United States

Report: Prescription drug utilization among elderly Americans has reached plateau

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:16 PM

A new white paper from life sciences advisory firm VOI Consulting shows that while a confluence of technical, medical and social factors led to dramatic growth in per capita prescription drug consumption in the U.S. over the past 20 years, long-range forecast suggests consumption levels have reached a saturation point. This means the U.S. pharmaceutical market will not experience a similar wave of sustained, industry-wide growth in the foreseeable future.

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Soligenix awarded NIAID contract

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:14 PM

Soligenix, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat inflammatory diseases and biodefense medical countermeasures (MCMs) for which there remains an unmet medical need, has been awarded a contract valued at up to $6.4 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's NIH (specifically funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases or NIAID).

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HμREL, Sanofi collaborate

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:12 PM

HμREL, a provider of advanced tissue constructs and microfluidic cell-based assay platforms for preclinical drug development, has entered into a multi-phase R&D collaboration with Sanofi U.S.

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National MS Society, GE Healthcare partner

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:08 PM

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is collaborating with GE Healthcare through Fast Forward, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to co-fund a clinical study with the GE investigational PET tracer, GE180, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The clinical study, which will be enrolling patients in the U.K., is aimed to aid in physicians' understanding of whether imaging neuroinflammation in MS patients before and after treatment with natalizumab (Tysabri) can help identify which patients may respond to treatment.

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Caris Life Sciences study reports positive results for evidence-guided tumor profiling

Tuesday, October 1, 2013 10:00 AM

Caris Life Sciences, a biosciences company focused on personalized medicine, has announced data from two studies which demonstrate the potential of evidence-guided tumor profiling to immediately improve the treatment of patients with hard-to-treat cancers, including cancers of unknown primary (CUP) and rarer and refractory cancers.

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CureDuchenne Ventures launched to accelerate drug discovery and development

Friday, September 27, 2013 01:24 PM

National nonprofit CureDuchenne has launched CureDuchenne Ventures, a new initiative to identify and develop a robust pipeline of therapies to treat Duchenne, the most common and lethal form of muscular dystrophy. This drug discovery and development initiative is based on CureDuchenne's venture philanthropy model, in which the organization provides early stage funding to biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and academic investigators to help develop breakthrough therapies to treat Duchenne.

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Ipsen to relocate R&D activities to Cambridge, Mass.

Friday, September 27, 2013 10:28 AM

Ipsen plans to relocate its U.S. R&D operations to Cambridge, Mass., in 2014. This site will be key for innovation in targeted therapies across Ipsen's specialty areas as well as a center of excellence for peptides. The move also brings Ipsen closer to several key partners based in the Cambridge area, including prominent hospital centers, medical schools, biotech companies and universities, thereby further promoting and facilitating partnerships and open innovation.

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CMS Office of the Actuary projects modest growth in healthcare spending

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 12:35 PM

Consistent with past years’ findings, a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary projects U.S. healthcare spending growth over the next 10 years will be modest in comparison to historical trends, with increased spending the result of an improving economy and more accessible and affordable health coverage.

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Chrysalis BioTherapeutics receives $1.5m from the National Cancer Institute

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 12:33 PM

Chrysalis BioTherapeutics has announced receipt of a $1.5 million contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to continue its development of Chrysalin to mitigate radiotherapy-induced damage to normal brain tissue.

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NCCN, McKesson Specialty Health, U.S. Oncology Network integrate with Elekta, Varian

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 12:26 PM

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), The U.S. Oncology Network and McKesson Specialty Health have inked agreements to provide future integration with Elekta and Varian that will enhance the ability to provide cancer patients with evidence-based quality care. The two oncology information systems are Elekta’s MOSAIQ and Varian’s ARIA.

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