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Almac Discovery initiates Phase I clinical trial of intranasal Granisetron for CINV

Almac Discovery today announced the start of Phase I clinical trial of the novel intranasal Granisetron product. This product, which uses Archimedes' proprietary ChiSys® delivery technology, is being developed as a rapidly acting, well tolerated and convenient treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

15 Dec 2009

Contentious party politics consume health care debate

The Wall Street Journal's Capital Journal details the tough choices facing Democrats. "At this stage in the sausage-making process that is writing legislation, nobody is under the illusion he or she is working on anything like the perfect health bill, or one that is growing in popularity. A series of recent polls shows the opposite -- that support is eroding the longer the bill hangs in the balance

15 Dec 2009

Prescription drug import amendment divides Senate Democrats

The Senate is battling over a proposed amendment that would allow prescription drugs to be imported from other countries where prices are lower.

15 Dec 2009

Kidney drug plan divides transplant and dialysis supporters

The New York Times: "A Congressional proposal to help pay for drugs needed by transplant recipients to prevent rejection of donated kidneys has run into opposition from dialysis providers, drug companies and the National Kidney Foundation." The groups support extending Medicare drug coverage but say the measure would cut funding for dialysis

15 Dec 2009

Magellan Health Services announces projected 2010 revenue and earnings growth

Magellan Health Services, Inc. today announced that, for 2010, it expects to generate net revenue in the range of $3.0 billion to $3.2 billion, net income in the range of $95.5 million to $115.0 million, and earnings per share in the range of $2.73 to $3.29 on a diluted basis.

15 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 15, 2009

A glance at today's health policy headlines offers a common theme: Senate Democrats are likely to abandon the Medicare buy-in plan, which just last week was heralded as part of a compromise plan in that chamber's health bill.

15 Dec 2009

CHPA comments on NIDA's Monitoring the Future survey

Following is a statement by Linda A. Suydam, D.P.A., president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), regarding today's release of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Monitoring the Future survey:

15 Dec 2009

TV and video games can provoke violence among school students

Middle-school students are expressing their views on the key factors affecting youth violence, with more than 30 percent of them indicating that television, video games, movies and music provoke violence.

15 Dec 2009

Bend Research makes available Type V DMF for HPMCAS concerning FDA regulatory filings

Bend Research Inc. announced today that its clients may now reference a key safety file for HPMCAS, an excipient used in technologies developed by the firm to enhance the oral bioavailability of clients' low-solubility drugs.

15 Dec 2009

Drug abuse continues to be a pervasive problem

The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study (MTF) -- the largest survey on teen drug abuse tracking over 46,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders -- underscores that teens' intentional abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines continues to be a cause for concern, with an alarming number of young people abusing medicines they obtain from friends and relatives.

15 Dec 2009

Nanoprobes deliver drugs directly to the right tumor cellular compartments

Tiny nanoprobes have shown to be effective in delivering cancer drugs more directly to tumor cells - mitigating the damage to nearby healthy cells - and Purdue University research has shown that the nanoprobes are getting the drugs to right cellular compartments.

15 Dec 2009

Enrolment for pivotal Phase II/III trial of C-Cure completed ahead of schedule

Cardio3 BioSciences, a leading Belgian biotechnology company specialising in cell-based therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it has completed, two months ahead of schedule, enrolment in the first stage of its pivotal Phase II/III trial of C-Cure, a unique stem cell therapy for heart failure.

15 Dec 2009

RORalpha protein revealed as an essential regulator of inflammatory factors

How do the brain cells called astrocytes ensure the protection of neurons? By studying the protagonists in the protection and satisfactory functioning of neurons, scientists at the Laboratoire Neurobiologie des Processus Adaptatifs (CNRS/UPMC) have found a mechanism that clarifies the role of astrocytes.

15 Dec 2009

New study to help researchers develop highly effective drug for MLL

A new study could point the way to the development of better drugs to fight a deadly form of childhood leukemia called mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL).

15 Dec 2009

Seattle Genetics announces collaboration to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company with its parent company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today jointly announced that Seattle Genetics and Millennium have entered into an agreement to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35).

15 Dec 2009

Beneficiaries may need to pay coinsurance for orally delivered oncology drugs, says new report

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that over the next five years, a greater percentage of health plans will transition orally delivered oncology drugs from a copayment structure to a reimbursement model that incorporates a coinsurance payment, thereby shifting more costs onto patients. Copayments represent a set dollar amount associated with a pharmacy benefit while coinsurance represents a percentage of cost that must be paid by the beneficiary.

15 Dec 2009

FDA publishes cGMPs for PET drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced publication of a final regulation on current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) for the production of positron emission tomography (PET) drugs, as well as a guidance document describing acceptable approaches that would enable PET drug producers to meet the requirements in the proposed regulation.

15 Dec 2009

Update on new clinical developments and other initiatives related to Ceplene

EpiCept Corporation today provided an update on new clinical developments and other initiatives related to Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride), the Company’s therapy approved in the European Union for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission.

15 Dec 2009

Tel Aviv University researchers unravel the mysteries of DNA packaging

The RNA "spools" that make up DNA in our genes need careful editing, too. Genes are composed of meaningful sequences, called exons, separated by meaningless junk sections called introns.

15 Dec 2009

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom's nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and health policy experts says in a report out today.

15 Dec 2009