BREAST CANCER: DROP IN INCIDENCE LINKED TO DECREASE IN HORMONE USE
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that a decline in breast cancer incidence is more likely due to the drop in postmenopausal hormone therapy use rather than in a decrease in mammography screening. In the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers said use of hormone therapy among the study population declined by 7 percent a year between 2000 and 2002 and then by 34 percent a year between 2002 and 2003. Over the same period, breast cancer incidence rates declined annually by 5 percent. Rates of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer (about 75 percent of breast cancer cases) fell by 13 percent each year from 2001 to 2003. The authors said the small decline in screening mammography observed in the United States is unlikely to explain the national declines in breast cancer incidence.

NEUROLOGY: AVIGEN GETS FDA APPROVAL FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN DRUG CLINICAL TRIALS
Avigen, an Alameda, California-based biopharmaceutical, has gotten the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials for AV411 (ibudilast), a potential treatment for opioid withdrawal and neuropathic pain, which is common in cancer patients. Avigen said early development experience with AV411 suggests it has the potential to provide better tolerability with fewer side effects when compared to many treatments available for patients with neuropathic pain. The initial U.S. clinical trial will look at tolerability for AV411. A separate mid-stage trial in Australia is expected to report on safety and initial efficacy data of AV411 in neuropathic pain patients by the end of 2007.

TOXICOGENOMICS: ICONIX ROLLS OUT ONLINE DATABASE
Iconix Biosciences, based in Mountain View, California, introduced a web-based database called DrugMatrix Online that offers extensive gene expression data from genomic information provider Affymetrix. The database also offers comparative data from the world's largest collection of reference information on rats treated with over 500 drugs and toxicants. Iconix said the web-based product would make its content and customized tools available to a much broader group of customers, including medium-sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The product contains data from eight different tissues of rats treated with marketed drugs, withdrawn and failed compounds, and biochemical and toxicological standards.

DIABETES: MARKERS IDENTIFIED THAT MAY PREDICT DISEASE IN STILL-HEALTHY PEOPLE
UCLA researchers have confirmed the role played by three particular molecules known as cytokines as a cause of Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease that occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or can't effectively use it. What's more, the researchers have identified these molecules as early biological markers that may be used to more accurately predict future incidences of diabetes among apparently healthy individuals, according to the report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers said the three inflammatory cytokines (messenger molecules) are tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and may be one of the causes of Type 2 diabetes, which afflicts roughly seven percent of the U.S. population.

HEART DISEASE: CARDIAC NETWORK'S MONITORING SERVICE OK'D FOR MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT
Monitoring device provider Cardiac Network of San Francisco said its heart monitoring service for people with a history of heart problems has been approved for Medicare reimbursement. The service provides customers with an FDA-approved handheld EKG device that relays results to referring physicians. Each year, about 1.1 million Americans suffer a heart attack, with some 460,000 of those cases fatal. Cardiac Network says its service makes it easy for patients to check their symptoms at their earliest cause for concern from anywhere, at any time. Results can reach referring physicians in a few minutes via e-mail, fax, or telephone.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES: PACIFIC BEACH GETS LICENSE FOR NEW ANTIBIOTIC
Pacific Beach BioSciences, a development stage biopharmaceutical company in San Diego, has acquired the exclusive license to develop and commercialize Zabofloxacin. PB BioSciences says it will develop the drug for the treatment of various respiratory tract infections. Zabofloxacin can be used to treat Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes not only pneumonia but many other infections such as meningitis and otitis media, and is effective on strains resistant to other antibiotics, the company says. It acquired the license, excluding for Japan and several other Asian countries, from Seoul-based Dong Wha Pharmaceutical, which has completed a Phase I study of Zabofloxacin's oral formulation. PB BioScience expects the drug also to be available intravenously.

RESTRUCTURING: AMGEN MAY REDUCE STAFF BY UP TO 14 PERCENT
California biotech giant Amgen said it will cut up to 2,600 staff—or up to 14 percent of its workforce—as part of a restructuring plan it believes will save up to $1.3 billion in 2008. The company said the changes come after lower revenues from its anemia drug Aranesp, which received a "Black Box" warning from the FDA for potential adverse side effects. The Thousand Oaks-based company said it would reduce planned capital expenditures by about $1.9 billion during 2007 and 2008, as well as close certain production operations and rationalize other facilities. Amgen cut its 2007 earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $4.13 to $4.23 from $4.28, excluding restructuring charges.

COLORECTAL CANCER: ADVENTRX DRUG ON FDA FAST TRACK
Adventrx Pharmaceuticals said the FDA has granted fast-track status for its CoFactor injection intended for the initial treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The San Diego-based biopharmaceutical's drug is designed to enhance the activity of the widely used cancer chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and to reduce its associated toxicity. Fast-track programs are set up to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases. CoFactor is currently in a Phase III study with 5-FU and bevacizumab for the initial treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

HEALTHCARE: GOOGLE AND MICROSOFT HAVE PLANS TO IMPROVE U.S. SYSTEM
Search engine leader Google and software behemoth Microsoft are looking to apply their tech prowess to the field of healthcare, with two plans to help citizens to improve health habits and medical care, The New York Times reported. The Times said a prototype of Mountain View, California-based Google's health web pages viewed by reporters included a personalized "health guide" for suggested treatments, drug interactions, and diet and exercise regimens. There were also pages for receiving reminder messages to get prescription refills or visit a doctor. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's plan could include online offerings as well as software to find, retrieve, and store personal health information on personal computers, the paper said. Neither company would discuss plans in detail, The Times said.

HEALTH ACCESS: SAN FRANCISCO'S UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE EXCEEDS GOAL
San Francisco's $200-million-a-year effort to provide healthcare to its 82,000 residents without medical insurance exceeded its targets, enrolling 1,000 participants by mid-August, which was weeks before city officials had expected to meet the goal, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. City officials estimate it will take up to two years to fully cover all targeted residents in the "Healthy San Francisco" Plan. The program is the first of its kind in the country and assigns participants to a primary care facility that stresses preventive care, the paper said. But participants also receive emergency care, mental health care, substance abuse services, radiology, pharmaceuticals, and other medical services.

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