DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/h3n97n/companion_diagnost) has announced the addition of the "Companion Diagnostics in Personalized Medicine and Cancer Therapy" report to their offering.

Companion diagnostics (CDx) refers to a particular clinical diagnostic test that is under evaluation and is specifically linked to a known drug therapy. This linkage could be important in the therapeutic application and clinical outcome of a drug, such as with personalized medicine for oncology patients. The molecular diagnostics field plays a vital part in personalized medicine and has greatly expanded over the past twenty years, expanding by more than 20% annually compared to most other laboratory procedures. Research will continue to produce an increased understanding of disease processes, and diagnostics manufacturers will continue to expand and refine the technology and automation needed for clinical testing. Companion diagnostics, although smaller at present, is one of the fastest growing segments in the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) market. And while the concept of a drug-diagnostic combination is not new, it has only recently started to generate interest with the move of healthcare towards pharmacogenomics.

This TriMark Publications report examines the use of companion diagnostics in personalized medicine and cancer therapy. The study provides a qualitative and quantitative review of the industry, including cancer biomarker tests, pharmacogenomics tests, recurrence prediction tests, blood-based technologies, proteomics and regulatory trends. Moreover, this analysis profiles the leading companies that are developing and manufacturing companion diagnostics solutions. Each company is discussed in extensive depth with a section on its history, product line, business and marketing analysis, and a subjective commentary of the company's market position. Detailed tables and charts with sales forecasts and market share data are also included.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Overview

2. Companion Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine

3. Companion Diagnostics: Qualitative and Quantitative Market Analysis

4. Trends and Overview

5. Biomarker Tests Co-developed with Cancer Therapeutics as Companion Diagnostics

Originally posted here:

Research and Markets: Companion Diagnostics in Personalized Medicine and Cancer Therapy

BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire -06/27/12)- Modernizing Medicine, the creator of Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA), a cloud-based specialty-specific EMR application, announced today that CEO and Co-Founder, Daniel Cane, has been named one of the South Florida Business Journal's (SFBJ) '40 Under 40.'

Each year, the SFBJ honors South Florida's best and brightest young professionals under the age of forty for their professional success and community involvement with a '40 Under 40' award.

A successful serial entrepreneur, Dan has founded three thriving companies in his thirty-five years. In 2010, Dan co-founded Modernizing Medicine with Michael Sherling, MD. Together the pair developed the company's flagship product, EMA, which is used by over 500 practices across the country. In less than 18 months of sales, Dan has helped his team close over $10 million in contacts and secure a number of prestigious awards. In two years, he's grown the company to over 70 employees, raised over $7.1 million in funding, and achieved certification as a Complete EHR by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), and Surescripts certification for prescription routing.

Prior to founding Modernizing Medicine, Dan co-founded Blackboard Inc., an ed-tech enterprise software company. Dan was instrumental in growing the company. He helped to raise over $100 million dollars in venture capital and take the company public on the NASDAQ in 2004. In 2011, Blackboard was sold for $1.6 billion dollars.

After Dan left Blackboard in 2007, he started Kadoo Inc., a company that develops a private video cloud for consumers. Dan helped raise $5 million dollars in investments which was used to create a website that managed the content of diverse personal publishing websites like Facebook and MySpace. Kadoo was sold to 3Sixty Enterprises, LLC in 2009.

Currently, Dan is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the South Florida Science Museum, a member of the Foundation Board at Florida Atlantic University, frequently serves as a panelist on the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, and actively involved at the schools of all three of his children.

"I am honored to be named one of South Florida Business Journal's '40 Under 40,'" said Dan. "I wouldn't be where I am today without my incredible team at Modernizing Medicine and my former Blackboard and Kadoo teams. I am very excited for the future of our company and know great things are ahead of us."

Details about the '40 Under 40' and the full list of honorees are available on the South Florida Business Journal website.

About Modernizing MedicineModernizing Medicine is delivering the next generation of electronic medical records (EMR) technology for the healthcare industry. Our product, Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA), is a cloud-based specialty-specific EMR with a tremendous amount of medical content already built-in. Available as a native iPad application or from any web-enabled Mac or PC, EMA adapts to each provider's unique style of practice and is designed to interface with over 400 different practice management systems. Today, Modernizing Medicine provides specialty-specific offerings for the dermatology, ophthalmology, and optometry markets, and to more than 500 practices across the country.

See the article here:

Modernizing Medicine's CEO and Co-Founder, Daniel Cane, Is Named One of South Florida Business Journal's '40 Under 40'

Public release date: 26-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Debbe Geiger Debbe.Geiger@duke.edu 919-660-9461 Duke University Medical Center

DURHAM, N.C. The clot-busting medicine, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), is safe to use in acute stroke patients already on the home blood thinner warfarin, according to researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). This study helps allay previous concerns that tPA was too dangerous to use in patients on home anticoagulation and would lead to high risk for potentially fatal intracranial bleeding.

"To date, we have no randomized trials or large cohort studies to guide us," says Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Duke, and first author of the study published today in JAMA. "Our large national study found no statistically significant increase in risk, which supports using intravenous tPA in warfarin-treated patients following stoke if their INR is less than or equal to 1.7."

The International Normalized Ratio (INR) measures the rate at which blood clots while taking anti-clotting medications like warfarin.

The Duke researchers also found almost half of warfarin-treated patients who might have qualified for tPA following stroke did not receive treatment, according to DCRI Director Eric Peterson, M.D., the paper's senior author. "We noted a substantial under-treatment of patients on warfarin who were eligible, but did not receive tPA following their stroke."

Warfarin is an anticoagulant proven to reduce the rate of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation irregular heart beats. If warfarin treatment fails and the patient suffers a stroke, tPA is the only effective treatment. However, it also carries an increased risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH).

American Heart Association guidelines say IV tPA in warfarin-treated patients may be used if the INR is less than or equal to 1.7, but few small studies supported the guidelines.

The Duke observational trial included 23,437 stroke patients on warfarin treated at 1,203 hospitals, making it the largest to look at IV tPA use in warfarin-treated patients following stroke. While warfarin-treated patients had slightly higher crude rates of intracranial bleeding (5.7% vs. 4.6%) than non-warfarin patients, they were also older. After adjusting for age, stroke severity and other factors, warfarin and non warfarin users had similar intracranial hemorrhage risk.

"This study provides support for the current treatment guidelines," says Xian, and indicates that a portion of the population is being under-treated.

Here is the original post:

Clot-busting medicine safe for use in warfarin-treated patients following stroke

Newswise The American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation (ABAM Foundation) today lauded the significant findings and recommendations in the landmark report just published by CASA Columbia, Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice.

Addiction Medicine is the most up-to-date report on the availability of effective, life-saving and cost-saving treatments for unhealthy substance use and addiction to alcohol, nicotine and other drugs, including some prescription medications, said ABAM Foundation President Jeffrey H. Samet, MD, MA, MPH. It is thorough and well-documented. This country suffers from an inexcusable lack of access to treatment for patients in our healthcare system who suffer from addictive diseases.

Samet continued: The report pointedly highlights the inadequacy of education for physicians and other healthcare professionals about addiction.

It is a matter of grave concern that physicians and other medical professionals receive little education or training in addiction science, prevention and treatment, despite the fact that unhealthy substance use and addiction are the largest preventable and most costly public health and medical problems in the U.S. American medicine has missed opportunities to engage patients and families and improve the health status of our nation.

Physician training in addiction medicine is sorely lacking. Addiction medicine receives little attention in medical schools, and there are no addiction medicine residencies among the 9,034 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residency programs in the nations hospitals. Prior to the establishment of the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and The ABAM Foundation, only one medical specialty (psychiatry) offered sub-specialized training and certification in addictions.

ABAM's goal is to have a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) certify physicians in addiction medicine. The ABAM Foundations purpose is to support ABAMs mission and to establish and accredit programs to train physicians from all specialties to recognize, intervene and treat patients and families.

Clinical training, coupled with passage of ABAMs rigorous certification examination, will provide physicians with knowledge of evidence-based addiction treatments, said Samet. And patients will have access to specialized medical care for substance use disorders related to alcohol, tobacco and other addicting drugs at any entry point patients to the healthcare system. Trained addiction medicine physicians will join their addiction psychiatry colleagues and other addiction professionals in the interdisciplinary care of patients with addictive disorders.

The CASA Columbia report (http://www.casacolumbia.org) offers a comprehensive set of recommendations to overhaul current intervention and treatment approaches and to bring practice in line with the scientific evidence and with the standard of care for other public health and medical conditions.

The report is issued at a time of increasing promise for addiction treatment, and more pressing need for trained treatment providers. Scientific research has confirmed that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain caused by biological and developmental factors, with unique vulnerabilities and pathology, and a predictable course, if not interrupted by effective treatment. An increasing number of medically-based addiction treatments are now available, and more are on the horizon.

ABAM and The ABAM Foundation are governed by 15 distinguished physicians from a range of medical specialties, each of whom is certified by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

See more here:

American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation Lauds CASA Columbia Report

CORPUS CHRISTI They started on different sides of the world and in different job fields.

Michael Dunn worked on F-35s and F-16s for Lockheed. Avegiyel Dunn, dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, coordinated evacuations for wounded troops during her mandatory military service.

Friday, the couple graduated from Christus Spohn Family Medicine Residency Program and look forward to joining Joseph Larakers practice in Beeville.

The Dunns stood out to Jose Hinojosa, family medicine residency program director, because through the three-year residency, they never lost focus, Hinojosa said.

They had the same message, they wanted to practice together, they wanted to practice the full spectrum of medicine and in a rural setting, he said.

Going through school and residency as a couple can be a benefit, Hinojosa said.

They can go home and talk to someone who really knows what they are talking about, he said.

Avegiyel Dunn, 32, grew up in the small farm town of Zippori, Israel, and made several trips to visit family in Corpus Christi when she was a child. Of all her childhood fantasies, becoming a doctor was the dream that stuck, she said.

In Ohio, Michael Dunn, 44, also considered being a doctor, but wasnt sure.

It was a conflict between that and space, he said.

View post:

Couple bond through love of medicine

PHILADELPHIA Mariell Jessup, MD, associate chief-Clinical Affairs, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and medical director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center, has been named president-elect of the American Heart Association (AHA). Dr. Jessup will begin her term on July 1, 2012. Then on July 1, 2013, she will officially become the president of the AHA.

"My involvement with the American Heart Association has spanned more than 20 years and I am honored to be so engaged with the nation's leading health organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease and stroke," said Dr. Jessup, who is also a member of the Penn Medicine Cardiovascular Institute.

Dr. Jessup's focus throughout her career has been on the optimal management of patients with heart failure, including the appropriate selection of patients for heart transplant or ventricular assist devices (VADs). As medical director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center, she works with a multi-disciplinary team of cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, nurse practitioners, and nurses to deliver collaborative, cutting-edge care to heart patients.

As a world renowned expert, she has been an integral member of numerous guidelines committees aimed at directing optimal decisions and criteria regarding diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with heart failure. Most recently, she was the Chair of the American College of Cardiology/AHA Guidelines committees focused update for heart failure. She has also been integral in the establishment of the new Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology subspecialty, a secondary subspecialty in Cardiology. The new specialty was created because of the rapid progress in treatment options for patients with heart failure and the ever growing need to monitor, assess, and advance these new technologies for patients.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital and a cardiovascular fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jessup has served on the AHA's Council of Clinical Cardiology Program Committee, and was a member-at-large on the AHA annual meeting's program committee. She was most recently the Chair of the Committee for Scientific Sessions Program of the AHA. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the national AHA as well.

As president-elect, Jessup will work closely with the new incoming president, as well as the immediate past president, to handle strategy issues. She will represent the president when she can't travel and will also represent the AHA at various national meetings.

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 10 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.

Continued here:

Mariell Jessup, MD, Penn Medicine Cardiologist, Named President-Elect of the American Heart Association

Highland Family Medicine currently has 17,000 patients in its practice. With the new expansion, doctors say they will be able to treat an additional 3,000 patients which is critical to the area.

"This will really allow us to provide more access for primary care, particularly for our residents of the city," said Dr. Thomas Campbell, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine.

The new clinical suite has six exam rooms. Four Family Medicine residents will train with the clinical team.

The project is part of a larger plan to address a primary care physician shortage.

"There's a real need for primary care physicians. We have a shortage now, particularly in the city, and that's going to increase as health care reform takes place and more people will have access to health insurance and are looking for primary care physicians," said Campbell.

The practice also expanded its teaching space into a building next door earlier this year. Doctor Campbell says the goal is to place more primary care doctors in Rochester.

"We have expanded our residency program so we will be training more family physicians who will be graduating. Over half of them stay in the Rochester area, so we are actually the largest producer of primary care physicians in the area for this community," said Campbell.

With this new expansion, there are now seven clinical suites at Highland Family Medicine.

Here is the original post:

Highland Family Medicine Expands

MORRISTOWN, N.J., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Fertility experts at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ) announced that they will partner with Auxogyn, Inc., to conduct a groundbreaking IVF study that aims to advance the goals of single embryo transfer (SET), and reduce the financial and health implications of multiple pregnancies.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120402/NY80340LOGO)

"Our objectives at RMANJ are two-fold: To increase the healthy live birth rate for those undergoing assisted reproductive procedures, and to decrease the multiple embryo transfer rate, thereby reducing multiple pregnancies," commented Richard T. Scott, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.O.G., H.C.L.D., founding partner of RMANJ. "Through this collaborative research study with Auxogyn, we will explore new, previously unidentified factors that cause one chromosomally normal embryo to implant where another seemingly healthy embryo does not. These discoveries could directly impact clinical practice in the future, moving us closer to the ultimate goal of the IVF field one embryo, one healthy baby."

For patients enrolled in the study, researchers will evaluate the use of both RMANJ's proprietary Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) and Auxogyn's Eeva (Early Embryo Viability Assessment) Test to detect healthy embryos prior to implantation. CCS is a rapid-method 24-chromosome screening technique that accurately identifies whether embryos are euploid (have a normal number of chromosomes) or aneuploid (have an abnormal number of chromosomes). Eeva is a non-invasive test, developed by Auxogyn, to record and quantitatively analyze embryo development against scientifically and clinically validated cell-division time periods.

More accurate identification of healthy embryos enables fertility doctors to implant a single embryo that will lead to a successful pregnancy and ultimately, a healthy baby. It also may reduce the practice of implanting multiple embryos, which commonly leads to pregnancies with twins, triplets or higher multiples. Many studies have shown that multiple births increase health complications for mothers and babies, and lead to greater healthcare costs. For example, the average cost per delivery for one baby is $14,842, while the cost per delivery for twins is $59,370 and per-delivery expenses for triplets jumps to $163,266.(1,2,3)

RMANJ's past research has shown that CCS supports the practice of SET, and reduces healthcare costs associated with pregnancy, delivery and neonatal care. New data from RMANJ's recently completed BEST (Blastocyst Euploid Selective Transfer) study will be presented at the upcoming American Society for Reproductive Medicine Annual Meeting in October 2012. Partnering with Auxogyn, a company at the forefront of reproductive health innovation, enables RMANJ to further extend research in this area.

"Auxogyn is committed to funding and conducting rigorous scientific research to continually improve outcomes for IVF patients," said Lissa Goldenstein, president and chief executive officer of Auxogyn. "We are pleased to partner with RMANJ and believe this study may expand our understanding of embryo development dramatically, potentially leading to further improvement in our ability to detect healthy embryos during assisted reproduction procedures."

A pioneer in using cutting-edge technology to more accurately detect healthy embryos, RMANJ is uniquely equipped to serve as the clinical study site for this research initiative. Patients who receive care at RMANJ's six clinics may be eligible for the study.

About Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey

Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey have pioneered and successfully implemented a cutting-edge technology, known as Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) to more accurately detect healthy embryos that will lead to successful pregnancies and ultimately healthy babies. Other centers have attempted similar testing methods, but RMANJ is the only fertility center in the world to have developed a system of unprecedented accuracy, fully validated through years of rigorous clinical research. RMANJ's Comprehensive Chromosome Screening offers advanced embryo selection with extreme accuracy by detecting and avoiding use of embryos with chromosomal abnormalities prior to transfer and pregnancy.

See the original post here:

Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey and Auxogyn Launch Fertility Study To Advance Goals of 'One Embryo, One ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer genomic analysis to routine clinical care, today announced that Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and chief executive officer, will present an overview of the company at the Worldwide Innovative Networking (WIN) 2012 Symposium being held June 28-29 in Paris, France. The WIN Consortium in personalized cancer medicine is initiating a clinical trial that uses FoundationOne, a genomic profile for cancer developed by Foundation Medicine. Details of the trial will be highlighted at the Symposium.

FoundationOne will allow physicians participating in this trial to test for alterations in clinically-relevant genes known to be associated with human cancer and match these alterations with appropriate targeted therapies or clinical trials, said Dr. John Mendelsohn, chairman of WIN Consortium. WIN and Foundation Medicine are both dedicated to enabling the best treatment possible with the therapies most likely to be effective against an individual patients cancer. We believe this trial is an important step in that direction.

About WIN Consortium and WIN 2012 Symposium

WIN Consortium is a network of 22 academic institutions and industries across the globe, initiated by the Cancer Institute Gustave Roussy (IGR), France and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA (MDACC) and focused on international biomarker-driven therapeutic clinical trials. Foundation Medicine joined the consortium in March 2012.

The WIN 2012 Symposium is dedicated to the efficacy of personalized cancer therapeutics through an open exchange format with investigators from academic institutions and the biopharma industry.

Foundation Medicine and the clinical trial will be discussed on June 28th during Session 2 of the WIN 2012 Symposium at the Palais des Congrs in Porte Maillot, Paris, France:

Date & Time:

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Read the original here:

WIN Consortium to Conduct a Clinical Trial Using FoundationOne™, Foundation Medicine’s Comprehensive Genomic Profile ...

TAIPEI, June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- TaiGen Biotechnology Company, Limited ("TaiGen") and Zhejiang Medicine Company, Limited ("ZMC") today announced that they have signed an exclusive agreement to manufacture and commercialize nemonoxacin, a novel broad-spectrum antibiotic, in China (excluding Hong Kong, and Macau). Nemonoxacin is a novel broad-spectrum non-fluorinated quinolone antibiotic under development for respiratory infections. TaiGen will be responsible for completing the Phase 3 clinical trial for community acquired pneumonia ("CAP") in China. ZMC will be responsible for manufacturing, sales and marketing of nemonoxacin in China through its wholly-owned subsidiary, XinChang Pharmaceuticals. TaiGen will retain full development and commercialization rights outside the licensed territory including Taiwan, the United States, European Union, and Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, TaiGen will receive an upfront payment of US$ 8 million from ZMC and will receive additional milestones as well as royalties on product sales. The term of the agreement is 20 years.

Nemonoxacin has demonstrated efficacy and safety in CAP and diabetic foot infection in multinational and multi-center clinical trials conducted by TaiGen. In particular, nemonoxacin has excellent activity against drug-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and quinolone-resistant MRSA. Nemonoxacin is taken once-a-day and available in both oral and intravenous formulations. Currently, TaiGen is completing a Phase 3 CAP trial with more than 500 patients from Taiwan and mainland China and expects to file new drug applications in Taiwan and mainland China simultaneously in early 2013.

China is one of the major antibiotic markets in the world. According to IMS, the sales of antibiotics in 2011 were approximately US$ 11 billion (RMB 68 billion) and account for almost 20% of the total pharmaceuticals sales. Rate of antibiotic resistant infections in China is among the highest in the world.

Mr. Li Chun Bo, Chairman of the ZMC, commented, "We are impressed with nemonoxacin's broad spectrum activity towards drug-resistant bacteria, in particular, MRSA, and excellent safety profile. We are excited to establish this partnership with TaiGen because of its reputation as a premier research-based biotech company in Asia. This partnership will break new ground for cross-strait collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry. Nemonoxacin will be a major addition to ZMC's antibiotic product line and significant profit driver".

Dr. Ming-Chu Hsu, President and Chief Executive Officer of TaiGen, said, "China is the world's fastest growing pharmaceutical market. It is poised to overtake Japan as the second largest pharmaceutical market. We are extremely please to establish our nemonoxacin partnership with ZMC, a first-class pharmaceutical company and major player in the Chinese antibiotics market. With nemonoxacin, TaiGen and ZMC together will bring new medicine to treat unmet medical needs in China. This partnership will not only set a new record for pharmaceutical licensing involving a Taiwanese and a mainland Chinese company but hopefully will also become a model of the future collaborations," Dr. Hsu also added, "With the conclusion of the partnership in China, we will actively pursue nemonoxacin licensing discussions in other territories such as European Union."

About Zhejiang Medicine

Zhejiang Medicine Company, Limited is a leading pharmaceutical company in China specializing in sales and distribution of pharmaceuticals and manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (vitamins and antibiotics). Its sales revenue in 2011 is US $740 million (RMB 4.8 billion). ZMC is a leader in the Chinese antibiotic market with levofloxacin, vancomycin, and teicoplanin in the product line. ZMC's Lai Li Xin, a branded levofloxacin, is one of the top selling antibiotics in China with 2011 sales exceeding US $110 million (RMB 735 million). In addition to pharmaceuticals sales, ZMC is also known for its manufacturing quality. Its vancomycin active pharmaceutical ingredient has obtained GMP qualification from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and exported to western countries. ZMC is publicly listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange (600216) and has a market capitalization of RMB 11 billion.

About TaiGen Biotechnology

TaiGen Biotechnology is a leading research-based and product-driven biotechnology company in Taiwan with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Beijing, mainland China. TaiGen has full discovery research capacity in Taiwan and clinical development in mainland China/Taiwan/US. In addition to nemonoxacin, TaiGen has two other in-house discovered new chemical entities in clinical development under IND with US FDA: TG-0054, a chemokine receptor antagonist for stem cell transplantation and chemosensitization, in Phase 2 and TG-2349, a HCV protease inhibitor for treatment of chronic hepatitis infection, in Phase 1. Both TG-0054 and TG-2349 are currently in clinical development in the US.

Disclaimer

Link:

TaiGen Biotechnology Out-Licensed China Rights of Novel Antibiotic, Nemonoxacin, to Zhejiang Medicine

A new class of drugs offers hope to lung cancer patients who have a specific mutation in their tumour cells.

LG LAU was in her mid-thirties when she was first diagnosed with lung cancer. She had caught a normal cold, and her early symptoms included persistent coughing, shortness of breath, loss of weight and a hoarse voice.

When her cough worsened and wouldnt go away for several weeks, she went to see a doctor, who diagnosed her condition as tuberculosis.

After taking the prescribed medication for about two weeks, there was no improvement in her condition.

In fact, her health gradually worsened, and by the end of the third week, she had difficulty eating and started losing weight.

By the end of the month, she became too weak to move around on her own and had to get about in a wheelchair.

Her husband finally couldnt bear to watch her suffer any longer, and in spite of her protests, brought her to see a specialist, who ordered a chest X-ray and CT scan.

The results were conclusive; although she had never smoked in her life, she was diagnosed with Stage 3B non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Her doctor insisted that she go for a follow-up biopsy to determine if she was EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutation positive. EGFR is a cell membrane receptor found on tumour cells, which shows increased activity in cancer cases.

The results came back positive, so her doctor put her on drugs that inhibit EGFR (called EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or EGFR-TKI) for a month as part of her first-line treatment.

See the article here:

Medicine for a mutation

What was not understood was that there was science behind these acts. Even the religious incorporated these practices as prayers and charms are offered without apology. The nave beliefs of many of those in medicine can be found in many of the texts that survive. Very knowledgeable and intelligent people believed in many of the folklore and herbal lore that existed at the time. In an attempt to understand the menstrual cycle or menses of a woman, the medicinal teaching said that on account of the excessive heating of the blood caused by bile pouring out from the gall bladder, which makes the blood boil to such an extent that it is not able to be contained in the veins. They also believed that a burning cupping glasses [should] be placed between the breasts so that they draw the blood upwards. Superstition was considered a science by many.

St. Hildegard was a renown German nun in the twelfth century. Throughout Europe and the church community, Hildegard was known for her wisdom and knowledge of herbs. She taught many how to use herbs and wrote a manuscript on herbs of such a size that had never been seen before. She reviewed the properties of grain, plants, and flowers as well as the many uses. She stated that certain herbs have the virtue of very strong aromas, others the harshness of the most pungent aromas. They can curb many evil, since evil spirits do not like them. But there are also certain herbs that hold the form of the elements. People who try to seek their own fortunes are deceived by these. The devil loves these herbs and mingles with them. Even one as wise as a saint looked at the superstitious and spiritual use of herbs. In describing Ginger, St. Hildegard described it as injurious and should be avoided as food by both a healthy person and a fat person because it makes the person unknowing, ignorant, lukewarm, and lustful. Folklore was not exactly forbidden in the Church. It was when folklore went deeper into the spiritual realm that the Church began to fear that aspect of medicine.

Many of these superstitions led to the use of witchcraft in medicine. Charms and incantations were used in the administration of medicine as well as a belief in demons and witches causing diseases. Numerous Medieval people saw diseases being caused by the entrance into the body of demons or evil spirits. Many accused witches of looking at individuals with the evil eye to cause diseases or to push the demons into the body. There had to be an explanation for the disease. If God can cure a disease, then the devil must be able to cause it.

During the Crusades, German knights saw God as giving power to herbs, objects in nature, and even in the words spoken by the knights. This allowed the knights to use incantations to help in the healing of wounds that occurred during battle. Much emphasis was placed on the magic of herbs. The belief that the herbs contained such power brought the tabooed form of magic into the field of medicine, but many like the knights saw the incantations as being Christian in origin which made them acceptable. God made nature which meant that power could be found in nature when the right words called forth the power.

The Church took this need of having the supernatural involved in healing and made a version of it acceptable within the church. The veneration of saints brought the focus of miracles back to the Church and God. Saints were thought to give victory in war, help in everyday life, miracles, and even to cure people. This was encouraged by the Church. The focus was taken off the medical professional and nature. As the practice of venerating saints increased, shrines were erected. Anyone who desired to ask the saint for a cure or a special favor would take a pilgrimage to the shrine no matter how far away it was. Upon arriving they gave gifts to the monasteries where most shrines were located. Obviously, the Church would not discourage such practices.

Sources:

American Medical Association. Anglo-Saxon Leechcraft. London: Burroughs Wellcome, 1912.

Barry, Jonathan and Colin Jones, ed. Medicine and Charity Before the Welfare State. New York: Routledge, 2001.

Collins, Minta. Medieval Herbals: The Illustrative Traditions. London: University of Toronto Press, 2000.

French, Roger. Medicine Before Science: The Business of Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Read more here:

Supersition and Medieval Medicine

[Day 5 of Robert Wenzel's 30-day reading list that will lead you to become a knowledgeable libertarian, this Mises Daily was originally published August 21, 2009.]

In 1918, the Soviet Union became the first country to promise universal "cradle-to-grave" healthcare coverage, to be accomplished through the complete socialization of medicine. The "right to health" became a "constitutional right" of Soviet citizens.

The proclaimed advantages of this system were that it would "reduce costs" and eliminate the "waste" that stemmed from "unnecessary duplication and parallelism" i.e., competition.

These goals were similar to the ones declared by Mr. Obama and Ms. Pelosi attractive and humane goals of universal coverage and low costs. What's not to like?

The system had many decades to work, but widespread apathy and low quality of work paralyzed the healthcare system. In the depths of the socialist experiment, healthcare institutions in Russia were at least a hundred years behind the average US level. Moreover, the filth, odors, cats roaming the halls, drunken medical personnel, and absence of soap and cleaning supplies added to an overall impression of hopelessness and frustration that paralyzed the system. According to official Russian estimates, 78 percent of all AIDS victims in Russia contracted the virus through dirty needles or HIV-tainted blood in the state-run hospitals.

Irresponsibility, expressed by the popular Russian saying "They pretend they are paying us and we pretend we are working," resulted in appalling quality of service, widespread corruption, and extensive loss of life. My friend, a famous neurosurgeon in today's Russia, received a monthly salary of 150 rubles one-third of the average bus driver's salary.

In order to receive minimal attention by doctors and nursing personnel, patients had to pay bribes. I even witnessed a case of a "nonpaying" patient who died trying to reach a lavatory at the end of the long corridor after brain surgery. Anesthesia was usually "not available" for abortions or minor ear, nose, throat, and skin surgeries. This was used as a means of extortion by unscrupulous medical bureaucrats.

"Slavery certainly 'reduced costs' of labor, 'eliminated the waste' of bargaining for wages, and avoided 'unnecessary duplication and parallelism'."

To improve the statistics concerning the numbers of people dying within the system, patients were routinely shoved out the door before taking their last breath.

Being a People's Deputy in the Moscow region from 1987 to 1989, I received many complaints about criminal negligence, bribes taken by medical apparatchiks, drunken ambulance crews, and food poisoning in hospitals and child-care facilities. I recall the case of a 14-year-old girl from my district who died of acute nephritis in a Moscow hospital. She died because a doctor decided that it was better to save "precious" X-ray film (imported by the Soviets for hard currency) instead of double-checking his diagnosis. These X-rays would have disproven his diagnosis of neuropathic pain.

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What Soviet Medicine Teaches Us

Biopharmaceutical research companies have conducted nearly 3,500 clinical trials of new medicines in Michigan in the past 13 years, according to a study released Friday.

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3,500 Michigan clinical medicine trials since'99 contribute to economy

The European Medicines Agency is investigating "deficiencies" in the way drug maker Roche reported possible side effects in patients in the U.S., though it said there was no evidence patients are at risk.

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Medicine agency: Roche did not report side effects

BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire -06/22/12)- Modernizing Medicine, the creator of Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA), a cloud-based specialty-specific EMR application, announced today that it has been named the number one fastest growing company by the South Florida Business Journal (SFBJ) in its 'Fast 50.'

Each year the SFBJ ranks South Florida's fastest-growing companies to determine the prestigious 'Fast 50.' Companies chosen are both private and public, range in industry, including real estate development, manufacturing, technology, healthcare and retail, and in size and annual revenue. The companies are ranked by one-year percentage growth.

Modernizing Medicine led the 'Fast 50' pack with an impressive 2,800% growth between 2010 and 2011. Founded in 2010, Modernizing Medicine is projected to grow from 75 employees to 100 employees by year-end.

"We're delighted to have our work recognized by the South Florida Business Journal and to be ranked number one among a list of highly successful companies," said Daniel Cane, CEO and Co-Founder of Modernizing Medicine. "I'm incredibly humbled by this prestigious honor and so proud of the entire Modernizing Medicine team. It's a true testament to our product, the EMA, and the strong future we have ahead of us in the highly populated EMR space."

Modernizing Medicine's EMA adapts to each healthcare provider's unique style of practice, and integrates seamlessly into the practice's workflow. EMA is available as a native iPad application, or from any web-enabled Mac or PC. EMA's touch-based system virtually eliminates the need for a keyboard and saves valuable time by scribing notes, electronically prescribing, and automating lab requisition forms and results, and so much more. Today, Modernizing Medicine provides specialty-specific offerings for the dermatology, ophthalmology, and optometry markets.

Modernizing Medicine recently celebrated its move to its new headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. The team hosted an open house in its new 15,000-square-foot facility, welcoming over 200 guests including Andrew Duffell, President & CEO at Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, other FAU faculty members, doctors, customers, industry leaders and vendors.

Local dignitaries including the Boca Raton Mayor, Susan Whelchel, Boca Raton city council member, Constance Scott, President and CEO of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, Troy McLellan and Palm Beach County Commissioner, Steven Abrams, helped the Modernizing Medicine team officially celebrate their new facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Details about the 'Fast 50' and the full list of honorees are available on the South Florida Business Journal's website.

About Modernizing MedicineModernizing Medicine is delivering the next generation of electronic medical records (EMR) technology for the healthcare industry. Our product, Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA), is a cloud-based specialty-specific EMR with a tremendous amount of medical content already built-in. Available as a native iPad application or from any web-enabled Mac or PC, EMA adapts to each provider's unique style of practice and is designed to interface with over 400 different practice management systems. Today, Modernizing Medicine provides specialty-specific offerings for the dermatology, ophthalmology, and optometry markets, and to more than 500 practices across the country.

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Modernizing Medicine Named No. 1 in the South Florida Business Journal's 'Fast 50'

Its a critical moment in an emergency room, when a baby stops breathing.

However, in this hospital room, the patient bounces back in seconds when hospital staffers simply push the reset button.

Rady Childrens Hospital showed off its newest piece of training technology Thursday.

Thanks to a donation from Fuerte Hills Unit of Rady Children's Auxiliary, doctors and nurses have access to a realistic simulator that looks a lot like a toy.

SimBaby was developed by a company in Sweden and is on the cutting edge of simulation in medicine.

The doll is as life-like as it can be, said Charles Sauer, DO, a Neonatologist at Rady Childrens Hospital.

SimBaby gurgles, breathes and even turns blue depending on how trainers manipulate the program.

We can collapse a lung and do all sorts of training with it, Sauer adds. Thats wonderful for our staff.

Nurses and doctors monitor SimBabys heartbeat, check blood pressure and can even practice placing IVs or inserting chest tubes on the tiny doll.

Then, when trainees take the correct action, the doll cries signaling an end to the exercise.

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Medicine's Cutting Edge: $40K Baby Doll

MORRISVILLE, N.C., June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gentris Corporation (www.gentris.com), a global leader in the application of genomic biomarkers to clinical studies, announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine to advance global personalized medicine. The goal of this USA-China collaboration is to create translational research and epidemiological projects, as well as training and education programs, focused on pharmacogenomics and clinical sample banking, which will drive innovation in drug development and improvements in patient care.

Through this collaboration, Gentris and the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine will work together to launch cutting-edge research projects to discover, develop, and validate new genomic biomarkers. Gentris will take the lead to identify sponsors in the United States, e.g., pharmaceutical companies, for these personalized medicine projects while the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine will seek support from Chinese organizations.

The tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury pilot (TB DILI Study), conducted between Gentris, the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine, and a non-profit research institute in Research Triangle Park (RTP) serves as a model for USA-China collaborations. In this study, investigators designed a common protocol and pooled their resources to investigate DILI among tuberculosis patients in three Shanghai hospitals. By utilizing metabolomics and pharmacogenomics, they are evaluating biomarkers for early detection. Dr. Tong Zhou, Senior Director of China Initiatives for Gentris, is Co-Principal Investigator for the TB DILI Study and has significant experience in developing and managing collaborations between the United States and China. Dr. Zhou has also drawn upon his extensive network in China to begin establishing a satellite laboratory for Gentris in Shanghai that complies with U.S. regulatory standards.

Dr. Wu Fan, Director General of the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine and the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai CDC), and Dr. Howard McLeod from the University of North Carolina will provide strategic scientific oversight for personalized medicine collaborations. Director Wu is recognized internationally as a leader in public health initiatives. Dr. McLeod, Chief Scientific Advisor for Gentris, has been involved in numerous global initiatives including the Pharmacogenetics for Every Nation Initiative (PGENI), which he founded. It is anticipated that combining the resources and expertise of a research institute, academic institution, and industryin both the United States and Chinawill lead to more rapid improvements in drug development and public health.

For this personalized medicine program, research studies and epidemiological projects will be designed for implementation in Shanghai based on sponsor needs. Key targeted therapeutic areas include oncology, infectious disease, and chronic disease. Training and education initiatives will also be created to bring U.S. quality standards to China including GLP, GCP, CLIA, and CAP. Gentris, the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine, and their collaborators will work with leading experts to develop workshops, courses, and a fellowship program to educate academic and industry scientists in China regarding best practices in the application of pharmacogenomics for drug development.

The Memorandum of Understanding leverages the relationships that Gentris CEO Rick Williams and Dr. Zhou have built during the past few years between North Carolina and China. While assisting a non-profit research institute in RTP, they helped to create the North Carolina-China Global Bioscience Gateway, a public-private partnership that addresses how to enhance global research innovation. Mr. Williams and Dr. Zhou are also members of the N.C. China Advisory Council, which works with the N.C. Office of the Governor and N.C. Department of Commerce to facilitate economic development between the state and China.

One of the major goals for this new agreement between Gentris and the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine is to create an expanded network of collaborators among leading universities, pharmaceutical companies, and public health organizations that leads to new pharmacogenomics discoveries, which accelerate drug development and improve patient care globally.

Related Links: http://www.gentris.com, http://www.scdc.sh.cn

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"I have worked with the Shanghai CDC and Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine for nearly four years to develop a translational research bridge between our two countries. I'm honored that Gentris now has an opportunity to work even more closely with the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine," said Rick Williams, Gentris CEO. "Gentris will take the lead to identify U.S. sponsors in the pharmaceutical industry that would like to jointly develop new research, epidemiological, and training programs in Shanghai."

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Gentris Corporation Partners with the Shanghai Institutes of Preventative Medicine

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fg6ftp/research_report_on) has announced the addition of the "Research Report on China's Antihypertensive Medicine Market, 2012" report to their offering.

In recent years, with Chinese people's living standards continuously improving and elderly people increasing, prevalence rate of hypertension incessantly rises. Presently, there's still no effective means to cure hypertension. According to the WHO statistics about death of various diseases, death toll of cardiovascular disease which is represented by hypertension increases from 28.8% of the total mortality toll in 1997 to 36.0% in 2002. Hypertension is a serious danger to human health.

According to a press release issued by the International Society of Hypertension, the number of global hypertension or abnormally high blood pressure crowds reaches 972 million, accounting for 26.4% of the world's adult population. With the invention and application of CCB, ACEI, ARB and other new-generation antihypertensive medicines, the mortality rate of various cardiovascular diseases sharply declines. Nevertheless, there are still 17 million people across the world die from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by hypertension and half of them die from acute myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular embolism. So people pay high attention to antihypertensive medicine market.

More following information can be acquired through this report:

- China's Hypertensive Attack Situation

- Current Market of China's Antihypertensive Medicine

- Development Trend of China's Antihypertensive Medicine

Following people are recommended to buy this report:

- Pharmaceutical Enterprises

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Research and Markets: Research Report on China's Antihypertensive Medicine Market, 2012

DALLAS, June 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Supermodel, television personality and nationally recognized women's advocate, Emme, spent a lot of time caring for her outward appearance in the high pressure modeling world. After battling cancer in 2007, the icon and one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People", now 48, turned her focus inward and began researching ways to maintain the inner health of her body. That research led Emme to a recent meeting with Walter Gaman, MD a leader in preventative and proactive medical care. Dr. Gaman, one of the founders of the Executive Medicine of Texas and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program, "The Staying Young Show," encouraged Emme to undergo the center's Platinum Executive Physical which is a comprehensive half day exam that uncovers deficiencies, conditions and behaviors allowing patients to make corrections before its too late.

Now cancer -free for 5 years, the creator of Emmenation.com, an online community where Emme shares her lifelong commitment to living a healthy and fit life with others, underwent a full spectrum of exams from micronutrient testing to telomere analysis which reveals your real age on a cellular level. She says digging a little deeper into how her body is functioning has given her a sense of control over her long-term well being.

"What a wonderful opportunity to see yourself literally inside out! I feel I have a precious health map that will help me achieve my optimum health, right at my finger tips," Emme says.

Voted one of the Best Doctors in Texas by Newsweek Magazine in 2010, Gaman hopes partnering with a nationally recognized health and wellness advocate will help others see the benefit of taking a pro-active approach to preventative health. "Emme is in great physical shape and her fitness level surpasses a great number of my patients. I was happily surprised to see how her strides for better health have kept her young and healthy -- even at the cellular level." Gaman continues, " Just because you may have had a brush with a life threatening disease, it's never too late to start taking care of your body. Each day you have to make choices that will either prolong your life or shorten it."

While Emme, who has devoted the next chapter of her career to educating women how to stay strong and healthy, was relieved to learn she is in better shape than many women her age, she also discovered areas that need some immediate attention. "When I learned I had hypothyroidism and anemia and a few vitamin deficiencies, it was actually a relief to learn what was causing me to feel tired and to be able to address the issues and fix them. I now have homework to pump it up nutritionally and to implement changes in my physical level to achieve my personal best," she adds.

Top executives from around the world fly in to meet with Dr. Gaman and his business partner, Dr. Mark Anderson, MD who have also co-authored the book, Stay Young: 10 Proven Steps to Ultimate Health. Gaman says, "In today's busy world of increased demands, we need our health more than ever. Whether you're an executive, professional athlete or stay at home mom, high energy and good health is not a luxury."

You can hear more about Emme's experience at Executive Medicine of Texas on The Staying Young Show.

To learn more about Executive Medicine of Texas please contact:

Kasey Peretz (817) 552-4300

To book an interview or media appearance, please contact:

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Supermodel Emme and Executive Medicine of Texas Join Forces to Urge Americans to Take Charge of Their Health.