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Hospitals struggling to prove 'meaningful use' of electronic health records

"Eight out of 10 hospital CIOs recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP said they're concerned they ... won't qualify for federal reimbursements for rolling out" electronic medical records, Computerworld reports. Last year, the federal government set aside $36 billion in stimulus funds "to help hospitals and doctors purchase equipment to computerize patient medical records, but even the most sophisticated hospitals in the country are struggling to qualify for the payments, PwC's study indicated.

1 Jul 2010

Eisai reports preliminary results from Dacogen for Injection Phase III study in AML

Eisai Inc. announced today preliminary results from a randomized Phase III clinical trial of Dacogen® (decitabine) for Injection versus either a low-dose chemotherapy agent or supportive care in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a life-threatening cancer of the blood that generally occurs in older adults.

1 Jul 2010

Threshold Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 2 clinical trial of TH-302 in patients with first line pancreatic cancer

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a multi-center, randomized, controlled, crossover Phase 2 clinical trial of TH-302 in combination with gemcitabine in patients with first line pancreatic cancer. TH-302 is a proprietary tumor selective Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug that specifically targets tumor hypoxia.

1 Jul 2010

Sanofi-aventis signs agreement to acquire TargeGen

TargeGen, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of small molecule kinase inhibitors today announced that the Company has agreed to be acquired by sanofi-aventis. Under the agreement, the ultimate purchase price will depend on the achievement of certain future milestones events and will total $560M if such milestones are fully realized. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the 3rd quarter of 2010.

1 Jul 2010

Roche, IBM announce agreement to develop nanopore-based sequencer for decoding human DNA

Roche and IBM announced today an agreement to develop a nanopore-based sequencer that will directly read and decode human DNA quickly and efficiently. Focused on advancing IBM's recently published "DNA Transistor" technology, the collaboration will take advantage of IBM's leadership in microelectronics, information technology and computational biology and Roche's expertise in medical diagnostics and genome sequencing.

1 Jul 2010

Tracking poll finds health reform law gaining in popularity

"The health-care overhaul gained popularity from May to June, according to a new tracking poll." The poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation "found that 48 percent of the public had a favorable view of the law in June while 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion." (Kaiser Health News is a program of the foundation.) In May, the tracking poll had found "41 percent favorable to 44 percent unfavorable."

1 Jul 2010

Kagan signals legal support for health law

The Washington Post: Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan suggested at her confirmation hearing Tuesday "that a controversial requirement in the new federal health-care law that most Americans obtain insurance has a legal basis -- a question that is likely to come before the courts." In answering Republican senators, Kagan "signaled" that she supported "enacting a health-care law that for the first time will require most legal residents of the United States to obtain insurance.

1 Jul 2010

ResponseDX: Lung genetic test panel launched to detect EML4-ALK gene variants in lung cancer patients

Response Genetics Inc., a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, today announced that it has expanded its ResponseDX: Lung genetic test panel to detect the presence of EML4-ALK gene variants in lung cancer patients. EML4-ALK fusion genes are present in about four percent of tumors from patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

1 Jul 2010

Rexahn closes sale of $10 million of securities in registered direct offering

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced the closing of a previously announced sale of an aggregate of $10 million of securities in a registered direct offering. Rexahn received net proceeds of approximately $9.28 million after deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses.

1 Jul 2010

pSivida's licensee submits NDA to FDA for Iluvien

pSivida Corp., a leader in the development of sustained release back of the eye drug delivery systems for difficult-to-treat conditions, today announced that its licensee, Alimera Sciences has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Iluvien for Diabetic Macular Edema.

1 Jul 2010

Cubist commences enrollment in Phase 2 study of CXA-201 for complicated intra-abdominal infections

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading acute care therapeutics company, today announced the enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 2 study with CXA-201. This multicenter, double-blind, randomized, study will compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous CXA-201 with an active comparator in patients with complicated intra-abdominal Infections (cIAI). This international study is expected to enroll 120 patients.

1 Jul 2010

Study: Medicare 'pay-for-performance' could increase care inequality

"The U.S. government's plan to base Medicare payments to hospitals on certain quality-of-care measures could end up transferring funds away from hospitals in the nation's poorest, underserved areas," according to a study published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine.

1 Jul 2010

Ambitious high-risk health insurance pools supposed to launch this week

The Associated Press: "The Obama administration is launching a special coverage program for uninsured Americans with medical problems this week, the most ambitious early investment of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. But here's the catch: Premiums will be a stretch for many, even after government subsidies to bring rates close to what healthier groups of people are charged."

1 Jul 2010

Studies link anti-cholesterol statin drugs to increased risk of anxiety and depression

Scientists are reporting a possible explanation for the symptoms of anxiety and depression that occur in some patients taking the popular statin family of anti-cholesterol drugs, and reported by some individuals on low-cholesterol diets. These symptoms could result from long-term, low levels of cholesterol in the brain, the report suggests. It appears in ACS' weekly journal Biochemistry.

1 Jul 2010

Bisphenol A (BPA) containing baby bottles to be phased out

Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mark Butler has announced that following public concern and a safety review ordered by US health regulators, the phase out will begin from today. He also revealed that according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand intake levels are very low and do not pose a risk to babies' health.

1 Jul 2010

Neuralstem announces completion of $10 million registered direct offering

Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that it has completed its previously announced registered direct offering of $10 million of units to institutional investors. The units were priced at $2.80 and consisted of: (i) one share of common stock, and (ii) 3/4 common stock purchase warrant. The warrants have an exercise price of $3.25 and a term of three years. Net proceeds from this offering, after deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses, total approximately $9.2 million. All of the securities were offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement.

1 Jul 2010

AMS granted 510(k) clearance for MoXy Liquid Cooled Fiber

American Medical Systems, a leading provider of world-class devices and therapies for both male and female pelvic health, today announced the 510(k) clearance of its revolutionary MoXy™ Liquid Cooled Fiber.

1 Jul 2010

Focus shifts to mental health policies

According to Health Minister Nicola Roxon, the Coalition has gone “crazy” for providing funds to promote its mental health policy by closing down the Labour health reforms in general practice and record keeping.

1 Jul 2010

USPTO issues Notice of Allowance for patent application related to Neogenix Oncology's 16C3 antibody

Neogenix Oncology announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trade Mark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent application related to its 16C3 antibody. Discovered and developed by Neogenix Oncology, this antibody appears to have anti-tumor activity for both pancreatic and colorectal tumors, and may have both therapeutic and diagnostic utility. The antibody may have activity in other tumors as well, which the company will explore at such time as it prepares a pre-IND package for FDA review and designs a clinical trial for the 16C3 antibody.

1 Jul 2010

Report: Health spending outpaces economic growth in wealthy countries

Reuters on a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development: The increase in health spending is "piling pressure budgets already hit" by the recession and is "likely to continue rising as populations age, technology improves and public expectations grow. ... Given the urgent need to reduce their budget deficits, many OECD governments will have to make difficult choices to sustain their healthcare systems: curb the growth of public spending on health, cut spending in other areas, or raise taxes," according to the report.

1 Jul 2010