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SCL offers nonprofit orthodontic program for children and adolescents

There are two months until the April 15 tax deadline, and if your family has experienced a decrease in income due to the economic downturn, you may now qualify for a low-cost nonprofit orthodontic program. Smiles Change Lives (SCL) is looking for kids from low-income families who need braces.

8 Feb 2010

AnaptysBio, Merck announce strategic collaboration to develop novel antibody therapeutics

AnaptysBio, Inc., a privately-held therapeutic antibody platform and product company, today announced a strategic collaboration with Merck, through an affiliate, to develop novel antibody therapeutics to a specified disease target.

8 Feb 2010

Westaim and NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals collaborate to form a new company

The Westaim Corporation (Westaim or the Company) (TSX: "WED") announced today that, following the approval of the transaction by the shareholders of NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nucryst), Westaim's wholly-owned subsidiary, 1499642 Alberta Ltd. (1499642), amalgamated (the Amalgamation) with Nucryst to form a new company under the name "Westaim Holdings Limited" (Westaim Holdings).

8 Feb 2010

Dems may add health provisions - including COBRA subsidies and Medicare fixes - to jobs bill

Lawmakers may include a number of Medicare "fixes" in the jobs bill, now that the health overhaul bill has stalled, The Hill reports. They would include restoring Medicare provisions that expired Jan. 1 or are set to expire later this year. "Nursing homes and rehabilitation therapy providers, along with patient groups, are pushing legislation to undo a hard-dollar cap on Medicare coverage of physical, speech and occupational therapy. Hospitals are seeking to restore special payments to large rural and small urban hospitals.

8 Feb 2010

AmerisourceBergen offers rapid implementation methodology for meaningful use of EHRs

AmerisourceBergen announced a unique offering designed to help hospitals and health systems achieve meaningful use readiness for electronic health records (EHR), regardless of the technology they are using.

8 Feb 2010

Insurers bringing plans into compliance with new mental health rules

The Wall Street Journal reports that insurers are bringing their insurance plans in compliance with new rules and laws that make mental health and substance abuse insurance coverage available to millions of Americans.

8 Feb 2010

Hospitals selling uninsured drugs may negatively impact public system

Governments are under increasing pressure to provide access to expensive new drugs. Canadian patients who want access to drugs that are not publicly insured are seeking to pay for these drugs within public hospitals, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only).

8 Feb 2010

FDA approves Amneal Pharmaceuticals' Tramadol/APAP tablets

Amneal Pharmaceuticals is pleased to announce that it received U.S. FDA approval to manufacture combination Tramadol HCl in 37.5 mg strength and Acetaminophen in 325 mg strength (Tramadol/APAP) in tablet form effective December 9, 2009. Amneal’s generic is an AB-rated, therapeutically equivalent alternative to Ultracet® (a licensed trademark of Ortho-McNeil Janssen). U.S. sales of Tramadol/APAP were $61 MM according to June 2009 IMS Health market data.

8 Feb 2010

Ending antitrust exemption for insurers may not affect consumers, analysts say

Kaiser Health News: "Proponents say that the legislation would spur competition among insurers and bring down costs for consumers. Reps. Tom Perriello, D-Va., and Betsy Markey, D-Colo., who are sponsoring the bill, said in a press release it would 'end special treatment for the insurance industry that allows them to fix prices, collude with each other, and set their own markets without fear of being investigated.' But many antitrust experts say that ending the exemption -- by repealing the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act -- wouldn't significantly increase competition or reduce premiums."

8 Feb 2010

QIAGEN acquires global licence for PI3K gene to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays

QIAGEN today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary DxS has acquired the global and exclusive licence for biomarker PI3K from Johns Hopkins University to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 8 Feb 2010

Inovio Biomedical announces additional immunogenicity data from therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine trial

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today additional interim safety and immunogenicity data from its therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine (VGX-3100) trial. VGX-3100 is a DNA vaccine targeting the E6 and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 and is delivered via in vivo electroporation.

8 Feb 2010

UnitedHealth Group announces results of previously announced debt tender offers

UnitedHealth Group today announced the final results for its previously announced modified “Dutch Auction” cash tender offers for certain of its notes. The tender offers expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on February 5, 2010. As of the expiration date, UnitedHealth Group received tenders for $474 million aggregate principal amount of its short-term notes and $586 million aggregate principal amount of its intermediate-term notes.

8 Feb 2010

Anthera Pharmaceuticals reaches agreement with the FDA on SPA for VISTA-16 clinical study

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat serious diseases associated with inflammation, announced today that it reached an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the Phase 3 clinical study named VISTA-16 (Vascular Inflammation Suppression to Treat Acute Coronary Syndrome - 16 Weeks) for its lead product candidate, A-002, an oral sPLA2 inhibitor, in combination with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, or statin, therapy for short-term (16-week) treatment of patients experiencing an acute coronary syndrome.

8 Feb 2010

AMRI announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results

AMRI today reported financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ending December 31, 2009.

8 Feb 2010

CVS Caremark reports fourth-quarter and fiscal 2009 results

CVS Caremark Corporation today announced record revenues, operating profit, and income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

8 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 8, 2010

Today's headlines highlight news regarding President Obama's planned summit on health care -- Republicans will be invited.

8 Feb 2010

Hand amputation distorts visuospatial perception of the action space

We know exactly where an object is when we say it is "within the reach of our hand." But if we don't have a hand, can we still see the object just where it is?

8 Feb 2010

WHO Growth Charts recommended for monitoring growth of Canadian children

Four leading national health professional associations have collectively recommended the adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Charts for monitoring the growth of Canadian children in all primary health care and clinical settings.

8 Feb 2010

Compulsive food seeking despite painful consequences

Ever get a buzz from eating chocolate? A study published in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience has shown that chocolate-craving mice are ready to tolerate electric shocks to get their fix.

8 Feb 2010

Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System installed at CHMC, Taiwan

Stereotaxis today announced the installation of its first Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System in Taiwan at Cheng-Hsin General Hospital (CHMC) located in Taipei. CHMC hosted a Grand Opening event on January 26 that received wide coverage throughout the area and, to date, ten procedures have been successfully performed using Stereotaxis at the hospital.

8 Feb 2010