Medical News

RSS

New biomarkers can predict patients' response to certain drugs

Recent advances in cancer therapeutics have led to the discovery of biomarkers that can predict patient response to certain drugs. Screening for mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) prior to non-small cell lung cancer treatment, for example, has been shown to indentify patients who are likely to respond to treatment with erlontinib. This maximizes the drug's impact, and spares patients who are not likely to benefit from being subjected to potentially debilitating side effects.

19 Nov 2009

Medicare fraud: New Jersey hospital to pay over $3.02M to resolve allegations

The United States has entered into a settlement with a New Jersey hospital and filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit against a New York hospital involving allegations that the hospitals defrauded Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

19 Nov 2009

instaCare reports third quarter 2009 financial results

instaCare Corp., (OTC Bulletin Board: ISCR), a leading distributor of life-saving prescription drugs and at-home testing diagnostics for the chronically ill, and a leading developer of patentable technologies for e-pharmacy, e-health and EMR applications, reported financial results for the third quarter period-ended September 30, 2009.

19 Nov 2009

UAB expert recommends research and evidence to interpret new mammography guidelines

The public may have problems this week sorting through news articles about a government task force's opposition to routine mammograms for women under 50 and articles about breast cancer survivors touting the benefits of early mammograms. But to properly interpret the news, the public must learn to balance the research with the anecdotal evidence says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor of English Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D.

19 Nov 2009

Final results from ImmuPharma's Phase IIb trial of LUPUZOR

ImmuPharma PLC the specialist discovery and development pharmaceutical company is pleased to announce today the final results from a Phase IIb trial of LUPUZOR™ in active patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Lupuzor™ administered at 200 mcg once-a-month for 3 months plus standard of care achieved a clinically significant improvement in patient response rate as measured by the combined score compared to placebo plus standard of care.

19 Nov 2009

European Patent Office upholds Cellectis' EP 1 485 475 patent

Cellectis S.A., the French genome engineering specialist, has announced that the European Patent Office has today upheld European Patent EP 1 485 475 owned by Cellectis and relating to the invention of engineering methods for meganucleases. This method is based on the genetic fusion of meganuclease modules to obtain hybrid meganucleases.

19 Nov 2009

Study: EP4 agonist may reduce gastric bleeding and inflammation

Over 300 million patients use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the world to treat pain, arthritis, fever and other diseases. Nearly 30% of the users suffer from gastric lesions and bleeding.

19 Nov 2009

FDA Advisory Committee votes in support of Pfizer's Prevnar 13

Pfizer Inc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 10 to 1 that the data presented support the safety and effectiveness of its 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate candidate vaccine, Prevnar 13™ (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and young children.

19 Nov 2009

Malaria experts urge Congress to increase funding for malaria programs

While efforts to control and eliminate malaria have made great strides during the past five years, the looming specter of drug resistance heightens the importance of continued research and development for new tools to assure continued success, according to malaria scientists and public health experts appearing today on Capitol Hill.

19 Nov 2009

Aperio Technologies receives U.S. patent for client/server image analysis

Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,602,524 entitled "Image Processing and Analysis Framework."

19 Nov 2009

HTHH and Soles4Souls team up to provide athletic shoes for Tennessee children

Hope Through Healing Hands (HTHH), a nonprofit founded by former Senator Bill Frist, M.D., has announced a partnership with Nashville-based Soles4Souls to benefit over 100,000 Tennessee children who are in need of a good pair of athletic shoes.

19 Nov 2009

Dell's MCC solution simplifies management for IT and info access for medical professionals

Dell announced a Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) solution that is designed to eliminate the traditional trade-offs hospitals face between making patient information available to medical staff at the point of care and securing it in the data center to promote compliance with HIPAA regulations.

19 Nov 2009

FDA: Plavix-Prilosec combination may reduce anti-clotting effect

Patients should avoid using the stomach acid reducer Prilosec/Prilosec OTC (omeprazole) with the anti-clotting drug Plavix (clopidogrel), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Nov. 17.

19 Nov 2009

Data from Phase 1 safety study of SB-728-T announced

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that data from the University of Pennsylvania investigator sponsored Phase 1 safety study of Sangamo's zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) based product, SB-728-T, for HIV/AIDS were inadvertently and prematurely disclosed on the internet.

19 Nov 2009

FDA issues complete response for Rituxan, a drug for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), and Biogen Idec announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response on the companies’ applications for Rituxan® (rituximab) plus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for the treatment of people with previously untreated and previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

19 Nov 2009

Unique life science-focused application for social media site launched

Sigma-Aldrich® today announced the launch of a unique life science-focused application for the social media site, Facebook. Developed and marketed by Sigma® Life Science, the 'What's Your Favorite Gene?' application is the first and currently only application of its kind available on Facebook, and provides a platform that can enable scientists and researchers to network with each other and facilitate discussion based on their favorite genes, identifiable via gene functionality and biological pathways.

19 Nov 2009

Freescale Semiconductor expands its 8-bit microcontroller portfolio

Freescale Semiconductor is expanding its 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) portfolio with devices ideal for personal diagnostic and portable health care products that require low-power operation and advanced display capabilities.

19 Nov 2009

Joint project focuses on finding ways to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

Every two years, 2,000 senior Group Health patients check in with the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. The joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and declines in memory and thinking.

19 Nov 2009

Queen’s University Belfast to study individualized radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer

Individualised radiotherapy treatment based on a person’s genetic make up could soon become a reality, according to Breast Cancer Campaign.

19 Nov 2009

Medspira to manufacture and market Mayo Clinic developed products and technologies

Medspira, and Mayo Clinic have entered into an agreement to commercialize, manufacture and market several Mayo Clinic developed products and technologies invented by Mayo physicians and scientists.

19 Nov 2009