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AstraZeneca granted preliminary injunction against Apotex in Pulmicort Respules patent litigation

On May 20, 2009, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted the request of AstraZeneca for an injunction barring Apotex (Apotex, Inc. and Apotex Corp.) from launching a generic version of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort Respules (budesonide inhalation suspension) in the US. No trial date for the patent litigation has been set.

20 May 2009

Trial tests potential new angina treatment

As part of a multi-center clinical trial, UC San Diego Medical Center is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a potential new way to treat angina - by injecting a protein that stimulates the growth of new oxygen-rich blood vessels directly into the heart. Angina is a debilitating form of chest pain caused by coronary artery disease that affects more than nine million Americans.

20 May 2009

United States should increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, IOM report says

To fulfill America's humanitarian obligations as a member of the international community and to invest in the nation's long-term health, economic interests, and national security, the United States should reaffirm and increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

20 May 2009

Robotic therapy for cerebral palsy

Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to help children with cerebral palsy.

20 May 2009

People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes.

20 May 2009

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll Back Malaria Initiative."

20 May 2009

California primary care physician shortage affecting clinics that serve minority populations

A shortage of primary care physicians in California "is driving community clinics to find innovate ways" to provide care to an increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse patient population, New America Media reports.

20 May 2009

Investigation urgently needed into treatment of mentally ill immigration detainees at California facility, editorial states

"Although the number of mentally ill immigration detainees" at the La Mesa, Calif.-based private psychiatric hospital Alvarado Parkway Institute "at any one time seems to range from as few as two to only five or so, their situation needs to be addressed quickly," a San Diego Tribune editorial states (San Diego Tribune, 5/19).

20 May 2009

Parents needed to help curb teenage births among Hispanics, group says

A coalition of Hispanic organizations on Tuesday urged parents of Hispanic teenagers to talk with their children about sex to curb the high teenage birth rate among the group, the McClatchy/Miami Herald reports.

20 May 2009

Comparative effectiveness necessary to weigh new drugs against old ones, opinion piece says

Patients and physicians "need to know not just whether a new drug outperforms a placebo, but whether it's a real advance on what's already on the market," Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

20 May 2009

Vermont Legislature passes law regulating all drug/device company marketing, requiring disclosure of gifts to doctors

The Vermont Legislature has passed legislation (S 48) that bans nearly all gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to health care providers, administrators and facilities in the state, the New York Times reports.

20 May 2009

New Jersey Senate, Assembly panels advance autism coverage bill

Committees in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would provide insurance benefits of up to $36,000 annually for autism treatments, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

20 May 2009

U.S. residents to pay greater share of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in 2009

U.S. residents enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans will contribute an average of 41% of their health care costs in 2009, the largest share to date, according to a study released on Monday by the Seattle-based actuarial consulting firm Milliman, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

20 May 2009

Senate HELP panel begins mark up of bill placing tobacco under FDA oversight

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday began marking up a bill (S 982) that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco products, CongressDaily reports.

20 May 2009

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition on Tuesday proposed legislation (HR 2502) that would establish a non-governmental, independent office to oversee research efforts to compare the effectiveness of medical treatments, CQ HealthBeat reports.

20 May 2009

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Congressional Republicans are releasing two health care reform proposals -- one from conservatives and one from moderates -- as alternatives to plans by Democrats, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/19).

20 May 2009

Cambodian health officials expand HIV/AIDS prevention education to primary schools

The Cambodian Ministry of Health has begun training primary education teachers in 12 provinces on HIV/AIDS prevention education, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

20 May 2009

Governments should increase efforts to reduce stigma, improve access to HIV services among MSM, UNAIDS Executive Director Sidibe says

Governments worldwide should take action to eliminate stigma and discrimination against men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women and transgender people and improve their access to HIV services, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said recently, the Stabroek News reports.

20 May 2009

Georgia receives $63.9 million in Ryan White funding

Georgia has received $63.9 million in Ryan White Program grants to fund treatment and other services for people living with HIV, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

20 May 2009

HIV/AIDS, gay rights advocate McFarlane dies

Rodger McFarlane, a leader in gay rights and HIV/AIDS advocacy efforts, died on Friday in New Mexico at age 54, the New York Times reports.

20 May 2009

Medical News

AstraZeneca granted preliminary injunction against Apotex in Pulmicort Respules patent litigation

Trial tests potential new angina treatment

United States should increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, IOM report says

Robotic therapy for cerebral palsy

People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

California primary care physician shortage affecting clinics that serve minority populations

Investigation urgently needed into treatment of mentally ill immigration detainees at California facility, editorial states

Parents needed to help curb teenage births among Hispanics, group says

Comparative effectiveness necessary to weigh new drugs against old ones, opinion piece says

Vermont Legislature passes law regulating all drug/device company marketing, requiring disclosure of gifts to doctors

New Jersey Senate, Assembly panels advance autism coverage bill

U.S. residents to pay greater share of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in 2009

Senate HELP panel begins mark up of bill placing tobacco under FDA oversight

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Cambodian health officials expand HIV/AIDS prevention education to primary schools

Governments should increase efforts to reduce stigma, improve access to HIV services among MSM, UNAIDS Executive Director Sidibe says

Georgia receives $63.9 million in Ryan White funding

HIV/AIDS, gay rights advocate McFarlane dies

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