GBP Health / Biotech News 07-13-2009

Since August, 2005, this news digest has been a complimentary service of GBP Capital, a private equity firm investing in early to mid-stage life science companies. See www.gbpcap.com. The digest is published two to four days a week. If you have colleagues who would be interested in receiving this digest by email, they can be added to the list at: http://www.gbpcap.com/ . Also, the complete history of the entire content of all news articles in our digests since August, 2005 is searchable with Google's enterprise search engine at the same site.


Source - EurekAlert – Biology

Public Release: 13-Jul-2009
Nature Chemical Biology
Novel drug discovery tool could identify promising new therapies for Parkinson's disease
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have turned simple baker's yeast into a virtual army of medicinal chemists capable of rapidly searching for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Daniel Stimson
stimsond@ninds.nih.gov
301-496-5751
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Public Release: 13-Jul-2009
Nature Methods
New drugs faster from natural compounds: A UC San Diego breakthrough
A researcher isolates a natural compound with promising antimicrobial properties from ocean water. But is it a discovery? Or has the compound already been described and is therefore not patentable? University of California, San Diego researchers have invented computational tools that enable researchers to rapidly and economically answer the 'is it new or not?' question for promising drug targets: ring-shaped nonribosomal peptides.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Daniel Kane
dbkane@ucsd.edu
858-534-3262
University of California - San Diego

Public Release: 13-Jul-2009
Nature Cell Biology
DNA-damaged cells communicate with neighbors to let them know they're in trouble
When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging.
National Institutes of Health, California Breast Cancer Research Program, Larry L. Hillblom Foundation, US Department of Energy, Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education, Dutch Cancer Society
Contact: Kris Rebillot
krebillot@buckinstitute.org
415-209-2080
Buck Institute for Age Research


Public Release: 12-Jul-2009
Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease drug treats traumatic brain injury, report GUMC researchers
The destructive cellular pathways activated in Alzheimer's disease are also triggered following traumatic brain injury, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center. They say this finding suggests that novel therapy might successfully target both conditions.
National Institutes of Health, Klingel Family Foundation
Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
215-514-9751
Georgetown University Medical Center

Public Release: 12-Jul-2009
Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease
Results from trials of DHA in Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline
Results from two large studies using DHA, an omega 3 fatty acid, were reported at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna. The results of the ADCS trial show no evidence for benefit in the studied population. The Martek trial showed a positive result on one test of memory and learning, but that study was in healthy older adults, not people with Alzheimer's or another dementia.
Contact: Niles Frantz
niles.frantz@alz.org
312-363-8782
Alzheimer's Association

Public Release: 10-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC scientists identify enzyme important in aging
The secret to longevity may lie in an enzyme with the ability to promote a robust immune system into old age by maintaining the function of the thymus throughout life, according to researchers studying an "anti-aging" mouse model that lives longer than a typical mouse.
Contact: Marc Lukasiak
marc.lukasiak@chp.edu
412-692-7919
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Public Release: 9-Jul-2009
Science
Research may hold key to maintaining embryonic stem cells in lab
In a new study that could transform embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered why mouse ES cells can be easily grown in a laboratory while other mammalian ES cells are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Amanda Siegfried
amanda.siegfried@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Public Release: 9-Jul-2009
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
2 reproductive factors are important predictors of death from ovarian cancer
Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.
Contact: Tara Yates
tara.yates@aacr.org
267-646-0558
American Association for Cancer Research

Source - Science Daily:
Please note: Due to the format restrictions of Science Daily articles, you must click on the URL (web address) below the article summary, rather than the article title.

New Pill May Prevent Injury After Radiation Exposure
July 13, 2009 — Researchers have discovered and analyzed several new compounds, collectively called the ''EUK-400 series,'' which could someday be used to prevent radiation-induced injuries to kidneys, lungs, skin, ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710121537.htm
New Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Promising
July 13, 2009 — Researchers have found that a compound called NIC5-15, might be a safe and effective treatment to stabilize cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090712145228.htm

Key To Maintaining Embryonic Stem Cells In Lab
July 13, 2009 — In a new study that could transform embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research, scientists have discovered why mouse ES cells can be easily grown in a laboratory while other mammalian ES cells are ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140810.htm

Link Between Oral Infections And Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity Explained
July 13, 2009 — A strong connection between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been suggested in recent clinical studies. As many as 75 percent of adults in the United States have been affected ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140822.htm

How Immune Cells May Help Predict Alzheimer's Risk
July 13, 2009 — UCLA scientists have discovered a way to measure the amount of amyloid beta that is being absorbed by immune cells in the blood. Amyloid beta forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer's ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090713124714.htm

New Lung Cancer Staging System Revealed
July 13, 2009 — For the first time in more than 10 years, the universally accepted lung cancer staging system has been revised to more accurately reflect the prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090713114504.htm

Elevated Insulin Linked To Increased Breast Cancer Risk
July 12, 2009 — Elevated insulin levels in the blood appear to raise the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709170819.htm

Doctors Talk Frankly About What Encourages And Impedes Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's
July 12, 2009 — A doctor's positive attitude to Alzheimer's diagnosis and their trusting, personal relationships with local dementia support service providers are powerful enablers for early diagnosis of ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090712145220.htm

How To Better Recruit Volunteers For Alzheimer's Clinical Studies
July 12, 2009 — Partnering with local physicians, working with local clinics, and conducting educational seminars and health fairs were found to be the most effective tools in recruiting people for Alzheimer's ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090712145217.htm

Key Protein Can Help Cells Or Cause Cancer
July 11, 2009 — Scientist have discovered a key process in cell growth that can lead to the formation of tumors. They found that an overabundance of the polo-like kinase 1, or Plk1, molecule during cell growth, as ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707131822.htm

Study Using Structural MRI May Help Accurately Diagnose Dementia Patients
July 11, 2009 — A new study may help physicians differentially diagnose three common neurodegenerative disorders in the ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090711085224.htm

Stem Cells' 'Suspended' State Preserved By Key Step, Scientists Report
July 10, 2009 — Scientists have identified a gene that is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their all-purpose, pluripotent state. Exploiting the finding may lead to a greater understanding of how cells ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090708132807.htm

MicroRNAs Help Control HIV Life Cycle
July 9, 2009 — Scientists have discovered that specific microRNAs (non-coding RNAs that interfere with gene expression) reduce HIV replication and infectivity in human T-cells. In particular, miR29 plays a key role ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625133213.htm

Critical Link Between Obesity And Diabetes Discovered
July 9, 2009 — A new study has shown a critical link between obesity and the onset of Type 2 diabetes, a discovery which could lead to the design of a drug to prevent the ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090708090917.htm

Inflammation May Trigger Alzheimer's Disease
July 9, 2009 — New research sheds light on what causes Alzheimer's disease and suggests a possible ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090708181204.htm

Source - Health Day:

Health Highlights: July 13, 2009

• Congress Won't Finish Health-Care Reform by Summer Recess
• Family Obesity Follows Gender Lines: Study
• Another Recall Linked to Milk Products Cooperative
• Ebola Virus Found in Pigs
  

Heavy Drinking Linked to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Consumption also appears to undercut effect of cancer-prevention drug.

Doctors' Attitudes Play Part in Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis
Positive attitude critical to spotting disease, study finds

More Mammograms May Mean More 'Harmless' Cancers
Experts stress, though, that screenings remain vital

Clinical Trials Update: July 13, 2009

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Breast Cancer
• Depression
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Menstrual Migraine
• Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip
  

Clinical Trials Update: July 10, 2009

• Depression
• Sleep in Osteoarthritis Project
• Overactive Bladder (Females)
• Keratoses
• Liver Cancer
• Alzheimer's Disease
  

Clinical Trials Update: July 9, 2009

• Nocturia
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Depression
• Memory Loss or Alzheimer's Disease
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
  

Source - Yahoo Biotech News:


Inovio Biomedical H1N1 Influenza DNA Vaccines Demonstrate 100% Responses Against Swine Flu in Vaccinated Pigs
SAN DIEGO----Inovio Biomedical Corporation , a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that the company's SynCon™ H1N1 influenza DNA vaccines achieved protective antibody responses against H1N1 swine influenza virus in 100% of pigs immunized with a two-dose vaccine regimen.

FDA questions data for J&J ovarian cancer drug
Food and Drug Administration scientists are questioning whether study results are reliable enough to warrant approval for a new cancer drug from Johnson & Johnson.




Source - Google Health News:


Obesity emerges as new risk factor for severe flu
Reuters - USA
As with H5N1 avian influenza, which only rarely attacks people, patients seem to survive better if they get extra-high doses of Tamiflu for longer than the ...


Health Officials Find Flu Virus Resistant to Vaccine
AHN - USA
Tamiflu was widely used in 2005 to combat the H5N1 bird flu in Southeast Asia. As of June 6, more than 94500 cases of swine flu worldwide had been reported ...


Inovio Biomedical H1N1 Influenza DNA Vaccines Demonstrate 100 ...
WELT ONLINE - Berlin,Germany
Inovio has created SynCon™ DNA vaccines based on influenza HA, NA, and NP proteins that are common to strains H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, and H5N1, which make up the ...


Oxford Biomedica says study of ProSavin Parkinson's treatment ...
Proactive Investors UK - London,England,UK
Gene therapy group Oxford Biomedica PLC (AIM: OXB) said the Phase I/II study of its novel gene therapy, ProSavin, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease ...


Study Clears Gene Therapy in Death of Arthritis Patient
MedPage Today - Little Falls,NJ,USA
By Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today PRINCETON, NJ, July 8 -- The death of a young patient participating in a gene-therapy trial for a ...


Source - Medical News Today:

Scientists Step Closer To Helping Diabetics Regenerate Insulin Making Cells
US scientists have come a step closer to finding a way to help treat people with diabetes by reactivating their own insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, although they acknowledge that this goal is still a long way off. They discovered a hitherto unknown role for a well known protein: it helps immature endocrine systems generate new pancreatic islet cells, which include the insulin-producing beta cells. The study, which was done on mice, was the work of senior author Dr Doris Stoffers, Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, and colleagues, and is published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157307.php

Dramatic Drop In Deaths From Most Common Cancers
The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK. Mortality rates for breast, bowel, and male lung cancer** are at their lowest since 1971 even though more than 100,000 people are now diagnosed with these kinds of cancers every year.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157287.php

Eating Fewer Calories Linked To Delayed Disease And Longer Life, Animal Study
US scientists found that when rhesus monkeys were kept on a nutritious but reduced calorie diet for 20 years they led a longer and healthier life with delayed onset of diseases of aging such as cancer, diabetes , cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy. The study was the work of lead author Ricki J Colman from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, and colleagues and is published online in the 10 July issue of Science.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157041.php

Obama Nominates Genetics Researcher Collins To Be NIH Director
President Obama on Wednesday nominated Francis Collins, a physician and genetics researcher, to be NIH director, the Washington Post reports (Brown, Washington Post, 7/9). Collins worked at the agency during the administrations of former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush and served as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he helped lead the Human Genome Project to sequence all human DNA (Young, The Hill , 7/8). He is also known for a 2006 best-selling book presenting scientific evidence for a belief in God. Collins resigned as head of the institute last year but remained a consultant. Since then, he established the BioLogos Foundation to "contribute to the public voice that represents the harmony of science and faith" (Maugh, Los Angeles Times , 7/9). Many researchers and health care experts praised Collins' nomination, though some others were not "entirely enthusiastic," according to the New York Times . The two major objections to his nomination involve his "very public embrace of religion" and his "important role in raising expectations [of gene research] impossibly high," according to the New York Times (Harris, New York Times, 7/9). Collins and his colleagues at the University of Michigan discovered the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis in 1989. According to the Los Angeles Times, Collins is expected to be quickly confirmed (Los Angeles Times, 7/9).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157059.php

Biogen Idec Receives Fast Track Designation From FDA For PEGylated Interferon Beta-1a For Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted PEGylated interferon beta-1a (BIIB017) Fast Track designation for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). Biogen Idec is currently enrolling patients in a global Phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of either bi-weekly or once-monthly injections of PEGylated interferon beta-1a in this patient population. "Early-stage clinical trials suggest that PEGylated interferon beta-1a has the potential to offer less frequent dosing without compromising efficacy, which would be a significant development for people living with multiple sclerosis," said Michael Panzara, M.D., M.P.H., vice president and chief medical officer of neurology at Biogen Idec. "We look forward to working closely with the FDA to expedite the compound's development and review process."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156976.php

WHO To Recommend Countries Stop Testing For H1N1
Within the next few days, the WHO "will recommend that countries stop trying to test all suspected cases of swine flu, said Keiji Fukuda, the agency's assistant director-general of health security and environment," Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, Bloomberg reports. Instead, countries who have previously confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in their population should diagnose the flu based on symptoms alone, opening up "laboratories to test samples in unusual or severe cases, clusters of illnesses and cases with odd symptoms, he said," Bloomberg writes (Serafino/Hallam, 7/7). "In countries with no cases, we will continue to recommend that people be tested so the presence of the new virus can be confirmed," Fukuda said. "In all countries, we will continue to stress testing for unusual cases, clusters, unusually severe cases and new symptoms." The Los Angeles Times writes that "the number of swine-flu-free countries is likely to be small soon. The most recent figures reported to the WHO indicate that more than 98,000 cases have been confirmed in 120 countries, with 440 deaths, though officials estimate the number of actual infections at 10 to 100 times that."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156925.php


Source - MIT's Technology Review:


Artificial Knees Made to Order
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22988/

The Avastin Paradox
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22979/

Portable DNA Purifier for Poor Countries
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22980/

Caloric Restriction Slows Aging in Monkeys
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22977/

First Drug Shown to Extend Life Span in Mammals
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22974/