Study Conduct

Fred Hutchinson Research Center leads immunotherapy trials

Thursday, April 7, 2011 11:11 AM

The National Cancer Institute has selected 27 sites to participate in a clinical trials network led by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to study new cancer drugs, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

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Health Research Bus takes clinical trials on the road to boost recruitment, retention in U.K. cities

Monday, April 4, 2011 10:25 AM

With recruitment for clinical trials being tough and retention being even tougher, some are taking recruitment efforts and patient visits directly to the community, instead of waiting for volunteers to come to them.

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Imperial acquires D. Anderson, adds patient recruitment to clinical trial support services

Thursday, March 31, 2011 09:07 PM

The purchase of Dallas-based recruitment powerhouse D. Anderson & Co. by clinical trial support firm Imperial of Grand Rapids, Mich., is complete.

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Yale and Gilead Sciences announce cancer research collaboration

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 01:40 PM

California-based Gilead Sciences and Yale School of Medicine have announced a research collaboration focused on the discovery of new cancer therapies, according to FierceBiotech.

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Heart failure studies often exclude older patients

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:11 PM

Many cases of heart failure occur in adults aged 65 and older, but a recent report found that several clinical trials examining heart failure excluded older patients, according to Reuters.  This suggests the medications developed for the condition are not tested on the patient population who will be taking the drugs.

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Heart failure studies often exclude older patients

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 01:19 PM

Many cases of heart failure occur in adults aged 65 and older, but a recent report found that several clinical trials examining heart failure excluded older patients, according to Reuters.  This suggests the medications developed for the condition are not tested on the patient population who will be taking the drugs.

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University of Cambridge opens pancreatic cancer research center

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 01:09 PM

The University of Cambridge, U.K., has opened the Cambridge Pancreatic Cancer Center, a multi-disciplinary center focusing on pancreatic research.

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Drugmakers may face FDA fines for slow efficacy confirmation in cancer drugs

Monday, March 28, 2011 01:04 PM

Winning early U.S. approval of promising cancer treatments could wind up costing drugmakers up to $10 million in fines if they don’t confirm their drugs’ effectiveness in follow-up studies within a restrictive timeframe, FDA officials said, according to a Bloomberg report.

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ACRES seeks to build global clinical research system operating with shared procedures and policies

Monday, March 28, 2011 08:00 AM

A growing concern in the pharmaceutical industry has been that its approach to clinical trials, particularly on a global scale, no longer works. The rising cost of clinical research, difficulties in recruiting patients, tensions about ethical oversight in developing countries, dry pipelines and concerns about drug safety and efficacy have caused many forward-thinking industry leaders to explore new models for global drug development.

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UMass, U.K. to collaborate on stem cell projects

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 12:11 PM

A collaboration surrounding stem cell categorization, distribution and possible funding for joint research projects has been signed between the University of Massachusetts Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry and the United Kingdom Stem Cell Bank, according to a report in Mass High Tech.

The signing took place in Hertfordshire, England during Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Innovation Economy Partnership Mission 2011, which has been touring Israel and Europe to drum up collaborations between researchers and companies in those areas and Massachusetts, primarily in the life sciences.

The two stem cell banks plan to share best practices for stem cell banking and to collaborate on standards for stem cell line characterization, production and distribution in the U.S. and the U.K.

The UMass Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry was proposed in 2007 and established in 2008, with funding from the $1 billion Life Sciences Act.  The registry started officially offering its seven stem cell lines to researchers working on treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and juvenile diabetes in 2011.

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