Subscribe to one of our feedsfont size
Print
Period Ending June 16, 2007
STEM CELLS: COMPANY DEVELOPS TECHNIQUE THAT COULD AVOID POLITICAL FIGHT
Alameda, California-based Advanced Cell Technology said it successfully produced a human embryonic stem cell line without destroying an embryo. The company announced the development at the fifth annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Cairns, Australia. In August 2006, ACT published a paper in the journal Nature documenting a technique for removing a single cell (known as a blastomere) from an eight-cell human embryo, and using that cell to generate multiple human embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo. Human embryonic stem cell research has been controversial because techniques used to derive the cells required the destruction of an early-stage embryo, something opponents have likened to murder.
INSOMNIA: SLEEP PROBLEMS CAUSE MEDICATION DISPENSING ERRORS
Insomnia, which affects more than a quarter of nurses, attributes to a significant increase in medication dispensing errors, charting deviations from standard practice and falling asleep unintentionally on the job, according to a study from Alertness Solutions, a Cupertino, California-based consultancy. The study, funded by San Diego-based Neurocrine Biosciences and presented at the annual SLEEP meeting, found nearly a third of the nurses had trouble staying asleep and more than 10 percent had trouble falling a sleep. The survey also found that despite the significant impact of their insomnia, only 30 percent of those surveyed sought professional care to address the problem.
CANCER: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE SELECTS SRI DRUG FOR PROGRAM
The National Cancer Institute will provide support through its Rapid Access to Intervention Development program to further the development of SRI International's preclinical cancer drug SR16388. The independent nonprofit research and development organization in Menlo Park, California is developing the drug for a variety of tumor types in advanced cancers, including metastatic prostate cancer. SR16388 is an antiangiogenic drug that works by choking off the blood supply to tumors. The drug binds estrogen receptor beta and inhibits activation of transcription factors STAT3 and HIF-1 that together regulate pathways for cancer cell survival, proliferation, vascularization and metastasis.
CARDIOVASCULAR: SCRIPPS GETS $30 MILLION GRANT FOR INSTITUTE
The La Jolla, California-based Scripps Health hospital network received a $30 million grant to jump start its plan to build a $430-million cardiovascular institute, which is expected to become the largest heart program in California. The Howard Charitable Foundation gave the gift to Scripps. The foundation was formed by Howard Publications, which sold the North County Times and 15 other newspapers in 2002. The institute, to be built on the Scripps Memorial hospital campus in La Jolla, would combine the cardiology programs at Scripps Memorial and nearby Scripps Green. It would marry the skills of about 65 heart doctors at Scripps Memorial and 35 at Scripps Green. The building should be completed in 2015.
PULMONARY HYPERTENSION: FDA GIVES GILEAD OK TO MARKET DRUG
Gilead Sciences said the FDA has granted approval of Letairis, a once-daily tablet for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The elevation of blood pressure in the pulmonary artery makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood through the lungs where it is oxygenated. It is a debilitating and life threatening disease. It can cause shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting and other symptoms. The drug from the Foster City, California-based Gilead is a so-called endothelin receptor antagonist. Activation of the endothelin receptor type-A by the hormone endothelin leads to a narrowing of blood vessels.
DENTAL: FDA ACCEPTS NEW DRUG APPLICATION FOR ANESTHESIA REVERSAL AGENT
Novalar Pharmaceuticals said the FDA accepted its new drug application to market NV-101, a local dental anesthetic reversal agent. The San Diego-based company said assuming a positive review it expects to launch NV-101 in the third quarter of 2008. While local dental anesthesia continues to be the most widely used dental anesthetic procedure, it frequently results in longer-than-necessary soft tissue numbness. Market research with both patients and dentists has indicated strong interest in a product that will reduce the time to normal sensation following local dental anesthesia.
PARKINSON'S: CEREGENE ENTERS POTENTIAL $150M DEAL WITH GENZYME
San Diego, California-based Ceregene said it entered into a partnership with Genzyme to develop and commercialize its lead program for the treatment of the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease. The agreement calls for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Genzyme to pay $25 million in an upfront payment and up to $125 in milestones. The agreement also calls for Genzyme to reimburse Ceregene for half of the worldwide late-stage clinical trials costs. Genzyme will gain marketing rights in all markets outside of the United States and Canada, and Genzyme will pay Ceregene tiered royalties based on sales in markets where it has rights. Ceregene will retain exclusive rights to its drug CERE-120 in the United States and Canada. The treatment, currently in a mid-stage clinical trial, delivers into the patient the gene for neurturin, a naturally-occurring protein known to repair damaged and dying dopamine-secreting neurons, keeping them alive and functioning normally.
ISCHEMIA: NUVELO GETS ENCOURAGING PROOF-OF-CONCEPT RESULTS
Nuvelo said a mid-stage clinical trial of its treatment for blood clots in the heart reduced the incidence and duration of so-called ischemia by more than 50 percent and did not increase bleeding in patients treated with standard antithrombotics in a statistically significant way. The results of the trial of the San Carlos, California-based company's drug rNAPc2 were published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. Acute coronary syndrome accounts for more than 1 million hospitalizations annually in the United States. It occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque ruptures in a coronary artery, triggering the coagulation cascade, which results in the formation of a blood clot. The clot blocks the flow of blood to the heart muscle depriving it of oxygen, which can result in unstable angina or heart attack. Nuvelo's rNAPc2 is a recombinant protein shown to have potential anticoagulant effect. It is also being studied as a potential cancer therapy.
PAD: POSITIVE INTERIM TRIAL DATA FOR VICAL LICENSEE
San Diego-based Vical said its licensee AnGes MG reported positive interim data from a late stage clinical trial results for its product to promote the formation of new blood vessels in areas of restricted blood flow. The drug candidate to treat peripheral arterial disease or PAD makes use of Vical's DNA delivery technology. Because of the strong results, an independent data monitoring committee recommended stopping the trial early to avoid ethical concerns about patients in the placebo arm of the trial. AnGes is ending the trial and preparing to file an application for Japanese marketing approval. The treatment uses Vical technology to deliver a gene encoding Hepatocyte Growth Factor, a human protein that causes angiogenesis or growth of blood vessels in areas where there is restricted blood flow. Vical said the drug is positioned to be the first approved for human use based on its DNA delivery technology and will provide proof of concept for DNA delivery in the treatment of disease.
STEM CELLS: THERMOGENESIS TEAMS WITH UC DAVIS ON
ThermoGenesis and the Stem Cell Program at the University of California at Davis entered into a researcher collaboration aimed at developing stem cell therapies based on the Rancho Cordova, California-based company's technology. The effort will focus on stem cell treatments for peripheral artery disease, myocardial infarction and dermal wounds. Under the terms of the agreement, ThermoGenesis will supply researchers at UC Davis technology to collect and process stem cells from patient's own bone marrow or umbilical cord blood. ThermoGenesis will have first option to negotiate a license to the resulting intellectual property.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY EMAILS
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
.gif) |
 |