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Republican leaders say health law repeal is 'a top GOP priority'

Reuters: "Representative John Boehner, expected to be named the next speaker of the House of Representatives, vowed on Wednesday to repeal health care reforms pushed into law by the Obama administration. 'I believe that the healthcare bill that was enacted by the current Congress will kill jobs in America, ruin the best healthcare system in the world, and bankrupt our country,'" Boehner, an Ohio Republican, told a news conference" today (Lawder, 11/3).

4 Nov 2010

New cyber-database enables access to information on lymphedema

Lymphedema is a chronic condition that causes swelling of the limbs and affects physical, mental and social health. It commonly occurs in breast cancer survivors and is the second-most dreaded effect of treatment, after cancer recurrence. Every day, researchers throughout the world learn more about the condition and how it can be treated. Now, University of Missouri researchers are developing a place in cyberspace where relevant and timely information can be easily stored, searched, and reviewed from anywhere with the goal of improving health care through the availability of up-to-date, evidence-based research.

4 Nov 2010

SurModics and Edge Therapeutics enter licensing agreement for drug delivery technology

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry, and Edge Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company that transforms proven, off-patent drugs into targeted, locally delivered therapies for neurological disorders, announced today that the companies have entered into a licensing agreement for drug delivery technology.

4 Nov 2010

GOP claims Statehouse victories that could set back health law implementation

"The Democrats' ambitious health care overhaul is facing roadblocks from newly elected state officials who harshly criticized it while campaigning and who are now in a position to make good on their promises," Kaiser Health News reports. The GOP made significant political gains in Tuesday's election, taking "Governors' mansions in several states." Among the newly elected governors were Sam Brownback of Kansas, "who called the reform law 'an abomination,'" and Tennessee's Bill Haslam, who called the law "an 'intolerable expansion' of federal power."

4 Nov 2010

Michigan BCBS sued for second time over hospital contracts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is being sued for a second time in two weeks for allegedly pressuring hospitals to sign "most favored nation" contracts that required them to charge competing insurers higher rates.

4 Nov 2010

Single injection of morphine to fight persistent pain reduces testosterone level: Research

A single injection of morphine to fight persistent pain in male rats is able to strongly reduce the hormone testosterone in the brain and plasma, according to a new paper published in Molecular Pain.

4 Nov 2010

Spherix subsidiary awarded $469,479 grant under Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis; and provider of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its subsidiary, Biospherics Incorporated, has been awarded $469,479 under HR: 3590 – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in immediately available funds.

4 Nov 2010

Synageva receives $2.3 million under QTDP program

Synageva BioPharma Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for rare diseases, today announced that the US Treasury Department awarded approximately $2.3 million to Synageva BioPharma as part of the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

4 Nov 2010

Republicans look to use majority for health overhaul repeal, plan vote

Now in control of the House of Representatives, Republicans are planning to flex their muscles quickly to try to repeal the Democratic health law but even some GOP leaders acknowledge it is likely they can get rid of the law right away.

4 Nov 2010

With newly-elected governors, GOP gains clout to fight health reform law

Kaiser Health News staff writers Julie Appleby and Mary Agnes Carey report: "The Democrats' ambitious health care overhaul is facing roadblocks from newly elected state officials who harshly criticized it while campaigning and who are now in a position to make good on their promises" (Appleby and Carey, 11/3).

4 Nov 2010

Scientists discover gene variant that rewires brain's circuitry in neurological disorders

Many gene variants have been linked to autism, but how do these subtle changes alter the brain, and ultimately, behavior. Using a blend of brain imaging and genetic detective work, scientists at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior are the first to illustrate how a gene variant tied to autism rewires the brain.

4 Nov 2010

Biogen Idec and Cardiokine terminate lixivaptan collaboration

Biogen Idec and Cardiokine, Inc. today announced that they have agreed to dissolve their collaboration on lixivaptan. The termination of the collaboration, which began in 2007, triggers the return of all rights to lixivaptan to Cardiokine.

4 Nov 2010

Economy saps hospital's earnings as patients avoid treatment

Reuters: The slow economy is infiltrating the hospital sector, too. "As the economic downturn drags on and the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, patients who have lost private insurance coverage or watched their co-payments and deductibles spike up are simply not getting medical care at the rate they once did."

4 Nov 2010

Insurers post strong earnings, but investors wary of health law rules

Insurers reported high earnings Wednesday, but investors remain worried about the possible effects of health overhaul-related regulations. The Associated Press reports that Aetna's "third-quarter net income jumped 53 percent on lower benefits and expenses.

4 Nov 2010

Electrolytic Ozone completes Series A funding

Electrolytic Ozone Inc. (EOI) today announced completion of Series A funding. EOI develops and manufactures ultra-compact, safe and reliable ozone generators that harness the benefits of ozone to improve the safety and quality of the human environment. EOI ozone cells enable innovative sanitization, deodorization and preservation applications of ozone for consumer, food safety, health and medical uses.

4 Nov 2010

Doctor payment rates cut again under new Medicare rules

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted final Medicare payment rules Tuesday that include a cut in physician reimbursement rates.

4 Nov 2010

Votes for -- or against -- health overhaul no help for many Dems

Politico: Voting no on the health overhaul helped some Democrats survive last night's Republican onslaught. "Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) are among the 11 Democrats who opposed the bill and survived in a midterm election in which voters identified health care as their second most important issue."

4 Nov 2010

Pharma in Asia-Pacific region becomes more active in R&D, study finds

In recent years, pharmaceutical companies in the Asia-Pacific region have ramped up their clinical trial activity, patent challenges of brand name drugs and their development of new products, according to report released Tuesday by CMR International, a Thomson Reuters business, Reuters reports.

4 Nov 2010

Regulus receives $488,989 grant under QTDP program

Regulus Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has been awarded two grants totaling $488,989 under the Federal government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

4 Nov 2010

New simple blood test may help diagnose Niemann-Pick type C disease

A fatal genetic disorder that frequently takes years to diagnose may soon be detectable with a simple blood test, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report this week in Simple blood test may diagnose deadly Niemann-Pick type C disease.

4 Nov 2010