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With state budgets tight, services are cut; Kansas looks to avoid mandates

California cut program budgets aimed at providing care for the poor while in Wyoming, the programs themselves are forced to close their doors because of a funding shortfall. In Kansas, lawmakers are examining — ahead of final consideration of health care reform in Congress — how they can shield themselves from health care mandates to carry insurance.

3 Nov 2009

NHLBI survey results reveal COPD awareness continues to grow in the United States

Awareness of COPD-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-continues to grow in the United States, according to national survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Nov 2009

The Advisory Board Company announces fiscal 2010 second-quarter results

The Advisory Board Company today announced financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. Revenue for the quarter increased 1.2% to $58.3 million, from $57.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Contract value grew 3.0% to $237.6 million as of September 30, 2009, up from $230.6 million as of September 30, 2008.

3 Nov 2009

Brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary: Study

New research shows that a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary. The study is published in the November 3, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Nov 2009

Cipher Pharmaceuticals to defend alleged patent infringement of CIP-TRAMADOL ER

Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that Purdue Pharma Products L.P. and Napp Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. have filed a complaint against Cipher in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, for alleged infringement of two U.S. patents. The action relates to Cipher's New Drug Application ("NDA") filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for CIP TRAMADOL ER, the Company's extended-release tramadol product.

3 Nov 2009

Psychiatric Solutions sells its EAP business to Aetna for $70 million in cash

Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. today announced that it has completed the sale of its employee assistance program (“EAP”) business to Aetna for approximately $70 million in cash. PSI intends to use the net proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt.

3 Nov 2009

FDA: Guidance document on diagnostic tests for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today published a guidance document that should help manufacturers develop diagnostic tests for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Although there are not any FDA-approved or cleared tests that diagnose this specific infection, during this pandemic, manufacturers can submit a request to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

3 Nov 2009

EpiCept's request for continued listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market granted by Nasdaq Hearings Panel

EpiCept Corporation today announced that a Nasdaq Hearings Panel has granted the Company’s request for continued listing on The Nasdaq Stock Market.

3 Nov 2009

Marriage for adult survivors of childhood cancer? Not likely, says new study

Adult survivors of childhood cancer are 20 to 25 percent more likely to never marry compared with siblings and the general population, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

3 Nov 2009

WHO, UNICEF launch 6-year $39B plan to prevent, treat pneumonia; World Pneumonia Day coverage

To mark the first World Pneumonia Day on Monday, the WHO and UNICEF launched a $39 billion Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP) aimed at preventing 5.3 million child deaths from the disease by 2015, the Associated Press reports (Cheng, 11/1).

3 Nov 2009

Top-line results from Phase 3 linaclotide trial for chronic constipation

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Forest Laboratories, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from two Phase 3 clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of once-daily dosing of the investigational drug linaclotide in patients with chronic constipation (CC).

3 Nov 2009

CareTech Solutions signs agreement to acquire IGCN

CareTech Solutions, Inc. (www.caretechsolutions.com) announced today the firm has reached agreement in principle to acquire IGCN (www.IGCN.com). CareTech Solutions is an information technology and web products and services provider for hospitals and health systems and IGCN provides solutions for hospitals to build and manage robust websites.

3 Nov 2009

GICD, Stanford University collaborate to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and Stanford University School of Medicine will collaborate in a new consortium funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies. GICD investigators, led by GICD Director Deepak Srivastava, MD, will collaborate with a Stanford team led by Robert Robbins, MD, professor and chair of cardiothoracic surgery, to investigate how to use induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, to repair damaged heart muscle.

3 Nov 2009

"Wings of Hope" fundraising gala for melanoma research

One man's dream of making a difference in the fight against melanoma is coming to life through the launch of a fundraising gala that will raise funds for melanoma research. Chad MacDonald lost his wife in 2005 to melanoma, and has since worked to raise funds for a cure through various events and fundraisers.

3 Nov 2009

Extra dose of proton radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrences

Men who receive a "boost" of proton therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented November 2, 2009, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 51st Annual Meeting in Chicago.

3 Nov 2009

Senate, House split over taxes to pay for health overhaul

A health care overhaul that would expand health insurance coverage to millions isn't free, and in addition to proposed cuts, bills would raise revenue with taxes and fees. "The typical family would be spared higher taxes from the House Democratic plan to overhaul health care, and their low-income neighbors could come out ahead," the Associated Press/Boston Globe reports.

3 Nov 2009

Cancer Cell publishes a paper on ARIAD Pharmaceuticals' Pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the scientific journal, Cancer Cell, has published a comprehensive paper describing the design and preclinical characterization of AP24534, ARIAD’s investigational, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor.

3 Nov 2009

American College of Physicians sends letter to House leaders voicing support for H.R. 3962 health bill

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today sent a letter to House leaders voicing the College's support for key policies in the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

3 Nov 2009

New imaging technique for treatment of breast cancer

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology.

3 Nov 2009

Washington Post examines how Altman 'revitalized' the Kaiser Family Foundation mission

Drew Altman landed at the Kaiser Family Foundation in 1990 with a huge mandate: Rebuild the sleepy grant-making organization, shake up its staff, and revitalize its mission. Two decades later, the chief executive and president has positioned the nonpartisan operation as a leading voice and vast repository for facts and figures on health-care issues and the reform debate.

3 Nov 2009