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Brainlab launches ExacTrac Infrared Monitoring device for patient positioning during radiation therapy

Brainlab announced the availability of ExacTrac® Infrared Monitoring, an add-on device to existing treatment machines for monitoring patient positioning during radiation therapy treatments, at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Annual Meeting last week.

26 Jul 2010

AVEO's initiation of AV-299 Phase 2 trial for lung cancer triggers $750,000 milestone payment to XOMA

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced receipt of a $750,000 milestone payment under its collaboration with AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. The milestone payment resulted from AVEO's recent initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate its AV-299 antibody for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. AV-299 is a humanized antibody to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF).

26 Jul 2010

New guidelines for care of heart transplant recipients from ISHLT

Since the dawn of heart transplantation in the 1960s, medical care of heart transplant recipients has varied from center to center and been guided by the experience of individual clinicians. The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has made an unprecedented commitment by convening experts in all areas of heart transplantation to develop practice guidelines for the care of heart transplant recipients.

26 Jul 2010

British adults support removal of tobacco displays in shops, ban on cigarette vending machines: Survey

Three quarters of British adults support the removal of shop displays of tobacco (73 per cent) and a complete ban on cigarette vending machines (77 per cent) according to a new survey commissioned by Cancer Research UK this weekend.

26 Jul 2010

Scientists study Legionella's reprogramming on cells for survival, propagation

When it infects the lungs, the Legionnaire's bacterium Legionella pneumophila causes acute pneumonia. The pathogen's modus operandi is particularly ingenious: it infiltrates deliberately into cells of the human immune system and injects a host of proteins which then interfere in the normal cellular processes. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund have now discovered how Legionella reprogrammes the cells to ensure its own survival and to propagate. They examined a protein used by the pathogen to divert the material transport within the cells for its own purposes.

26 Jul 2010

LCA survey sheds more light on why support for lung cancer people remains low

A national survey announced today by Lung Cancer Alliance, sheds more light on why support for people affected by lung cancer remains low. The poll indicates Americans are more likely to view lung cancer as "hopeless" and "untreatable" when compared with a diagnosis of breast or colon cancer. In addition, 26% of Americans believe lung cancer is largely "self-inflicted."

23 Jul 2010

First generic version of Lovenox receives FDA approval for DVT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic version of Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium injection), an anti-coagulant drug used to prevent deep vein thrombosis, a potentially deadly blood clotting condition.

23 Jul 2010

Taiho Pharmaceutical receives approval to market ABRAXANE IV Infusion 100 mg in Japan

Abraxis BioScience, Inc., a fully integrated, global biotechnology company, today announced that Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has received approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to market ABRAXANE IV Infusion 100 mg, Paclitaxel Injection (Suspension with Albumin), for use in the treatment of breast cancer. The New Drug Application (J-NDA) for ABRAXANE was filed with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2008.

23 Jul 2010

Circulating aberrant cells increase as non-small cell lung cancer progresses

A novel approach detects genetically abnormal cells in the blood of non-small cell lung cancer patients that match abnormalities found in tumor cells and increase in number with the severity of the disease, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

23 Jul 2010

More time spent sitting linked to higher risk of death

New technique to detect abnormal cell circulation in non-small lung cancer

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are testing a new technique for identifying circulating genetically abnormal cells, which can lead to poor prognosis, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

23 Jul 2010

New drug to treat chronic pain in SCD patients

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team led by Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., has discovered that cannibinoids offer a novel approach to ease the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease.Using a mouse model of SCD, Gupta and University of Minnesota colleagues studied the pain mechanisms by observing animals that exhibited both musculoskeletal pain and temperature sensitivity, symptoms similarly experienced by humans with SCD. The team compared two classifications of drugs in their ability to manage pain sensed by the animals, the traditionally prescribed classification of drugs, opioids, with a new therapeutic approach, cannabinoids, a synthetic compound based on marijuana derivatives. Currently, the only approved treatment for management of severe pain in SCD is opioids.

23 Jul 2010

Study reveals link between allergies, asthma and old age

Mistaken for illnesses like bronchitis and emphysema, exacerbated by medications like aspirin, and overlooked by patients and doctors alike, asthma is a common and highly treatable condition in older adults. And while allergies tend to decrease with age, they also are frequently disregarded as a potential cause of misery for the elderly.

23 Jul 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb second-quarter net sales increase 2% to $4.8 billion

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported results for the second quarter of 2010 which featured data on key marketed and investigational compounds in its oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular franchises, and growth in sales and EPS. The company also confirmed guidance for 2010 and minimum guidance for non-GAAP EPS in 2013.

22 Jul 2010

Merrimack, sanofi-aventis initiate dosing in MM-121 and exemestane combination Phase 2 breast cancer study

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and sanofi-aventis announced today that the first patient has received an initial dose in a Phase 2 randomized double blind clinical study combining MM-121 with exemestane (Aromasin®) in breast cancer patients.

22 Jul 2010

GE Healthcare awarded $1M to develop MRI for Pediatrics Populations project

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and the Davis Heart and Lung Institute of The Ohio State University, was awarded $1 million for magnetic resonance imaging and devices for the "Pediatrics Population" project. This project reinforces GE's commitment to healthymagination which works to bring new technologies and solutions to more people.

22 Jul 2010

Avastin – breast cancer drug, fails to pass the FDA advisory panel vote on efficacy

According to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee’s (The Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee, or ODAC) recommendation this Tuesday, the marketing approval of the popular breast cancer drug, Avastin or Bevacizumab should be withdrawn.

21 Jul 2010

First hospital in U.S. to use portable heart/lung machine

The Methodist Hospital is the first in the U.S. to use a portable heart/lung machine to move critically ill patients easily and safely to different areas of the hospital for medical tests or from outlying hospitals to the medical center for specialized treatment. Recently approved for use in the U.S. by the FDA, the device has been used in Europe since 2008 with excellent results.

21 Jul 2010

ATLIS 2010 shows gap in patient-physician dialogue that may negatively impact patients' quality of life

Results from the landmark AIDS Treatment for Life International Survey, a multi-country survey of more than 2,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, revealed a significant gap in patient-physician dialogue about critical health-related conditions that may negatively impact patients' overall long-term health, quality of life, and treatment outcomes.

21 Jul 2010

Patent application for inexpensive CyPath assay filed by Biomoda

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda,filed a U.S. patent application on a quantitative method for scoring cells labeled with the CyPath® assay to determine whether cells are dysplastic or carcinomic by measuring the photon emission rate.

21 Jul 2010