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Health Canada approves Anika Therapeutics' MONOVISC drug

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANIK), a leader in products for tissue protection, healing and repair based on hyaluronic acid (HA) technology, today announced that it has received Health Canada approval for MONOVISC™, its single injection viscosupplement approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Anika expects to launch MONOVISC this month through its long-term ORTHOVISC® distribution partner in Canada, Rivex Pharma Inc., the specialty drug distribution division of Aurora, Ontario-based Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP). MONOVISC has been broadly available in the European Union since the second quarter of 2008.

21 Aug 2009

Research reveals smokeless tobacco users at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke

People who use smokeless tobacco products like snus have a slightly higher risk of having a fatal heart attack or stroke, according to research published on bmj.com today.

21 Aug 2009

Diagnostic Devices relocates manufacturing jobs to U.S from China

Diagnostic Devices, Inc. (DDI), the maker of Prodigy(R) blood glucose monitoring systems, and the leading provider of audible meters, is leading what could be a made-in-America revolution by doing the unthinkable and bringing manufacturing jobs home from China, according to experts in international trade.

21 Aug 2009

Link found between teenage viewership and alcohol advertising on cable television

A new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, in collaboration with UCLA, has found a striking correlation between teenage viewership and the frequency of alcohol advertising on cable television. The findings show that ads for beer, spirits and "alcopop" aired much more frequently when more teens were watching.

21 Aug 2009

Adena Health System implements Medseek's eHealth ecoSystem to improve health care workflow for physicians

MEDSEEK, the leading provider of healthcare enterprise portal connectivity solutions, announced today that Adena Health System is expanding the capabilities of its existing MEDSEEK-powered eHealth ecoSystem to include additional services that will allow it to remain competitive in a rapidly changing healthcare market. The additional eHealth functionality will meet the increasing demands of today’s consumers, further enhance patient satisfaction and solve complex patient referral problems for its community physicians, ultimately improving the delivery and reducing the cost of care.

21 Aug 2009

Alliance with GE Healthcare enables Moffitt Cancer Center optimize patient care capacity

More than half of U.S. hospitals are capacity constrained and unable to add patients without facility expansion or extended hours. GE Healthcare and Moffitt Cancer Center announced an alliance aimed to optimize efficiency and care capacity, and in less than eight months Moffitt has added capacity for 900 new cancer procedures and additional operating margin.

21 Aug 2009

Influenza A H1N1 Real Time RT-PCR tests detect RNA of H1N1 influenza virus

Focus Diagnostics, the infectious disease diagnostics business of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, today announced that its Influenza A H1N1 (2009) Real Time RT-PCR test is now available as a test kit for use by "high complexity" clinical laboratories in the U.S.

21 Aug 2009

NY-ESO-1 recombinant proteins to be used in clinical trials for treating melanoma and ovarian cancer

The Bioproduction Facility at Cornell University has produced the first batch of NY-ESO-1 recombinant protein-a cancer vaccine-that will be used in clinical trials for patients facing either ovarian cancer or melanoma. The facility was developed as a partnership between The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Cornell University.

21 Aug 2009

AMDL Diagnostics to focus on in vitro diagnostic cancer tests

AMDL Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: ADL), a US-based pharmaceutical company with major operations in China, announced the inauguration of AMDL Diagnostics Inc. (ADI), a new wholly-owned subsidiary that will focus on the research, development, manufacture and international sales of Onko-Sure(TM)-- AMDL's proprietary, regulatory approved in vitro diagnostic (IVD) cancer test.

21 Aug 2009

Bayer Crop Science uses Chromatin's proprietary mini-chromosome technology

Chromatin Inc. and Bayer CropScience announced today that they have entered into a technological alliance and license agreement to use Chromatin’s proprietary mini-chromosome technology for crop improvement.

20 Aug 2009

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems secures 12 new community health center contracts

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of ambulatory healthcare and connectivity solutions, today announced that during the last few months it has secured 12 new community health center contracts, validating the company’s continued leadership in the space.

20 Aug 2009

New discovery on cellular fusion

Success in soccer sometimes comes with "bending it like Beckham." Success in cellular fusion - as occurs at the moment of conception and when nerve cells exchange neurotransmitters - requires that a membrane be bent before the merging process can begin, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have shown.

20 Aug 2009

Coping with burn injuries

More than half a million Americans are treated for burn injuries every year, but many do not have the specific skills necessary to cope with the experience of living with a burn injury after they leave the hospital.

20 Aug 2009

Obama appeals to doubters: Health care plan a 'moral obligation'

Politico reports on the various paths the White House could take regarding strategy for passage of a health care reform bill. "No matter which way they go, the White House and congressional Democrats face long odds, and no guarantee of a bill at the end of the process.

20 Aug 2009

Obama stands by public plan in Conservative radio interview

"President Barack Obama is standing his position that a public option for health insurance coverage should be considered as part of legislation to overhaul the health care system," The Associated Press reports.

20 Aug 2009

Medicaid gap means young homeless go without

Homeless young people without Medicaid coverage often navigate a maze of emergency rooms and clinics to get care they need as advocates try to get them covered under health care reform, The Denver Post reports.

20 Aug 2009

Proposed Medicare cuts will harm seniors' care

A new American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period. Nationally, the study finds, seniors' Medicare cuts will total $44 billion over ten years, prompting AHCA President and CEO Bruce Yarwood to warn that U.S. seniors' care needs are endangered by the House bill, as are the jobs of more than 50,000 caregivers nationwide.

20 Aug 2009

Federal guidelines for seasonal and swine flu vaccines questioned

With the seasonal flu season approaching and uncertainty over whether swine flu will become more severe, new research published by Yale School of Public Health has found that more people are likely to avoid illness if vaccines are given out first to those most likely to transmit viruses, rather than to those at highest risk for complications.

20 Aug 2009

WHO Director-General, other officials visit Uganda to assess malaria control efforts

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan arrived in Uganda on Wednesday for a three-day working visit to examine the country's progress on the prevention, control and treatment of malaria, the Monitor reports. Ray Chambers, the U.N. special envoy for malaria, and Tadataka Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health Program, are traveling with Chan.

20 Aug 2009

WHO says confirmed H1N1 deaths worldwide reach 1,800

According to the latest WHO report out Wednesday, the number of confirmed H1N1 (swine) flu deaths since its emergence in April has reached 1,799 - a jump from 1,462 deaths since the agency's last update, Agence France-Presse/the Australian reports.

20 Aug 2009