Tag: economics
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Sanofi-aventis Acquires Genzyme in $20.1B Deal
Sanofi-aventis, the Paris-based pharmaceutical company, has acquired biotechnology company Genzyme Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts for $74.00 per share, or about $20.1 billion. The deal includes other payments to Genzyme shareholders based on net sales and developments involving specific Genzyme drugs. Genzyme is expected to add its treatments for several rare diseases to Sanofi-aventis’s current collection…
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Transgenic Switchgrass Improves Biofuel Yield
Plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma and fermentation research by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have led to new lines of native perennial prairie grass that can make the production of cellulosic ethanol more economical. The researchers published their findings this week in in the Proceedings of the National…
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Grant Awarded for Medical Test Results Follow Up Technology
Martin Chieng Were, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, has received a grant to support his research on health information technology to improve post-hospital management of patients. The $420,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will fund Were’s work focusing on medical test results that are still pending when…
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Survey: Therapeutic Discovery Project Helps Biotechs
A survey of executives with biotechnology companies that received grants or credits under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project indicates the companies benefited from the awards, including the creation of new jobs. The survey of 226 top-level company executives was conducted online by the polling company Penn Schoen Berland, between November 2010 and February 2011, for…
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Dengue Fever Vaccine Promotion Initiative Unveiled
The International Vaccine Institute announced the launch of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI), a joint project that aims to reduce the economic and infrastructure barriers to the use of a dengue vaccine. Participants include the Sabin Vaccine Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and World Health Organization, with funding from a $6.9 million grant from the Bill…
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Long-Term Impacts of Biofuels on Land Analyzed
A team of university, government, and national laboratory researchers ran simulations to gauge the impact of biofuel feedstocks on agricultural land. The findings are published in the January/February 2011 issue of Agronomy Journal (free full-text access for 30 days following publication). The study, funded by the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service, simulated experiments lasting from 79…
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AstraZeneca, HealthCore Partner on Health Outcomes Research
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and HealthCore Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware, said today they will collaborate on real-world studies to determine how to most effectively and economically treat disease. HealthCore Inc. is the clinical outcomes research subsidiary of the health insurance company WellPoint Inc. The research is expected to include prospective and retrospective observational studies on disease states…
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Survey: Workers Use Employer Health Plan for Medical Info
Most U.S. workers covered by employer- or union-provided health plans go to those plans for medical information, according to a recent survey. The survey, conducted in October 2010 by the National Business Group on Health — an association of more than 300 large employers — had respondents from 1,538 employees at organizations with 2,000 or…
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Heart Disease Treatment Cost Expected to Triple by 2030
An economic forecast by an American Heart Association (AHA) panel indicates that the cost to treat heart disease in the United States is expected to triple to $818 billion by 2030 from $273 billion in 2010. The findings are contained in a policy statement published in the online issue of Circulation: Journal of the American…
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Study: Energy Dept Lab Generates $271 Million for State
An economic study estimates that the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, a U.S. Department of Energy nuclear physics research laboratory in Newport News, Virginia, generates more than $271 million in economic output and 2,200 jobs in Virginia. The study for Jefferson Science Associates LLC, the contract operators of the lab, was conducted by The Wessex…