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US FDA grants tentative approval for LPI's Memantine HCl tablets

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) announced today that it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its Memantine Hydrochloride tablets, 5mg and 10mg.

21 Jan 2010

State organizers mobilize against national health reform

State organizers are creating obstacles to national health care reform. In Colorado, Republican organizer Jon Caldara has vowed to derail national reforms with a ballot initiative. The Wall Street Journal reports about similar steps being taken across the country. "Republican attorneys general and governors ... are threatening to file suit to block a particular provision of the Senate bill that gives a special financial deal to Nebraska.

21 Jan 2010

Reuters examines chronic disease in developing countries, future of drug prices

"Global health projections leave little doubt that chronic diseases are rapidly overtaking infectious diseases, such as malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), as the world's biggest killers - a shift emphasized by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health risks," Reuters writes in a story analyzing the future of drug pricing in the developing world. Longer life-spans in developing countries "and changing patterns of food, alcohol and tobacco consumption are creating a 'double burden' for poor nations, piling chronic diseases on top of infectious diseases," the news service writes.

21 Jan 2010

States struggle with budget cuts, increased Medicaid pressure

News outlets look at developments in Medicaid issues. The Associated Press/ABC News reports on Louisiana: "Sen. Mary Landrieu defended the Senate's version of health care overhaul legislation — and language in it that provides up to $365 million in Medicaid money for Louisiana — as she discussed what her fellow Democrats should do after losing a crucial Senate seat to a Massachusetts Republican."

21 Jan 2010

U.S. Navy hospital ship reaches Haiti

Even before the U.S. Navy's hospital ship, Comfort, anchored off the coast of Haiti on Wednesday, patients who were injured in last week's earthquake were airlifted onto the ship to receive care, the Miami Herald reports (Clark, 1/21). According to the Baltimore Sun, "patients were flown in by the Navy, Coast Guard or Air Force in one of the 30 helicopters available within the ship's range. Plans for a boat-based shuttle were foiled by an earthquake aftershock that flattened the pier the Comfort had expected to use and that jolted the ship as if it had hit ground. Ship officials identified an alternate boat-landing site by midafternoon" (Little, 1/21).

21 Jan 2010

Roche to increase its equity investment in b3 bio

b3 bio inc. today announced that it has signed an agreement with Roche to source and develop innovative early stage technologies that could result in potential therapeutic benefits for patients. Roche will have certain rights for further development and/or commercialization of such technologies. As part of this agreement, Roche will increase its equity investment in b3 bio as well as providing development funds.

21 Jan 2010

Democrats weigh imperfect options for moving forward on health reform

USA Today reports that "Democratic leaders say [Mass. Republican Scott] Brown's win hasn't killed the $1 trillion health care bill," but after a series of meetings Wednesday they still had no "clear plan for how to proceed."

21 Jan 2010

Medicare fraud round-up: N.D. beneficiaries getting illegal phone calls, doctor indicted in Ohio

The Bismarck Tribune reports on a new scheme "asking seniors to pay up for not having Part D coverage. The scammers have been calling beneficiaries saying they owe a penalty for not having the Part D prescription drug coverage and that they need to pay the fine right away, said a release from the office of the Insurance Commissioner" (1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Brown: Mass. voters shouldn't have to pay for national health reform

The Washington Post: "While many are describing the election to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat as a referendum on national health-care reform, the Republican candidate rode to victory on a message more nuanced than flat-out resistance to universal health coverage: Massachusetts residents, he said, already had insurance and should not have to pay for it elsewhere." The Post notes that Scott Brown "voted for the state's health-care legislation, which was signed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R)" and has "not disavowed his support for the state's law."

21 Jan 2010

Trustmark Mutual Holding to acquire HealthFitness for over $96M

Trustmark Mutual Holding Company and Health Fitness Corporation today announced a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which Trustmark will acquire HealthFitness, an award-winning provider of integrated health and fitness management services, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $97 million.

21 Jan 2010

News outlets focus on Pelosi, Nelson, Grassley, Harkin, Snowe and McCaskill

News outlets report on some of the major players in the health care debate, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., Iowa Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

21 Jan 2010

Democrats consider scaling back health reform package

ABC News interviewed President Barack Obama, who said: "The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated. People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process. ... I think point number two is that it is very important to look at the substance of this package and for the American people to understand that a lot of the fear mongering around this bill isn't true. I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements of the package that people agree on" (Stephanopoulos, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

For now it appears that Washington's polarizing ways, and public anxiety about change, have again left Americans with the most expensive, least reliable health care system in the developed world. No matter who you are, that's hardly cause to celebrate (1/21).

21 Jan 2010

Stem Cell Assurance, MDwerks announce financing and marketing partnership

Stem Cell Assurance, Inc. and MDwerks, Inc. announced today a financing and marketing partnership today wherein MDwerks, through it's Xeni Finance subsidiary, has provided the first tranche of financing to Stem Cell for the purchase of various medical devices from Cytori Therapeutics, Inc.

21 Jan 2010

World’s first Cs-131 implant for colorectal cancer performed at Weill Cornell Medical Center

IsoRay, Inc., announced today that on October 10, 2009, Dr. Bhupesh Parashar, Dr. A Gabriella Wernicke and Dr. KS Clifford Chao from the Department of Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Jeffery Milsom from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, at Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world’s first Cesium-131(Cs-131) implant for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

21 Jan 2010

Depomed receives second $500,000 milestone payment from Covidien

Depomed, Inc. announced today that it has received a second $500,000 milestone payment under its worldwide license agreement with Covidien focusing on the exclusive development of four acetaminophen/opioid analgesic combination products utilizing Depomed’s Acuform® gastric retentive drug delivery technology. The most recent payment from Covidien, which was received in December 2009, relates to the development of a formulation for the second product candidate under the collaboration.

21 Jan 2010

ResCare chooses GuardianEdge to assist in HIPAA compliance

GuardianEdge, the leader in endpoint data protection, today announced that ResCare, one of the nation's leading providers of services to people with disabilities and the elderly, has selected GuardianEdge to secure the company's more than 6,000 endpoint devices and to assist in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. To ensure that sensitive patient data is secure, ResCare has deployed GuardianEdge Hard Disk Encryption, GuardianEdge Removable Storage Encryption and GuardianEdge Device Control.

21 Jan 2010

MDRNA to receive European patent for its intranasal insulin formulation

MDRNA, Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, today announced that the European Patent Office intends to grant a patent for application EP06826368 covering formulations for the intranasal delivery of rapid acting insulin, and its use for the treatment of diabetes.

21 Jan 2010

CPRIT awards the first $61M in grants for cancer research

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded on January 20th the first $61 million in grants for cancer research projects at academic institutions and private companies throughout Texas. These are the inaugural grants of the $3 billion to be invested in cancer research in Texas over the next ten years.

21 Jan 2010

Phase Forward releases Empirica Signal version 7.2 signal detection and management software

Phase Forward, a leading provider of data solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, today announced the availability of version 7.2 of its Empirica™ Signal product, a significant new release of the company’s flagship signal detection and management software. The Empirica Signal solution is a state-of-the-art data mining and knowledge management tool and a cornerstone component of Phase Forward’s Empirica Suite of pharmacovigilance and risk management products.

21 Jan 2010