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Health providers make cuts, changes and gambles in face-off with economy

News reports this weekend highlight several developments as medical providers respond to changing economic forces, and in some cases, clashes of personality.

19 Oct 2009

White House hedging bets on public option in health bills

The Associated Press "The White House is waiting for Congress to settle on a final health care bill, even though President Barack Obama has a clear preference in favor of at least one specific — the much-debated public option, advisers said. Obama, however, will not demand that legislation include a government-run insurance plan intended to drive down costs through competition with private insurers, they said."

19 Oct 2009

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' Cervarix for prevention of cervical cancer

The FDA today approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 years through 25 years.

19 Oct 2009

Analysts urge Democrats to tailor health reform pitch to women

Politico reports that provisions addressing women's concerns about health care may help Democrats build public support for their overhaul plans and grease the passage of a bill.

19 Oct 2009

Workers to pay more for health care next year, consultants say

Co-pays and deductibles are likely to increase in 2010 for employees, Hewitt Associates, a consulting group, says.

19 Oct 2009

SEIU opts out of ad campaign opposing tax on 'Cadillac' plans

The healthcare negotiator for one of nation's most powerful unions made clear that it opposes a tax on high-cost-insurance plans, despite abstaining from an multi-union campaign objecting to the plan," The Hill reports. "The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was not among the 27 unions to sign on to an ad criticizing a proposed tax on 'Cadillac' insurance plans that was included in the Senate Finance Committee healthcare bill."

19 Oct 2009

Philippines and Malaysian regulatory agencies approve Celsion’s Phase III Thermodox trial

Celsion Corporation announced today that it has received approval from the regulatory agencis in the Philippines and Malaysia for its Pivotal Phase III primary liver cancer Clinical Trial Application.

19 Oct 2009

Scientists explore what is behind the feeling of not being competent

In a paper published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a group of investigators headed by John De Figueiredo explores what is behind the feeling of not being competent.

19 Oct 2009

Durham VA Medical Center receives Daxor's BVA-100 Blood Volume Analyzer

Daxor Corporation, a medical instrumentation and biotechnology company, today announced the receipt of a signed trial agreement from the Institute for Medical Research at the Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center of Durham, North Carolina.

19 Oct 2009

Hatch-Waxman patent infringement litigation concerning Duac Gel dismissed

Perrigo Company announced today that the Hatch-Waxman litigation relating to Duac® Gel (clindamycin phosphate (1%) and benzoyl peroxide (5%) gel) filed by the Stiefel Laboratories division of Glaxo SmithKline has been dismissed with prejudice.

19 Oct 2009

CaseCentral, StoredIQ ink pact to provide an integrated eDiscovery platform

CaseCentral, the leader in secure, on-demand eDiscovery software for corporate counsel and law firms looking to simplify and take control of eDiscovery, and StoredIQ, a leading provider of Intelligent Information Management and eDiscovery technologies, today announced a strategic partnership to provide an integrated eDiscovery offering that ranges from identification, preservation, collection and processing of electronically stored information (ESI) through analysis, review, production and post-production re-use. The companies will leverage the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) XML standard to seamlessly move ESI from one system to another, which will significantly reduce the cost of eDiscovery processing.

19 Oct 2009

Young adults struggle finding health care coverage

Young adults represent the largest group of uninsured people while they also increasingly report mental health issues in college.

19 Oct 2009

Merge Healthcare to launch new anesthesia information management solutions at ASA 2009 Annual Meeting

As increased regulatory compliance and pay-for-performance models are leading to higher requirements for electronic data collection and professional fee billing of surgery-related procedures, Merge Healthcare, has responded with new anesthesia information management solutions (AIMS), which will be on display at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 2009 Annual Meeting.

19 Oct 2009

Hologic opens new facility in Hong Kong

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced the opening of its new Asia Pacific regional offices and the Hologic Asia Pacific Center for Health Sciences Education in Hong Kong.

From Hologic, Inc. 19 Oct 2009

Medicaid expansion could hit struggling state budgets

"The government programs that provide health care to the poor would expand to cover nearly one in five Americans under health insurance legislation pending in Congress, putting pressure on federal and state budgets," USA Today reports.

19 Oct 2009

Amarin selects Medpace as CRO for its Phase 3 AMR101 MARINE clinical study

Amarin Corporation plc today announced that it has executed an agreement with Medpace, Inc. (‘Medpace’), a leading Contract Research Organization (CRO) with expertise in conducting clinical trials in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, to engage their services in the execution of its Phase 3 clinical trials with AMR101 in patients with very high triglyceride levels (the AMR101 MARINE Study) and mixed dyslipidemia.

19 Oct 2009

AccuVein signs five-year agreement with the Ferrer Group

AccuVein LLC today announced a five-year agreement with the Ferrer Group, a leading international pharmaceutical and medical devices distribution company, providing the AccuVein AV300, the world's first hand-held, non-contact vein illumination device, to customers in Greece, Spain and Portugal.

19 Oct 2009

Apollo Medical Holdings completes sale of convertible notes and warrants of value $1.25M

Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of management services to medical groups that provide comprehensive hospital-based medical services, today announced that it has completed the sale of convertible notes and warrants through a private placement offering.

19 Oct 2009

Is 'model health system' Geisinger replicable elsewhere?

Geisinger Health System, in central Pennsylvania, has been widely hailed as a model for health reform by leading Democrats including President Obama, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But, its success may hinge on "a rare combination of factors" including "a relative lack of competition, its stable patient base, and the fact that its 800 doctors are on salary," as well as an in-house pharmacy and insurance plan that covers one-third of its patients.

19 Oct 2009

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals receives NDA approval from FDA for its Micardis Tablets 80 mg

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for its angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) Micardis® (telmisartan) Tablets 80 mg for reduction of the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes in patients 55 years of age or older at high risk of developing major cardiovascular events who are unable to take angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.(1) MICARDIS is the most studied ARB in this high-risk patient population and has been commercially available to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) since its approval in 1998.

19 Oct 2009