GBP Health / Biotech News 04-29-2010:
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.
EurekAlert - Biology:
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy sets stage for new treatments for inherited blindness, Penn veterinary researchers say
Veterinary vision scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have safely and successfully used a viral vector in targeting a class of photoreceptors of the retina called rods, a critical first step in developing gene therapies for inherited blindness caused by rod degeneration.
National Institutes of Health, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Fight for Sight, Hope for Vision Foundation, ONCE International Price for R&D in Biomedicine and New Technologies for the Blind
Contact: Jordan Reese
jreese@upenn.edu
215-573-6604
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010Genome Research
New research about human genetic diseases and human development
A new study on sex chromosomes in primates may have important consequences for research on human genetic diseases. The study of the genomes of the human, chimpanzee, macaque, and orangutan concluded that there is a strong sex-chromosome bias in the distribution of transposable elements, and provided other insights about these important DNA elements during the early stages of embryo development.National Institutes of Health
Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy
science@psu.edu
814-863-4682
Penn State
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010
2nd European Lung Cancer ConferenceJournal of Thoracic Oncology
Spanish gene expression data promise targeting of anti-angiogenesis treatment
Analyzing the expression of particular genes in lung cancers could soon allow researchers to identify groups of patients who are likely to benefit most from treatment with angiogenesis-inhibitor drugs
Contact: Vanessa Pavinato
media@esmo.org
European Society for Medical Oncology
Public Release: 29-Apr-20102nd European Lung Cancer ConferenceJournal of Thoracic Oncology
CXCR4: A new drug target in lung cancer
Lung cancer patients whose tumors over-express a cell surface molecule called CXCR4 do significantly worse than those who do not, Canadian researchers have found
Contact: Vanessa Pavinato
media@esmo.org
European Society for Medical Oncology
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010Cancer Research
Fluorescent compounds make tumors glow
A series of novel imaging agents could light up tumors as they begin to form -- before they turn deadly -- and signal their transition to aggressive cancers. The compounds -- fluorescent inhibitors of the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) -- could have broad applications for detecting tumors earlier, monitoring a tumor's transition from pre-malignancy to more aggressive growth, and defining tumor margins during surgical removal. These COX-2-targeted "beacons" are described in the May 1 issue of Cancer Research.National Institutes of Health, US Department of Defense, XL TechGroup, New York Crohn's Foundation
Contact: Craig Boerner
craig.boerner@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010Cell
Embryonic stem cells reveal oncogene's secret growth formula
Whitehead Institute researchers identified the mechanism that the protein c-Myc uses to regulate gene transcription, which affects one-third of the genome's expressed genes. The work also reveals a general role for this mechanism in gene control, called transcriptional pause release. c-Myc is linked to cell proliferation and is the most frequently amplified gene in human cancers. Uncovering this mechanism behind suggests potential approaches to limiting its activity and controlling tumor growth in c-Myc-mediated cancers.NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Nicole Giese
giese@wi.mit.edu
617-258-6851
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Public Release: 29-Apr-2010FASEB Journal
New tool helps scientists 'see' molecular signals of eye disease before symptoms arise
Forget what you know about how diseases are diagnosed -- new research published in the May 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal details a noninvasive ground-breaking tool that detects signs of disease at early molecular stages before symptoms can be seen using traditional methods.
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Public Release: 28-Apr-2010Optics Express
To improve lung cancer diagnosis, good medicine is a polymer pill
Doctors may soon be able to diagnose lung cancer more effectively thanks to research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where scientists have found ways both to increase the accuracy of computed tomography scans and to lessen the amount of time necessary to perceive telltale changes in lung tissue.
Contact: Chad Boutin
boutin@nist.gov
301-975-4261
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Public Release: 28-Apr-2010
World first remote heart operation to be carried out in Leicester using robotic arm
A pioneering world first robotics system operation is to be conducted at Glenfield Hospital Leicester thanks to expertise at the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester.
Contact: Helen Heald
01-162-588-592
University of Leicester
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.
April 29, 2010 — The presence of crystalline cholesterol in the walls of our arteries is a major cause of life-threatening inflammation. This has been demonstrated in a new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428142300.htm
Quick New Screening Exam Could Save Thousands of People from Bowel Cancer
April 29, 2010 — A five-minute screening test could cut the risk of developing bowel cancer by a third and save thousands of lives from what is the UK's second biggest cancer killer, according to new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427190939.htm
Breakthrough Method Predicts Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer
April 29, 2010 — For the first time, scientists have discovered a way to predict whether women with ductal carcinoma in situ -- the most common form of non-invasive breast cancer -- are at risk of developing more ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428173335.htm
April 29, 2010 — Many of the colon cancer cells that form tumors can be killed by genetically short-circuiting the cells' ability to absorb a key nutrient, a new study has found. While the findings are encouraging, ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428121441.htm
Panel Finds Insufficient Evidence for Alzheimer's Disease Preventive Measures
April 29, 2010 — Many preventive measures for cognitive decline and for preventing Alzheimer's disease -- mental stimulation, exercise, and a variety of dietary supplements -- have been studied over the years. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428173342.htm
Gene Silencing May Be Responsible for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells' Limitations
April 29, 2010 — Scientists may be one step closer to being able to generate any type of cells and tissues from a patient's own cells. Investigators have found that an important cluster of genes is inactivated in ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100425151134.htm
Skeleton Key for Cancer Metastasis
April 29, 2010 — Cancer cells need all three of their cytoskeletons -- actin, microtubules and intermediate filaments -- to metastasize, according to a ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100426131431.htm
Cancer Tumours That Fight Themselves
April 29, 2010 — Cancer cells producing toxins that destroy tumours – could this be a future treatment for cancer? Researchers in Sweden have achieved good results in tests on both cells and ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429093603.htm
April 28, 2010 — Use of a score based on the amount of calcium in coronary arteries in addition to traditional risk factors improved the classification of risk for prediction of coronary heart disease events, and ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427171708.htm
Alzheimer's Memory Problems Originate With Protein Clumps Floating in the Brain, Not Amyloid Plaques
April 28, 2010 — Using a new mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, researchers have found that Alzheimer's pathology originates in amyloid-beta (Abeta) oligomers in the brain, rather than the amyloid plaques previously ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427111257.htm
Immune System: Nanotechnology Helps Illuminate How T-Cells Are Activated
April 28, 2010 — Scientists have taken a major step forward in understanding how T cells are activated in the course of an immune response by combining nanotechnology and cell biology. T cells are the all important ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428142328.htm
New Technique Reinforces Immune Cells That Seek and Destroy Cancer
April 27, 2010 — In what could be a shot in the arm for adoptive immunotherapy, new research shows promise in enhancing and controlling the growth of T cells in living mice and in human cell cultures, potentially ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100426151623.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: April 29, 2010
- Many Obese Adults Don't Get Food Advice From Doctors
- No Known Way to Prevent Alzheimer's: Experts
- Huge Recall of Simplicity, Graco Cribs
- Change Way Family Doctors Get Paid: Study
- Health Insurers Won't Drop Sick Policyholders
Twins Study Points to Environmental Cause for MS
With near-identical DNA, why does one twin get the illness while the other does not?
Clinical Trials Update: April 29, 2010
- Chlamydia
- Smoking
- High Triglycerides
Source - Yahoo Biotech News:
FDA approves Dendreon's cancer drug Provenge
AP - 2 minutes ago
Novavax says flu shot is safe for the elderly
AP - Thu 9:07 am ET
Source - Google Health News:
Celladon's Gene Therapy Passes Heart Failure Trial; Maintains Suspense on Details
Xconomy
Celladon has some tantalizing news today for the world of gene therapy. The San Diego-based biotech company is announcing that its experimental treatment, ...
As America ages, Parkinson's - already common - could become much more widespread
New York Daily News
BY Katie Charles Parkinson's research is exploring cell transplantation and gene therapy, among other ideas, says Dr. Warren Olanow. ...
Source - Medical News Today :
No Evidence Alzheimer's Can Be Slowed Or Prevented Say Experts
An independent panel of experts meeting in the US concluded there is no evidence that you can prevent or slow down Alzheimer's, a progressive and fatal brain disease, even if you keep yourself active with exercise, social interaction, brain puzzles, or take fish oil, other supplements, or medication. The panel of 15 disease experts, who may not be federal government employees or have financial interests in the treatments considered, met on Wednesday just outside Washington as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR) state-of-the-science conference program.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187005.php
NIH Approves 13 Embryonic Stem Cell Lines For Federal Funding
NIH on Tuesday announced that 13 additional embryonic stem cells line are eligible for federal funding, including nine lines that have never been eligible and four long-used lines derived at the University of Wisconsin , the Washington Post reports. Shortly after taking office, President Obama lifted many of President George W. Bush's restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Last summer, NIH released guidelines clarifying ethical requirements for lines studied with the help of federal funding. The guidelines include such requirements as ensuring that couples who donated embryos for research were fully informed about other options. However, it remained unclear how many of the original 21 lines would pass muster under the new federal regulations, and some scientists were concerned that the ethical requirements would hinder ongoing work.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187008.php
Imaging Costs For Medicare Cancer Patients On The Rise
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed data from Medicare cancer patients to determine the change in imaging use for this group. According to Bloomberg Businessweek , PET, or positron emission tomography, scans for Medicare patients increased at the most rapid pace in the group, though costs for all types of scans rose. "Average two-year costs of all types of imaging tests for cancer , including CT scans and X-rays, rose at double the rate of overall cancer treatment costs," according to the report. "The increase in use of PET scans 'has probably gotten worse' after the study ended in 2006 because Medicare has expanded reimbursement for the tests to more types of cancer, said David Soffa, senior vice president of medical affairs for American Imaging Management, a Chicago-based subsidiary of WellPoint Inc., an Indianapolis-based health insurer. The tests usually cost $2,000 to $3,000, though Medicare reimburses less than $2,000, he said" (Olmos, 4/27).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187027.php
Personalized Cancer Testing And Treatment Closer To Norm, Report Says
Cancer treatment is one area where the era of personalized medicine is arriving, according to market research publisher Kalorama Information. In its recent report "The Worldwide Market for Cancer Diagnostics," Kalorama predicts a $90 million market for pharmacodiagnostics, tests that determine whether a treatment matches the individual patient, by 2014. The information gleaned from the Human Genome Project and pharmacogenomics research by the drug industry is making possible individualized drug therapy based on the genetic make-up of a patient. The concept has been talked about for some time, but Kalorama notes in its biennial review of the cancer testing market that with five FDA approved test/treatment products, including tests for Herceptin , Gleevec , Erbitux , and Tarceva , and with many others in development, pharmacodiagnostics has moved beyond the concept phase.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/186926.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review :
Pigs Offer Cystic Fibrosis Clues
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25210/?a=f
