Month: January 2014
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Football Helmet Design Shown to Reduce Concussion Risk
31 January 2014. Biomedical engineers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg found a helmet design that better absorbs head impact can reduce the rate of concussions among college football players. The team led by Virginia Tech research professor Steve Rowson, with colleagues from seven other institutions, published its findings online today in Journal of Neurosurgery. Recent…
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Pain Therapy Developer Issues IPO, Raises $55 Million
31 January 2014. Cara Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in Shelton, Connecticut, issued its initial public offering (IPO), raising some $55 million. The company issued 5 million shares of common stock, priced in the range of $11 to $13 a share. At noon ET today, the stock is priced at $13.38 a share on the…
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Early Trial Finds Vaccine Booster Covers Pandemic Flu Types
30 January 2014. An early-stage clinical trial shows an RNA agent being developed by Hemispherx Biopharma in Philadelphia extends the effectiveness of the standard nasal flu vaccine to cover pandemic influenza strains, like those found in Pacific Rim countries. Results of the trial were presented yesterday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology…
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Mayo Clinic Taking Part in ALS Stem Cell Clinical Trial
29 July 2014. BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in New York and Israel says the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota is now taking part in a clinical trial of the company’s treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that harness the patient’s own bone marrow stem cells. Financial aspects of the agreement were not disclosed.…
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Biopharma, University Partner on Blood Cancer Immunotherapy
29 January 2014. Kiadis Pharma B.V., a biopharmaceutical company in Amsterdam, is collaborating with a research group at Technical University of Munich to identify immune-system cells for treating leukemia in the company’s immunotherapy product for blood cancers. Financial aspects of the partnership were not disclosed, although the company says the Munich research is funded, at…
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FDA Approves Spine Compression Fracture Implant Device
28 January 2014. An implant device to treat vertebral compression fractures, made by Benvenue Medical Inc. in Santa Clara, California, was approved for sale in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration. The company’s Kiva VCF System treats vertebral compression fractures that occur most often to people with osteoporosis, but can also happen in cases…
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Asthma/Hay Fever Genetic Risk Factors Identified
28 January 2014. An analysis of genomes of people having both asthma and hay fever, compared to those with neither disease, highlighted 11 genetic variations associated with the dual-disease condition, including two previously unconnected regions. The findings from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia, with colleagues from Australia, the U.K., and U.S., including the…
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Manhattan Scientifics, MD Anderson Test Cancer Diagnostics
27 January 2014. Medical technologies developer Manhattan Scientifics in Albuquerque and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston are collaborating on tests of a new device that the company says detects tumors thousands of times smaller than current technologies. Financial aspects of the deal between Manhattan’s subsidiary Senior Scientific LLC that developed the device and MD Anderson…
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Metal-Organic Framework Developed that Responds to UV Light
27 January 2014. Chemists at University at Buffalo in New York and Pennsylvania State University in Hazelton developed a sponge-like material that changes shape and color in response to ultraviolet (UV) rays. The team led by Buffalo’s Jason Benedict published its findings online last week in the journal Chemical Communications (paid subscription required). Metal-organic frameworks…
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Report: PCORI Needs More Focus on Effectiveness Research
24 January 2014. A report released today by Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., calls for the organization formed to study comparative effectiveness of treatment options to focus more on the research for which it was created. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) was established in a provision of the…