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FDA approves the NDA of Roxane Laboratories' Morphine Sulfate Oral Solution CII

Roxane Laboratories, Inc. announced today the New Drug Application (NDA) approval of Morphine Sulfate Oral Solution CII, 100mg/5mL (20mg/mL) 30mL and 120mL bottles as of January 25th, 2010 by the Food and Drug Administration.

27 Jan 2010

Ablation therapy better than drug therapy for heart rhythm disorder

Treating a common heart rhythm disorder by burning heart tissue with a catheter works dramatically better than drug treatments, according to a landmark study published in the Jan. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

27 Jan 2010

Radient Pharmaceuticals' business plan submitted to NYSE Amex

US-based pharmaceutical company Radient Pharmaceuticals Corporation (RPC) announced today it has submitted a business plan to the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") Amex demonstrating its ability to achieve compliance with continued listing standards.

27 Jan 2010

Women with higher blood levels of PBDEs take longer to become pregnant, say researchers

Women with higher blood levels of PBDEs, a type of flame retardant commonly found in household consumer products, took longer to become pregnant compared with women who have lower PBDE levels, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

27 Jan 2010

Women on antidepressant drugs may experience lactation difficulties

According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), women taking commonly used forms of antidepressant drugs may experience delayed lactation after giving birth and may need additional support to achieve their breastfeeding goals.

27 Jan 2010

Selective use of DHCA during surgery for CHD in infancy does not impair neurological outcomes

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defects in humans, affecting 8 per 1000 live births with one third of affected children requiring intervention in early infancy. Increasing numbers of survivors combined with developmental expectations for independence, behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement have led to a growing identification of neurobehavioral symptoms in some survivors. A study now suggests that a cooling technique often used in heart operations does not impair neurological outcomes.

27 Jan 2010

State news: New York Governor wants regulation on Rx gifts to doctors and other state news

The Associated Press/CNBC reports that New York Gov. David Paterson is "proposing new, tougher prohibitions on pharmaceutical companies, restricting them from dispensing gifts and misleading production information to doctors while promoting the use of specific drugs."

27 Jan 2010

UF researchers work out to find new treatments for Pompe disease

As scientists work to find new treatments for Pompe disease - the devastating genetic "villain" that drives the efforts of the main characters in the new film "Extraordinary Measures" - University of Florida researchers are hopeful that gene therapy will help patients in the late stages of the disease breathe on their own.

27 Jan 2010

State of the Union address: Obama to squeeze in health reform around jobs, economy issues

President Barack Obama's upcoming State of the Union address will focus on jobs and the economy, but in addition to those issues, the president will likely continue his push for health care reform, The Boston Globe reports. Administration officials said Sunday that the president would "continue pressing Congress to complete its yearlong effort to enact health care legislation.

27 Jan 2010

MDRNA granted Chinese patent for use of nucleic acids in cancer treatment

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced that the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has issued a Notification of Granting Patent Rights for PRC 200480018784 which includes the use of nucleic acids, e.g., an siRNA, for the treatment of cancer. The patent describes modulation of claudins, which are proteins implicated in tumor progression and metastasis.

27 Jan 2010

Majority of inuit preschoolers live in food-insufficient households

Seventy percent of Inuit preschoolers in Nunavut, Canada's largest territory, live in households where there isn't enough food, a situation with implications for children's academic and psychosocial development, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091297.pdf.

27 Jan 2010

Intercept Pharmaceuticals completes $25M Preferred Series B financing

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for chronic fibrotic and metabolic diseases, today announced the completion of a $25 million Preferred Series B financing by its majority shareholder Genextra S.p.A.

27 Jan 2010

Study finds regional hospitals often are better at preventing medical errors than academic centers

Some regional hospitals perform better than academic medical centers at preventing complications and infections that can lead to hospital deaths, Forbes reports. The article looks at the results of an annual study by HealthGrades, a hospital rating company, of Medicare data which found 269 hospitals around the country "with unusually low mortality and complications rates for 26 different procedures and diagnoses."

27 Jan 2010

Sumavel DosePro and Levadex to earn up to $400M by 2018

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that Zogenix/Astellas Pharma/Desitin Pharmaceuticals' needle-free Sumavel DosePro, which launched earlier this month in the United States, and MAP Pharmaceuticals' orally-inhaled Levadex will earn approximately $400 million in combined sales by 2018 in the migraine drug market.

27 Jan 2010

White House mulling limits on scope of proposed health overhaul

The Wall Street Journal: "The White House, with its health-care initiative in doubt, on Sunday zeroed in on several elements it hoped would survive, including measures to extend the life of Medicare, lower prescription drug costs for seniors and cap consumers' out-of-pocket medical expenses."

27 Jan 2010

OrthoPediatrics to distribute ETEX products in U.S. and Canada

ETEX Corporation, an advanced biomaterials company, announced today a distribution agreement with OrthoPediatrics Corp., of Warsaw, Indiana. OrthoPediatrics will market and sell ETEX's nanocrystalline calcium phosphate on a non-exclusive basis in the United States and Canada.

27 Jan 2010

Sinobiopharma's solid dosage Perindopril production facility receives Chinese SFDA approval

Sinobiopharma, Inc. is pleased to announce that its production facility for solid dosage Perindopril has passed the required Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) inspection and is now approved for production and marketing.

27 Jan 2010

TSYS signs long-term agreement with U.S. Bank to support commercial card payment services

TSYS announced today that it has signed a new long-term agreement with U.S. Bank. As part of the agreement, TSYS will continue to support the bank’s commercial card payment services, as well as become its exclusive partner in providing card processing services for the bank’s Consumer Directed Healthcare (CDH) benefit cards, issued by its Healthcare Payment Solutions business line.

27 Jan 2010

Researching treatments shows paths to health savings

An orthopedic surgeon in Sacramento became suspicious of a new therapy that helps tendons heal by injecting platelet-rich plasma into joints, The Sacramento Bee reports. So, he decided to do a test. It turned out, his patients outcomes were no different when he used the platelet-rich plasma therapy as when he didn't. The plasma treatment costs hundreds of dollars more per patient.

27 Jan 2010

Blue Foundation announces grants to improve Florida’s healthcare system

The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF), is announcing grants to 11 Florida nonprofits that improve the health of in-need Floridians across the state. The grants are part of The Blue Foundation's biannual IMPACT Health Care (Improving Access to Health Care) grants program.

27 Jan 2010