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Health care votes may have influenced primaries

News outlets report on how health reform may have influenced Tuesday's primary elections. The Washington Post says that the Democratic primary election for Arkansas' Senate seat was influenced by labor unions who campaigned for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, in part because of incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln's vote on health care.

20 May 2010

New online diagnosis tool offers prescriptions in a hurry

News outlets report on the expanding online relationship between doctors and patients.

20 May 2010

Inova Labs completes $10 million Series A Preferred Stock financing

Inova Labs, Inc. of Austin, Texas announced today the closing of the private placement of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock. The placement went to investment funds affiliated with Three Arch Partners, based in Silicon Valley, California. Inova received gross proceeds of $10.0 million from the equity financing, which will be used for nationwide and international sales expansion of its LifeChoice® portable oxygen concentrator product line, continuation of next stage developments, and working capital.

20 May 2010

ImaginAb, GSK CIC conclude two research collaboration agreements

ImaginAb, Inc. and the GSK Clinical Imaging Centre (part of the GlaxoSmithKline Group of Companies) have concluded two research collaboration agreements around a clinical therapeutic antibody asset currently under development by GSK in the field of oncology.

20 May 2010

Gene therapy shows positive effects in rat models of PAH: Researchers

Gene therapy has been shown to have positive effects in rat models of pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

20 May 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Childhood obesity, the interworkings of the FDA, the constitutionality of 'Obamacare'

The White House report offers recommendations related to early childhood, parenting, food in schools, access to healthy and affordable food and physical activity. Taken individually, none of these is a silver bullet (Tom Newton, 5/19).

20 May 2010

Federal employee unions pressing for bill to cover young adults

Roll Call reports that "labor unions representing federal employees are pressing for temporary health insurance coverage for college-age students who will otherwise be thrown off their parents' health insurance plans when they turn 22 years old." The new health law has a provision guaranteeing such access but that isn't scheduled to take effect for federal health beneficiaries until January, even though a number of private plans are moving to implement the coverage earlier.

20 May 2010

Phase I study of SNS-032 demonstrates safety, potential clinical activity in treating B-cell malignancies

A Phase I clinical trial of SNS-032, one of the first in a new class of drugs that inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases, demonstrated the drug's safety and potential clinical action against advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Cyclin-dependent kinases are enzymatic proteins that are integrally involved in cellular metabolism, renewal and signaling, and are thought to play key roles in the growth of cancers.

20 May 2010

Medtronic commences treatment in RESCUE trial of Valiant Thoracic Stent Graft with Captivia Delivery System

Further demonstrating its commitment to proving the benefits of minimally-invasive procedures, Medtronic, Inc., today announced that the first patient has been treated with the company's Valiant® Thoracic Stent Graft with the Captivia Delivery System in Medtronic's RESCUE Clinical Study.

20 May 2010

AIR Trial demonstrates benefits of BT in asthma patients

Asthmatx Inc., today presented positive five-year data from the Asthma Intervention Research Trial, which evaluated the safety of bronchial thermoplasty with the Alair System. The data demonstrated the absence of clinical complications and the maintenance of stable lung function over a five year period post-BT in patients with moderate to severe asthma.

20 May 2010

Fraud and abuse cases come to conclusions

Los Angeles Times: "A man who recruited destitute HIV patients to be straw purchasers in a prescription drug scheme was convicted by a federal jury Tuesday in Los Angeles. Nathaniel Newhouse, 53, showed no expression as the verdict was read in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson." Newhouse was caught with 29 bottles of powerful painkillers two years ago. Investigators said they had a street value of up to $80,000. HIV patients arranged for doctors to prescribe the drugs, which were passed on to Newhouse (Glover, 5/19).

20 May 2010

FDA grants 510(k) market clearance for EraGen's MultiCode-RTx HSV 1&2 Kit

EraGen Biosciences Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) market clearance for EraGen's MultiCode®-RTx HSV 1&2 Kit.

20 May 2010

Democrats debating how to handle Medicare 'doc fix,' COBRA subsidy extension

Some Democrats are concerned that adding a Medicare physician payment "fix" to tax legislation will add to the debt and are considering dropping the provision.

20 May 2010

FDA approves ZYMAXID ophthalmic solution for treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis

Allergan, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved ZYMAXID (gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution) 0.5%, a topical fluoroquinolone anti-infective indicated for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis caused by susceptible strains of the following organisms; Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mitis group, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus pneumonia.

20 May 2010

Rising number of asthma deaths in Australia: Study

According to a study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare the number of people over 45 dying from asthma attacks has increased in the past five years. In 2006 402 people had died of asthma. 2005 had only 318 deaths related to asthma in comparison. 2006 saw a 40 percent hike from the preceding three years says the report.

19 May 2010

Queensland nurses to protest the still continuing payment errors

In a new development regarding the recent Queensland Health payroll errors the department's payroll services director Janette Jones was reportedly moved out of her role following complaints about her handling of the whole issue. There has been massive payroll bungles that have lead to thousands of health care staff underpaid, overpaid or not paid after the introduction of a new computerized system of payment this March.

19 May 2010

275% rise in dementia cases for Australia over next 40 years: Study

According to an Access Economics study commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Australia the number of Victorian dementia patients will quadruple in the next 40 years. At present the figures stand at 66,000 and are expected to touch 246,000 in 2050. The rise is an alarming 275% and is fueled by population growth, reduced physical activity, and an increasingly ageing population. Alzheimer’s Australia warns Victorian Health authorities to start planning for measures to curb the epidemic.

19 May 2010

Lawsuit fears hinder physician adoption of medical innovations

According to a new national survey on defensive medicine by Jackson Healthcare, the threat of a lawsuit causes many physicians to delay the adoption of medical innovations. More than half (53%) of survey respondents reported they had delayed adopting medical innovations such as new pharmaceuticals, procedures and medical devices due to fear of litigation.

19 May 2010

Diagnostic change not enough to help children diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Shifting children from the controversial diagnosis of bipolar disorder to one that more accurately reflects their symptoms will not by itself decrease the rate of psychopharmacologic treatment and is not enough to help troubled children flourish, according to a commentary in the May 20, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, and a physician-researcher at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

19 May 2010

University of Sydney hosts emerging infectious diseases and biosecurity conference

The latest research to combat emerging infectious diseases threatening Australia is being presented at the Sydney Institute of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity Conference at the University of Sydney today.

19 May 2010