Medical News

RSS

MSF calls on drug companies to pool HIV patents

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recently launched an e-mail campaign calling on nine of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to "release their patents on specific HIV drugs into a collective pool that will increase access and affordability to treatment in developing countries," Inter Press Service reports (Borde, 10/1).

5 Oct 2009

Uncontrolled maternal asthma during pregnancy increases the likelihood of the child developing asthma

Expectant mothers who eschew asthma treatment during pregnancy heighten the risk transmitting the condition to their offspring, according to one of the largest studies of its kind published in the European Respiratory Journal.

5 Oct 2009

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

As the Senate Finance Committee finalizes its health reform proposal, medical-device makers are hoping to convince lawmakers to make one last change, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, the trade group for the larger device manufacturers, wants [Committee Chair Max Baucus of Montana] to reduce $40 billion in fees over the next decade to $15 billion, according to people close to the negotiations. But industry was told that offer is too low.

5 Oct 2009

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

The Baltimore Sun reports that congressional efforts to reform the health care system could lead to improvements in care for the nation's mentally ill.

5 Oct 2009

ZirMed launches new denial management solution for healthcare revenue cycle management

ZirMed®, a leading national revenue cycle management software and solutions provider to the healthcare industry, today announced the immediate availability of its new Denial Management and Decision Support (DMDS) solution, part of ZirMed's Analytics services.

5 Oct 2009

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

"A bill to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system must avoid additional spending now, and also lower costs down the road, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday," CNN reports. "Greenspan told the ABC program 'This Week' that the federal debt was already getting too big, so reforming health care must do more than achieve what politicians call revenue neutrality — bringing in as much money as it costs."

5 Oct 2009

NC State researchers help design affordable sanitary pads from local, organic materials

For most American women, their "time of the month" is seen as a hindrance to daily life. In impoverished and developing countries, however, monthly periods are a major cause for concern among women. The lack of affordable, quality sanitary pads results in females missing up to 50 days of school annually - thereby compromising their educational and professional potential.

5 Oct 2009

ZYNEX obtains accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS supplier

Zynex, Inc. a provider of pain management systems and electrotherapy products for medical patients with functional disability, announces it has obtained accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS (Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies) supplier, as required to maintain its status as provider to Medicare and several private health insurance companies.

5 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health news: World Bank budget concerns; Ethiopia prepares for malaria surge; malnutrition in Yemen; malaria prevention in Africa

Before the start of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund World Bank on Friday, World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that the international lender expects to "face serious constraints" by the middle of next year unless developed nations provide the bank with more resources, the Associated Press reports.

5 Oct 2009

HealthCare Insight launches new care management program for oncology claims

HealthCare Insight, a division of Verisk Health, Inc., and a provider of clinically validated fraud, abuse, and overpayment prevention solutions for private and public-sector payors, announced today the release of a new care management program for oncology claims.

5 Oct 2009

AVI BioPharma receives $11.5M DTRA fund to develop AVI-7012 for treating Junin virus infection

AVI BioPharma, Inc. a developer of RNA-based drugs, announced today that it has received expanded contract funding of approximately $11.5 million from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI) to support development of the Investigational New Drug (IND) data package for its candidate drug, AVI-7012, to treat Junin virus infection.

5 Oct 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

The Senate Finance Committee put the final touches on its healthcare bill early Friday morning, and soon Democratic leaders will begin reconciling it with a more costly alternative approved by the Senate's health panel.

5 Oct 2009

Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca receive marketing authorisation for ONGLYZA in Europe

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for ONGLYZATM in the 27 countries of the European Union.

5 Oct 2009

Challenges surround the calculation of costs associated with illegal immigrant care

PhillyBurbs.com examines the cost of caring for undocumented immigrants and whether it really is cheaper to exclude them under a health care overhaul. Despite widespread support for requiring people to prove their citizenship to receive government health benefits, PhillyBurbs.com reports: "Public health and immigration experts worry excluding undocumented immigrants would put everyone at risk, hamper attempts to prevent the spread of disease and lead to an increase in health care spending."

5 Oct 2009

LA BioMed granted $1.3M for investigating ESAI's KRONOS IV in correcting erectile dysfunction

Las Vegas-based Endogenous Stem Cells Activators Inc. (ESAI) announced today that it will award a $1.3 million grant to Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LABioMed) for pre-clinical studies aimed at activating penile endogenous (adult) stem cells with the company's drug, KRONOS IV.

5 Oct 2009

Medicaid expansion proposal continues to worry governors

The Washington Post: "The nation's governors are emerging as a formidable lobbying force as health-care reform moves through Congress and states overburdened by the recession brace for the daunting prospect of providing coverage to millions of low-income residents.

5 Oct 2009

San Francisco’s public option receives high marks

The Los Angeles Times reports on San Francisco's public option: "Over the last two years, three-quarters of San Francisco's uninsured adults have enrolled in a public program that guarantees access to medical services, an effort that is being touted as a national model during the rancorous debate over healthcare reform.

5 Oct 2009

CSL Behring - Canada Research Chair to develop therapies for treating bleeding and immune system disorders

The Centre for Blood Research (CBR) and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia have announced the establishment of the CSL Behring - Canada Research Chair in Endothelial Cell Biology. Over the next five years, the CBR and CSL Behring Canada, the biopharmaceutical company co-funding the chair program, will collaborate on the research and development of new therapies for patients with bleeding and immune system disorders.

5 Oct 2009

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Lawmakers are planning to pay for much of their plans to expand coverage to the uninsured by slowing Medicare spending by as much as $500 billion over 10 years, Long Island Newsday reports. Democrats say the only thing the cuts "take out of Medicare is waste" - in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, - but Republicans who oppose the Democrat-led reform effort have warned that cuts will reduce services for seniors.

5 Oct 2009

Sonora Medical Systems sold to Medical Imaging Holdings for $8 million

Misonix, Inc., a developer of minimally invasive ultrasonic medical device technology, which in Europe is used for the ablation of tumors and worldwide for other acute health conditions, announced today that substantially all of the assets of its subsidiary, Acoustic Marketing Research, Inc., DBA Sonora Medical Systems, were sold to Medical Imaging Holdings, Inc., for $8 million in cash.

5 Oct 2009

Medical News

MSF calls on drug companies to pool HIV patents

Uncontrolled maternal asthma during pregnancy increases the likelihood of the child developing asthma

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

ZirMed launches new denial management solution for healthcare revenue cycle management

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

NC State researchers help design affordable sanitary pads from local, organic materials

ZYNEX obtains accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS supplier

Also in Global Health news: World Bank budget concerns; Ethiopia prepares for malaria surge; malnutrition in Yemen; malaria prevention in Africa

HealthCare Insight launches new care management program for oncology claims

AVI BioPharma receives $11.5M DTRA fund to develop AVI-7012 for treating Junin virus infection

Today's editorials and opinions

Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca receive marketing authorisation for ONGLYZA in Europe

Challenges surround the calculation of costs associated with illegal immigrant care

LA BioMed granted $1.3M for investigating ESAI's KRONOS IV in correcting erectile dysfunction

Medicaid expansion proposal continues to worry governors

San Francisco’s public option receives high marks

CSL Behring - Canada Research Chair to develop therapies for treating bleeding and immune system disorders

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Sonora Medical Systems sold to Medical Imaging Holdings for $8 million

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

Latest News