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Unigene Labs reports financial results for three months ended June 30, 2009

Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2009 was $4,297,000, compared to $4,978,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2008. Revenue for both periods primarily consisted of Fortical sales and royalties, which were $3,807,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2009, and $4,110,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2008.

11 Aug 2009

Genzyme updates on Cerezyme supply plus 2009 financials

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) today provided an update on the impact of Cerezyme® (imiglucerase for injection) supply constraints on patient treatment regimens and on the company’s 2009 financial results. The company’s Fabrazyme® (agalsidase beta) supply constraint period, Fabrazyme dose conservation guidelines for patients, and Fabrazyme financial guidance are unchanged.

11 Aug 2009

Predictors of disease behavior change in patients with Crohn's disease

Using the Vienna classification system, it has been shown in clinic-based cohorts that there can be a significant change in disease behavior over time, whereas disease location remains relatively stable. Clinical and environmental factors as well as medical therapy might be relevant in predicting disease behavior change in patients with CD.

11 Aug 2009

Characteristic pathological findings and effects of ecabet sodium in rat reflux esophagitis

Recently, the number of patients with GERD has increased in Japan. However, there have been few reports about the pathological findings in the esophageal squamous epithelium, and there are differing opinions among pathologists about the findings considered characteristic of chronic reflux esophagitis.

11 Aug 2009

Depomed reports promising results in phase I trial for DM-1992 in Parkinson’s

Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ:DEPO) today announced that in its Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study in Parkinson’s patients, DM-1992, Depomed’s investigative novel gastric retentive extended-release formulation of levodopa/carbidopa, extended coverage above levodopa’s efficacious threshold and extended the time to peak levodopa concentration relative to currently available sustained release levodopa/carbidopa formulations.

11 Aug 2009

Lawmakers scrutinized, but signal a possible deal

Lawmakers are facing scrutiny from constituents over the August recess, but some signal they might be ready for a deal.

11 Aug 2009

STAT3 is required for proliferation and maintenance of multipotency in glioblastoma stem cells

In a study published online in advance of print in Stem Cells, Tufts researchers report that the STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer. Cancer stem cells have many characteristics of stem cells and are thought to be the cells that drive tumor formation. The researchers report that STAT3 could become a target for cancer therapy, specifically in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of malignant and aggressive brain tumor.

11 Aug 2009

Importance of PSA testing in high-risk men, stressed by National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently updated the NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer Early Detection incorporating the results of the recent ERSPC trial that assessed the benefit of PSA screening. The NCCN Guidelines contend that PSA screening does save lives when performed intelligently in men at high-risk of developing the disease.

11 Aug 2009

Don't smoke, exercise and eat sensibly to reduce risk of chronic disease

Four healthy lifestyle factors - never smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and following a healthy diet - together appear to be associated with as much as an 80 percent reduction in the risk of developing the most common and deadly chronic diseases, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Aug 2009

Cases of depression and other mental illnesses nearly doubled between 1996 and 2006

The number of Americans under care for depression and other mental illnesses nearly doubled between 1996 and 2006, and the overall cost of treating them jumped by nearly two-thirds, according to the latest News and Numbers from HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

11 Aug 2009

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying. Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones.

11 Aug 2009

New class of molecules capable of blocking formation of tau protein fibrils

A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathology has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By assaying close to 300,000 compounds, they have identified drug-like inhibitors of AD tau protein clumping, as reported in the journal Biochemistry.

11 Aug 2009

Negotiations: A 'frustrating process' as lawmakers elbow for position during recess

The Senate Finance Committee's "Gang of Six" closed negotiations are frustrating for other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, The Christian Science Monitor reports and adds: "So, how do the other 529 members of Congress get to have a say in these closed yet critical deliberations? The same way they influence legislation — by working through outside interest groups with clout in the Congress to influence other members."

11 Aug 2009

Need 'strong' USAID administrator, 'robust' agency, Lugar says in letter to the editor

In response to an article examining USAID's prospects, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) writes in a Washington Post letter to the editor that the agency's "institutional atrophy and loss of expertise" has resulted in a "proliferation of aid programs across the government with little coordination or a common framework to evaluate what works and what doesn't."

11 Aug 2009

Obama to discuss combating H1N1 at North American Leaders Summit

President Obama arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sunday for a two-day North American Leaders Summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Wall Street Journal reports. The leaders "are discussing efforts to stem the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, economic competitiveness, national security, and global climate change," according to White House officials (Williamson, 8/9).

11 Aug 2009

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries presents preliminary first half 2009 financials

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Taro,” the “Company,” Pink Sheets: TAROF) today provided information on its financial performance for the first half of 2009

11 Aug 2009

'Nanobee' drug delivery to tumors

When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees.

11 Aug 2009

Underinsured face daunting medical bills, look for help from Congress

"While much of the American health care discussion has focused on providing coverage to the country's 46 million uninsured, there is growing concern about millions more who are underinsured, or whose policies require them to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket before coverage kicks in," The Sacramento Bee reports.

11 Aug 2009

Research shows how schizophrenia works in the brain

Schizophrenia waits silently until a seemingly normal child becomes a teenager or young adult. Then it swoops down and derails a young life.

11 Aug 2009

Sorting out the truth in the health care debate

The New York Times reports in a "primer on the details of health reform" that Republican criticism of a government-run insurance plan to compete with private health insurance as "socialized medicine" "seems overblown," it reports. "The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, under the House bill, the number of people with employer-sponsored insurance would climb to 162 million in 2016, which is 3 million more than expected under current law. Further, it said, enrollment in the proposed public plan might total 11 million, far lower than estimates cited by Republicans."

11 Aug 2009