Medical News

RSS

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

An Economist editorial examines the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and the "vital" importance of planning for rebuilding the country "before the world's generosity turns to cynicism. Fortunately there is a blueprint, drawn up by Haiti's government and presented to donors last year. It calls for investment to be targeted on infrastructure, basic services and combating soil erosion to make farmers more productive and the country less vulnerable to hurricanes. The pressing question is who should do it and how."

23 Jan 2010

Biovail comments on Teva Pharmaceutical's proposed Budeprion XL trial

Biovail Corporation today commented on a proposed clinical trial recently announced by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. According to Teva, the trial is intended to address reports of inefficacy and adverse events by consumers who switched from Wellbutrin XL® 300 mg, Biovail’s FDA-approved brand of the antidepressant, bupropion hydrochloride, to Budeprion XL, Teva’s generic formulation of the drug. The trial was described in a Dow Jones Newswire article dated December 2, 2009.

22 Jan 2010

USPTO issues new patent for Advaxis' intellectual property portfolio

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued today patent 7,635,479, "Compositions and Methods for Enhancing the Immunogenicity of Antigens,” by Dr. Yvonne Paterson, et al, which is assigned to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and licensed to Advaxis, Incorporated (OTCBB: ADXS).

22 Jan 2010

Connecticut extends contract with ValueOptions to administer behavioral health services to young people

The state of Connecticut has extended its contract with ValueOptions® to administer public behavioral health services to 360,000 children and adults throughout the state.

22 Jan 2010

Study shows certain heart medications may decrease risk of Parkinson's disease

UCLA researchers have discovered that a specific type of medication used to treat cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, angina and abnormal heart rhythms may also decrease the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

22 Jan 2010

Workers combat hospital infections

CNN reports on efforts to combat hospital-acquired infections, which affect 1.7 million people each year and kill 99,000, while adding $28 billion to the nation's overall health care bill, according to federal research. "But there are signs of improvement. Pennsylvania, which requires the most extensive reporting of hospital-acquired infections, saw the annual rate for all infections drop 8 percent, according to the most recent figures available from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council."

22 Jan 2010

Healthcare organizations to receive Edifecs' Unified Channel vision

Edifecs, Inc., the proven leader in HIPAA 5010 and Healthcare Channel Modernization solutions, announced its "Unified Channel™" vision for healthcare organizations. The Edifecs Unified Channel™ vision is realized with three product lines – Edifecs Unified Testing™, Edifecs Unified Compliance™ and Edifecs Unified Visibility™.

22 Jan 2010

Forterus discloses financial results for fiscal 2009

On January 22, 2010, Forterus, Inc. announced its results of its 2009 Fiscal Year.

22 Jan 2010

Æterna Zentaris receives notification letter over non-compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule

Æterna Zentaris Inc. (the "Company"), a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrinology, today announced that on January 21, 2010, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The NASDAQ Stock Market indicating that the minimum closing bid price of its common shares had fallen below US$1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days, and therefore, Æterna Zentaris was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the "Rule").

22 Jan 2010

Health Policy Research: Covering young adults, Acos, wellness programs

Dependent Coverage Expansions: Estimating the Impact of Current State Policies - "With an estimated 29.3 percent of Americans age 19 to 29 lacking coverage, young adults are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group," the authors note.

22 Jan 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals to sell 2.10M shares in registered direct offering

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with accredited investors to sell in a registered direct offering an aggregate of 2.10 million shares of its common stock at a price of $3.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $6.3 million.

22 Jan 2010

Data from GenVec's trial in esophageal cancer showcased at 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium

GenVec, Inc. announced today that data from the Company's trial in esophageal cancer were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Florida on January 22, 2010.

22 Jan 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

We will ultimately have real health care reform in this country for a very simple reason: We have no choice and both Democrats and Republicans understand that. More importantly, the American people know it (Robert Laszewski, 1/22).

22 Jan 2010

Democrats struggle to revamp health reform strategy

Efforts to save the reform effort were teetering "on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan," Politico reports.

22 Jan 2010

Curis prices registered direct offering

Curis, Inc. announced today that it has priced a registered direct offering of 6,449,288 units, at a price of $2.52 per unit, for gross proceeds of $16.25 million before deducting placement agents’ fees and estimated offering expenses. Each unit consists of one share of the company's common stock and a warrant to buy 0.25 of a share of the company's common stock. The warrants will be exercisable for a period of five years beginning on the date of issuance, at an exercise price of $3.55 per share.

22 Jan 2010

NIH awards grants to develop new tobacco-related drug therapies

Four scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center have been awarded more than $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research the effects of nicotine and develop new tobacco-related drug therapies.

22 Jan 2010

Progress in Anadys Pharmaceuticals' Phase II study of ANA598 announced

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that ANA598 dosing has been completed in the first dose cohort, 200 mg bid, in an ongoing Phase II study of ANA598 in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (SOC) in HCV patients.

22 Jan 2010

APX Alarm and IASK team up to support Haiti relief efforts

APX Alarm, one of the nation’s largest home security companies, today announced that it has partnered with International Aid Serving Kids (IASK) to help support the Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

22 Jan 2010

California revives bill to create single-payer health care system

The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times: "A key legislative committee in California revived a bill Thursday to create a government-run health care system in the nation's most populous state ... The legislation had been held over from last year because of the state's ongoing budget crisis. The full Senate could vote on the bill by next week. Creating a single-payer system would cost California an estimated $210 billion in its first year. That's roughly double the size of the total state budget..." (Thompson, 1/21).

22 Jan 2010

Aid flow to Haiti improves as seaport opens, airport volume dramtically increases

Nine days after a major earthquake struck, "deeply needed aid streamed into Haiti's ravaged capital in quantities that relief agencies said is a clear sign of progress," the Miami Herald reports.

22 Jan 2010