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FDA Warns of Increasing Risk from Tysabri
Federal health officials warned doctors that the risk of a deadly brain inflammation linked to the multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri increases with use of the drug.
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Mississippi Settles Zyprexa Suit for $18.5M
Mississippi will receive $18.5 million from drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. as part of a settlement over claims the company promoted the anti-psychotic Zyprexa for ailments it was not federally approved to treat, said Attorney General Jim Hood.
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Bad Malaria Pills in Africa Raise Resistance Fears
High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality - including nearly half the pills sampled in Senegal - raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the last weapon left to battle a disease that kills 1 million people each year, according to a U.S. report.
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CVS Caremark 4Q Profit Up 11%
CVS Caremark Corp., one of the nation's biggest drugstore operators, said its profit rose 11 percent in the fourth quarter as results improved for its pharmacy benefits management business.
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Thermo Fisher Scientific Acquires Finnzymes
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Finnzymes, a well-recognized provider of integrated tools for molecular biology analysis, including reagents, instruments, consumables and kits.
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More Headlines
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New Release of Oracle Remote Data Capture
Oracle's next-generation electronic data capture application Oracle Remote Data Capture is designed to help clinical trial sponsors and contract research organizations launch and conduct global clinical trials more efficiently and effectively.
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in vivo Pharmacodynamic Assay
Trevigen offers a validated assay with higher sensitivity and pre-coated antibody plates to measure the effectiveness of PARP inhibitors in cell and tissue lysates for anticancer drug screening.
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T Cell Proliferation Assays
ProImmune Ltd, a leader in epitope discovery, immunogenicity, and immune monitoring products and services, launched CFSE T cell proliferation assays for immunogenicity risk assessment.
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Drug Metabolism Assays
Absorption Systems offers more than 20 new drug metabolism assays designed to support the pharmaceutical R&D process, from early-stage discovery through late-stage clinical development.
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Imager Automates Cell Confluence and Growth Monitoring
 Hamilton Robotics introduces a new Cell Imager for automated cell growth monitoring in the company's CellHOST culture system that measures cell confluence and growth in 96-well plates.
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More New Technologies
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Phase 3 Study of Gilead's Darusentan Misses Primary Endpoints
Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that DAR-312 (DORADO-AC), a Phase III clinical trial evaluating darusentan, the company's endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) for the treatment of resistant hypertension, did not achieve its co-primary efficacy endpoints.
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Multiplex Biomarker Panel
Rules-Based Medicine (RBM), a multiplexed biomarker testing laboratory, launched CardiovascularMAP, a research tool designed specifically to advance drug development aimed at the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
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Synthetic Red Blood Cells Developed
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara, in collaboration with scientists at University of Michigan, have developed synthetic particles that closely mimic the characteristics and key functions of natural red blood cells, including softness, flexibility, and the ability to carry oxygen.
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More Advances in Cardiovascular Diseases
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Simplifying Sample and Compound Management
 As collections of compounds and biological samples expand, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies seek more-efficient ways to keep track of these libraries, and that requires improved automation. Lessons learned from managing chemical samples can lead to better choices for biological ones.
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 Policy & Projections
A Shot in The Wallet
 Call 2009 the Year of the Vaccine, or at least the Year of the Vaccine Shortage, as supplies of H1N1 influenza vaccine fail to keep pace with demand from governments around the world.
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Technology Advances
Paths to Purifying RNA
 In the past few years, scientists have discovered RNA involvement in more and more processes. Consequently, researchers need improved techniques for working with this molecule.
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CHO Cell Culture Media
InVitria's Zap-CHO, a chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture media supplement created to improve CHO growth and productivity is animal-free and defined, making it regulatory-friendly and a replacement for hydrolysates.
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Imager Automates Cell Confluence and Growth Monitoring
Hamilton Robotics introduces a new Cell Imager for automated cell growth monitoring in the company's CellHOST culture system that measures cell confluence and growth in 96-well plates.
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Small Capacity Incubators
 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. introduced a new smaller capacity Thermo Scientific Midi 40 CO2 incubator that delivers the reliable culturing performance of a full-sized incubator in a space saving footprint.
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Synthetic Hydrogel for Cultivating Cells
Cellendes GmbH has hdeveloped a synthetic hydrogel for three-dimensional applications that can be used by researchers to cultivate cells within a precisely defined matrix.
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CO2 Incubators
Esco will launch at Pitton 2010 a new range of CelCulture CO2 Incubators that provide a carefully monitored and consistent cell culture environment.
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More Technology Spotlight
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Current technologies such as iPS cells and their use in the differentiation and manufacture of various mature, differentiated human cells have improved the accuracy of toxicity data, allowing drug developers to more closely predict drug response in humans.
Tissue-based research is a critical diagnostic component of drug discovery containing information on efficacy and toxicity signals. Digital pathology makes tissue analysis easier for discovery, preclinical, and clinical trial phases.
It’s the end of the year. Time to reflect on the past months and make projections for the year ahead. So, what lies ahead? Will 2010 be a continuation of “The Decade From Hell” as described by Time magazine? Or will the promise of recovery be fulfilled?
Beckman Coulter Inc. introduces its Kaluza Flow Cytometry Analysis Software, a package that greatly reduces processing and analysis times.
Flow cytometry was previously considered a major research tool for preclinical studies (albeit a slow one), but its use is expanding into other areas of drug development as the need to analyze complex cellular mixtures, as opposed to cell lines, increases.
A carefully designed ISR program provides additional data to assure confidence in the reliability and reproducibility of a validated method for nonclinical and clinical study samples. LIMS can help researchers reanalyze and reproduce bioanalytical assays.
In recent years, many therapeutic peptides and proteins have come to market. While they are highly effective, these drugs must often be administered by IV or syringe injection.
Transdermal delivery is a well-accepted route of drug administration that provides an alternative to traditional methods, including oral and injection.
Label-free real-time biomolecular interaction analysis has become a cornerstone of research and analysis in many disciplines since the release of the first SPR-based instrument almost two decades ago.
Biophysical methods are increasingly being adopted by the pharmaceutical industry as a way to improve the identification of high-quality hits and lead compounds.
G-protein coupled receptors' are involved in many physiological processes and the possibility to use common assay platforms to develop drugs modulating their response make them hugely successful for therapeutic intervention.
For the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, 2010 is likely to bring an increase in financial and regulatory pressures caused by continuing patent expirations of blockbuster drugs, dwindling product pipelines, increasingly cautious government regulators—not to mention company downsizings.
During neurogenesis pre-existing stem cells in the adult brain produce new brain tissue, including neurons. This process is at the core of BrainCells’ approach to CNS drug development.
