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Endologix announces definitive agreement to acquire Nellix

Endologix, Inc., developer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nellix, Inc, a privately-held medical device company that has developed a revolutionary endograft for the treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAAs).

28 Oct 2010

Candidates on health care offense, defense in final week before election

Candidates are in full campaign mode ahead of midterm elections that will likely spell out how the health law is implemented. The New York Times reports that some Democrats are playing defense after voting for health reform. They include Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello who is running against Republican state Sen. Robert Hurt.

28 Oct 2010

Health IT Roundup: Digital divide, a VA contract, the open data movement

Computerworld: The digital divide is alive and well when it comes to health care technology. Although President Barack Obama has made it a priority to have medical facilities deploy electronic health records (EHR) over the next four years, the people most likely to benefit -- those in poor and minority communities -- are unlikely to see them anytime soon.

28 Oct 2010

InVivo Therapeutics completes reverse merger with InVivo

InVivo Therapeutics Corporation a company focused on the development of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI), today announced the successful completion of a reverse merger with InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp.

28 Oct 2010

Lotus receives Chinese SFDA approval for R-Bambuterol Hydrochloride Phase I human clinical trials

Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fast-growing, profitable developer, manufacturer and seller of medicine and drugs in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), announced today that it received approval from the State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA") Ethics Committee to commence Phase I human clinical trials of R-Bambuterol Hydrochloride, the Company's proprietary drug candidate for the treatment of asthma.

28 Oct 2010

IBI receives U.S. patent for novel blood protein biomarkers

Intrinsic Bioprobes today announced that the United States Patents and Trademark Office has issued US Patent 7,816,095 covering novel blood protein biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease. This patent is first of a series of patent applications that cover specific human protein variants as biomarkers with clinical utility.

28 Oct 2010

Sandoz initiates voluntary recall of Methotrexate Injection

Sandoz Inc. announced today it has initiated a voluntary recall in the US of all 50mg/2mL and 250mg/10mL vials of Sandoz and Parenta brand Methotrexate Injection, USP product ("methotrexate") to the consumer/user level. Consistent with its commitment to quality and patient safety, Sandoz is initiating this voluntary recall of all 24 lots of the affected product following the finding of small glass flakes by Sandoz quality control in a limited number of vials in four lots.

28 Oct 2010

deCODE genetics publishes high resolution recombination map of human genome in Nature journal

Scientists from deCODE genetics today publish in Nature the highest resolution recombination map of the human genome yet developed. Recombination is the reshuffling of the genome that occurs in the formation of eggs and sperm: we inherit one version of each chromosome from each of our parents, and create novel blends of the two that we pass on to our offspring.

28 Oct 2010

Glaxo to pay $750 million settlement for defective, unsafe medicines

The New York Times: "GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug giant, has agreed to pay $750 million to settle criminal and civil complaints that the company for years knowingly sold contaminated baby ointment and an ineffective antidepressant — the latest in a growing number of whistle-blower lawsuits that drug makers have settled with multimillion-dollar fines." The 20 medicines that were produced with "questionable safety" measures included "Avandia, a troubled diabetes drug; Coreg, a heart drug; and Tagamet an acid reflux drug."

28 Oct 2010

Endologix 2010 third quarter total revenue increases 30% to $17.9 million

Endologix, Inc. developer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, today announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010.

28 Oct 2010

BioNanomatrix nanoAnalyzer 1000 System to be introduced at ASHG Annual Meeting

BioNanomatrix, Inc., which is developing and commercializing breakthrough single-molecule genomic analysis technology, will introduce next month the nanoAnalyzer 1000 System at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting from November 2-6, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

28 Oct 2010

GTC 2010 third fiscal quarter net loss decreases to $4.5 million from $26.2 million

GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. today reported its financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2010.

28 Oct 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Costs of health care lawsuits; politics and the deficit; self-recusal and the Supreme Court

As a patient advocate, my top priority for health reform is expanding coverage and giving people access to the best treatments. Controlling costs is important, but it shouldn't come at the expense of patients.

28 Oct 2010

IPC investigating relationship between BMI and severity of psoriasis in childhood

As people around the world get ready to participate in events for World Psoriasis Day on October 29, the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) is nearing completion with enrollment in a multi-center study on the relationship between obesity and psoriasis in children. The theme of this year’s World Psoriasis Day is childhood psoriasis.

28 Oct 2010

£600 million cancer drug fund for UK cancer patients

Good news for cancer patients in England, the government has announced that it would fulfill a pledge to set up a drugs fund. Earlier the Department of Health promised the extra funding after a report revealed the low level of spending in the UK on cancer medication compared to the rest of Europe.

27 Oct 2010

DIY breast cancer detection kit on its way

In a new discovery a “Do it Yourself” breast cancer detection device has been designed. The device will make breast cancer screening faster, cheaper and more effective. The scanning device is easy and safe to operate it could be installed in GP surgeries or even used at home.

27 Oct 2010

Flu deaths analyzed for future lessons

A new report has looked at all of England’s swine flu deaths in children under 18 during the 2009 pandemic. Researchers found that there was a higher risk of dying from the influenza A H1N1 strain of flu among certain groups of children, such as those with pre-existing conditions and those of a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background. However it was unclear why.

27 Oct 2010

Five ways to prevent bowel cancer: Study

According to the latest research five simple lifestyle changes could cut the risk of bowel cancer by 23%. The Danish study enrolled 57,053 adults aged 50 to 64 without cancer between 1993 and 1997. They were followed up closely for 10 years. Results showed that people who followed public health recommendations (not smoking, a healthier diet, etc.) for each of these areas had a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer during this time.

27 Oct 2010

Advanced procedure for microsurgical breast reconstruction offered at Baptist Health hospitals

When pediatrician Julie A. Buckley, MD, learned that she had breast cancer last year, she chose breast reconstruction using the “DIEP flap” procedure. DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator) flap is available mainly at regional academic centers in the United States.

27 Oct 2010

Public and private investment approaches carry potential for eliminating health disparities

According to Dr. Calvin B. Johnson, former PA Secretary of Health, there have been far too few meaningful, public discussions with regard to the substantial economic costs being borne by the U.S., as a result of its lengthy pattern of race – and gender – based health disparities. Johnson is planning to address that issue and the ability to eliminate disparities by investing in businesses, communities, and people, specifically, when he leads a panel, titled “Using Public and Private Equity Investment to Strengthen and Sustain Our Communities: Can we strategically invest our way out of health disparity and into health equity?”, at the Fourth Annual National Conference on Health Disparities, November 12, 2010, at 2:45pm, at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel.

27 Oct 2010