Medical News

RSS

Mail-order drug provider identifies $163B in potential prescription drug savings

A study by Express Scripts, a mail-order prescription drug provider, said Tuesday that an "estimated $163 billion in health care spending could be saved each year if patients took their medicines as prescribed, chose generic drugs and other low-cost alternatives, and had their prescriptions delivered by mail," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Express Scripts released its report at a two-day conference for clients in St. Louis.

22 Apr 2010

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress® (everolimus) oral tablets for the prevention of rejection of kidney transplants in adult patients at low-to-moderate immunologic risk. Zortress is to be given in combination with reduced doses of the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) cyclosporine, as well as basiliximab and corticosteroids.

22 Apr 2010

As more reform specifics emerge, so do questions, answers and impacts

As details of health reform policies shake out, questions, answers and consequences are emerging.

22 Apr 2010

Genmab introduces new pre-clinical antibody program and novel bispecific antibody technology

Genmab A/S will announce today at its Annual General Meeting a new pre-clinical antibody program, HuMax-cMet,as well as a novel next generation bispecific antibody technology.

22 Apr 2010

Protocol adjustments based upon weight can help lower radiation dose for pediatric chest CT scans

Adjusting the radiation dose based upon a child's weight can significantly lower the radiation dose associated with pediatric chest computed tomography (CT) scans, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). CT scanning combines special X-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body.

22 Apr 2010

Framingham risk assessment tool fails to predict patients with suspected CAD: Study

If patients with suspected coronary artery disease are excluded from further screening because of a low Framingham score, many patients with substantial atherosclerosis (a build-up of plaque inside the arteries) will be missed, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

22 Apr 2010

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

Agios Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the field of cancer metabolism, today announced multiple presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting that highlight cancer metabolism as an approach to identify new ways to treat cancer, opening the potential for a new class of cancer drugs targeting metabolic enzymes.

22 Apr 2010

States reach compromise on financial healthcare reforms

After all the posturing and grand standing the states have finally reached a compromise on the financial healthcare reforms suggested by the Federal Government. Prime Misnter Kevin Rudd may be happy about the outcome, but he still has more to do. The work is only just beginning for the long haul.

22 Apr 2010

Children born very early have abnormal lung function: U.K. researchers

More than half of children who were born very early—at 25 weeks or less (normal gestation is around 40 weeks)— have abnormal lung function and are twice as likely as their full-term peers to have a diagnosis of asthma, according to U.K. researchers, who followed a national cohort of extremely preterm infants to age 11.

22 Apr 2010

SpectraCell Laboratories introduces apolipoprotein E genotyping

Effective immediately, SpectraCell Laboratories now offers apolipoprotein E genotyping. This test determines a person's genetic risk for heart disease associated with the commonly studied gene called apoE, which is involved in the metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood).

22 Apr 2010

Study analyzes effects of untimely and sudden parental death on childhood development

Losing a parent to suicide makes children more likely to die by suicide themselves and increases their risk of developing a range of major psychiatric disorders, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center that is believed to be the largest one to date on the subject.

22 Apr 2010

Bacterial infections often missed in febrile children in the ER

In a new study researchers reveal that up to one third of children with fever due to bacterial infections do not receive antibiotics in the emergency department and 20% of kids receive antibiotics unnecessarily.

22 Apr 2010

Seattle Genetics, Agensys present ASG-5ME ADC preclinical data at 101st AACR

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., today reported preclinical data with ASG-5ME, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is being co-developed by both companies for the treatment of solid tumors. In models of human prostate and pancreatic cancer, ASG-5ME was found to have potent and long lasting antitumor activity. The findings were presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Washington, D.C.

22 Apr 2010

NO-naproxen blocks molecular changes leading to colorectal cancer development

Past randomized clinical trials have shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including naproxen, can reduce the risk of colon cancer and precancerous polyps in humans. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that an investigational form of naproxen, called nitric oxide-donating naproxen (NO-naproxen), can block one of the earliest molecular changes that lead to colorectal cancer development while also reducing gastrointestinal toxicity, a relatively common side effect associated with NSAIDs.

22 Apr 2010

Proposed Medicare payment changes for hospitals would lower reimbursements slightly

The Wall Street Journal: "Hospital stocks moved higher Tuesday after the agency that runs Medicare proposed new inpatient services rates for the next fiscal year that were somewhat better than many had expected. Monday evening the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would like to cut Medicare operating payments to acute care hospitals for inpatient services occurring in the next fiscal year by $142 million, or 0.1%. These figures don't include the impact of the new health-care reform law, which analysts said would cut the rate by another 0.25%".

22 Apr 2010

Study links mutations in RAD51C gene to breast and ovarian cancer

The discovery 15 years ago that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 confer high risks for breast and ovarian cancer was a breakthrough for cancer prediction and therapy, especially for familial cases. Now the research group of Prof. Alfons Meindl (Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen), in collaboration with other groups from Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., can identify another gene that increases susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.

22 Apr 2010

Aspen Dental donates $2,300 to Oral Cancer Foundation for cancer detection and treatment

Aspen Dental announced today that the company will donate $2,300 to the Oral Cancer Foundation as part of its commitment to oral cancer detection and treatment. The amount represents a $5 donation for every Vizilite Plus screening conducted at Aspen Dental offices during Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (April 12-18, 2010).

22 Apr 2010

AFP reflects on WHO's response to H1N1

Agence France-Presse examines the WHO's response to H1N1 (swine flu) one year since the virus was first reported in Mexico and the U.S. "A year on, questions linger as to whether a decision by the World Health Organization to declare swine flu a pandemic, thereby unleashing the slew of health measures, was over-dramatic or even tainted by commercial interests," the news service writes.

22 Apr 2010

Nuon Therapeutics advances NU1618 into phase 2b development for chronic hyperuricemia in gout patients

Nuon Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that the company is advancing its lead program, NU1618, into phase 2b development for the treatment of chronic hyperuricemia in patients with gout. Nuon anticipates releasing topline data from a completed proof-of-principle, phase 2a study of NU1618 in the second quarter of 2010.

22 Apr 2010

Women and men experience different outcomes at U.S. hospitals: HealthGrades

Women and men experience different outcomes at U.S. hospitals for the same procedures and treatments, according to a new study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

22 Apr 2010

Medical News

Mail-order drug provider identifies $163B in potential prescription drug savings

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

As more reform specifics emerge, so do questions, answers and impacts

Genmab introduces new pre-clinical antibody program and novel bispecific antibody technology

Protocol adjustments based upon weight can help lower radiation dose for pediatric chest CT scans

Framingham risk assessment tool fails to predict patients with suspected CAD: Study

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

States reach compromise on financial healthcare reforms

Children born very early have abnormal lung function: U.K. researchers

SpectraCell Laboratories introduces apolipoprotein E genotyping

Study analyzes effects of untimely and sudden parental death on childhood development

Bacterial infections often missed in febrile children in the ER

Seattle Genetics, Agensys present ASG-5ME ADC preclinical data at 101st AACR

NO-naproxen blocks molecular changes leading to colorectal cancer development

Proposed Medicare payment changes for hospitals would lower reimbursements slightly

Study links mutations in RAD51C gene to breast and ovarian cancer

Aspen Dental donates $2,300 to Oral Cancer Foundation for cancer detection and treatment

AFP reflects on WHO's response to H1N1

Nuon Therapeutics advances NU1618 into phase 2b development for chronic hyperuricemia in gout patients

Women and men experience different outcomes at U.S. hospitals: HealthGrades

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Latest News