GBP Health/Biotech 01-24-2010

GBP Health / Biotech News 01-24-2010:

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: 21-Jan-2010

Journal of Biological Chemistry

Inflammation 'on switch' also serves as 'off switch'

In a surprising finding, researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered the critical importance of a protein previously believed to be a redundant "on switch" for certain immune-system responses.

National Institutes of Health

Contact: Mick Kulikowski

mick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu

919-515-8387

North Carolina State University

Public Release: 21-Jan-2010

Canadian Medical Association Journal

Disease severity in H1N1 patients

A new study published in CMAJ concerning the severity of H1N1 influenza has found that admissions to an intensive care unit were associated with a longer interval between symptom onset and treatment with antivirals and with presence of an underlying medical condition. People of First Nations ethnicity were also found to be at higher risk of severe H1N1 infection compared to people of other ethnic origins.

Contact: Kim Barnhardt

kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca

613-520-7116 x2224

Canadian Medical Association Journal

Public Release: 21-Jan-2010

Science

Video of virus in action shows viruses can spread faster than thought possible

New video footage of a virus infecting cells is challenging what researchers have long believed about how viruses spread, suggesting that scientists may be able to create new drugs to tackle some viruses.

Medical Research Council

Contact: Laura Gallagher

l.gallagher@imperial.ac.uk

44-207-594-8432

Imperial College London

Public Release: 21-Jan-2010

Cell Stem Cell

New concoction reprograms differentiated cells into pluripotent stem cells

In Cell Stem Cell, Singapore scientists report surprising discovery that novel transcription factor Nr5a2 can replace classical reprogramming factor Oct 4 to significantly increase efficiency of reprogramming differentiated stem cells into iPS cells.

Contact: Winnie Serah Lim

limcp2@gis.a-star.edu.sg

656-808-8013

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

Public Release: 20-Jan-2010

Nature Biotechnology

New way to generate abundant functional blood vessel cells from human stem cells discovered

In a significant step toward restoring healthy blood circulation to treat a variety of diseases, a team of scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a new technique and described a novel mechanism for turning human embryonic and pluripotent stem cells into plentiful, functional endothelial cells, which are critical to the formation of blood vessels.

Starr Foundation

Contact: Andrew Klein

ank2017@med.cornell.edu

212-821-0560

New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College

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.

Scientists Show How Brain Tumors Outsmart Drugs

January 22, 2010 — Researchers have shown one way in which gliomas, a deadly type of brain tumor, can evade drugs aimed at blocking a key cell signaling protein, epidermal growth factor receptor, that is crucial for ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119172800.htm

Lung Cancer Patients Who Quit Smoking Double Their Survival Chances

January 22, 2010 — People diagnosed with early stage lung cancer can double their chances of survival over five years if they stop smoking compared with those who continue to smoke, finds a new ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100122002342.htm

Combination Therapy May Be Effective Against Some Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers

January 22, 2010 — Even when their tumors are shrinking in response to therapy, some non-small cell lung cancer patients have a scattering of cancer cells that are undeterred by the drug, causing the tumor to resume ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119121211.htm

Small Clusters of Islet Amyloid Polypeptides May Contribute to Diabetes

January 22, 2010 — Researchers have discovered that small clusters (oligomers) of islet amyloid polypeptides (IAPPs) may contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100122003104.htm

Cell of Origin Identified for Common Type of Breast Cancer

January 21, 2010 — Breast cancer researchers have identified the progenitor cell that gives rise to the most common form of breast cancer. Using a mouse model, the researchers found that inhibiting a protein essential ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100119133513.htm

Obesity Ups Cancer Risk, and Here's How

January 21, 2010 — Obesity comes with plenty of health risks, but there's one that's perhaps not so well known: an increased risk of developing cancer, and especially certain types of cancer like liver cancer. Now, ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100121135713.htm

Source - Health Day:

Health Highlights: Jan. 22, 2010

No Medical Marijuana Limits: California Supreme Court

Past Decade Warmest on Record: NASA

Same-Sex Couples Good Parents: Study

Herpes Drug Doesn't Reduce HIV Infection Risk

Drug Combo Blocks HIV Infection in Mice

Truvada might someday prevent virus in people, researchers say.

Combo Test Might Spot Ovarian Cancer Early

Enhanced ultrasound and protein analysis could save lives, researcher says

Clinical Trials Update: Jan. 21, 2010

Heartburn Related to Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

Menstrual Migraine

Source - Yahoo Biotech News:

Action Date for Genzyme's Lumizyme - Zacks.com - 1 hour, 54 minutes ago

The FDA has assigned an action date for Genzyme Corp.'s Biologics License Application for Lumizyme for the treatment of Pompe disease.

FDA adds heart attack warning to Meridia diet pill - AP - Thu 6:24 pm ET

Abbott Laboratories on Thursday stopped marketing a weight loss pill in Europe after regulators there said the drug increases the risk of heart attack and stroke when used by heart disease patients.

Source - Google Health News:

Oxford Biomedica secures IP for ocular products

IBTimes

Gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica has entered a licence agreement with the Research Development Foundation, the technology transfer entity for the ...

Correction: The state of the art of adeno-associated virus-based vectors in ...

7thSpace Interactive (press release)

Adeno-associated Virus Serotypes: Vector Toolkit for Human Gene Therapy. Mol Ther. 2006, 14:316-327], collected during the period when we were doing ...

Novartis $214M Deal with GenVec Tests Gene Therapy Waters

BNET

By Trista Morrison | Jan 20, 2010 The beleaguered gene therapy field hasn't exactly proven a hotbed for dealmaking, and Novartis' (NVS) decision to pony-up ...

Source - Medical News Today:

A Little Less Salt Would Save Many Lives, US

Even a small reduction in daily salt intake could mean fewer heart attacks , strokes and deaths said US researchers who estimated cutting back by as little as half a teaspoon a day could prevent 92,000 deaths and nearly 100,000 heart attacks in the US every year. The researchers, from the University of California, San Francisco, Stanford University Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center, suggest the benefits of cutting salt intake are on a par with reducing smoking and could save the US about 24 billion dollars in healthcare costs.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176783.php

New Multiple Sclerosis Drug Significantly Reduces Relapse And Deterioration

A new drug for multiple sclerosis promises to change the lives of the 100,000 people in the UK who have the condition, say researchers at Queen Mary, University of London. A major trial of the oral drug Cladribine - results of which are published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 20 January 2010 - has shown that it significantly reduces relapse and deterioration of the disease, and goes a long way to eliminating the unpleasant side effects associated with existing therapies. Cladribine promises to be the first ever treatment in tablet form for MS, and only needs be taken for between 8 to 10 days a year, eliminating the need for regular injections and intravenous infusions otherwise endured by sufferers. The ease with which Cladribine tablets can be administered, combined with its relatively few side effects, make it a hugely exciting development in the world of MS.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176712.php

New Study Shows ImmunoCellular Therapeutics' Lead Investigational Cancer Vaccine ICT-107 Targets Cancer Stem Cells

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC.BB: IMUC) today announced the results of a study in which it was shown that certain specific antigens are highly expressed on cancer stem cells (CSCs). This suggests that IMUC's lead cancer vaccine product candidate ICT-107, which targets those antigens, may effectively target not only the cells that make up the bulk of certain cancerous tumors, but also the CSCs that are widely believed to give rise to them and cause their recurrence. The CSCs used in IMUC's study were isolated from the tumors of five patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer. These CSCs were found to have significantly higher expressions of three antigens targeted by ICT-107-Her-2/neu, AIM2, and TRP-2-than the cells that make up the bulk of the tumor.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176734.php

Source - MIT's Technology Review:

Tracking a Superbug with Whole-Genome Sequencing

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24397/

Made-to-Order Heart Cells

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24388/

New Compound Improves MRI Contrast Agents

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24396/