war in Afghanistan and the one winding down in Iraq."

8 Nov 2010

Statin drugs do not benefit pediatric lupus patients

Lupus puts children at higher risk for coronary artery disease when they become adults, but routinely using statins doesn't provide enough benefit to warrant their regular use in children and adolescents, according to the largest study of pediatric lupus patients to date.

8 Nov 2010

Amgen wins Scrip Best New Drug award for Prolia

Amgen is pleased to announce that it has won the Best New Drug award for Prolia™ (denosumab), a novel treatment approved in the United States (U.S.) for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, at the 2010 Scrip Awards ceremony Nov. 4 in London. Named one of TIME's Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2009, Prolia is the first treatment specifically designed to target osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone.

8 Nov 2010

Chronic lower back pain may be linked to axial spondyloarthritis: Research

Chronic lower back pain may be linked to a recently defined form of inflammatory arthritis known as axial spondyloarthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

8 Nov 2010

Sandata announces patent for new caregiver location monitoring solution

Sandata Technologies, LLC, a leading national provider of information technology solutions to the home healthcare industry, today announced that on November 16, 2010, the US Patent and Trademark Office will issue US Patent Number 7835955, "Time and/or Attendance System Using Synchronized Code," an innovative new caregiver location monitoring solution aimed at reducing home healthcare fraud and abuse.

8 Nov 2010

Medicaid pooled trusts keep seniors out of nursing homes

The New York Times reports on Medicaid pooled trusts: "[T]here is a little-known way for some people in certain states to receive home care through Medicaid, without requiring them to impoverish themselves first. Here's how it works: a federal law established in 1993 allows disabled people to put their monthly income or assets — above the amounts Medicaid allows them to keep — into a special type of pooled trust.

8 Nov 2010

Synergy receives $244,479 grant under QTDP program to develop plecanatide for gastrointestinal disorders

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders (GI) and diseases, announced today that it has been awarded a $244,479 grant under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program to aid the Company in its development of plecanatide currently in clinical development to treat gastrointestinal disorders.

8 Nov 2010

Tomophase to commercialize OCT Imaging System for pulmonary applications with QTDP award

Tomophase Corporation, a leading developer of minimally invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) tissue imaging devices, announced that it has received an award from the Departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services for the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP.)

8 Nov 2010

Home health, other Medicare providers face pay cuts

Home health providers face Medicare payment cuts next year. Gentiva Health Services and Amedisys are among the providers of at-home health care to receive lower Medicare payments next year under U.S. government changes to the program.

8 Nov 2010

GeoVax receives $244,500 grant under QTDP program for HIV/AIDS vaccine development

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to developing vaccines that prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $244,500 related to its HIV/AIDS vaccine development activities under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project program.

8 Nov 2010

SGN-35 drug reduces tumor growth in Hodgkin's lymphoma

An experimental drug for Hodgkin's lymphoma, studied at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, showed beneficial effects in stopping tumor growth with moderate side-effects, according to findings published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Nov 2010

Prolonged separation from mother increases risk of breast cancer in young mice

Young mice that experienced the psychosocial stress of prolonged separation from their mothers had a higher incidence and faster onset of breast tumors compared with young mice who did not experience this stressful life event. Specifically, neonatal mice separated from their mothers for a prolonged period of time developed mammary tumors twice as fast as mice that experienced short or no maternal separation.

8 Nov 2010

Health care industries have mixed reaction to health reform

The Wall Street Journal: While many Republican campaigns this season focused on repeal of the federal health care overhaul, "even with the House changing hands, health insurers, drug companies and hospitals said they were planning as if the law will stick." However, health-care companies "say that the election results offer new opportunities to influence the way the law is implemented.

8 Nov 2010

Clinical Data receives $500,000 grants under QTDP program

Clinical Data, Inc. today announced that the Company has received two grants totaling nearly $500,000 under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project.

8 Nov 2010

FDA approves Cymbalta for treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride) to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain, including discomfort from osteoarthritis and chronic lower back pain. Cymbalta was first used to treat major depressive disorder in 2004.

8 Nov 2010

Alder to present data of ALD518 two clinical studies for rheumatoid arthritis at American College Meeting

Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that data from two clinical studies of its ALD518 investigational antibody therapeutic will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta.

8 Nov 2010

Gout and hyperuricemia continue to rise in the U.S.

Gout rates and related cases of hyperuricema have increased over the past two decades, according to research presented at the Nov 2010, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

8 Nov 2010