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Circle Medical Devices and Texcel Medical to provide medical product design and manufacturing solutions

Circle Medical Devices of Los Gatos, Calif., and Texcel Medical of Springfield, Mass., have merged to create CIRTEC Medical Systems, a leading provider of comprehensive medical product design and manufacturing solutions.

19 Oct 2009

Baxa and SINOPHARM sign distribution agreement

Baxa Corporation, a US-based medical device company in Englewood, Colorado, has signed an exclusive four-year distribution agreement with SINOPHARM, a China National Pharmaceutical Foreign Trade Corporation, to promote sales of its products in China.

19 Oct 2009

Lead exposure in early childhood can impact test scores

Exposure to lead in early childhood significantly contributes to lower performances on end-of-grade (EOG) reading tests among minority and low-income children, according to researchers at Duke University and North Carolina Central University.

19 Oct 2009

Baucus: Public insurance option 'alive' in Senate negotiations

USA Today: During a conference call with reporters today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the public option is "alive." Baucus, "one of a handful of senators engaged in behind-the-scenes health care negotiations, said Democratic lawmakers are continuing to debate whether to include a government-run health insurance program -- also known as the public option -- and what shape that program might take."

19 Oct 2009

Philippines at risk for rapid spread of disease after typhoons

"Survivors of two powerful storms that caused widespread destruction in the Philippines in recent weeks are threatened by outbreaks of potentially life-threatening diseases, as the country braces for another super-typhoon," named Lupit, that is expected to make landfall on Thursday, the Guardian reports.

19 Oct 2009

Even with budget concerns, lawmakers fight for rural hospitals

Kaiser Health News' staff writers Eric Pianin and Mary Agnes Carey report in a story produced in collaboration with Politico on rural hospitals' stake in the ongoing efforts to overhaul the nation's health system.

19 Oct 2009

Experts: Treat swine flu quickly, even without verification

The World Health Organization concluded a three-day meeting on H1N1 (swine flu) in Washington, D.C., on Friday, where health experts issued recommendations that patients with symptoms of H1N1 and pneumonia be treated quickly with antivirals, even before the results of H1N1 tests are complete, the San Francisco Chronicle blog, "ChronRX" reports (Allday, 10/16).

19 Oct 2009

Federal grant for ecstasy research

A so-called "club drug" - typically not used all that often by those who take it - can still have the potential to cause a lot of damage among some users, say University of Cincinnati researchers. Trials are underway to trace the effects of ecstasy and to see who's most at risk. The study is supported by $471,000 in federal stimulus funds awarded by the National Institutes of Health and spread out over two years.

19 Oct 2009

Medidata Solutions extends multi-year contract with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Medidata Solutions, a global provider of hosted clinical development solutions, today announced a multi-year contract extension with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for use of Medidata Grants Manager™, an investigator site benchmarking tool that helps sponsors ensure fair and consistent investigator payments, mitigate compliance risks and reduce trial start-up time.

19 Oct 2009

More details emerging on health reform's proposed changes to Medicare

The Dallas Morning News reports on some of health reform's proposed changes to Medicare and local consumer reactions. "The 10.4 million beneficiaries with private insurers' Medicare Advantage plans will still get coverage at least comparable to regular Medicare, but some will see fewer extra benefits or higher out-of-pocket costs. For most of Medicare's 45 million beneficiaries, an overhaul will improve coverage by beefing up drug benefits, preserving access to physicians, paying for more preventive care and putting Medicare on firmer financial footing."

19 Oct 2009

URL Pharma's Colcrys approved by FDA for prevention of gout flares

URL Pharma, Inc., announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Colcrys(TM) (colchicine, USP) for the prophylaxis (prevention) of gout flares. Colcrys was first approved by the FDA on July 30, 2009 for the treatment of acute gout flares when taken at the first sign of a flare.

19 Oct 2009

Innovative financing for global health issues discussed at Nairobi meeting

As more countries prepare to introduce a voluntary travel tax to help fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases worldwide, Philippe Douste-Blazy, chair of UNITAID and a U.N. special advisor on innovative development financing said at a recent event in Nairobi, Kenya, that "the airline levy gives participating developing nations an opportunity to contribute to treatment in their countries rather than depending on handouts from the developed world," the Standard reports.

19 Oct 2009

24 Hour Data to support breast cancer awareness, to donate 5% of its October sales to NBCF

24 Hour Data today announced its support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer, the Dallas-based company will donate 5% of its October sales to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (NBCF).

19 Oct 2009

Study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) and Cook County Hospital (currently John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County), today announced the release of an eye-opening study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections (ARIs) sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from bioMerieux and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

19 Oct 2009

Encorium Group raises $1.6 million through private placement

Encorium Group, Inc., a full-service multinational contract research organization (CRO) that provides design, development, and management capabilities for clinical trials and patient registries to many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, today announced that it has completed a private placement of 3,937,500 shares of its common stock with a private investor for an aggregate purchase price of $1,575,000, or $.40 per share.

19 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Asia-Pacific reproductive health; developing country medical waste disposal; draft bill in Uganda; diarrhea deaths in China

"China has called on Asia-Pacific countries to attach greater importance to population and family planning and put more funds into the reproductive health and family planning programmes," the Daily Times reports (10/19).

19 Oct 2009

FDA approves Boehringer Ingelheim's MICARDIS for the reduction of risk of heart attack

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for MICARDIS® (telmisartan) for the reduction of the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, or death from cardiovascular (CV) causes in patients 55 years of age or older at high risk of developing major CV events who are unable to take ACE inhibitors. MICARDIS® is the first treatment in its class to be approved for this indication.

19 Oct 2009

Morgan Stanley's global initiative to reduce childhood malnutrition and save lives worldwide

Morgan Stanley announced today that the Firm will launch “Step Up to the Plate,” a global initiative to reduce childhood malnutrition and save lives worldwide. This two-pronged approach is designed to address malnutrition by providing food to children most in need in developed nations, while also addressing the medical effects of children already experiencing malnutrition in the developing world.

19 Oct 2009

Campaign seeks to hold governments accountable to meeting MDG targets

Inter Press Service examines the Stand Up Take Action campaign, which took place October 16-18 to highlight the Millennium Development Goals' [MDG] 2015 deadline.

19 Oct 2009

Failure to correct hearing loss may lead brain to forget how to hear and understand speech

Most of the 28 million Americans living with untreated hearing loss may not be aware that failure to take corrective action could result in the brain actually "forgetting" how to hear and understand speech, warns HearUSA audiologist Cindy Beyer.

19 Oct 2009