Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to thrive as numerous physicians and very credible institutions including the Mayo Clinic embrace many of the therapies.

A surprisingly large number of Americans, estimated as high as 70 percent, have tried CAMacupuncture/acupressure, herb/vitamin therapy, hypnosis, chiropractic/massage, aromatherapy, magnetic therapy and reflexologyto cure their ills. A new termintegrative medicine is now being employed as traditional evidence-based medicine is combined with CAM for better treatment outcomes.

Statistics indicate that more Americans have tried CAM than have visited primary care physicians in recent years. Public awareness and the use of CAM are complex phenomena that have grown extraordinarily this past decade, according to MD Consult, an Internet source of medical information. This public knowledge is easily obtainable online and, when combined with the spiraling upward costs of modern healthcare, the growth of CAM has continued to accelerate.

Advertising and recommendations for CAM products are ubiquitous and pervasive, even though there has been very little support or encouragement from the traditional medical community. Often, patients, their families and friends are very well informed with the currently available information, which they believe is reliable, only to find out subsequently, that new "facts" may question their previous beliefs.

Obtaining evidence-based CAM would be the next major breakthrough for everyonepatients, physicians, and the purveyors of integrative medicine. The question is: How effective are complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies?

The answer isnobody really knows for sure; however, there is definite progress with scientific studies being reported in credible medical journals.

We have indications that some of these therapies may be helpful. Acupuncture, for example, may provide a number of medical benefits, from reducing pain to helping with chemotherapy-induced nausea. But the fact is, we lack any conclusive efficacy data about any of these alternatives.

One thing we do know: CAM therapies are expensivevery expensive. Estimates of the costs of CAM to Americans range $34 to $47 billion every year.

Consequently, the real concern we ought to be addressing is: Can we afford to continue to spend precious healthcare dollars on therapies of questionable scientific value, particularly at a moment when we are trying to control health care costs in general, in order to help the economy recover? We should encourage more resources being directed to proving the efficacy of CAM.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/), which has been funded with close to a billion dollars of taxpayer revenue over the past decade or so, brings a scientific approach to CAM. The results, especially for devotees of alternative medicine, are not what they want to believe. For example:

Link:

The Doctor Is In: Complementary and alternative medicine thriving

Digital medicine just got a boost because Scripps Health announced a $3.75 million grant from the Qualcomm Foundation. Some are saying this will help the push to revolutionize healthcare.

The Scripps Translational Science Institute will use the money to develop innovative digital technologies.

Dr. Eric Topol, chief academic officer of Scripps Health and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, said the money will help advance clinical trials of wireless bionsensor systems, diagnostic tests and embedded sensors for predicting certain types of illnesses.

Three of the high-priority programs include:

The wireless sensors are expected to be able to predict and track heart attacks, Type 1 Diabetes and certain types of cancer. Topol said although the idea is futuristic, these sensors could help predict a heart attack one or two weeks before it would even happen.

He said the money to help fund a three-year program is important because it allows for thorough testing of these devices.

One of the most important parts of this whole program of our digital medicine is to prove that these very exciting technologies fulfill their promise, he said.

Topol also said San Diego is at the forefront of digital medicine in the country.

"We're just in a great area to tap into many of these innovative technologies to test them and hopefully advance them into daily care, Topol said.

He said not only are the healthcare technologies becoming more efficient, they are also becoming more affordable due to wireless technology. For example, sleep laboratories in hospitals charge about $3,000 a night, Topol said. Instead of having to spend a night in an unfamiliar room strapped to equipment, wireless technology can make the same diagnoses for less than $100.

Continue reading here:

Digital Medicine at Scripps Health Boosted With $3.75 Million Grant

CMU officials revealed schematic designs Thursday morning for the two buildings in Saginaw.

The designs include facilities at Covenant HealthCare, at 800 Cooper, and at St. Mary's of Michigan hospital near Hoyt and South Franklin.

A panel discussion featured Dr. Ernest Yoder, College of Medicine dean; Linda Perkowski, College of Medicine associate dean; Steve Lawrence, CMU facilities management associate vice president; Doulas Iles, CMU foundation development board member. The event at the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce October Percolator Breakfast was moderated by Kathleen Wilbur, CMU development and external affairs vice president.

Lawrence said CMU doesn't yet have a cost estimate for the Saginaw sites, which officials are calling the medical school's East Campus, and CMU will start next week interviewing construction management firms.

Combined, the two Saginaw facilities will be 120,000 to 130,000 square feet, he said.

The facility at Cooper has two stories with clinical space, classrooms and a simulation lab. At St. Marys, CMU will renovate and add space to the existing Health Education Center. That facility will have classrooms and office space.

CMU is partnering with Saginaw hospitals Covenant HealthCare and St. Mary's of Michigan. The three organizations formed a 501(c)3 corporation, Central Michigan Medical Education Partners, to manage five residency programs, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery and plan a sixth in psychiatry.

The medical school has preliminary accreditation, step three of five from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. It allows the College of Medicine to operate, Yoder said. The university is on track to receive full accreditation by 2017, the first year it will graduate students.

The CMU College of Medicine aims to create a new model of health care and implement patient-centered medical care. Medicine is about a team, and it includes the person receiving the care, Yoder said.

CMU's focus is on training physicians to work in under-served rural and urban areas, and that includes recruiting students from those areas and who want to work and live in Michigan, Perkowski said.

Excerpt from:

CMU College of Medicine reveals early drawings of two Saginaw buildings

October 04, 2012 15:36 PM

Chinese Medicine In Dilemma

BEIJING, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- In a consulting room in the Jinan Chinese Medicine Hospital, east Shandong Province, a brown-mustached caucasian in his white uniform is taking the pulse of a patient.

The doctor, Peter Knithof, is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) student from the Netherlands. He has been studying in China for five years. Along with him is Lee Jae Hak from the Republic of Korea.

The pair said Chinese medicine has become quite popular in both of their countries, which is part of the reason why they decided to come to study Chinese medicine, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

Lee suffered from an illness during his childhood. After using Chinese medicine he became much stronger. "My family and I have seen the wonders of Chinese medicine," Lee said.

After four years' language and professional training at a Chinese university, they now speak fluent Chinese and are taking part in internship at the Jinan hospital. To them, studying Chinese medicine is also an important aspect of understanding the traditional Chinese culture.

Like Taichi and Shaolin Kungfu, the doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in the ancient Chinese culture. While Western medicine conducts research based on anatomical structures, TCM perceives health as a harmonious interaction of the body and the outside world.

Traditional Chinese medicine is not supported by evidence-based modern medicine. It, nonetheless, traces symptoms by checking the pulse and inspecting the tongue and meridians, which the Western world views as a mysterious concept and has long been reluctant to accept.

Chen Qiguang, who leads a TCM research group in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the Chinese and the West use distinct systems and theories regarding medication, which is why non-Chinese have difficulty in trusting the TCM.

Originally posted here:

Chinese Medicine In Dilemma

The Institute of Medicine sponsored a workshop today that is focused on the sharing of clinical research data. I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the importance of open science and our responsibility to ensure that information that is critical to decisions people face are not kept out of public view. Here is what I said:

Go here to see the original:

A Plea For Open Science In Medicine

NEW YORK & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Bionest Partners, a strategy and management consulting firm for the life science industries, and a leader in personalized medicine (PM) strategy consulting, was invited to participate in the 8th Burrill Personalized Medicine Meeting, a key annual event in the world of PM held at San Francisco on September 13 and 14, 2012.

At the event, Dr. Sean X. Hu, Head of Bionest USA and Managing Partner, the invited speaker from Bionest, hosted a group of senior managers from leading molecular diagnostics (MDx) companies in a panel entitled First Generation PM Companies Where are they now? What can we learn? In addition, Dr. Hu served as an expert host during the Conversations with Experts Luncheon session and shared his expertise on how best to evaluate PM drug and diagnostic product strategies, and, optimize decision-making and implementation.

The panelists shared how their company strategies led to their success to-date, and discussed their views on the key trends and factors in the MDx industry that would impact their future success. Dr. Hu commented: The trend towards PM is inevitable yet remains highly challenging. A great deal of valuable learning emerged from our discussions at this Burrill conference.

For diagnostic companies, it is critical to leverage their core strengths and carefully place their bets by targeting specific unmet clinical needs before, at the time of, or after medical / drug intervention decisions. Depending on whether an MDx company develops a Laboratory-developed test (LDT) or an IVD kit, one must understand and effectively address specific challenges related to its business model, as well as regulatory, pricing, market access and other commercialization aspects across key geo markets.

Dr. Hu continued, For pharmaceutical companies, there is more to PM than simply knowing whether or not and how to incorporate patient stratification biomarkers (as companion diagnostics) into their drugs clinical development and commercialization strategies. Some cutting edge players have already begun to think beyond companion diagnostics and leverage other kinds of Dx products (e.g. disease diagnosis / definition, prognosis etc.) to enhance the value of their drug assets.

Bionest is a powerhouse in PM strategy consulting, serving the pharmaceutical, diagnostics, biotech and medical device industries. It is experienced in addressing a broad spectrum of challenges, from development and commercialization strategies for individual drug assets, diagnostics and other related products, to corporate level PM business models, commercialization capability building, R&D and commercialization business processes, and organizational structure.

Bionest has been driving thought leadership on PM, with many publications on the strategic, commercial and scientific aspects of PM. For more details, please visit http://www.bionest.com, and navigate to section Strategic/Practices/Personalized Medicine Strategy.

For further discussions with Dr. Hu and his Bionest team on PM strategies, please contact him at shu@bionest.com.

About Bionest Partners

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Bionest Hosted Discussions at the Burrill Personalized Medicine Conference

"Operation Medicine Cabinet" will collect unused or expired medications

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Medicine collection event to take place Saturday

PHILADELPHIA - Garret FitzGerald, MD, FRS, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics and chair, Department of Pharmacology, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Louis and Arthur Lucian Award, given by McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He is cited for his ground-breaking work on cardiovascular disease. The award consists of a $CAN60,000 prize and one-to-two week professional visit to McGill to give a formal Lucian Lecture, to have interchanges with members of the McGill community, and possibly to undertake a research collaboration with McGill investigators in the field of circulatory diseases.

FitzGerald, also professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and the McNeil Professor in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, takes an integrative approach to studying the mechanisms of drug action and is known internationally for his work on eicosanoids and related lipid mediators. His research contributed fundamentally to the development of low-dose aspirin as a preventive approach to heart disease. His group was the first to predict and then explain mechanistically the cardiovascular hazard from NSAIDs. His team has also contributed substantially to the understanding of the importance of peripheral clocks in the regulation of cardiovascular and metabolic function.

I am honored to receive the Lucian Award and humbled to follow so many distinguished scientists who have received this distinction, said FitzGerald. It reflects on the enthusiasm, creativity and hard work of so many colleagues with whom I have been privileged to work over many years.

The Louis and Artur Lucian Award was established through a bequest to McGill University under the will of the late Olga Leibovici to honor the donor's two brothers, and was conferred for the first time in 1978. The Award is designed to honor outstanding research in the field of circulatory diseases by a scientific investigator or group of investigators whose contribution to knowledge in this field is deemed worthy of special recognition. As per the terms of the bequest, the work of the nominee must be current.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2011, Penn Medicine provided $854 million to benefit our community.

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Penn Translational Medicine Researcher Named 2012 Louis and Arthur Lucian Award Recipient

Published: Sept. 30, 2012 at 11:18 PM

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. public health campaign has been started to challenge people to take part in a five-step effort to reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse.

Angelo M. Valente, chief executive officer of American Medicine Chest Challenge, said the campaign aims to prevent prescription drug abuse and provide safe disposal options for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

"Recent American Medicine Chest Challenge initiatives, such as the creation of the National Online Directory of Permanent Prescription Drug Collection Boxes and the release of the American Medicine Chest Challenge Rx Drop mobile application, have made taking the challenge and the disposing of unused, unwanted and expired medicine much easier for American families," Valente said in a statement.

The program challenges people to:

-- Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine.

-- Secure your medicine chest.

-- Dispose of your unused, unwanted, and expired medicine in your home or at an approved disposal site.

-- Take your medicine(s) exactly as prescribed.

-- Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

Read the rest here:

Taken a medicine chest inventory?

Canada's youngest multiple killer appeared by closed circuit television in an Alberta courtroom Monday for an update on her progress.

The teen killed her parents and eight-year-old brother in 2006 when she was 12 years old. The now 18-year-old known only as J.R. was convicted in 2007 of three counts of first-degree murder.

J.R. is currently living alone while working and taking classes, Medicine Hat court heard Monday. She is responding positively to treatment, expresses remorse experts consider genuine, and is assessed at a low risk to reoffend, according to a report read out in court.

"You are doing well. Keep up the good work, said Justice Scott Brooker.

J.R.s sentence, known as an intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision (IRCS), had been reviewed by the Court of Queens Bench every six months. However Brooker decided Monday that she can now have her sentence reviewed once a year.

We are seeing she is in the community, she is starting to get her feet on the ground and build a life for herself, said defence lawyer Katherine Beyak outside court.

J.R. started her 10-year-sentence at a psychiatric hospital but was released in the fall of 2011 to begin her integration into society. She moved to a group home and started studying at a post-secondary institution. J.R. has three and a half years left on her conditional sentence.

J.R. and her then-boyfriend Jeremy Steinke, who was 23, killed the three victims at J.R.s family home in the southern Alberta town of Medicine Hat.

Steinke was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the killings, which the pair carried out because the parents didn't approve of their relationship.

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Medicine Hat teen killer sentence reviewed

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Third Rock Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on building life sciences companies, today announced that Felix W. Frueh, Ph.D., has joined Third Rock as an entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR). As an EIR, Dr. Frueh will provide strategic input on new and existing portfolio companies with a particular focus on personalized medicine.

We are pleased to welcome Felix to our growing team of industry leaders, said Alexis Borisy, partner of Third Rock Ventures. Since the founding of Third Rock, we have been dedicated to launching companies focused on personalized medicine, and Felix is the ideal person to help us continue to grow and develop those companies in our portfolio and discover new opportunities to invest in the space.

Dr. Frueh is a thought leader in personalized medicine with 15 years of R&D, management and policy experience. Most recently, Dr. Frueh served as president of the Medco Research Institute, leading Medcos real-world, outcomes-oriented research initiatives and collaborations after having formed Medcos personalized medicine research and development organization. Prior to joining Medco, Dr. Frueh was associate director for genomics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he built and led the core genomics review team in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and chaired the first FDA-wide, interdisciplinary pharmacogenomics review group (IPRG). Before joining the FDA, he held senior positions at several biotechnology companies. Dr. Frueh has been a member of various working groups on genetics and genomics at the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). He serves on the board of the Personalized Medicine Coalition and is also a board member at Enterome Biosciences. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy (IPIT) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and held faculty appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology and Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University and the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he also received his Ph.D. in biochemistry.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to see new technologies and innovative approaches in personalized medicine make an impact on the lives of patients, said Dr. Frueh. I believe that Third Rocks approach to investing in cutting edge science has the potential to make a tremendous difference, and I look forward to being a part of that effort.

About Third Rock Ventures

Third Rock Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2007 with the mission to launch transformative life sciences companies. With more than $800 million and two funds under management, the firm is focused on working with passionate entrepreneurs to build exceptional companies working in areas of disruptive science that will make a difference in the lives of patients. The firm has assembled a team with deep expertise and a proven track record of building respected and successful life sciences companies. With decades of complementary, cross-functional operational and leadership experience, the Third Rock team actively engages with its portfolio companies to provide hands-on strategy and experience to successfully launch companies with the best vision, science, operations, people and culture. With offices in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA, Third Rock is well positioned geographically to closely collaborate with its portfolio companies to achieve their goals. To learn more about Third Rock and its portfolio companies, please visit http://www.thirdrockventures.com.

Current Third Rock Portfolio Companies

Ablexis, Afferent Pharmaceuticals, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Alcresta, Allena Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly & Co. in 2010), bluebird bio, Blueprint Medicines, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, CytomX Therapeutics, DC Devices, Edimer Pharmaceuticals, Eleven Biotherapeutics, Ember Therapeutics, Foundation Medicine, Global Blood Therapeutics, Igenica, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Lotus Tissue Repair, MyoKardia, Nine Point Medical, PanOptica Pharmaceuticals, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, SAGE Therapeutics, Seventh Sense Biosystems, Taris Biomedical, Topica Pharmaceuticals, Warp Drive Bio and Zafgen.

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Third Rock Ventures Appoints Personalized Medicine Expert Felix W. Frueh, Ph.D., as Entrepreneur-in-Residence

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 1, 2012) - The life sciences sector continued to outperform the broader markets in September, but developments during the month were notable for highlighting the acceleration of the transformation of healthcare through personalized medicine, Burrill & Company says.

"Our healthcare system is dysfunctional and has largely been unchanged through human history in its episodic approach that focuses on treating the symptoms of illness," says G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, a diversified global financial services firm. "Although personalized medicine's transformation of healthcare is an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary process, the events of the past month point to a rapid acceleration of efforts to make medicine personalized, predictive, and pre-emptive and promises to bend the cost-curve of healthcare in a meaningful way."

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's announced an ambitious $3 billion Cancer Moon Shots Program, which seeks to develop new diagnostics, devices, drugs, and policies to detect, prevent, and treat cancer by capitalizing on the convergence of low-cost sequencing, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.

September also saw a number of developments on the sequencing front. Chinese sequencing giant BGI-Shenzhen announced a $117.6 million acquisition of the struggling next-generation sequencing company Complete Genomics. Mountain View, California-based Complete Genomics, which has been working to provide whole genome sequencing through a service-based business model, announced a restructuring in June that included a shift in focus to the development of clinical applications for its whole genome sequencing service. BGI-Shenzhen provides deep pockets that should accelerate the clinical applications of Complete Genomic's technology.

Complete Genomics' larger competitors also announced developments that should accelerate the clinical utility of genomic sequencing. Life Technologies began shipping its low-cost Ion Proton sequencing system. The company said the chip-based system cost about a third of genome scale sequencing systems that rely on light to read a genome. The device sits on a desktop and can sequence exomes and transcriptomes in two to four hours at a cost of $1,000 per run. Life Technologies next expects to release a second-generation chip for the system around the end of the first quarter of 2013 that will be able to sequence the human genome in a few hours for $1,000.

At the same time, the genetic sequencing tools company Illumina and the non-profit healthcare system Partners Healthcare announced an agreement to provide geneticists and pathologists networking tools and infrastructure to report and interpret data from genetic sequencing. By pairing Illumina's expertise in sequencing with Partners Healthcare's understanding of what's needed for clinical utility, the two hope to leverage each other's strengths to deliver a comprehensive sequencing and clinical reporting solution.

Others are also taking steps to apply new personalized medicine approaches to clinical care. The Big Data analytics company GNS Healthcare in September announced a new program with the healthcare insurance company Aetna to use GNS' supercomputing capabilities to help identify Aetna members at risk for heart and metabolic disorders that can result in stroke, heart attack or diabetes, earlier than it does today. GNS will develop data-driven models that will define a person's risk for developing metabolic syndrome using Aetna claims data as well as health records. A separate agreement between GNS and the contract research organization Covance seeks to improve drug development by using GNS' modeling to predict the safety and efficacy of a drug candidate against different patient characteristics.

On the research side, September also saw major advances in understanding the genetics underlying disease. The Encode Project, an ambitious international effort to characterize and publish all of the functional elements in the human genome, found that the 80 percent of DNA once thought of as "junk" actually plays a critical role in regulating genes and can also play a part in the onset of disease. Researchers identified more than 4,000 switches involved in gene regulation. The findings not only create a new understanding of the role of some 80 percent of DNA once thought to serve no functional role, but also provide a new source of potential targets for drugs, and new insight into how genes are regulated and how people become ill.

Separately, a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute, using data generated as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas, has provided a new understanding of the four major subtypes of breast cancer and finds shared genetic features between the form of breast cancer known as "Basal-like" or "Triple Negative" breast cancer and serious ovarian cancer. The findings will lead to researchers comparing treatments and outcomes for patients with the two forms of cancer and could lead to new therapeutic approaches.

"With new research findings we are reminded about how much we still don't know, but also of the rapid progress we are making," says Burrill. "We are seeing real examples of personalized medicine moving from idea to practice in meaningful ways."

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Personalized Medicine's Transformation of Healthcare Accelerates

Medication non-adherence is a costly problem for our nations health-care system--to the tune of $290 billion a year.

Forgetfulness is often cited as the top reason people dont follow their medication plans, and the problem only gets worse for patients on multiple drugs.

To help keep patients on track with the treatments, a slew of apps and devices have hit the market. From web-based reminders to pill organizers, heres a look at four new tools designed to help patients adhere to their treatment plans.

MedMinder

The MedMinder pill dispenser works in conjunction with the Internet to keep track of when medicine is taken to promote adherance.

Heres how it works: Place the pills in the dispenser compartments and then go to MedMinders website to detail when the medicine should be taken. The site will then send reminders when its time to take the pills. The alerts come in the form of a light, sound alert, phone call, text or email. The device will even notify designated caregivers or family members when a medication isnt taken. The pill dispenser and reminder service costs $39.99 a month, and the device needs to be returned to the company.

Digestible Digital Pills

Be on the look out for new digestible pills with built in sensors to track when a user swallow medicine.

Some may be turned off by this new digital pill, but the FDA has green lighted Proteus Digital Health to work to digitize drugs to treat diabetes, the central nervous system and transplants.

According to Proteus Digital Health, each pill will contain a sensor that can communicate with its digital health feedback system to provide information about how users take the prescription drugs and how the body is responding to it. Proteus claims that more than 50% of people dont get the complete benefits from their pharmaceuticals because they take the wrong dose or inconsistently take their medicine.

Continued here:

Never Forget to Take Your Medicine Again

YARDLEY, Pa., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- OptiNose US Inc. today announced results of a study testing delivery of the migraine medicine sumatriptan with a novel device using OptiNose breath powered Bi-Directional nasal technology. In a direct comparison of drug absorption, the study found that OptiNose's sumatriptan product sent 62% more drug into the blood in the critical first 15 minutes than Imitrex nasal spray (AUC 0-15 = 1.69 ng*hr/mL and 1.04 ng*hr/mL, respectively). The OptiNose technology achieved this improved effect despite delivering 20% less drug into the nose (16mg) than the Imitrex liquid nasal spray (20mg).

To view the multimedia content, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/57713-optinose-innovative-breath-powered-nasal-delivery-technology-delivers-drugs-to-treat-variety-of-medical-conditions

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121002/MM84415 )

In addition to showing better early drug absorption than Imitrex nasal spray, the study demonstrated in healthy volunteers that a 16mg dose of OptiNose sumatriptan 84% less drug than Imitrex 100 mg tablet delivered three times more drug into the blood within the first 15 minutes than the oral tablet. During migraine attacks there is a delay in stomach emptying which slows and reduces the reliability of absorption of sumatriptan pills even more, a problem avoided by effective administration of drug in the nose.

"Migraines affect nearly 30 million Americans. People often experience symptoms that progress rapidly, making it difficult to initiate or complete daily activities. Even with the wide range of current medications, many migraine sufferers are dissatisfied and searching for new treatments that provide faster relief with fewer side effects," said Ramy A. Mahmoud, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Operating Officer of OptiNose. "These data show the OptiNose technology has the capability of more efficiently and effectively delivering medicine into the blood in the important first 15 to 30 minutes. Now that OptiNose has demonstrated better drug delivery, we are working on the clinical program to show how improved drug delivery translates into meaningful benefits for migraine sufferers."

To assess the clinical relevance of these study findings, OptiNose has already begun enrolling patients in a head-to-head study comparing OptiNose nasal sumatriptan powder (16 mg) to the most widely prescribed headache medicine, sumatriptan tablets (100 mg) the medicine in Imitrex. The study, called the COMPASS trial, will assess early headache relief (15 and 30 minutes after the first dose of medicine), as well as headache relief at other time points and various other measures of efficacy and treatment related side-effects. The trial is currently enrolling. Click here or visit http://www.optinose.com for additional information.

Additional Study InformationThis randomized, single-dose, four-way cross-over study assessed the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of sumatriptan intranasal powder (16 mg) administered using the breath powered OptiNose Bi-Directional drug delivery device compared to Imitrex subcutaneous injection (6 mg), nasal spray (20 mg) and oral tablets (100 mg) in 20 healthy adult volunteers. Standard PK assessments including peak plasma concentration, drug exposure over time and total drug exposure were measured.

In addition to the above results, the study found patients taking 16mg sumatriptan with OptiNose technology had substantially less total exposure to drug than those given a standard dose of Imitrex 100 mg oral tablet. Total drug exposure for Imitrex tablets was more than four times higher than with OptiNose nasal powder delivery. Total serum exposure was similar between 16mg delivered with an OptiNose Bi-Directional device and 20mg Imitrex nasal spray, though absorption was notably faster with OptiNose. Total drug exposure was twice as high with Imitrex injection, a treatment option generally associated with a notably different side-effect profile.

There were no serious adverse events (SAEs) or discontinuations due to adverse events (AEs). The most commonly reported adverse events were mild nausea (3 reports each following Imitrex injection and tablets) and mild flushing (4 reports following Imitrex injection).

Phase III TARGET StudyA phase III trial called the TARGET study was initiated in January to prove the efficacy and safety of OptiNose delivery of low-dose sumatriptan. Results will be available later this month, specifically assessing the ability of OptiNose sumatriptan delivered with breath powered Bi-Directional technology to offer rapid pain relief, meaningful headache relief and other measures.

See the article here:

Popular Migraine Medicine Quickly Absorbed When Delivered With Novel Breath Powered OptiNose Bi-Directional™ Nasal ...

NEW YORK, Oct.1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Emergency Medicine Business Intelligence, Inc. (EMBI) has announced that Steven J. Davidson, MD, MBA, FACEP a 35-year veteran of Emergency Medicine and recognized leader in health care informatics joined EMBI as Chief Medical Officer in which role he will lead the EMBI Medical Advisory Board.

Dr. Davidson will continue serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. where he was Founding Chair of Emergency Medicine, 1995-2010. Trained in Emergency Medicine's earliest days, Dr. Davidson has subsequently engaged nearly all aspects of emergency medicine. His work with leading thinkers in quality improvement drove his pursuit of an MBA at The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, earned in 1989. Having accomplished much of his vision at Maimonides, he shared those principles in a monthly "Leadership Outlook" column from 2000-2004 in Emergency Medicine News and in other publications since.

"Dr. Davidson has joined EMBI because our solution implements and extends his vision of leading transformation informed by relevant measures of clinical, operational and financial performance. He appreciates how EMBI's solution turns silos of data into actionable information. Through the Medical Advisory Board he will lead, Dr. Davidson and his colleagues, will provide guidance to EMBI to ensure our solution stays focused on addressing the problems and meeting needs of their peers and the emergency departments they manage," says Scott Richards, EMBI's CEO and Co-Founder.

Davidson comments, "As the ED becomes a progressively more challenging environment for patients and practitioners alike, EMBI's simplified data management empowers those engaged ED leaders who are devoted to improving clinical, operational and financial performance while gaining the opportunity for improved service quality for patients and a more pleasant, effective working environment for practitioners and staff."

Jonathan Rothman, EMBI's CTO and Co-Founder comments, "We grew up in this space; starting at about the same time Dr. Davidson arrived in Brooklyn. Over the years we've had the honor of meeting and working with many Emergency Medicine leaders. Dr. Davidson stands out among them for his thought leadership, objective accomplishments and his development of Emergency Medicine leaders. We are excited he is joining our team and look forward to his contributions."

Emergency Medicine Business Intelligence, Inc.

Emergency Medicine Business Intelligence, Inc. is an innovator in health care business intelligence. EMBI provides real-time and retrospective web-based performance dashboards and key metric analytics for hospital emergency departments. Leveraging the Balanced Scorecard business processes, EMBI solutions benchmark and monitor every aspect of an emergency department, including patient care, turn-around-times, productivity, utilization, satisfaction, revenue cycle, and risk. EMBI uses a clean and intuitive user interface to present how the emergency department's KPIs are trending in real-time, last month, over the past 13 months and benchmarked against its peers. More information about EMBI can be found at http://www.embiondemand.com.

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Renowned Emergency Physician, Dr. Steven J. Davidson Joins Emergency Medicine Business Intelligence as its Chief ...

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022

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Report Details

New study shows you commercial potential of regenerative treatments

See what the future holds for translational regenerative medicine. Visiongain's updated report lets you assess forecasted sales at overall world market, submarket, product and regional level to 2022.

There you investigate the most lucrative areas in that research field, industry and market. Discover prospects for tissue-engineered products, stem cell treatments and gene therapy.

We pack our study with information and analysis to help your work and save you time:

Access to present and predicted trends, with commercial opportunities and prospects revealed

Data and discussions - including our revenue forecasts to 2022 - for your research, analyses and decision making

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Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2012-2022

Dr. Jeffrey D. Manning, a physician and medical director of Sports Medicine Associates in Danielson, Conn., is among a select group of physicians honored by the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation for his commitment to education in the field of family medicine. Dr. Manning was selected to receive a 2012 Pfizer Teacher Development Award based on his scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and dedication to family medicine.

In addition to seeing patients at Sports Medicine Associates and Day Kimballs Walk-In Center in Plainfield, Conn, Dr. Manning is a part-time instructor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Manning graduated from Williams College, earned his medical degree from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, completed his residency in family medicine at Brown University, and went on to complete a fellowship in sports medicine at the University of Massachusetts.

Stroke Connection forum The American Stroke Association presents Making the Stroke Connection: Stroke Survivors & Caregivers Forum from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St., Worcester. The forum is designed to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors, their caregivers and family members by providing valuable education, tools and resources. Registration is required at no cost and will include a light lunch. To register, call the American Heart Association at (413) 735.2102, or visit http://www.heart.org/cmastrokeforum.

Diabetes A1C progam Alicia Walter, MS, RD, LDN, clinical dietitian and nutrition educator at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, 85 South St., Ware, will present a free A1C Champion Program from 5 to 6 p.m. Oct. 3 in the Main Conference Room, Ware.

The Taking Control Diabetes A1C Champions program, sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis U.S., is a patient-led approach to diabetes education. The program will include an empowering presentation for people with diabetes, their family and friends. This patient-to-patient presentation will include information about the physical, emotional and psychological experience of living with diabetes. For more information or to register, contact Baystate Health Link at (413) 967-2488.

Chiropractic office opens Dr. Carlos Amantea, chiropractor, has opened an office at 110 Church St., Whitinsville. For more information, call (508) 572-9334.

Ronald McDonald Mobile UMass Memorial Health Cares Ronald McDonald Care Mobile provides medical and dental services to people without health or dental insurance. For more information or to make an appointment, call (508) 334-6073. If you need medical or dental insurance, call (508) 334-9300.

Free keep-well clinics The VNA Care Network offers free keep-well clinics for residents 60 and older from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 2 at Mount Carmel Apartments, 50 Shrewsbury St., Worcester; noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 2 at Canterbury Towers, 6 Wachusett St., Worcester; 10 a.m. to noon, Oct. 3 at Centro Las Americas, 11 Sycamore St., Worcester; 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 4 at the Senior Center, 250 Main St., Marlboro.

For more information, call (888) 663-3688, ext. 5603, or visit http://www.vnacarenetwork.org.

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Academy honors doctor for family medicine work

The HAFA Short Sale video that Kris Lindahl, the Medicine Lake Short Sale Agent released, covers the HAFA process, and the $3,00 relocation expense that some people will qualify for.Medicine Lake, MN. ...

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Medicine Lake Short Sale Agent Kris Lindahl Publishes HAFA Short Sale Process Video

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Jeffrey Bland, PhD and Metagenics, Inc., a nutrigenomics and lifestyle medicine company focused on improving health and reversing chronic illness, today announced the formation of a new organization, the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI). The PLMI, founded by Dr. Bland, will be a not-for-profit organization focused on promoting the importance of personalized lifestyle medicine as the safest and most effective approach to the management of early stages of chronic illness. To help reach its goal of reducing the rising global burden of chronic illness, Metagenics is providing the founding grant to the new organization.

With its rich 30-year history in developing science-based nutritional therapeutics to improve health and reduce chronic illnesses, Metagenics recognizes the years of contribution that Dr. Bland has made to the evolution of the company as its Chief Science Officer, and is the right person to launch this innovative and revolutionary institute, commented Fred Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Metagenics. Forming this institute is an exciting step forward in helping to pave the way for personalized lifestyle medicine to be viewed as a key element in global healthcare systems.

Dr. Bland, who has been the Chief Science Officer for Metagenics for the past 12 years, is an internationally known research scientist and educator in lifestyle and functional medicine. He will lead the Institute in its mission to integrate the principles of personalized lifestyle medicine into healthcare systems around the world.

Dr. Bland brings a unique background as the President of the PLMI:

The PLMI will collaborate with some of the most dedicated and well-regarded thought leaders and decision makers in lifestyle medicine, each to serve an active role in the development of the organization. The PLMI will work to engage researchers, clinicians, health science educators, patient advocacy groups, medical institutions, medical societies, and regulatory and legislative groups to help move its mission forward and further the adoption of lifestyle medicine worldwide. The PLMI will provide educational resources that will facilitate the successful adoption of this approach to the global community through its website (www.plminstitute.org).

I could not be happier to join forces with some of the most dedicated and well-regarded thought leaders and decision makers in the evolving discipline of lifestyle medicine to share information and foster scientific support for this field, said Dr. Bland. This institute will unite researchers, clinicians, health science educators, patient advocacy groups, medical institutions, medical societies, and regulatory and legislative groups to further the adoption of lifestyle medicine.

Within this role and my deep involvement and dedication to educating, publishing and advocacy through the institute, I believe I will make the greatest contribution toward my personal and professional mission: improving health through nutrigenomics and lifestyle medicine, Dr. Bland concluded.

In his new role, Dr. Bland will continue to serve on the Metagenics Board of Directors. He will provide continuing medical education programs sponsored by Metagenics and other organizations that promote the delivery of personalized lifestyle medicine as the best initial approach for the prevention and management of chronic disease.

The PLMI is based in Seattle, WA, and can be reached at 206-922-2915 or info@plminstitute.org.

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Dr. Jeffrey Bland Appointed as President of Newly Formed Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI)

NORTHRIDGE, CA and CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Sep 28, 2012) - Regenerative medicine company Avita Medical Ltd. ( ASX : AVH ), ( OTCQX : AVMXY ) announced that it has been awarded a grant of an additional US$880K in support for its on-going pivotal US FDA trial for the use of ReCell Spray-On-Skin in the treatment of burn injuries.

The award, supplementing the $1.75 million provided in prior funding, underscores the commitment by the US Department of Defense, the US Army, and the US Armed Force Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) to bringing the 'revolutionary' ReCell technology through the FDA approval process and cleared for sales in the US, thereby having it available for the military and civilian population.

The AFIRM program, established in March 2008, is dedicated to bringing 'transformational technologies' in regenerative medicine to wounded soldiers by developing clinical therapies and advanced treatment options. AFIRM has a special interest in using the most advanced regenerative medicine for its wounded soldiers and recognises Avita's innovative treatment for burns and other skin injuries has the benefits of using the patient's own skin, yields improved healing, reduced scar formation, and reintroduction of pigmentation into the skin.

As a first of its kind, the FDA-approved study is rigorous and highly conservative in its design. Each patient in the study receives both the standard-of-care graft treatment and the new ReCell treatment consisting of sprayed autologous cell suspension, with a host of separate assessments beyond standard care required for each enrolled patient. The study design requires similarity across patients, and, within patients, two comparable wounds for treatment, which although necessary for a randomized controlled clinical trial, imposes tight inclusion and exclusion criteria and therefore constrains the use to a particular (and small) subset of burn patients.

The approved FDA protocol permits the Company to treat 106 patients with partial-thickness thermal injuries; patients are assessed for healing and pain on a weekly basis during the initial four weeks post-treatment; at weeks 8, 12, 16, 24 and 52 the treatment site will be assessed for healing and aesthetic outcomes. Clinical data at the 16 week follow-up will be reported to the FDA in support of an application to market ReCell in the US. Approximately 75% of the required subjects have been enrolled in the study.

"We are pleased and grateful for the continued support of the US Department of Defense and AFIRM program," said Dr William Dolphin, Avita Medical's CEO. "As a first-of-its-kind study the patient selection criteria and protocol for the FDA study are stringent, requiring significant commitment from the participating surgeon and their team. AFIRM has recognized the difficulty of the protocol -- reflected in the slower than hoped for enrollment -- and, following close scrutiny and careful review, have provided additional funding in support of the study -- further indication of the importance of this innovative technology. ReCell has shown the potential to provide significant benefits over current options in the treatment of burns and other acute and chronic wounds and for a wide range of skin defects."

Dr James H. Holmes IV, Director of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Burn Center and Program Leader for the Wake Forest-Pittsburgh Consortium of AFIRM, said, "AFIRM views the ReCell FDA study as a high priority project and recognizes ReCell as a potential game-changer in the treatment of burns and acute wounds. The AFIRM program managers have acknowledged that this is an extremely difficult study and are backing their assessment of the importance of the ReCell technology with additional funding at a time of tight budgetary constraints."

About Avita Medical Ltd.

Avita Medical (http://www.avitamedical.com/) develops and distributes regenerative and tissue-engineered products for the treatment of a broad range of wounds, scars and skin defects. Avita's patented and proprietary tissue-culture, collection and application technology provides innovative treatment solutions derived from a patient's own skin. The company's lead product, ReCell Spray-On Skin, is used in a wide variety of burns, plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. ReCell is patented, CE-marked for Europe, TGA-registered in Australia, and SFDA-cleared in China. ReCell is on market and generating early revenues. ReCell is not available for sale in the United States; in the U.S. ReCell is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use. A Phase III FDA trial is in process.

About Avita

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Avita Medical Secures Additional Funding From US Department of Defense