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Gene patenting policies affect patient access to testing for disease-causing genes: Study

Policies allowing genes to be patented can make it more difficult for patients to access testing for important disease-causing gene mutations, according to a series of papers in a special online supplement published by Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

7 May 2010

Neurons' complicated tree-like structure formation unravelled

A breakthrough about the formation and maintenance of tree-like nerve cell structures could have future applications in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and the repair of injuries in which neurons are damaged. The findings by the international team led by Prof. Benjamin Podbilewicz of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Faculty of Biology are published in the May 6th issue of Science Express.

7 May 2010

Investigations on Tylenol recall from House Committee

Following the massive recall of children’s and infants’ fever medicine Tylenol and other over the counter drugs (like Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec) for children a congressional committee has urged an investigation into the problem.

6 May 2010

BioDiscovery signs OEM Agreement with Exiqon

BioDiscovery, Inc., a leader in integrated software solutions for microarray-based research, and Exiqon A/S, a leader in microRNA analysis products and services, announced today an OEM Agreement incorporating BioDiscovery's array analysis and visualization software with Exiqon's arrays.

5 May 2010

Health law brings a 'host of new taxes' and billions in tax credits

The Washington Post/Fiscal Times: Tax credits and other breaks -- including $50 billion a year in subsidies for low-income people to buy insurance under the new health law -- were "worth more than $1 trillion to recipients last year. That's more than the government spent on Social Security, and nearly enough to balance the federal budget." These and other so-called "tax expenditures" could total $3 trillion by 2020.

3 May 2010

Computer-based system automatically tracks radiation dose exposure in patients receiving CT scan

Researchers have developed a computer-based system that can automatically track patient-specific radiation dose exposure (based on a patient's size and weight) on every patient that receives a computed tomography (CT) scan, providing patients with a way to start tracking their cumulative health care-related radiation exposure, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

3 May 2010

Jiangsu Yanshen receives SFDA disciplinary notice for substandard quality human use rabies vaccine

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, today announced that Jiangsu Yanshen Biological Technology Stock Co., Ltd. has received disciplinary notice from China's State Food and Drug Administration regarding its production of substandard quality human use rabies vaccine.

29 Apr 2010

ECRI Institute's recommendations for controlling CT radiation dose

The benefits of computed tomography (CT) have increased greatly over the past decade. Now twice as powerful, it offers dynamic images of anatomy, including the beating heart. Future advancements promise to deliver even more clinical benefits. However, CT has always had a downside: it can deliver high radiation doses to patients, putting them at increased risk of developing cancer.

29 Apr 2010

IMB awards manufacturer licenses to PPD’s Athlone facility

PPD, Inc. today announced its contract research facility in Athlone, Ireland, has been awarded manufacturer licenses by the Irish Medicines Board. The licenses support investigational medicinal products and marketed products and provide laboratory certifications for quality control of medicinal products.

28 Apr 2010

Discovery Labs reports first-quarter results, updates on Surfaxin and key pipeline programs

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a biotechnology company developing its novel synthetic surfactant and aerosol technologies for respiratory diseases, today provides an update on Surfaxin® and key pipeline and business initiatives and reports financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

28 Apr 2010

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to collaborate with New York Stem Cell Foundation

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) are establishing a collaborative program to advance the development and use of stem cells in therapies for a wide range of diseases, the organizations announced today. The program will train researchers to use stem cells and foster joint research projects.

27 Apr 2010

California Republican lawmakers continue to press for tort reform

The Contra Costa Times: "The effort to overhaul the nation's health care system has so far skirted the issue of tort reform, intensifying debate over the role malpractice lawsuits play in increasing premiums." Critics say the new health reform law does not do enough to address the high costs of medical lawsuits, but other experts say that malpractice suits do not contribute to increasing health costs.

27 Apr 2010

ATCC introduces CRMs for method validation and method-performance verification

ATCC announces the launch of Certified Reference Materials, issued under ISO Guide 34 and ISO 17025:2005 accredited and ISO 9001:2008 certified laboratories. As a certified reference material producer, the combined accreditations demonstrate the highest level of quality assurance, accuracy and traceability for ATCC customers.

26 Apr 2010

EpiCept invites stockholders to attend Annual Meeting

With this notice, stockholders of EpiCept Corporation are invited to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 3, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time at the Dolce/IBM Palisades Executive Conference Center, 334 Route 9W, Palisades, New York 10964.

23 Apr 2010

University of Granada scientists create artificial human skin with dermis made of fibrin-agarose biomaterial

23 Apr 2010

LIJ Medical Center to acquire TrueBeam system for cancer treatment

In a promising development for cancer patients in the New York metropolitan area, the Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center Department of Radiation Medicine announced today that it will acquire an innovative new system called TrueBeam that offers a radically different approach to treating cancer with image-guided radiotherapy.

22 Apr 2010

Mammographic density is one of the strongest predictors of breast cancer risk: Researchers

Women who have a breast density of 75 percent or higher on a mammogram have a risk of breast cancer that is four to five times greater than that of women with little or no density, making mammographic breast density one of the strongest biomarkers of breast cancer risk.

22 Apr 2010

Ajinomoto AminoScience introduces new resource for peptides

Ajinomoto AminoScience, LLC announced today the launch of AjiPhase™, an evolution of liquid phase peptide synthesis containing the benefits of solid and liquid phase methodologies. This new service is designed as an innovative tool that will enable pharmaceutical companies to expand their development pipeline and provide a uniform production process through the entire development lifecycle.

21 Apr 2010

More testimony on Patel trial

In the ongoing trial of Dr. Jayant Patel for manslaughter of three men and grievous injury to the fourth during his tenure as Director of surgery at Bundaberg base hospital new testimony has surfaced. Patel had pleaded not guilty.

21 Apr 2010

Artificial human skin with dermis made from fibrin-agarose biomaterial

Scientists from the University of Granada, Spain, have generated artificial human skin by tissular engineering basing on agarose-fibrin biomaterial. The artificial skin was grafted onto mice, and optimal development, maturation and functionality results were obtained. This pioneering finding will allow the clinical use of human skin and its use in many laboratory tests on biological tissues -which, additionally, would avoid the use of laboratory animals.

20 Apr 2010