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Health insurance issues: State regulators wary of health law, Medicare Advantage star system

News outlets report on changes to the individual health insurance market and Medicare Advantage plans under the new health law.

16 Jun 2010

New combination appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer

The new cancer medication sorafenib looks promising. Sorafenib is used for advanced liver and kidney cancer and also appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer. The team led by Professor Dr. Ingrid Herr, Head of the Department of Molecular Oncosurgery, a group of the Department of Surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital, (Managing Director: Professor Dr. Markus W. B-chler) in cooperation with the German Cancer Research Center, tested the new substance in mice and pancreatic cancer cells.

16 Jun 2010

Immunomedics initiates dosing in milatuzumab-doxorubicin conjugate Phase I/II trial for relapsed multiple myeloma

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer and other serious diseases, today announced the dosing of the first patient in a Phase I/II clinical trial of the doxorubicin conjugate of milatuzumab for the treatment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.

16 Jun 2010

Medicare will hold off processing payment claims until June 18

Congress is debating a bill that would eliminate a cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians and other providers that officially went into effect June 1. Several news outlets report how the delay in congressional action has created confusion for doctors and Medicare billing procedures.

16 Jun 2010

ARBs may be linked with increased risk of developing cancer: US scientists

A common class of blood pressure drugs called angiotensin-receptor blockers may be linked with a slightly increased risk of developing cancer, US scientists have found.

16 Jun 2010

Hemispherx announces exclusive revenue sharing agreement with GP Pharm

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., announced that the Company executed an exclusive revenue sharing Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Supply Agreement for Argentina with GP Pharm Latinoamerica, an affiliate company of Spanish GP Pharm SA.

16 Jun 2010

Both sides try to score political points on health law

NPR: Both Democrats and Republicans are continuing efforts to use the health reform law to their advantage as the American public sorts outs its feelings on the subject. "The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is trying to get Republicans on the record about repeal. And Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the head of the Democrats' House campaign committee, is happy to talk about his opponents' position.

16 Jun 2010

LMBRI, Lipopharma Therapeutics collaborate to promote cancer drug development, improve patient outcomes

LMBRI LLC and Lipopharma Therapeutics SL today announced collaboration aimed at transforming cancer drug development and improving patient outcomes. Lipopharma developed new assessment approaches, methods and technologies for developing cancer therapeutics and diagnostics using their proprietary design of structure-based molecules that regulate the structure and functions of the membrane lipids, instead targeting cellular proteins, called "Membrane Lipid-Therapy".

16 Jun 2010

Bayer sues Teva, Barr in connection with oral contraceptive Gianvi

Today, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer Schering Pharma AG sued Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Barr Pharmaceuticals LLC, and Barr Laboratories, Inc. in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) for false advertising and patent infringement in connection with Teva's generic oral contraceptive, Gianvi™. Teva's product is sold as a generic version of Bayer HealthCare's leading oral contraceptive YAZ®.

16 Jun 2010

Inability of Mass. to curb health costs could be harbinger for national efforts

Last week, Massachusetts health reform "advocates celebrated a new report showing that, despite the devastating economic slump, the vast majority of Massachusetts residents had not dropped health insurance coverage." But also in the headlines were reports that "a state official called Massachusetts's decision to reject the vast majority of insurer rate hikes a 'train wreck' that would very likely lead to the insolvency of some companies.

16 Jun 2010

UOHI tests Canada's first in-hospital program to screen and treat patients for diabetes

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is testing Canada's first in-hospital program to screen and treat patients for diabetes, a growing epidemic in much of the Western world. The program is expected to lead to new ways to identify and cope with one of the most important risk factors for heart disease, particularly in women.

16 Jun 2010

BIOCIUS Life Sciences, BlueSky Biotech collaborate to offer Sirtuin pre-validated assay solution

BIOCIUS Life Sciences Inc., developers of the RapidFire® high-throughput mass spectrometry system, and BlueSky Biotech, service provider of discovery biologicals, today announced their collaboration to offer the industry's only Sirtuin (SIRT, silent mating type information regulation homolog) enzyme preparations fully-validated in a label-free functional assay.

16 Jun 2010

Galera Therapeutics completes Series 1 financing

Galera Therapeutics, a drug development company focused on novel therapeutics to protect against the side effects and increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment, today announced it has completed a Series 1 financing led by BioGenerator. Also participating in the round is Galera Angels, LLC, an angel investment group, and Analytical Bio-Chemistry Laboratories, Inc., of Columbia Missouri.

16 Jun 2010

Employer health costs slowing, but still face 9 percent increase in 2011

PriceWaterhouseCoopers is estimating that employer health costs will rise 9 percent in 2011, slightly less than they rose in 2010, Reuters reports. "The PriceWaterhouseCoopers team questioned 700 companies in 30 industries for the report. About 60 percent of Americans under the age of 65 get health insurance through an employer. Health benefits are often a major part of any employee compensation package. Most employers, 63 percent, offer a [managed-care] preferred provider organization or PPO, the survey found. And many have raised the deductible, with 43 percent having a deductible of $400 or more, compared to 25 percent in 2009."

16 Jun 2010

WellPoint to begin offering 'electronic' house calls

The Indianapolis Star: "Indianapolis-based health insurance giant WellPoint unveiled a new program to give its members access to doctors and other health-care providers via the Internet. The house call would be initiated by a patient logging in for a video chat from work to describe a sore throat, or a parent at home texting about a child with poison ivy.

16 Jun 2010

New research may help unravel cellular brain activity involved in human decisions

Crayfish make surprisingly complex, cost-benefit calculations, finds a University of Maryland study, opening the door to a new line of research that may help unravel the cellular brain activity involved in human decisions.

16 Jun 2010

Cytokine PharmaSciences completes misoprostol vaginal insert Phase II study

Cytokine PharmaSciences, Inc. today announced the completion of a Phase II study of the misoprostol vaginal insert (MVI), a proprietary, controlled-release and retrievable polymer chip containing prostaglandin E(1) (PGE1). Results of the dose-finding study in pregnant women at term gestation confirm the efficacy and safety of this investigational product and suggest that the MVI may reduce time to delivery after induction, support more natural labor, and reduce the rate of cesarean delivery.

16 Jun 2010

Researchers examine rates of cancer in British white and British Indian population

British Indians have fewer cases of many different cancers including breast, prostate, colon and lung than the British white population, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer1 today (Wednesday).

16 Jun 2010

Aeterna Zentaris announces $12.1 million registered direct offering

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrinology, announced today that it has received commitments from institutional investors to purchase US$12.1 million of securities in a registered direct offering.

16 Jun 2010

AMA: 20 percent of medical claims paid incorrectly, wastes billions

The American Medical Association said Monday that private insurers pay 20 percent of physician claims incorrectly in its third annual 'report card' on the insurance industry, The Associated Press reports.

16 Jun 2010

Medical News

Health insurance issues: State regulators wary of health law, Medicare Advantage star system

New combination appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer

Immunomedics initiates dosing in milatuzumab-doxorubicin conjugate Phase I/II trial for relapsed multiple myeloma

Medicare will hold off processing payment claims until June 18

ARBs may be linked with increased risk of developing cancer: US scientists

Hemispherx announces exclusive revenue sharing agreement with GP Pharm

Both sides try to score political points on health law

LMBRI, Lipopharma Therapeutics collaborate to promote cancer drug development, improve patient outcomes

Bayer sues Teva, Barr in connection with oral contraceptive Gianvi

Inability of Mass. to curb health costs could be harbinger for national efforts

UOHI tests Canada's first in-hospital program to screen and treat patients for diabetes

BIOCIUS Life Sciences, BlueSky Biotech collaborate to offer Sirtuin pre-validated assay solution

Galera Therapeutics completes Series 1 financing

Employer health costs slowing, but still face 9 percent increase in 2011

WellPoint to begin offering 'electronic' house calls

New research may help unravel cellular brain activity involved in human decisions

Cytokine PharmaSciences completes misoprostol vaginal insert Phase II study

Researchers examine rates of cancer in British white and British Indian population

Aeterna Zentaris announces $12.1 million registered direct offering

AMA: 20 percent of medical claims paid incorrectly, wastes billions

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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