Science and Enterprise

Month: February 2012

  • NIH Grant to Fund R&D on Pain Meds With Fewer Side Effects

    Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida has received a grant from National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of National Institutes of Health (NIH), for research on compounds that lead to new pain medications without the side effects of opiate drugs. The five-year, $3.1 million award will support a Scripps team led by neuroscientist Laura Bohn…

  • Avanir, Concert in Licensing Deal for Neurological Drugs

    The biopharmaceutical company Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Aliso Viejo, California and the biotechnology firm Concert Pharmaceuticals in Lexington, Massachusetts have agreed on a deal that licenses Concert’s drug-development technology to design treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders. While the companies did not disclose financial details, the industry Web site Xconomy says the deal can provide…

  • Welcome New Science Business Sponsor

    We like to think Science Business readers are sound in body as well as mind, which is why we are excited about Electric Yoga joining Science Business as a sponsor. You can find the Electric Yoga logo in the left-hand column on each Science Business page. Electric Yoga features a fine selection of apparel for…

  • Patent Issued for Protein-Engineered Flu Vaccine Technology

    Fraunhofer USA in Newark, Delaware has been assigned a U.S. patent for its technology that binds proteins with antigens to fight influenza. The Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent 8,124,103 on 28 February to three inventors, including Vidadi Yusibov, executive director of Fraunhofer USA. Yusibov also serves as the chief scientific officer of iBio Inc.,…

  • Lab-on-a-Chip Developed to Test Malaria Treatments

    Researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver and McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed a miniature testing device that can analyze the changes in red blood cells caused by common malaria parasites. The work of UBC engineering professor Hongshen Ma and colleagues appear in the journal Lab on a Chip (paid subscription required).…

  • FDA Issues New Label Requirements for Statins

    The Food and Drug Administration has issued new labeling regulations for statins, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels. When taken in combination with changes in diet and exercise, statins can can reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol in the blood. LDL cholesterol circulating in the blood can deposit on…

  • Research Institute, XCOR Partner on Suborbital Test Flights

    Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio says it will conduct suborbital space missions with SwRI payload specialist astronauts flying aboard one or two test missions in the XCOR Aerospace Lynx Mark I vehicle. The flights are expected to test capabilities of the Lynx vehicle with actual researchers and research experiments aboard. About one year…

  • Universal Vaccines Assessed for Widespread Flu Prevention

    Researchers In the U.S. and the U.K. have developed a simulation model to assess the ability of universal vaccines — those that cover a number of disease variations — to prevent the spread of influenza. The team from Princeton University and Duke University, Imperial College London, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration…

  • Math Model Gauges Potential Tylenol Overdose, Liver Damage

    Researchers at University of Utah and Baylor College of Medicine have devised a set of calculus equations to quickly estimate the amount of Tylenol ingested by a patient, and if the patient may need a liver transplant. Their work is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Hepatology. Acetaminophen is the generic…

  • Biotech, GSK to Partner on Rare Inherited Cellular Diseases

    Angiochem, a biotechnology company in Montreal, Canada says it will collaborate with the global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline on treatments for lysosomal storage diseases, a type of rare, inherited conditions causing cellular dysfunctions. Under the agreement, Angiochem will be eligible for at least $300 million in payments. Lysosomal storage diseases are a class of disorders caused…