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Merck expands patient assistance programs to provide medicines to needy people

Today, Merck announced that it has significantly expanded the number of Merck medicines available through its Merck Helps patient assistance programs, which include the Merck Patient Assistance Program, the Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program, the ACT Program for Oncology and Hepatitis C medicines, and the SUPPORT Program for HIV/AIDS medicines.

23 Sep 2010

New health law's protections for adult children starts tomorrow

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with USA Today, Lisa Zamosky writes: "Parents, mark your calendars. Starting tomorrow, adult children will no longer be left to fend for themselves in their search for health insurance.

23 Sep 2010

HealthCare Insight awarded URAC accreditation in HIPAA Privacy for Business Associate and HUM modules

HealthCare Insight (HCI) announced today that it has been awarded full accreditation in HIPAA Privacy for Business Associate and Health Utilization Management (HUM) modules from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

23 Sep 2010

RXi, EyeGate collaborate to develop RNAi therapeutics for retinal disorders

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a recognized leader in RNAi-based therapeutics, and EyeGate Pharma, the leader in non-invasive ocular drug delivery announced today that they will collaborate on the ocular delivery of RNAi therapeutics. Each party will contribute technology, expertise, and resources to the collaboration.

23 Sep 2010

FDA approves Roche's COBAS AmpliPrep / COBAS TaqMan HBV Test v2.0

Roche Molecular Diagnostics announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the COBAS® AmpliPrep / COBAS® TaqMan® HBV Test v2.0 for use in the United States. The new Roche test provides a fully automated solution for the quantitative detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in human plasma or serum for patients on HBV antiviral therapy.

23 Sep 2010

Mitsui Ventures invests US$5 million to support S*BIO's clinical program

S*BIO Pte Ltd today announced a US$5 million investment by Mitsui Ventures that will support the continued development of S*BIO's clinical programs.

23 Sep 2010

Obama takes health reform on the road, touts key consumer provisions

President Obama Wednesday took to the suburbs of Washington, D.C. to tout provisions of the new health law that protect consumers. These changes go into effect Thursday.

23 Sep 2010

DuPont and Royal DSM enter joint venture for advanced surgical biomedical materials

DuPont and Royal DSM N.V. announce an agreement to form a joint venture to develop, manufacture and commercialize advanced surgical biomedical materials, pending European Union regulatory approval. The joint venture will be named Actamax Surgical Materials LLC. Under the joint venture agreement, DuPont and DSM will each share a 50 percent interest.

23 Sep 2010

Miltenyi Biotec releases ACSA-1 MicroBead Kit to isolate GLAST-expressing astrocytes

Miltenyi Biotec announces the worldwide first and exclusive release of the Anti-GLAST (ACSA-1) MicroBead Kit. Isolation of viable GLAST-expressing astrocytes is now possible within one hour using the first commercially available antibody against an extracellular surface epitope of GLAST.

23 Sep 2010

High selenium intake associated with lower rates of bladder cancer in women

Scientists in Spain have found that adding a can of tuna or other fish to our shopping lists could help protect us against bladder cancer.

23 Sep 2010

Medical loss ratio debate drags on, drags down stock prices

The failure to clearly define the key health law requirement that many insurers must spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health services has left investors tepid about health plan stocks and has complicated corporate decisions in the sector, Bloomberg reports. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a group of state regulators, were supposed to offer a definition to federal policy makers by June, but their deadline was pushed back to October.

23 Sep 2010

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories files Annual Report on Form 20-F

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited today announced that its Annual Report on Form 20-F, containing its annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended 31 March, 2010 was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

23 Sep 2010

Covidien launches Puritan Bennett 560 ventilator in Europe

Covidien, a leading global healthcare products company and recognized innovator in mechanical ventilation and respiratory care devices, today announced that the Puritan Bennett™ 560 ventilator is now available in Europe. The Puritan Bennett 560 ventilator is compact and portable, weighing just 4.5 kg. This lightweight device provides mobile respiratory support, enabling ventilated adult and pediatric patients to pursue regular activities with peace of mind.

23 Sep 2010

FDA approves fingolimod drug for multiple sclerosis

The first oral medication for multiple sclerosis was approved today by the Food & Drug Administration. Physicians praised the decision to approve the drug, called fingolimod, saying it would give multiple sclerosis patients new options for treatment.

23 Sep 2010

Masonic Cancer Center receives five-year program project research grants from NCI

Two of the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center's leading physician-scientists on research and treatment of cancers of the blood and bone marrow Philip McGlave, M.D., and Jeffrey Miller, M.D., have received renewed five-year program project research grants totaling almost $26 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

23 Sep 2010

Scientists identify genetic variants that increase asthma susceptibility

An international study looking at DNA from over 26,000 people has identified several genetic variants that substantially increase susceptibility to asthma in the population. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, will help scientists to focus their efforts to develop better therapies for the illness.

23 Sep 2010

Portable laser devices to probe early signs of diseases

Portable devices that use a laser beam to probe bones, teeth, and other parts of the body for early signs of diseases like osteoporosis and tooth decay may seem like something out of science fiction. But those devices are moving closer to reality, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

23 Sep 2010

People's Care ranks #2140 on Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies

Inc. Magazine included Southern California-based People's Care in its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the country's fastest growing private companies. The list represents a comprehensive look at an important segment of the United States' economy: independent entrepreneurs. People's Care joins other prominent brands on the list, including music website Pandora, 7-Eleven and Radio Flyer.

23 Sep 2010

Genomic imprinting can influence carrier's selfish or altruistic behavior

If you are more inclined to love thyself than thy neighbor, it could be your mother's fault. Those are the findings of Francisco -beda, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.-beda, along with fellow evolutionary biologist Andy Gardner from Oxford University, examined the impact that genomic imprinting has on the carrier's selfish or altruistic behavior.

23 Sep 2010

Opinions: Genetically-modified crops can improve vaccines; MDG focus on women and girls; U.S. leadership for MDGs; Boosting access to drugs; Merits of bilateral development assistance

"The U.N. estimates that diarrheal diseases kill 1.8 million people every year. … So you might take it as good news that American company Ventria Bioscience says it has hit on an improvement to existing rehydration therapies, which could mean another tool in the fight against diarrhea," according to a Wall Street Journal editorial examining the delays the company has experienced since it first sought to have its product approved by the FDA back in 2004, even "[a]fter a panel of food, medicine, immunology, child nutrition and health experts had declared its product safe."

23 Sep 2010