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FDA Dermatology and Ophthalmology Drugs Advisory Committee to review Lux Biosciences’ Luveniq NDA

Lux Biosciences, Inc. today announced that the Dermatology and Ophthalmology Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is scheduled to review its New Drug Application (NDA) for Luveniq™ (oral voclosporin) for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis involving the intermediate or posterior segments of the eye on June 28, 2010.

12 May 2010

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Jason Rasgon, PhD, an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, and his research to develop an evolution-proof pesticide for eliminating mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans.

12 May 2010

Health overhaul provisions raise moral, religious debates

The new health law has renewed concerns about some moral and religious issues, such as the government's role in providing sex education and health care workers' ability to opt out of providing end-of-life care and abortions.

12 May 2010

Preliminary data from Achillion Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1b clinical trial of ACH-1625 reported

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported additional preliminary data from its Phase 1b clinical trial of ACH-1625, which demonstrated that both the third and fourth patient cohorts receiving treatment with ACH-1625 achieved meaningful reductions in HCV RNA after five-day monotherapy, with continued safety and tolerability in patients with hepatitis C.

12 May 2010

DNA Medicine Institute awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant to develop finger scanner for malaria

The DNA Medicine Institute announced today that it has received a US$100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Eugene Y. Chan, M.D. titled "Optomagnetic Finger Scanner for Malaria."

11 May 2010

FDA, CDC confirm connection between romaine lettuce and E.coli 0145 foodborne illness outbreak

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its state health partners have confirmed that the strain of E. coli O145 detected by the New York State Public Health Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, in Albany, in an unopened bag of shredded romaine lettuce distributed by Freshway Foods, matches the outbreak strain of E. coli O145.

11 May 2010

Napp introduces new alcohol-free hand sanitizer

Soft & Shield Hand Sanitizer and Moisturizer is a new alcohol-free hand sanitizer that contains ingredients that soften, smooth and moisturize the skin. As an added benefit, the Soft & Shield Hand Sanitizer and Moisturizer forms an invisible protective barrier that covers the outer layer of the skin to protect for up to four hours against harmful germs and bacteria.

11 May 2010

Older Americans staying sexually active but not practicing safe sex

Sexual activity continues to thrive with the 45+ demographic according to a new AARP sex survey, Sex, Romance, and Relationships: AARP Survey of Midlife and Older Adults, released today. However, older adults are not necessarily practicing what they preach to younger generations, with results showing a low use of protection among sexually active dating singles with only one in five reporting use of condoms regularly.

11 May 2010

Unotron keyboards prevent sample contamination, germ spread at UNC Gene Therapy Center

The Gene Therapy Center at the University of North Carolina (UNC) asserts that Unotron's ruggedly designed, airtight SpillSeal® technology offers an optimal solution for use where a sterile environment is critical. Unotron, creator of hermetically-sealed, dishwasher safe, medical grade washable computer keyboards, scroll wheel mice, and smartcard readers, announced today that its keyboards provided to the UNC Gene Therapy Center offer an optimal solution for preventing contamination to samples and the spread of the germs.

11 May 2010

Potential new drug therapies for treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has been present in humans since ancient times. The origins of the disease date back to the first domestication of cattle, and skeletal remains show prehistoric humans (4,000 B.C.) had TB. Although relatively rare in the United States, it is the single leading bacterial cause of death worldwide. Approximately 8 million people are infected each year and 2 million people die from TB.

11 May 2010

New bacterial species in tsete fly may help control African sleeping sickness

A new bacterial species, found in the gut of the fly that transmits African sleeping sickness, could be engineered to kill the parasite that causes the disease. The study, published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, could lead to new approaches to control this fatal infection that is becoming resistant to drug therapy.

11 May 2010

NEI renews K12 grant for Mass. Eye and Ear to fund Harvard Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, has been awarded a grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute (NEI), to recruit, train and support first-rate clinician scientists to promote translational and clinical research into cures for eye disease.

11 May 2010

Intercell reports EUR 4.8m revenue, EUR 14.7m net loss for first-quarter 2010

Today, the biotech-vaccine company Intercell AG announced its financial results for Q1 and presented an update on the Company's development programs.

11 May 2010

$Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women$

Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women

Proton pump inhibitors, medications that suppress acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with fractures in postmenopausal women and bacterial infections in many patients, and higher doses do not appear any more beneficial for treating bleeding ulcers, according to a series of reports in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 May 2010

Global efforts to combat HIV and AIDS confront changes as funding priorities shift

The New York Times detailed the current funding challenges facing the global effort to combat HIV and AIDS, using the country of Uganda as an example. "Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart." Although this nation has made significant advances in what "some doctors call a 'golden window' for treatment," clinics are now routinely turning people away.

11 May 2010

Pregnant women at risk for pregnancy problems caused by oral bacteria

Even healthy pregnant women can be at risk for pregnancy problems caused by oral bacteria. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University began to understand which bacteria from the 700 species living in the mouth are responsible for the growing health problem of preterm and stillbirths.

11 May 2010

New findings could help develop vaccines against respiratory infections

Inducing cellular immunity as a means to protect against influenza virus is the focus of several laboratories at the Trudeau Institute. Researchers here have recently identified two important signaling components required by the immune system that might allow us to pre-position our own virus-fighting T cells to the lungs, the site of initial infection.

11 May 2010

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

The WHO's annual health statistics report, released Monday, found that global efforts aimed at achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets have led to "striking improvements" among goals related to child health, maternal mortality, malaria and HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

11 May 2010

New York Times examines global fight against HIV/AIDS

Several articles in the New York Times examine the global fight against HIV/AIDS. "Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away" because they lack funding, the newspaper writes in an article that reports "money for [HIV/AIDS] treatment has stopped growing."

11 May 2010

CrystalGenomics completes European Phase I SAD study of CG400549 antibiotic candidate

CrystalGenomics, Inc., a novel drug R&D company announced today that the Phase I SAD (Single Ascending Dose) study for its novel antibiotic candidate, CG400549, has been successfully completed in Europe.

11 May 2010

Disease/Infection News

FDA Dermatology and Ophthalmology Drugs Advisory Committee to review Lux Biosciences’ Luveniq NDA

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant

Health overhaul provisions raise moral, religious debates

Preliminary data from Achillion Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1b clinical trial of ACH-1625 reported

DNA Medicine Institute awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant to develop finger scanner for malaria

FDA, CDC confirm connection between romaine lettuce and E.coli 0145 foodborne illness outbreak

Napp introduces new alcohol-free hand sanitizer

Older Americans staying sexually active but not practicing safe sex

Unotron keyboards prevent sample contamination, germ spread at UNC Gene Therapy Center

Potential new drug therapies for treatment of tuberculosis

New bacterial species in tsete fly may help control African sleeping sickness

NEI renews K12 grant for Mass. Eye and Ear to fund Harvard Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program

Intercell reports EUR 4.8m revenue, EUR 14.7m net loss for first-quarter 2010

Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women

Global efforts to combat HIV and AIDS confront changes as funding priorities shift

Pregnant women at risk for pregnancy problems caused by oral bacteria

New findings could help develop vaccines against respiratory infections

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

New York Times examines global fight against HIV/AIDS

CrystalGenomics completes European Phase I SAD study of CG400549 antibiotic candidate

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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