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Gardasil vaccine: Two complaints filed in Washington Federal Claims court

Anapol Schwartz attorneys Lawrence Cohan and Melissa Fry Hague recently filed two Gardasil vaccine complaints – one on behalf of a Kensington, Calif., family, whose 15-year old daughter died after suffering from severe adverse reactions, and another on behalf of a 19-year old Lapeer, Mich., woman, who has a chronic, autoimmune disorder. The cases, filed in The Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., seek recovery under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

15 Mar 2010

Experts discuss PEPFAR funding in congressional hearing

At a recent hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, "[i]nternational health organisations working to help check the spread of AIDS in Africa said meagre increases in funds from the U.S. government this year would be a step backwards. Some experts also emphasised that prevention must get appropriate attention in any fight against the disease," Inter Press Service reports.

15 Mar 2010

TCAD therapy superior to double combinations and monotherapy against influenza viruses

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today results from in vivo animal studies and in vitro tests demonstrating that its triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy is superior relative to double combinations and monotherapy against multiple strains of pandemic and avian influenza viruses. Results of these studies were presented Sunday evening in an oral session at the XII International Symposium on Respiratory Viral Infections being held in Taipei.

15 Mar 2010

Unlicensed software usage: iCan Benefit pays BSA $61,500 to settle claims

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world's commercial software industry, today announced a settlement with iCan Benefit Group of Boca Raton, FL. iCan Benefit paid $61,500 to BSA to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software installed on its computers. As part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software from its computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing stronger software asset management (SAM) practices.

15 Mar 2010

Economists, Dems differ on who's to blame for insurers' rate hikes

Democrats assailed health insurers for hiking rates in recent weeks to gain popular momentum for their health overhaul, but health economists say insurers did cause high health costs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The economists "contend that insurance companies, while often meriting criticism for their practices, aren't to blame for high health care costs."

15 Mar 2010

Vertebroplasty: Patient selection vital

Patient selection is key for vertebroplasty—a minimally invasive treatment performed by interventional radiologists in individuals with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures that fail to respond to conventional medical therapy—to be effective and successful, according to a study of more than 1,500 persons who were followed over seven years. Additionally, collaboration between an interventional radiologist and other medical experts in treating a patient is imperative, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

15 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: East Africa food security; Issues with humanitarian aid; Texting to fight counterfeit drugs

The Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) meeting this week in Kigali, Rwanda "will provide a forum for experts, government ministers, regional economic communities and other stakeholders to discuss how best to handle the food security issue in" East Africa, New Times/allAfrica.com reports. The U.N. Economic Commission for Africa's Sub-Regional Office, East Africa (SRO-EA) will host the meeting. "East Africa is the sub-region most affected by food insecurity," according to an SRO-EA report, New Times/allAfrica.com writes (3/13).

15 Mar 2010

Forensic Laboratories introduces first oral fluid test for Tapentadol

Forensic Laboratories, a Denver-based laboratory specializing in toxicology services for drug abuse, has unveiled the first oral fluid test for Tapentadol, a new federally approved drug prescribed by doctors for pain management. Previously, laboratories could only detect the drug through urine using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) technology.

15 Mar 2010

States struggle to balance budgets, health programs face cuts

National Journal: States are aware of the "lingering effects of recessions" on the enrollment in their Medicaid programs. "Because it takes time for people to re-enter the workforce and get insurance, it can take years for Medicaid rolls to shrink to prerecession levels and for states to restore program and funding cuts." According to a February report by the National Governors Association, states are "facing budget gaps totaling $136 billion for fiscal 2010 through 2012 and that Medicaid enrollment would grow 6.6 percent in fiscal 2010" (Werber Serafini, 3/13).

15 Mar 2010

Cook Medical launches new NavAlign femoral delivery system at SIR Annual Scientific Meeting

Physicians placing inferior vena cava (IVC) filters to prevent life-threatening pulmonary emboli now have access to the latest iteration of Cook Medical’s advanced NavAlign™ delivery system, a deployment system designed to minimize the risk of vessel trauma and streamline filter placement.

15 Mar 2010

Health on The Hill: March 15, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with KFF's Jackie Judd and Edward Epstein from Congressional Quarterly about the weekend's health reform action on Capitol Hill.

15 Mar 2010

Boston Scientific stops shipment and announces inventory retrieval of ICDs and CRT-Ds

Boston Scientific Corporation announced today that it has stopped shipment and is retrieving field inventory of all its implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds).

15 Mar 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials

After a year of national debate, a handful of House Democrats who oppose abortion may be the ones to decide whether health care reform goes forward or not. ... We are puzzled and dismayed that these legislators are willing to waste that opportunity because they say the onerous anti-abortion provisions in the Senate's bill are still not onerous enough (3/14).

15 Mar 2010

GTCR invests in ATI Holdings

GTCR, one of America's leading private equity firms, today announced an investment in ATI Holdings, LLC, a leading provider of physical therapy and operator of outpatient rehabilitation clinics.

15 Mar 2010

Regado Biosciences announces first successful subcutaneous application of an aptamer

Regado Biosciences, Inc., a privately held company leading the development of antithrombotic aptamers with active control agents, announced that Chris Rusconi, PhD, Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and Steven Zelenkofske, DO, FACC, Senior Vice President , Chief Medical Officer presented an abstract at the American College of Cardiology on Monday, March 15, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.

15 Mar 2010

Insurers describe coverage of abortion in states with separate premiums

The Washington Post explores the use of riders on health insurance policies to cover abortion, a proposal that has sparked controversy in the national health overhaul debate. "In North Dakota, where insurers can cover abortions if customers pay a separate premium, the state's largest provider says it sells no abortion policies because no one has asked to buy one," The Post reports.

15 Mar 2010

Democrats confident health overhaul bill will pass despite hurdles

Democrats spent Sunday trying to pull enough votes together in the House to pass a health care reform bill later this week but said they were optimistic that they can get the support they need.

15 Mar 2010

Comparison study of genetic tests for ASD finds CMA with highest detection rate

The Autism Consortium, an innovative research, clinical and family collaboration dedicated to catalyzing research and enhancing clinical care for families with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), announced today that the results of its comparison study of genetic testing methods for autism spectrum disorders is available from the journal Pediatrics through early online release in their eFirst pages today and will appear in the journal's April issue.

15 Mar 2010

FDA questions third-party review of medical devices

The Wall Street Journal: The FDA is considering ending a program that allows medical-equipment makers to have their products reviewed by third-party companies instead of by FDA officials.

15 Mar 2010

High ABI may indicate risk for future heart attacks

The prevalence of abnormal ankle-brachial index (ABI) test results among individuals tested for peripheral arterial disease (PAD)—and who are not considered at high risk of a coronary heart event by Framingham-based risk factors—is high and provides another way to identify those who may be at risk for future heart attacks, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

15 Mar 2010