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Medicare weighs cost, benefit of covering Dendreon's Provenge for prostate cancer

The announcement that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would do this analysis "was the latest hurdle in Dendreon's push to get its Provenge treatment used. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covers Provenge, that would increase the number of patients eligible and likely force private insurers to do the same.

2 Jul 2010

New formula may speed up organ allocation process, improve transplant outcomes

Only a small fraction of transplant centers nationwide are willing to accept and transplant deceased-donor kidneys that they perceive as less than perfect, leading to lengthy, organ-damaging delays as officials use a one-by-one approach to find a willing taker.

2 Jul 2010

LPD study unveils similarities, differences among Life Expectancy Underwriters

A study just released by Life Policy Dynamics (LPD) revealed some significant differences among Life Expectancy Underwriters, as well as some similarities.

2 Jul 2010

House Subcommittee approves $52.7B FY11 Foreign Ops appropriations bill

The Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved a $52.7 billion FY 2011 spending bill on Wednesday that withheld $3.9 billion in aid for Afghanistan over concerns about corruption in the country, CongressDaily reports. The bill "already cut $4 billion from President Obama's request to fund the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and dozens of foreign assistance and cooperation programs," the publication writes.

2 Jul 2010

New device could improve conventional cochlear implants

More electrodes and a thinner, more flexible wire inserted further into the inner ear could improve conventional cochlear implants, a team of Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers say.

2 Jul 2010

Cancer stem cells may vary from tumor to tumor, say researchers

Cancer stem cells have enticed scientists because of the potential to provide more durable and widespread cancer cures by identifying and targeting the tumor's most voracious cells.

2 Jul 2010

Malnutrition during childhood diminishes brain function in late life

Malnutrition early in life appears to diminish brain function in older adulthood, according to a study led by a Michigan State University researcher that has implications for many poor, developing nations.

2 Jul 2010

Biomimetic Therapeutics to discuss Augment Bone Graft data results at AOFAS meeting

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its schedule of events at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) summer meeting being held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland from July 7 - 10, 2010.

2 Jul 2010

Adding nutrients could improve efficiency of deep sea biological pump

Adding nutrients to the sea could decrease viral infection rates among phytoplankton and enhance the efficiency of the biological pump, a means by which carbon is transferred from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, according to a new mathematical modelling study. The findings, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, have implications for ocean geo-engineering schemes proposed for tackling global warming.

2 Jul 2010

Javelin announces successful completion of tender offer by Hospira subsidiary

Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the successful completion of the tender offer by Discus Acquisition Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hospira, Inc., to purchase all outstanding shares of the common stock of Javelin.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Anthem submits new insurance rate plan in Calif. after earlier effort rebuffed

The Los Angeles Times: "Embattled health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is reviving its plan to raise rates for tens of thousands of California policyholders, some of whom could see their premiums rise as much as 20%. California's largest for-profit insurer submitted new rates Wednesday amid pressure to scale back increases of as much as 39% that had provoked fury from consumers, lawmakers and even President Obama" and helped revive the effort to pass a national health care law.

2 Jul 2010

Teva launches antidepressant Venlafaxine HCl ER Capsules

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has commenced commercial launch of Venlafaxine HCl ER Capsules, the Company's generic version of Wyeth's antidepressant Effexor XR®. The brand product had annual sales of approximately $2.75 billion in the United States, based on IMS sales data.

2 Jul 2010

Vitamin D inadequacy may cause metabolic syndrome among elderly people

A new study adds to the mounting evidence that older adults commonly have low vitamin D levels and that vitamin D inadequacy may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a condition that affects one in four adults. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

2 Jul 2010

China PharmaHub announces new joint venture for humanized antibody

China PharmaHub Corp., announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Dr. David Weaver and Dr. Michael Rynkiewicz. In addition, PharmaHub contemplates merging with World Wide Relics, Inc. of which it recently purchased a 77% interest.

2 Jul 2010

Sun Pharma introduces generic rivastigmine capsules in U.S. market

Sun Pharma announced launch of generic Exelon, rivastigmine tartrate capsules for the US market. Earlier, USFDA had granted final approval for the Company's ANDA to market these products.

2 Jul 2010

Draft Guidance on judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued draft guidance intended to help reduce the development of resistance to medically important antimicrobial drugs used in food-producing animals.

2 Jul 2010

Experts to discuss latest advancements in neurological disorders at Neurorehabilitation Symposium

Scientists and engineers from around the globe will gather in August to share new information regarding neurorehabilitation advances for people with neurological movement disorders, including spinal cord and brain injures.

2 Jul 2010

National debt will continue to surge, CBO predicts, while experts increase scrutiny of health care costs

The Washington Post: "In its latest long-term forecast, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that the national debt, which has surged to nearly 60 percent of annual economic output in the wake of the recession, would continue rising in the coming decades despite cost-containment measures in the health overhaul Obama signed this spring.

2 Jul 2010

Haitian President rejects U.S. Senate's recommendations for upcoming elections

A day after Haitian President Rene Preval signed a decree authorizing a date for November elections, he rebuffed other recommendations issued by the U.S. Senate, which include "holding an election for his successor, brushing off criticism that the current process will leave the shattered country without a credible leader," the Associated Press reports.

2 Jul 2010