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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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Drug Reduces Stroke Victim Brain Inflammation, Disability
Researchers at the Institute for Neurological Research in Los Angeles, California report reductions in brain inflammation and neurological disabilities in stroke victims after administration of the drug etanercept. The proof-of-concept research was published in the 1 February 2011 issue of the journal CNS Drugs (paid subscription requried). Etanercept is a drug that blocks tumor necrosis…
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Pfizer Slashes R&D Funding, Closes U.K. Research Site
Pfizer Inc. in New York said today it plans to cut its research and development spending to keep R&D costs in line with lower expected revenues in 2012. The reductions, which Pfizer calls “significant,” include closing its research facility in Sandwich, U.K. and consolidating research operations in the northeast U.S. The company has lowered its…
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National Lab, University to Certify Flu Screening Machine
Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the UCLA School of Public Health in Los Angeles will test and certify a key component of the High-Throughput Laboratory Network (HTLN) to be built by HighRes Biosolutions of Boston, Massachusetts. The company will design the automated extraction and screening system for a prototype compact…
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FDA Blocks Obesity Drug Over Cardiac Concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. in San Diego, California and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in Osaka, Japan that the agency is withholding approval of the companies’ candidate obesity management drug Contrave pending results of another clinical trial to address risks of heart disease. The companies released excerpts from…
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University Opens Silicon Photonics Chip Design Service
The University of Washington in Seattle opens today a new service called OpSIS to help scientists and engineers share the high cost of developing a new type of light-based computer chips. OpSIS — Optoelectronics Systems Integration in Silicon — is a multi-project wafer service for silicon photonics, and part of the university’s College of Engineering.…
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FDA Approves Trial of Nanotech Cancer Cell Markers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first clinical trial in humans of brightly glowing nanoparticles to light up cancer cells to aid in diagnosing and treating cancer. The trial with five melanoma patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City will test if the technology is safe and…
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SBA Commits $2 Billion to Matching Small Business Capital
The White House says the Small Business Administration (SBA) will commit $2 billion in matching funds to private sector investment over the next five years in promising high-growth companies. The new funding is part of a White House small business initiative announced today that includes a proposal to make permanent a capital gains tax credit…
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Brain Pathway Found for Nicotine Vulnerability
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida have identified a pathway in the brain that regulates an individual’s vulnerability to the addictive properties of nicotine. The findings appear in the 30 January 2011 online issue of the journal Nature (paid subscription required). In the study, the scientists examined the effects of a part…
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Finance Friday: 28 January 2011
Here are recent angel and venture finance transactions for science- and engineering-based companies reported by Xconomy. Biomedical/Life Sciences Meritage Pharma in San Diego, California. Specialty drug discovery and development. $2 million, equity. XDx in Brisbane, California. Molecular diagnostics. $12.5 million, debt (from GE Capital) Stromedix in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Specialty drug discovery and development. $2 million,…