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Life Technologies to acquire BioTrove

Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BioTrove, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

10 Nov 2009

U.S. DOD grant to study vigabatrin in combination with opiates to manage pain

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today reported that a team of neuroscientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (LIJ) has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct an animal study of the use of vigabatrin in combination with opiates to effectively manage pain while reducing the potential for opiate addiction.

10 Nov 2009

House health bill votes stir political action, ads

The Washington Post reports that "the House's passage Saturday of a sweeping health-care bill has pushed the advertising battle over reform into a new phase, as competing groups have taken to the airwaves to thank or punish Democrats for their votes."

10 Nov 2009

No protection for 90% of Africans from secondhand smoke

As African nations are poised to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, according to a new report released at a regional cancer conference today.

10 Nov 2009

Clinton delivers health reform pep talk to Senate Dems

The Associated Press reports on Former President Bill Clinton's pep talk to Senate Democrats today. Stressing what he said was "an economic imperative," he told "anxious Senate Democrats ... to pass a health care bill soon because the U.S. economy can't resist the toxic combination of exorbitant medical costs and nearly 50 million uninsured for much longer."

10 Nov 2009

Dutch health minister critiques U.S. health system

The New York Times interviews Ab Klink, the Dutch health minister, about the Dutch view of U.S. health care: "The health system in the United States may be twice as expensive as those in Europe, and the population may be less healthy, but at least Americans have access to many more choices of doctors and insurers.

10 Nov 2009

Texting linked to pain in neck and shoulders among college students

The world record for fastest text message typing is held by a 21-year old college student from Utah, but his dexterous digits could mean serious injury later on. Most adults aged 18-21 prefer texting over e-mail or phone calls, and ergonomics researchers are starting to wonder whether it's putting the younger generation at risk for some overuse injuries - once reserved for older adults who have spent years in front of a computer.

10 Nov 2009

GSK to donate 50M H1N1 vaccine doses to WHO in coming months

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline announced plans on Tuesday to donate 50 million doses of its H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine to the WHO for use in developing countries within the next few months, Reuters reports. "We expect to start receiving [the first of the H1N1 doses] at the end of the month or early December and that the full 50 million will come by the end of spring," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said, adding, "We hope it is the first of many donations."

10 Nov 2009

Six universities aim to expand drug access in developing countries

Six universities have agreed to an effort to "encourage companies to give poor countries better access to drugs and medical products stemming from discoveries made on their campuses," Bloomberg reports (Lauerman, 11/9).

10 Nov 2009

African leaders meet to discuss ways to increase access to water in Africa

In tandem with Africa Water Week, the African Minister's Council on Water (AMCOW) Summit kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, where discussions will center on ways to increase the water supply in Africa, BuaNews/allAfrica.com reports (11/9).

10 Nov 2009

Aduro BioTech raises funds through its Series A-1 financing

Aduro BioTech, a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines based on proprietary recombinant strains of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, today announced completion of its Series A-1 financing.

10 Nov 2009

NIH $1 million Challenge Grant to refine cell-tracking nanotube technology

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Rice University and the Texas Heart® Institute (THI) a $1 million Challenge Grant to refine cell-tracking nanotube technology that could make magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) up to 40 times more sensitive than existing MRIs and help guide adult stem cells within the human body to repair damaged hearts.

10 Nov 2009

White House firm on health reform timeline, sends mixed abortion messages

Roll Call: "Even as Senate Democrats continue to grope for a way forward on health care, the White House asserted Monday that its Dec. 31 deadline for final passage of the legislation is solid. 'When we say the end of the year, we've got a pretty firm end-of-the-year deadline,' White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said."

10 Nov 2009

AMA sticks with House bill endorsement

The American Medical Association, the official physician lobby, reiterated its endorsement of the House bill Monday. The Associated Press/The Washington Post reports that the AMA "on Monday rebuffed dissident members and voted to stick with support for ongoing health reform efforts, while reiterating wariness over proposals that threaten doctors' pocketbooks and independence.

10 Nov 2009

Sportline introduces the META MP3 player that delivers real-time heart rate feedback

Sportline, the brand leader in fitness monitoring, has developed a new tool to help consumers integrate personal exercise data into their everyday training – the Music Enhanced Training Assistant or META.

10 Nov 2009

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Alder Biopharmaceuticals collaborate in development of novel biologic for rheumatoid arthritis

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced a global agreement for the development and commercialization of ALD518, a novel biologic that has completed Phase IIa development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

10 Nov 2009

BioVex completes $70M financing to complete OncoVEX Phase III study

BioVex Inc, a company developing new generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced today that it has concluded a $70 million private financing, raising $30 million in addition to the $40 million announced in March. The proceeds of the financing will primarily be used to complete the ongoing Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEX (GM-CSF) for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma and to fund pre-commercialization activities.

10 Nov 2009

Third-quarter 2009 results announced by Response Biomedical

Response Biomedical Corporation today announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

10 Nov 2009

Tokai Pharmaceuticals commences TOK-001 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer

Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new treatments for prostate cancer, today announced the initiation of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its lead candidate TOK-001 for the treatment of patients with castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). TOK-001 is the only compound in development that combines three distinct mechanisms of action for the treatment of CRPC.

10 Nov 2009