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Syntiron grants sanofi pasteur exclusive world-wide license to its human vaccine against MRSA

Syntiron today announced that it has granted sanofi pasteur an exclusive world-wide license to its human vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus. The agreement includes an undisclosed initial licensing fee, milestone payments and royalty payments on future sales of the product. Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA (pronounced Mer-sa) is an important hospital-acquired infection and is a major cause of illness and death resulting in excess of 18,000 US deaths a year and a half million hospitalizations, creating a significant economic burden of approximately $3.4 billion annually to the American health care system.

16 Dec 2009

Medical device makers divided over reduced tax

Medical device makers are still split over a reduced tax in the Senate health bill, Roll Call reports.

16 Dec 2009

Obama 'cautiously optimistic' on reform after meeting with Senate Democrats

President Obama told Senate Democrats Tuesday in an hour-long meeting that they are on the "precipice" of health reform and said that he was "cautiously optimistic" that health reform would get done, the Los Angeles Times reports. "President Obama, acknowledging that he will have to accept serious compromises in the passage of a healthcare overhaul, insisted today that he would not let the public down on an issue that he had made the centerpiece of his first-year domestic agenda."

16 Dec 2009

More details emerge about UNITAID's plan for patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs

News outlets continued to follow UNITAID's recent announcement to create a patent pool aimed at lowering the cost of HIV/AIDS drugs for low- and middle-income countries. Though UNITAID's board "voted Monday to create a board to run the new patent pool, and set a target of having five AIDS drugs in the pool by mid-2010," the group "punted on the thorny issue of which countries outside of Africa to include in the pool," Forbes reports.

16 Dec 2009

NanoBio, GSK partner to develop and commercialize novel cold sore treatment compound

GlaxoSmithKline plc and NanoBio Corporation today announced an exclusive licensing agreement in the United States and Canada for the over-the-counter (OTC) use of NB-001, a novel, patented compound representing the next advance in the treatment of cold sores. Developed by NanoBio, NB-001 provides significant antimicrobial activity against the virus that causes cold sores, herpes labialis.

16 Dec 2009

Hospital, physician lobbyists fought Medicare buy-in proposal

The Washington Post offers a look at how hospital and physician lobbyists adamantly fought the Medicare buy-in proposal, which would have allowed people age 55 to 64 to buy Medicare coverage. Such efforts led to the proposal's disappearance within six days.

16 Dec 2009

Major Medicare fraud crackdown in 3 states

The Associated Press: "Federal agents arrested 26 suspects in three states Tuesday, including a doctor and nurses, in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams. Arrests in Miami, Brooklyn and Detroit included a Florida doctor accused of running a $40 million home health care scheme that falsely listed patients as blind diabetics so that he could bill for twice-daily nurse visits.

16 Dec 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to take on the drug industry by allowing Americans to import cheaper prescription medicine. "We'll tell the pharmaceutical companies 'thanks, but no, thanks' for the overpriced drugs. ... On Tuesday, the matter came to the Senate floor -- and President Obama forgot the "no, thanks" part (Dana Milbank, 12/16).

16 Dec 2009

Nanotherapeutics acquires Ramoplanin clinical program from Oscient Pharmaceuticals

Nanotherapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has acquired in bankruptcy proceedings two late stage clinical programs: Ramoplanin from Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation and PRX-3140 from EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

16 Dec 2009

On and off Capitol Hill, politicians are taking positions on health bill

Roll Call: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday said she does not believe that the Senate Democratic health care reform bill will garner her vote, despite significant changes that are likely to be made to rid the bill of a public insurance option and an expansion of Medicare. Democrats have regarded Collins, along with fellow moderate Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, as potentially persuadable on the bill.

16 Dec 2009

Senate Democrats trying to push health reform bill ahead

The Associated Press: "History may be calling but time's running out to act by Christmas, so Senate Democrats are coming to terms with the idea they won't get everything they want from health care overhaul. ... The public plan liberals hoped for appeared dead in the Senate, as did a Medicare buy-in scheme offered as a fallback."

16 Dec 2009

Reid assures Medicare Part D 'doughnut hole' will be closed

CBS News: "With the clock ticking on Senate Democrats' efforts to draw up a health care bill they all can agree on before the end of the year, Senate leaders on Monday said they would commit to providing seniors with better prescription drug coverage through Medicare." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged to close a gap -- known as the "doughnut hole" -- in Medicare's drug coverage.

16 Dec 2009

Mission Health System to implement RIVA

Mission Health System in Asheville, North Carolina has ordered a RIVA System (Robotic Intravenous Automation) - a self-contained unit for filling IV syringes and bags - from Intelligent Hospital Systems (IH Systems). The Mission Health System, which includes the Memorial and St. Joseph's campuses, will be using the RIVA System on their off-site pharmacy for both centers.

16 Dec 2009

States battle budget cuts and recession

Houston Chronicle: "Texas scores high in emergency preparedness during a time when many other states are suffering cuts in state and federal public health funding and losses in medical staff, according to the Ready or Not? report, sponsored by Trust for America's Health, a disease prevention advocacy group, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." But, economic turmoil has led to a "nationwide backslide in overall emergency preparedness" (Burton, 12/15).

16 Dec 2009

Lieberman assures Democrats of his support but ties with party are fraying

The Wall Street Journal reports that Lieberman's "use of his swing vote to help quash a proposed expansion of Medicare marked the latest act in his deteriorating relationship with the Democratic Party. Cheered nine years ago by Democrats as their vice-presidential nominee, Mr. Lieberman later left the party and now is an object of vilification among many in the party's base because of his positions on health care."

16 Dec 2009

Business concerns focus of Obama's holiday party lobbying

Politico: "President Barack Obama took on the role of health care lobbyist Monday when he pulled Business Roundtable President John Castellani out of a White House holiday party and personally urged him to stick with the reform effort."

16 Dec 2009

Awareness increase program of HIV/AIDS patients on ADAP waiting lists

In response to the growing number of HIV/AIDS patients on AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) waiting lists, the National Minority AIDS Council and the Flowers Heritage Foundation have joined forces to increase awareness of Bridge the Gap, a unique program that provides medication for people currently waiting for ADAP enrollment.

16 Dec 2009

BUSM Pulmonary Center awarded $1.4M grant to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from lung disease patients

Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Pulmonary Center has received a two-year $1.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from patients with lung disease.

16 Dec 2009

ACI survey: 48% of Americans oppose the Senate bill

Consumers oppose the current Senate Healthcare legislation by a two-to-one margin. In a nationwide survey conducted by the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI), 48% of Americans oppose the Senate bill, while 24% support it.

16 Dec 2009

Cohera Medical announces treatment of first patient in TissuGlu study

Cohera Medical Inc. today announced the treatment of the first patient in a study of its lead surgical adhesive product, TissuGlu®. Initiation of the study marks a major milestone in the company's progression of the lead product toward clinical practice.

16 Dec 2009