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Anadys, Biotech’s Roller Coaster Story, Gears Up for Next Big Step with Hepatitis C Drug -- Luke Timmerman
Date: August 19, 2009
Client: Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Summary: If there were a prize for the whiplash-inducing roller coaster story of the year in San Diego biotech, Anadys Pharmaceuticals would have to be a contender. But if CEO Steve Worland has his way, some of that stomach-turning drama of the past eight months will soon just be a memory.
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Light Sciences Ooncology Expands Development of Novel Targeted Drug APTOCINE™ for Prostate Conditions with Start-up of PHASE 2 BPH Trial
Date: August 18, 2009
Client: Light Sciences
Summary: BELLEVUE, WA. – Light Sciences Oncology, Inc. (LSO) today announced the treatment of the first patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of its innovative targeted drug treatment Aptocine™ (talaporfin sodium) in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). The Phase 2 trial expands the Aptocine BPH development program on the basis of a Phase 1 study at escalating light doses. In the open-label Phase 2 trial, Aptocine is being tested for safety and efficacy in 40 patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to BPH. Aptocine is also in two Phase 3 clinical trials for solid tumors in the liver as well as preclinical development for prostate cancer.
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Calixa: Bettering cephalosporin - Aaron Bouchie
Date: August 17, 2009
Client: Calixa Therapeutics
Summary: Calixa Therapeutics Inc. is developing an in-licenced cephalosporin it says is more potent against multi-drug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa than all other available beta lactams. The lead compound, CXA-101, and two follow-ons are in development for Gram-negative nosocomical infections. The most frequently used first-line drug is the generic ceftazidime. But about 20-25% of P. aeruginosa strains are already resistant to ceftazidime and most other cephalosporins. The most common form of resistance comes from the beta lactamase (LACTB) family of enzymes, which cleave beta lactams and make them ineffective.
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Florida Hospital and Burnham Institute Announce New Executive Director and Facility for Clinical Research Institute
Date: August 17, 2009
Client: Burnham Medical Institute
Summary: ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Hospital and Burnham Institute for Medical Research at Lake Nona have taken another giant step in advancing Orlando as a hub for medical research. Today, officials from Florida Hospital and Burnham Institute came together to announce the appointment of Dr. Steven R. Smith, an internationally-renowned diabetes and obesity researcher, as the new executive director of the Florida Hospital - Burnham Clinical Research Institute that focuses on the study of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
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HELIX BIOPHARMA ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF KAZIMIERZ ROSZKOWSKI-ŚLIŻ, M.D., PH.D., TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Date: August 17, 2009
Client: Helix BioPharma Corp.
Summary: (AURORA, Ontario) – Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX, FSE: “HBP” / OTCQX: “HXBPF”) today announced the appointment of Kazimierz Roszkowski-Śliż, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors. Professor Roszkowski-Śliż is replacing Professor Slawomir Majewski, who has stepped down from the board to assume the advisory role of European medical director for Helix.
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Minimally Invasive, Liver-Directed Therapies in the Era of Systemic Agents - Llew Keltner, MD, PhD, President and CEO, James C. Chen, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Light Sciences Oncology, Inc.
Date: August 14, 2009
Client: Light Sciences Oncology Inc.
Summary: Uncontrolled liver malignancies are a major cause of death in patients with cancer due to destruction of the critical functions performed by this essential organ.1,2 Therefore, the choice and sequence of therapies for hepatic neoplasms is of great importance.
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Daughter's cells save mother with leukaemia who was given just months to live - Jenny Hope
Date: August 12, 2009
Client: Coronado Biosciences
Summary: A mother with leukaemia given only months to live has been 'saved' by an injection of cells from her daughter. Joanne Scott is now in remission a year after being given the dose of the 'natural killer' cells, which fight cancer, from 22-year-old Tara. Doctors believe the pioneering therapy could revolutionise the treatment of advanced cancer.
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Pluristem Therapeutics Will Present the Phase I Study for PLX-PAD in Critical Limb Ischemia at MSC2009 Regenerative Medicine and Adult Stem Cell Therapy Conference
Date: August 11, 2009
Client: Pluristem
Summary: HAIFA, ISRAEL - Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqCM: PSTI; DAX: PJT) today announced that the Phase I study for PLX-PAD in critical limb ischemia (CLI) will be presented at the MSC2009 Regenerative Medicine and Adult Stem Cell Therapy conference. William Prather R.Ph., M.D., Pluristem’s senior vice president corporate development, will present the study design in an oral presentation titled “Update on Pluristem's Phase I Clinical Trial Using PLX-PAD in Critical Limb Ischemia” at noon EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 19. Information on the Phase I study of PLX-PAD for CLI will also be available on a poster presentation. MSC2009 will be held on Aug. 17-19, 2009, at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
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ANA773 Demonstrates Significant Antiviral Response in Early Clinical Trial in Hepatitis C Patients
Date: Anadys Pharmaceuticals
Client: August 11, 2009
Summary: San Diego, CA – Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS) today announced viral load data for the final cohort of hepatitis C patients in a Phase I clinical trial of ANA773, the Company’s oral inducer of endogenous interferons that acts via the toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) pathway. In patients who received 2000 mg ANA773 every other day over 10 days, the mean (± SEM) maximal decline in viral load was 1.3 (± 0.4) log10, compared to a mean maximal decline of 0.3 (± 0.1) log10 in patients who received placebo (p=0.037). Five of the eight patients who received 2000 mg ANA773 experienced a maximal decline of greater than 1 log, while none of the eight patients who received placebo experienced a decline of greater than 1 log (p<0.001 for the proportion of patients with maximal response greater than 1 log compared to placebo). The mean end-of-treatment decline was 0.6 log10 in patients who received 2000 mg ANA773 compared to 0.1 log10 in patients who received placebo. ANA773 was well-tolerated in patients throughout the course of the study and there were no serious adverse events reported.
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The National Center for Genome Resources Studies Childhood Diseases Using febit’s DNA Capture Method
Date: August 10, 2009
Client: febit
Summary: LEXINGTON, MA (USA), and HEIDELBERG, Germany – The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) has selected febit’s DNA-capture method, HybSelectTM, to re-sequence the exons of genes involved in over 400 of the most devastating childhood diseases with the ultimate goal of developing genetic tests to detect carrier status for recessive genetic diseases in prospective parents. In this collaboration the NCGR will bring its experience in comprehensive Illumina sequencing studies to febit’s automated HybSelect technology for targeted re-sequencing to develop and test highly parallel analysis. This will enhance the multiplexing capability of HybSelect to perform surveys in large-cohort studies.
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Debiopharm Group and Mercury Therapeutics, Inc. Sign an Exclusive License Agreement for the Development and Commercialisation of Debio 0930
Date: August 4, 2009
Client: Debiopharm
Summary: Lausanne, Switzerland and Woburn, MA - Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs, and Mercury Therapeutics, Inc. (Mercury), a privately held biotech company based in Woburn, Massachusetts focusing on the development of novel therapeutics for type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, announce the signature of an exclusive license agreement for the development and commercialisation of Debio 0930, a small molecule activator of AMPK (adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase) for the treatment of diabetes and metabolic diseases. Activation of AMPK has been shown to lower fasting blood glucose levels and improve glucose disposal following a glucose challenge, two key goals in the management of type 2 diabetes.
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Let it Bleed - David Hutton
Date: August 3, 2009
Client: Cellular Dymanics
Summary: MADISON, WI — Cellular Dynamics International Inc. (CDI) has announced that its researchers have generated pluripotent stem cells which have the ability to generate all tissue types in the body, from very small volumes of ordinary human blood samples. This significant provides a readily obtainable source of pluripotent stem cells from the millions of samples in storage at blood repositories and healthcare institutions worldwide. CDI is the first company to say it can make stem cells from something as readily available, and so representative of human diversity, as blood.
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