Medical News

RSS

APCapital second-quarter net income decreases to $9.4 million

American Physicians Capital, Inc. today announced net income of $9.4 million or $.98 per diluted common share for the second quarter of 2010. This compares to net income of $11.0 million, or $.97 per diluted common share for the second quarter of 2009. Year-to-date, the Company has generated net income of $18.4 million or $1.88 per diluted common share in 2010, compared to $21.1 million or $1.82 per diluted common share in the first six months of 2009.

30 Jul 2010

Charles River to terminate acquisition agreement with WuXi PharmaTech

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., a leading global provider of research models and associated services and of preclinical drug development services, today announced that it has mutually agreed with WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. to terminate their previously announced acquisition agreement. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new $500 million stock repurchase program.

30 Jul 2010

Phenolic compounds in peaches, plums kill breast cancer cells

A recent study performed at Texas A&M University revealed that peaches and plums may present an even sweeter, juicier treat in their ability to fight breast cancer. According to research scientists Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and Dr. David Byrne from AgriLife Research at Texas A&M, extracts found in commercial varieties of peaches and plums have been shown to kill breast cancer cells while not harming normal cells.

30 Jul 2010

Insurers Aetna, WellPoint look for their place in health reform; WellPoint profit up

Aetna President Mark Bertolini said Wednesday that his company has seen much slower sales of national insurance accounts where large employers pay Aetna to administer plans for employees, The Associated Press reports. Under the new health overhaul, Bertolini said he expected less movement in that market because of the uncertainty in the law.

30 Jul 2010

Business groups, GOP prepare anti-health law campaigns for midterm elections

Politico reports that business groups are preparing ads for the November elections and some are targeting health reform. "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already vowed to invest $75 million in the mid-term elections. And health insurers are also planning to play big in November, although the specifics remain in flux. … Both America's Health Insurance Plans and its Coalition for Medicare Choices are expected to play a major role in the messaging, along with individual companies. But neither group, according to sources, plans to directly attack Democrats, which would risk infuriating the White House as it writes reform regulations as well as the Blue Dog Democrats who opposed the legislation."

30 Jul 2010

Acura Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $3.2M for second-quarter 2010

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported a second quarter 2010 net loss of $3.2 million or $0.07 per share compared to net loss of $6.5 million, or $0.14 per share for the second quarter of 2009. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the Company reported a net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.15 per share compared to net loss of $7.8 million, or $0.17 per share for the same period in 2009. At July 29, 2010 we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $26.5 million with no term indebtedness.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers discover enzyme crucial for DNA repair

Researchers have discovered an enzyme crucial to a type of DNA repair that also causes resistance to a class of cancer drugs most commonly used against ovarian cancer.Scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Life Sciences Institute of Zhejiang University in China report the discovery of the enzyme and its role in repairing DNA damage called cross-linking in the Science Express advance online publication of Science.

30 Jul 2010

Shionogi's CUVPOSA receives FDA approval for treatment of chronic severe drooling

Shionogi Inc., a U.S.-based group company of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of CUVPOSA™ (glycopyrrolate), the first liquid treatment for patients ages 3-16 who suffer from chronic severe drooling associated with neurologic conditions such as cerebral palsy. CUVPOSA™ was designated an Orphan Drug by the FDA.

30 Jul 2010

Western dietary pattern increases risk of ADHD

A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a 'Western-style' diet in adolescents.The research findings have just been published online in the international Journal of Attention Disorders."We found a diet high in the Western pattern of foods was associated with more than double the risk of having an ADHD diagnosis compared with a diet low in the Western pattern, after adjusting for numerous other social and family influences," Dr Oddy said.

30 Jul 2010

Life Technologies second-quarter Non-GAAP revenue increases 8% to $906 million

Life Technologies Corporation today announced results for its second quarter ending June 30, 2010. Non-GAAP revenue for the second quarter was $906 million, an increase of 8 percent over the $839 million reported for the second quarter of 2009. Excluding the impact of currency and prior acquisitions and divestitures, organic revenue for the quarter grew 6 percent over the same period in the previous year.

30 Jul 2010

SeraCare Life Sciences launches new product to diagnose HIV

SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Company has launched a set of new products in its diagnostic controls and panels portfolio—the SeraCare HIV-1 Seroconversion Panels. Each of the six panels consists of a set of undiluted plasma samples from a single plasma donor collected over a period of time during the development of detectable specific antibodies to HIV in the blood, or seroconversion, and is highly characterized with enhanced product information.

30 Jul 2010

GOP advising Republicans to vote against 9/11 medical coverage bill

Politico's On Congress Blog: House Republicans are advising other Republicans to vote against a bill that would "bolster medical support to Sept. 11 victims. … The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009, sponsored by New York City Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), provides medical monitoring to those exposed to toxins at Ground Zero, bolsters treatment at specialized centers for those afflicted by toxins on 9/11 and reopens a compensation fund to provide economic loss to New Yorkers."

30 Jul 2010

Intra-Cellular Therapies ITI-007 Phase Ib/II clinical trial for schizophrenia meets primary endpoint

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. today announced the results from a Phase Ib/II clinical trial in patients with schizophrenia with ITI-007, the Company's unique, investigational new drug for the treatment of schizophrenia. The trial met its primary endpoint demonstrating that ITI-007 was safe and well-tolerated in patients with stabilized schizophrenia.

30 Jul 2010

NMT Medical reports $2.6 million net income for second-quarter 2010

NMT Medical, Inc., an advanced medical technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary implant technologies that allow interventional cardiologists to treat structural heart disease through minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

White button mushrooms can keep the immune system healthy: Study

Mushrooms are among the many foods thought to play an important role in keeping the immune system healthy. Now, Agricultural Research Service funded scientists have conducted an animal-model and cell-culture study showing that white button mushrooms enhanced the activity of critical cells in the body's immune system.

30 Jul 2010

Insurers change kids coverage stance after HHS clarifies new rules

Health insurers have started to back down "on their decision to pull out of the child-only coverage market after the Obama administration addressed their concerns about the potential damage to their bottom lines," The Hill reports. "The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday clarified regulations mandating that insurance plans agree to cover sick children.

30 Jul 2010

Tel Aviv University discovers molecular power behind memory

Neuroscientists have long wondered how individual connections between brain cells remain diverse and "fit" enough for storing new memories. Reported in the prestigious science journal Neuron, a new study led by Dr. Inna Slutsky of the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University describes what makes some memories stick.

30 Jul 2010

Random vaccine distribution prevents spread of disease: Study

The best way to prevent the spread of disease in rural areas may be by targeting select popular hangouts, according to a new study by the Kansas State University EpiCenter research team.The team published "Efficient Mitigation Strategies for Epidemics in Rural Regions" in the July edition of the journal PLoS ONE. The study looks at mitigation strategies based on a contact network model developed using information collected from residents in Clay County, Kan.

30 Jul 2010

Rochester Medical third-quarter sales increase 15% to $10.24 million

Rochester Medical Corporation today announced operating results for its third quarter ended June 30, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Economy continues to impact finances of health companies

Despite a sluggish year, health care investors can look forward to growing emerging markets and a possible change in the U.S. political climate, Forbes reports. "Health care has not had a banner year in 2010 as the sector's stocks have underperformed the market on account of reform in the United States and financial problems in Europe. But there's hope for investors in shares of companies that stand on their own fundamentals, particularly those that have been successful in growing sales to emerging markets.

30 Jul 2010