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WHO endorses low tech, low cost, rapid test for multi-drug resistant TB

A rapid, low cost test for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) - including multi-drug resistance - has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for use in resource-poor settings.

15 Nov 2010

Selexis announces strategic agreement with Zyngenia

Selexis SA announced today a strategic agreement with Zyngenia Inc. under which Selexis will utilize its' industry-leading SURE Cell Line Development Platform to generate production cell lines for Zyngenia's lead Zybody therapeutic programs.

15 Nov 2010

Support for comparative effectiveness research is gaining momentum, experts say

The Wall Street Journal: "A national push to increase research to find out which medical treatments work best for which patients is gaining momentum, even though many worry the findings may be used to ration care.

15 Nov 2010

Cerulean closes $24 million Series C financing by Lilly Ventures

Cerulean Pharma Inc., a leader in designing and developing nanopharmaceuticals, today announced that the Company has closed a $24 million Series C financing led by Lilly Ventures, with participation from all other existing investors including Polaris Venture Partners, Venrock, Lux Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

15 Nov 2010

Dalton Pharma enters co-operation with Lonza to provide integrated chemistry services

Dalton Pharma Services and Lonza jointly announce a co-operation created to provide clients with geographically diversified, fully integrated chemistry services from bench to commercial production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

15 Nov 2010

Young father receives life-saving intervention prior heart transplant surgery

James "Jimmy" Armstrong hadn't missed a "Mac" in 28 years. At 44, he's one of the youngest "goats" in the Chicago Yacht Club. Sailors receive the designation of "goat" once they've completed 20 or more "Macs", the 333-mile boat race from Chicago to Mackinac, Mich. Armstrong has sailed the race every year since he was 16. But, he wasn't among the sailors this past July. Instead, he was in intensive care awaiting heart transplant following a harrowing experience spurred by severe case of myocarditis-a little-known condition causing inflammation of the heart muscle.

15 Nov 2010

AMP receives FDA approval to manufacture ophthalmic product using Capmatic Patriot dropper bottle filling line

Alliance Medical Products announced today, at the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to manufacture a certain commercially available ophthalmic product using the company's high speed dropper bottle filling line.

15 Nov 2010

Study finds children more likely to be allergic to amoxicillin

Children are more likely to have an allergy to amoxicillin than adults, according to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix Nov. 11-16. Amoxicillin is a form of penicillin.

15 Nov 2010

Deinobiotics project receives €1.35 million for developing novel antibiotic, antifungal compounds

Deinove, the world's leading specialist in Deinococcus bacteria for biofuels, green chemistry and antibiotics, today announced that its Deinobiotics project is to receive a total of €1.35 million in grants and loans.

15 Nov 2010

Insurers consider shake-ups to business models under health law

Reuters: "Become tech-savvy. Bulk up. Venture abroad. Those appear to be among the most appealing alternatives for U.S. health insurers with their core U.S. markets in upheaval following passage of the healthcare overhaul, speakers at the Reuters Health Summit said this week.

15 Nov 2010

ICON, Proteome enter alliance to provide expanded biomarker solutions

ICON plc, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, and Proteome Sciences a leading provider of protein biomarker discovery, validation, and assay development services, today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to provide pharmaceutical companies with an expanded biomarker solution to allow earlier assessments in the development of new medicines.

15 Nov 2010

Combination of Chinese herbal formula and conventional treatments may help treat food allergies

Complementary and alternative medicine may give allergy and asthma sufferers new options for treating symptoms, according to allergists at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16. Allergists discussed how herbal treatments may be integrated into conventional allergy treatments, including a novel Chinese herbal formula for treating all types of food allergies.

15 Nov 2010

Healthcare costs rise for people insured through an employer

Reuters: "Healthcare costs for people insured through an employer rose 6.3 percent for the year ended June 30, according to a new Thomson Reuters index released on Thursday. It found spending for hospital care rose especially fast -- 8.2 percent, compared to a 5.5 percent rise for physician services and a 3.4 percent increase in drug costs.

15 Nov 2010

Domainex, Sigma-Aldrich enter collaboration to study epigenetic proteins

Domainex Ltd., the Contract Research Organization committed to excellence in drug discovery, today announced a collaboration with Sigma-Aldrich that will provide essential tools, including biochemical assays and monoclonal antibodies, for the study of proteins involved in the rapidly developing field of epigenetics. These epigenetic proteins regulate DNA expression and can be critical to cancer and stem cell biology research. Funding from the UK Government-backed Technology Strategy Board will support this work.

15 Nov 2010

CEVEC establishes North American subsidiary in Maryland, USA

CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, the developer of a novel human protein expression system derived from amniocytes, announced today the US expansion of it's business by founding a North American subsidiary, CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in Potomac, Maryland, USA.

15 Nov 2010

Oregon scientist investigates safety, effectiveness of novel low-cost family-planning option

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded nationally prominent Oregon Health & Science University reproductive scientist Jeffrey T. Jensen, M.D., M.P.H., a $100,000 grant to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a novel low-cost family-planning option that may be applicable to women in low-resource countries worldwide.

15 Nov 2010

Vit D deficiency does not raise stroke risk in African-Americans

While vitamin D deficiency is associated with fatal stroke among whites, it is not linked to more stroke deaths among blacks, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

15 Nov 2010

Researchers find structural deficits in gray matter may be associated with daytime sleepiness

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may blame their daytime difficulties on simple sleepiness, but new research suggests that their brains may be to blame. Specifically, their cognitive challenges may be caused by structural deficits in gray matter, brought on by the intermittent oxygen deprivation that comes with OSA. The good news is that these deficits may be partially or fully reversible with early detection and treatment, according to Italian researchers

15 Nov 2010

Report documents increase in R&D projects on developing world diseases

Drugmakers are now working on over 100 R&D projects designed to tackle diseases of the developing world and almost 80% of them are being carried out with non-industry partners, according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA).

15 Nov 2010

Scientists find sleep helps consolidate memories

Scientists have found that sleep helps consolidate memories, fixing them in the brain so we can retrieve them later. Now, new research is showing that sleep also seems to reorganize memories, picking out the emotional details and reconfiguring the memories to help you produce new and creative ideas, according to the authors of an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

15 Nov 2010