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FDA admits concern, but does not ban BPA: Consumers Union disappointed

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, expressed disappointment with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) failure to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), despite announcing today that there is cause for concern over its potential effect on children. Consumers Union believes that that there is enough scientific evidence to date to warrant a ban on BPA in food contact products now.

18 Jan 2010

AP, IRIN examine lawsuit challenging Plumpy'nut patent

The Associated Press examines the decision by two U.S. nonprofit groups seeking to increase production of the ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), Plumpy'nut, to file a lawsuit against the French organizations that hold the product's U.S. patent.

18 Jan 2010

Massachusetts Senate race tightens over health care reform

The Washington Post explores the dynamics of the campaign for the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. "With polls showing the race a dead heat — a Suffolk University survey released Thursday night had (Republican Scott) Brown up by 4 points (over Democrat Martha Coakley), at the edge of the margin of error — national Democratic organizations are scrambling to hold on to the 60th Senate vote crucial to the health-care overhaul being negotiated in Washington and to every other initiative of President Obama" (Vick, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

Study finds large number of new couples among young adults infected with HPV

A groundbreaking study of couples led by Professor Eduardo Franco, Director of McGill University's Cancer Epidemiology Unit, in collaboration with a team of colleagues from McGill and Universit- de Montr-al/Centre Hospitalier de l'Universit- de Montr-al (CHUM), found more than half (56 per cent) of young adults in a new sexual relationship were infected with human papillomavirus (HPV).

18 Jan 2010

New study indicates a decline in biomedical research; Autism Speaks urges government to increase research funding

As the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports on the actual decline in U.S. biomedical research funding, Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, again called on the federal government to immediately step up its efforts - and dramatically increase research funding - to address the growing national autism public health crisis.

18 Jan 2010

Covidien files patent infringement lawsuit against Ethicon Endo-Surgery

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that, through its family of companies, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut against Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, relating to Ethicon’s Harmonic® line of ultrasonic surgical products.

18 Jan 2010

USPTO grants Endologix's requests to reexamine Cook’s patent claims

Endologix, Inc., developer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted both of Endologix's requests for reexamination of the two patents asserted by Cook, Inc. in the lawsuit filed in October 2009 against Endologix.

18 Jan 2010

Multiple issues still on the table in House-Senate health bill negotiations

Reports explored contentious policies in the House and Senate versions of the health-overhaul legislation that are part of the final negotiations.

18 Jan 2010

FTC wants to ban 'pay-to-delay' settlements related to generic drugs

The Associated Press/USA Today: "The Federal Trade Commission says patent settlements between drugmakers that cost U.S. consumers billions each year are on the rise. The agency reported Wednesday that the number of lucrative settlements between brand-name and generic drug companies rose to 19 last year from 16 in 2008 and 14 the year before."

18 Jan 2010

IGC scientist wins ERC grant for neuroscience research

Zachary Mainen, coordinator of the Champalimaud Foundation Neuroscience Programme at the IGC, has become one of the most recent winners of the prestigious and highly competitive European Research Council grants, to the value of 2.3 million euro, for a period of five years.

18 Jan 2010

Scientists discover potential biomarkers to predict the spread of colon cancer

Scientists in China are reporting discovery of two proteins present in the blood, of people with colon cancer that may serve as the potential biomarkers for accurately predicting whether the disease will spread.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats appear to reach deal on 'Cadillac' tax

The New York Times is reporting that Democratic congressional leaders and President Barack Obama "have reached a tentative deal on a proposed excise tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance plans to be included in the final version of major health care legislation, according to officials familiar with the talks." Details of the compromise were not available.

18 Jan 2010

Cerus' INTERCEPT platelets therapeutically effective even after seven days of storage

Cerus Corporation announced today that INTERCEPT-treated platelet components were found to be effective for patient support following extended six and seven day storage in a clinical study conducted at four sites in Europe. These data further confirm the safety and therapeutic efficacy of platelets treated with the INTERCEPT Blood System, a pathogen inactivation treatment designed to protect against transfusion-transmitted diseases.

18 Jan 2010

More research needed to determine kidney and renal artery abnormalities, says study

Abnormalities in the kidneys and their blood vessels occur in at least 25% of healthy individuals, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). While most of these conditions are not harmful enough to prevent someone from donating a kidney, future studies are needed to determine their impact on long-term health.

18 Jan 2010

Nelson asks Reid to cancel Nebraska Medicaid deal

"Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Friday asked that a deal he secured for his state on Medicaid funding be removed from the health care reform bill, a move that follows weeks of unrelenting political blowback."

18 Jan 2010

MediSens Wireless to begin its wireless body-monitoring system clinical trials following FDA approval

MediSens Wireless, a startup company in UCLA's on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute, has obtained approval under federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines to begin clinical trials on its novel wireless body-monitoring system, which assesses muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities.

18 Jan 2010

Obama announces $100M in aid for Haitian earthquake recovery

At the White House on Thursday, President Barack Obama "promised $100 million along with more American troops for the relief effort in Haiti, vowing that the United States would stand with the impoverished nation as it grappled with the devastation of its capital city," the New York Times reports.

18 Jan 2010

M. D. Anderson researchers discover mechanism that helps glioblastomas evade immune attack

Cancer-initiating cells that launch glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal type of brain tumor, also suppress an immune system attack on the disease, scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in a paper featured on the cover of the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

18 Jan 2010

Obama reportedly supportive of House bid to include national exchanges in health bill

The White House wants to include a national health-insurance exchange in the health bill, which would give House Democrats one of their top remaining demands, according to an official involved in the discussions.

18 Jan 2010

First genetic map of malaria drug plant could increase crop yields, study says

The first genetic map of the plant Artemisia annua, which could "help scientists develop the species into a high-yielding crop" to fight malaria, was published in a study in the journal Science on Thursday, Reuters reports (Kelland, 1/14).

18 Jan 2010