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ACCC approves Pfizer's pending acquisition of Wyeth

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) today announced that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved the company’s pending acquisition of Wyeth. The ACCC’s decision includes Pfizer’s commitment to divest certain animal health assets in Australia.

30 Sep 2009

FEMA grant for designing next generation firefighter gloves

What is one of the biggest complaints firefighters have about their job? It's their gloves. While the current gloves are designed to provide protection against extreme temperatures, they are often bulky and inflexible. Through a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, researchers at North Carolina State University will attempt to redesign the traditional firefighter glove to provide fire protection with less bulk and greater hand dexterity.

30 Sep 2009

Manic-depression not a lifelong disorder

Bipolar disorder, or manic-depression, causes severe and unusual shifts in mood and energy, affecting a person's ability to perform everyday tasks. With symptoms often starting in early adulthood, bipolar disorder has been thought of traditionally as a lifelong disorder. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found evidence that nearly half of those diagnosed between the ages of 18 and 25 may outgrow the disorder by the time they reach 30.

30 Sep 2009

SATAI invests $1.045 million in Azaya Therapeutics

SATAI (www.satai.us) and the South Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (www.strcic.com) today announced an investment of $1.045 million in Azaya Therapeutics, Inc. through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) for the commercialization of Azaya’s proprietary Protein Stabilized Nanoparticle (PSN) technology platform to produce targeted, safer and more effective formulations of chemotherapy pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer.

30 Sep 2009

Genetic factors play an important role in the development of type 1 diabetes

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Anette Ziegler, scientists of the Diabetes Research Group at Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München investigated the formation of antibodies to a zinc transporter in children with elevated risk for type 1 diabetes. The study provided indications of an early onset of the disease when specific antibodies in the blood and specific variants of the associated zinc transporter are present in the genome.

30 Sep 2009

Plexxikon commences patient dosage in PLX4032 trials for metastatic melanoma

Plexxikon Inc. announces that enrollment has been initiated and the first patient has been treated in the first of two pivotal trials of PLX4032 (RG7204) in patients with metastatic melanoma. PLX4032 is a novel, oral and highly selective drug that targets the BRAFV600E cancer-causing mutation occurring in about 50 percent of melanomas and about eight percent of all solid tumors.

30 Sep 2009

New book on written and visual communications for clinicians and laboratory researchers

Strong communication skills are essential for preparing scientific articles, grant proposals, posters, and slide presentations. However, these skills are not commonly taught in schools of public health, medicine, or allied health sciences.

30 Sep 2009

China’s Ministry of Commerce approves Pfizer's acquisition of Wyeth

Pfizer Inc today announced that China’s Ministry of Commerce has approved the company’s pending acquisition of Wyeth. The Ministry’s decision includes Pfizer’s commitment to divest certain animal health assets in China.

30 Sep 2009

GE Healthcare launches Venue 40, a portable miniaturized ultrasound system

GE is helping to transform the delivery of patient care with Venue™ 40, a miniaturized ultrasound system with advanced touch-screen technology, launched by GE Healthcare, a business unit of General Electric Company. Venue 40 is portable, allowing physicians to quickly perform rapid diagnostics and needle-guided procedures right at a patient’s bedside, providing real-time results.

30 Sep 2009

Hitachi High-Technologies reaches milestone: More than 1000 units of TM-1000 shipped

Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (TOKYO:8036) today announced that cumulative shipments of the tabletop microscope TM-1000, launched in April 2005, have now surpassed 1,000 units.

30 Sep 2009

Coupling electrosurgery with mass spectrometry for real-time identification of tumor tissues

Instead of the classic scalpel, surgeons can also operate with an electroscalpel. A significant advantage to this technique is that while a cut is being made, blood vessels are closed off and hemorrhaging eliminated. Now another advantage may be added as well: a German-Hungarian research team has developed a mass-spectrometry-based technique by which tissues can be analyzed during a surgical procedure.

30 Sep 2009

New research may enhance the treatment for blood cancer in children

Acute lymphatic leukemia is the most common form of blood cancer in children. Even though chemotherapy is improving, the cancer often returns. Johan Jansson's research at Kalmar University in Sweden shows that cancer cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy and survived are less vulnerable to chemotherapy, and more aggressive as well. But this research also yielded discoveries that should be able to enhance our treatment of the disease.

30 Sep 2009

Study reveals that Americans have limited knowledge about long-term care

Overall, Americans did not do well on a survey of their long-term care knowledge. Most know what long-term care is and how much it costs, but their scores fall short regarding how many people will need it and how they will pay for it. The MetLife Long-Term Care IQ Survey, taken by 1,021 individuals aged 40 to 70 in 2009, compared results with a similar 2004 study.

30 Sep 2009

VeriChip and Optimus sign definitive agreement

VeriChip Corporation ("VeriChip" or the "Company") today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for a $10,000,000 investment commitment with Optimus Technology Capital Partners, LLC, or Optimus.

30 Sep 2009

Ontario's doctors to stress the importance of health care professionals working together to the Standing Committee

At an appearance today before the Ontario Legislative Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ontario's doctors will stress the importance of health care professionals working together to enhance and strengthen the delivery of safe and quality care to patients.

30 Sep 2009

New cost-effective dental and vision care coverage options from UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare’s Golden Rule Insurance Company has introduced new cost-effective dental and vision care coverage options for individuals and families in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming.

30 Sep 2009

Senate Finance votes down Rockefeller amendment, 15-8

The Senate Finance Committee has rejected 15-8 an amendment by Sen. John D. Rockefeller to include a government-run public option in the committee's draft proposal.

30 Sep 2009

Mater Health Services implements Cisco Medical-Grade Network to improve health care

Cisco announced today that Mater Health Services, Queensland's largest not-for-profit hospital group, is making significant strides in achieving its Smart Hospital strategy with a roll-out of an expanded suite of business applications on its Cisco® Medical-Grade Network across its seven ultra-modern hospitals.

30 Sep 2009

Senate Finance Committee rejects public plan option with one-two punch

Senate Finance Committee members on Tuesday voted down the second of two amendments that would have added a government-run "public option" to their reform proposal. The amendment introduced by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., was defeated 13 to 10, MarketWatch reports (Schroeder, 9/29).

30 Sep 2009

OSI Systems bags $2 million follow-on contract

OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS), a vertically integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that its Healthcare division, Spacelabs Healthcare, has received a follow-on contract for a broad range of patient monitoring products from a major U.S. regional hospital totaling approximately $2 million.

30 Sep 2009