Medicine

Zogby Interactive Survey Finds Concern Over Vaccine Safety Cited As Top Reason

Utica, NY - As the H1N1 swine flu vaccine becomes increasingly available, 46% of adults who are considered by the CDC to be members of high priority groups plan to ignore the CDC's recommendation for vaccination. The Zogby International interactive survey also finds that the top reasons high risk adults plan to skip the vaccine include concern over the safety of the vaccine (38%) and a general sense that they simply do not need the vaccine (32%).    » read more »

November 18, 2009 -- If you’re watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important—especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution imaging. But new research* makes it possible to scrutinize activities that occur over hours or even days inside cells, potentially solving many of the mysteries associated with molecular-scale events occurring in these tiny living things.    » read more »

NEW YORK & GENEVA -- Pfizer Inc and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement that is designed to facilitate advancements in the battle against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and Chagas disease, which afflict vulnerable populations in the developing world. Under the agreement, DNDi will have access to the Pfizer library of novel chemical entities, in order to screen it for compounds that have the potential to be developed into new treatments.    » read more »

Bill Will Guarantee Up to Seven Days of Paid Sick Leave for Workers Infected By the H1N1 Virus

November 17, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) today will introduce emergency legislation that will guarantee paid sick days for those who are infected by the H1N1 virus. Last week, Dodd chaired, and Congresswoman DeLauro testified at, a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families in response to the H1N1 pandemic.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- The current pandemic of H1N1 influenza highlights vulnerabilities in the world’s plans for dealing with widespread health emergencies, but also offers opportunities to better prepare for more deadly epidemics that will surely arise in the future, experts said at a recent symposium held in New York City.

The 16 October meeting, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the journal Science, brought together experts on science, economics, public health and foreign relations to assess the impact of the flu pandemic and future implications.    » read more »

The Ignite Institute will create 415 jobs

November 16, 2009 -- FAIRFAX – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced the creation of The Ignite Institute, a nonprofit medical research institute established by Inova Health System and Dr. Dietrich Stephan, a recognized leader in the field of molecular medicine.

The Institute is the first entity built around the application of personalized medicine innovation in the community health setting. The project's $200 million investment in Fairfax County will create 415 jobs.    » read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree says drug companies practicing "bait and switch"

November 16, 2009 -- Congresswoman Chellie Pingree expressed outrage today over published reports that the nation’s pharmaceutical companies raised prices last year more than any year since 1992.

“The drug companies promised us they would deliver $8 billion in savings into the health care system,” Pingree said. “What they failed to tell us was that they apparently planned to jack up prices by $10 billion first. It sounds like classic bait and switch scheme to me.”

According to today’s New York Times, the wholesale price of brand name prescription drugs went up 9% last year, a year in which overall consumer prices actually fell 1.3%.    » read more »

Merck Expresses Confidence in the Efficacy and Safety Profiles of ZETIA® (ezetimibe) and VYTORIN® (ezetimibe/simvastatin) as Effective Medicines for Managing Elevated Cholesterol

ORLANDO, Fl., Nov. 15, 2009 – At the American Heart Association meeting today, Merck & Co., Inc. said it is confident in the safety and efficacy profiles of ZETIA® (ezetimibe) and VYTORIN® (ezetimibe/simvastatin), and issued the following comment in response to misinterpretation of results from a small 200-patient imaging study called ARBITER 6.    » read more »

Upfront and potential consideration of over $500 million

16 November 2009, London UK, Rockville US -- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (GSK) and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nabi) today announced an exclusive worldwide option and licensing agreement for a nicotine conjugate candidate vaccine (NicVAX®), an investigational vaccine for the treatment of nicotine addiction and the prevention of smoking relapse, as well as for the development of a second generation nicotine vaccine.    » read more »

US interim data show lower doses of antigen may suffice to generate a protective immune response against A(H1N1)

Basel, November 17, 2009 - Novartis announced today new interim data from ongoing clinical trials demonstrating that a single 7.5µg dose of the company's influenza A(H1N1) 2009 unadjuvanted vaccine, half of the currently-approved US dose, fulfilled immune response criteria associated with protection in adults and the elderly (>=65 years of age).    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that it has received a complete response letter from the FDA regarding its application to market Lumizyme™ (alglucosidase alfa) for the treatment of Pompe disease. In its letter, the agency stated that satisfactory resolution of deficiencies related to the Allston Landing manufacturing plant are required before the Lumizyme application can be approved.

Genzyme believes the other elements of the Lumizyme review, such as the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), the product label, and post-marketing requirements, have been satisfactorily addressed.    » read more »

Last Week Schumer Requested The FTC Step Up Enforcement Actions Against Websites Peddling Fake H1N1 Cures and Prevention Methods

November 16, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is embarking on a major crackdown on companies selling phony H1N1 remedies. As the problem of fake remedies grows worse, and concerns about the H1N1 flu increase, the FTC announced that they would take further enforcement action against ten companies that are peddling fake H1N1 remedies on-line.    » read more »

13 November 2009 -- As of 8 November 2009, worldwide more than 206 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 6250 deaths.

As many countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case count is likely to be significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred. WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of data.

Situation update:    » read more »

Announces Counties Are Conducting Vaccination Clinics As More H1N1 Vaccine Becomes Available

November 13, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that county health departments across New York are mobilizing to conduct H1N1 flu vaccination clinics as more vaccine becomes available in the State.

“Due to delays in manufacturing the H1N1 vaccine, our statewide vaccination campaign has not been mobilized as rapidly as we had hoped,” Governor Paterson said. “As we move into the middle of November, more H1N1 vaccine is becoming available, and health care providers are receiving more shipments. Some county health departments have already held vaccination clinics, and others are gearing up to hold them in the next two weeks.”    » read more »

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 13, 2009) – Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley issued the second in a series of online H1N1 (Swine) Flu web updates on H1N1 (Swine) Flu today, including a status update on the spread of the disease and an update on the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines. To date, state officials have ordered 100% of the H1N1 vaccinations available to Maryland distributors, more than 750,000 doses.    » read more »