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FDA assigns Cadence Pharmaceuticals' OFIRMEV NDA new PDUFA action date

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified the OFIRMEV™ (acetaminophen) injection New Drug Application (NDA) resubmission as a complete Class 2 response to the FDA's February 10, 2010 action letter and assigned a new Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of November 4, 2010.

15 May 2010

EES launches two surgical staplers to optimize efficiencies and compression during open surgery

Ethicon Endo-Surgery today announced the launch of two new surgical staplers designed to optimize efficiencies and compression during open surgery. The Ethicon Endo-Surgery Linear Cutter 55/75, engineered with novel staple technology and selectable staple heights in one cartridge, provides superior hemostasis for patients and improved efficiencies to surgeons, nurses and facility administrations. The Ethicon Endo-Surgery Intraluminal Stapler, designed with a new tissue compression scale, provides surgeons improved flexibility and control so that they can address the individual needs of each patient.

15 May 2010

GOP launches new challenge to health law with coordinated messaging

Republicans are starting a new bid to undermine Democratic attempts at touting a new health law. The GOP effort includes attacks on both President Barack Obama's pick to run Medicare and on claims that implementation is going smoothly.

15 May 2010

FDA grants tentative approval for Teva's Cinacalcet HCl Tablets ANDA

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Cinacalcet HCl Tablets 30, 60 & 90 mg.

15 May 2010

Democrats weary of health changes, mull new health bills, 'doc fix'

Democrats are feeling health care "fatigue" and are doubting that Congress will consider any more health-related legislation this year. "Measures in jeopardy include bills that would require more information on healthcare prices, empower federal regulators to sign off on premium increases and strip insurers of their exemption from anti-trust laws."

15 May 2010

BioMS reports consolidated net income of $6.5M for first-quarter 2010 compared to net loss of $3.8M in 2009

BioMS Medical Corp., today announced financial and operational results for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

15 May 2010

NFIB to join lawsuit against health law

"The nation's most influential small business lobby is joining a court challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, arguing that Americans cannot be required under the Constitution to obtain insurance coverage," The Associated Press reports.

14 May 2010

Nymox attributes increase in first-quarter net losses to higher clinical trial expenditures

Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation announced today its financial results for the first quarter of 2010. Nymox reported a net loss of $1,269,550, or $0.04 per share for the quarter ending March 31, 2010, compared to $1,004,259, or $0.03 per share for same period in 2009. Net losses include stock compensation charges of $195,220 in 2010 and $309,650 in 2009.

14 May 2010

Obama administration cracks down on health care fraud

Modern Healthcare: "The government's efforts to rein in Medicare fraud and abuse recovered $2.5 billion for the program in fiscal 2009, up 29% from $1.9 billion the previous year, according to a new annual report. ... The $2.5 billion collected in fiscal 2009 is attributed to judgments and settlements in previous years as well as 2009, according to the report of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program.

14 May 2010

Heart defibrillators complicate end-of-life care

Heart defibrillators, "small implants that save lives by sending an electrical jolt to interrupt a potentially fatal heart rhythm and restore normal beating," can pose a "challenge near life's end, for both patients and their families," The New York Times reports.

14 May 2010

Hospitals plan joint efforts to increase efficiency

An association of California hospitals has proposed creating a foundation to supply doctors to at least 20 of its 160 members, with more likely to join if the project takes off, The Wall Street Journal reports. The foundation "would own clinics and centralize administrative matters including billing and electronic medical records," and it shows another step in efforts to align "doctors and hospitals, a trend expected to be accelerated by the health overhaul."

14 May 2010

Oxygen levels induce X chromosome inactivation in female cells: Study

Oxygen levels in the lab can permanently alter human embryonic stem (ES) cells, specifically inducing X chromosome inactivation in female cells, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. Human ES cells have been routinely created and maintained at atmospheric levels of oxygen, which is about 20%. Cells in the body are usually exposed to only 1-9% oxygen.

14 May 2010

New research shows healthy retirees face higher total health care costs

Healthy retirees actually face higher total health care costs over their remaining lifetime than the unhealthy, according to new research conducted by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and underwritten by Prudential Financial.

14 May 2010

CSL Behring donates life-saving medicines to assist earthquake victims in Haiti

Direct Relief International announced today that CSL Behring has donated life-saving medicines valued at more than $100,000 to assist earthquake victims in Haiti who are at risk of tetanus or hepatitis B infections. The products will be used in clinics at Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles.

14 May 2010

SANUWAVE Health reports $3.0 million net loss for first-quarter 2010

SANUWAVE Health, Inc.,, an emerging medical technology company focused on regenerative medicine, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and provided a business update.

14 May 2010

BioSante Pharmaceuticals first-quarter net loss increases to $10.5 million

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported on its recent developments and financial results for the first quarter, and its cash balance as of March 31, 2010.

14 May 2010

Report underscores need for additional research on diagnosis and treatment of food allergy

A review published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported in the New York Times underscores the need for additional research on the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of food allergy. One of the most important points suggested by the JAMA study as well as a New York Times article on the subject is that as many as 1 in 10 people may have food allergy.

14 May 2010

SwabCap disinfection cap demonstrates successful compliance with new Joint Commission requirement

A hospital's evaluation trial of the SwabCap™ disinfection cap for needleless IV connectors showed the cap achieved compliance with a new Joint Commission requirement, according to a poster to be presented at the National Patient Safety Foundation Annual Congress.

14 May 2010

Nutrastar International's first-quarter 2010 revenues up 2.7%

Nutrastar International Inc., a leading nutraceutical company which produces and distributes Chinese Golden Grass and organic and specialty food products in China, today announced its financial results for the first quarter 2010.

14 May 2010

Scientists look for new ways to fight TB

Scientists looking for new ways to fight tuberculosis have their sights set on a structure essential to the bacterium's survival. Disabling this structure could kill the microbes in the infected host and thwart TB infections. In a study appearing online May 11, 2010, in EMBO J, the journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Weill Cornell Medical College describe new features of how this structure, known as a proteasome, is put together and how it works.

14 May 2010