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Opinions: Preparing for next flu outbreak; Elections in Zimbabwe; U.S. response to Haiti

Now that concerns about swine flu have eased, "[o]ur fear is that the public and officials will get blase about the next flu outbreak," according to a New York Times editorial. "Efforts to rush vaccine into production did not go well. This dry run should lead health officials to push the vaccine makers even harder to adopt new technologies that can turn out vaccine more quickly.

9 Apr 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals' TLR antagonists exert anti atherogenic effects in preclinical model of atherosclerosis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented data from a preclinical study evaluating the mechanism of action of a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) antagonist in a preclinical model of atherosclerosis. The presentation entitled "A novel antagonist of TLR7 and TLR9 exerts anti atherogenic effects in ApoE-/- mouse model of atherosclerosis" (abstract P259) was made by Idera scientists at the American Heart Association conference "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2010 Scientific Sessions" being held April 8-10 in San Francisco, CA.

9 Apr 2010

Svelte Medical Systems' Series A extension financing oversubscribed

Svelte Medical Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the extension of its Series A financing from institutional and private investors including CNF Investments, Apjohn Ventures and the Fischell family. The company's Series A extension was oversubscribed and included an initial investment by Norwich Ventures LP. Norwich Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm committed to helping entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals and inventors build innovative medical technology companies.

9 Apr 2010

Pfizer to expand clinical trials in Asia, work on development of antibiotics for drug-resistant TB

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Wednesday that it plans to increase the number of clinical trials it's conducting in Singapore by 10 percent as part of an effort "to design drugs for diseases prevalent in the region," Reuters reports.

9 Apr 2010

Encouraging results from CCT's Phase I study of PDA-001 for treatment-resistant Crohn's Disease

Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, today announced initial results from a Phase I multicenter safety study of PDA-001 in treatment-resistant Crohn's Disease. PDA-001 is an immunomodulatory therapy consisting of human placenta-derived cells obtained from CCT's proprietary processes.

9 Apr 2010

Philips to sell Sectra PACS in Japan

Sectra and Philips have completed an agreement whereby Philips will sell Sectra PACS in Japan under a joint branding policy. The agreement revitalizes a partnership that ended in 2005, by which Sectra and Philips combined were among the market leaders for PACS.

9 Apr 2010

Wave of tax changes comes with health law

The new health law will make a variety of changes to the tax code, including higher levies on the wealthy and millions of dollars in lost deductions for some corporations.

9 Apr 2010

Dangerous agitations: Nicotine replacement therapy needs to be tested in ICU setting

Nicotine withdrawal can cause dangerous agitation in intensive care patients. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care found that, compared to non-smokers, agitated smokers were more likely to accidentally remove tubes and catheters, require supplemental sedative, analgesic or anti-psychotic medications, or need physical restraints.

9 Apr 2010

Russia's first implant of SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart performed on 60-year-old female

On March 23, the Bakoulev Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery (BSCCS) in Moscow performed Russia's first implant of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart. The patient, a 60-year-old female suffering from biventricular heart failure, is the world's 850th recipient of the Total Artificial Heart.

9 Apr 2010

Sanofi-Aventis acquires exclusive global rights to CureDM's Pancreate

CureDM, LLC announced today that an agreement has been signed with Sanofi-Aventis for the exclusive worldwide license of Pancreate™, a novel islet neogenesis agent for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. CureDM is a privately held biopharmaceutical company whose scientists discovered Pancreate™, a first-in-class human peptide therapeutic. Several key Composition of Matter and Use patents have been issued to CureDM for this potentially transforming treatment approach for diabetes.

9 Apr 2010

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

The Boston Globe: "Seeking to tone down their dispute with state regulators, two Massachusetts health insurers yesterday said they will, as ordered, resume making new policies available for individuals and small businesses — using last year's base rates, not the requested double-digit increases rejected by the state last week" (Weisman, 4/8).

9 Apr 2010

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 registration clinical trial for perifosine

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase 3 registration clinical trial for KRX-0401 (perifosine), the Company's novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, for the treatment of patients with refractory advanced colorectal cancer.

9 Apr 2010

Savings from computerized medical records are hard to measure

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "When it comes to health policy, few ideas find as much bipartisan support as the notion that widespread adoption of health information technology could improve medical care and save money.

9 Apr 2010

Sagent Pharmaceuticals raises $40M through Series B financing

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has raised $40 million through two tranches of a strategic Series B financing. In this round, a $10 million investment was made by Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Hisun), and the remaining $30 million was contributed by an unnamed China-focused private equity investment fund. To date, including this financing, Sagent has raised $153 million in equity capital.

9 Apr 2010

University of Southampton, Synairgen Research scientists commence Phase II trial of interferon beta for asthma

Scientists from the University of Southampton and Synairgen Research Ltd, a respiratory drug development company spun out from the University, have begun a Phase II study into the effectiveness of the drug interferon beta for asthma patients.

9 Apr 2010

Those who understand insurance coverage more cost-conscious, study says

The Associated Press/The Boston Herald: "Workers who better understand their health insurance plans — from their share of premiums to co-payments for doctor office and emergency room visits — are more likely to make more cost-efficient decisions, a new study finds. The study, which surveyed about 1,500 government workers in Massachusetts," was published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

9 Apr 2010

Fate Therapeutics to acquire Ottawa biotechnology company Verio Therapeutics

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced today a definitive agreement to acquire Verio Therapeutics Inc., a privately held biotechnology company based in Ottawa, Ontario, which is developing drug candidates targeting the activation of endogenous stem cells. Verio Therapeutics is advancing the work of several of Canada's leading stem cell scientists, including Michael Rudnicki, Ph.D., FRSC, and Lynn Arthur Megeney, Ph.D., who have made breakthrough discoveries relating to muscle and pancreatic regeneration.

9 Apr 2010

PSA test distress, study urges caution

A new study wants men to be informed about risks associated with screening for prostate cancer. The research has brought out that the prostate cancer tests can cause significant psychological distress to the men undergoing the screening. 330 men were studied by the University of Bristol as they underwent the tests and after they finished.

9 Apr 2010

Roughly 100,000 people are dropped from Tennessee's Medicaid program

Kaiser Health News: "About 100,000 people -- mostly elderly or disabled residents -- have been dropped [from Tennessee's Medicaid program] since January 2009, including approximately 37,000 who had relied on the state program for all their health care needs. Coverage for 8,000 children was also reassessed, but a TennCare spokeswoman said the number of children ultimately cut from the program could not be verified.

9 Apr 2010

Cell Therapeutics receives FDA Complete Response Letter for Pixuvri NDA

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it had received a Complete Response Letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its New Drug Application for Pixuvri™ (pixantrone dimaleate) for relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ("NHL").

9 Apr 2010

Medical News

Opinions: Preparing for next flu outbreak; Elections in Zimbabwe; U.S. response to Haiti

Idera Pharmaceuticals' TLR antagonists exert anti atherogenic effects in preclinical model of atherosclerosis

Svelte Medical Systems' Series A extension financing oversubscribed

Pfizer to expand clinical trials in Asia, work on development of antibiotics for drug-resistant TB

Encouraging results from CCT's Phase I study of PDA-001 for treatment-resistant Crohn's Disease

Philips to sell Sectra PACS in Japan

Wave of tax changes comes with health law

Dangerous agitations: Nicotine replacement therapy needs to be tested in ICU setting

Russia's first implant of SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart performed on 60-year-old female

Sanofi-Aventis acquires exclusive global rights to CureDM's Pancreate

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 registration clinical trial for perifosine

Savings from computerized medical records are hard to measure

Sagent Pharmaceuticals raises $40M through Series B financing

University of Southampton, Synairgen Research scientists commence Phase II trial of interferon beta for asthma

Those who understand insurance coverage more cost-conscious, study says

Fate Therapeutics to acquire Ottawa biotechnology company Verio Therapeutics

PSA test distress, study urges caution

Roughly 100,000 people are dropped from Tennessee's Medicaid program

Cell Therapeutics receives FDA Complete Response Letter for Pixuvri NDA

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