August 29 – September 4, 2005
Sept 2nd: Medtronic Acquires Image-Guided Neurologics
Medtronic announced that it has acquired Image-Guided Neurologics
(IGN) of Melbourne, Fla., a privately held company that specializes
in precision navigation and delivery technologies for brain surgery.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Medtronic said the IGN product line, which includes the NexFrame
disposable, "frameless" stereotactic head frame, strengthens its
leadership position in deep brain stimulation (DBS) by offering
instruments that simplify the procedure for surgeons and improve
patient comfort during surgery.
Sept 2nd: Quinton Cardiology Systems and Cardiac Science
Announce Completion of Merger
Quinton Cardiology Systems, Inc., a global leader in advanced
cardiology products, and Cardiac Science, Inc., a leading provider
of life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs), today
announced they completed their merger, resulting in a combined
company called Cardiac Science Corporation.
The merger was approved in special meetings yesterday by the
respective stockholders of both Cardiac Science and Quinton.
Approximately 96 percent of the shares of Cardiac Science common
stock cast at the Cardiac Science special meeting voted in favor of
the merger proposal and approximately 97 percent of the shares of
Quinton common stock cast at the Quinton special meeting voted in
favor of the merger proposal. The merger agreement was originally
approved by the boards of directors of both companies in February
2005.
Sept 2nd: Study Holds Promise For New Way To Fight HIV
Researchers have confirmed for the first time the benefit of an
innate defense system present in the few patients who remain healthy
after years of infection with HIV despite receiving no treatment,
according to an article published in the September edition of the
Journal of Virology. The study found that the subset of HIV-infected
patients referred to as long-term survivors or nonprogressors have
higher amounts of a key enzyme in their white blood cells. At the
same time, a related biotech company is poised to begin preclinical
testing on a drug designed to confer similar protection on most HIV
patients. Approximately five percent of patients with HIV, or human
immunodeficiency virus, do not develop AIDS, or do so very slowly.
Researchers have been trying for years to understand what sets
long-term nonprogressors apart. Past research suggested that such
patients maintain higher levels of an enzyme in white blood cells
called APOBEC-3G (A3G), and the new study confirmed it in the first
experiments on human cells.
Sept 1st: Novartis AG Offers $4.5B Cash To Complete Takeover
Of Chiron Corporation
Novartis announced today that it has made a proposal to the
independent directors of Chiron Corporation to acquire all of the
remaining outstanding shares that it does not already own and has
filed an amended Form 13-D as required by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Novartis currently holds a 42.2% stake in the
U.S. biopharmaceutical company and has submitted a proposal to
acquire the approximately 112 million fully diluted shares (treasury
method) of Chiron for USD 40.00 per share in cash, or a total of USD
4.5 billion.
Sept 1st: FDA official quits over Plan B pill delay
The director of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of
Women's Health resigned Wednesday because the agency has not yet
decided whether emergency contraception can be sold over the
counter.
The delay in making "morning-after pills" available without a
prescription "is contrary to my core commitment to improving and
advancing women's health," Susan Wood, director of the women's
health office for nearly five years, said in an e-mail to colleagues
and women's health activists.
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford said Friday that he delayed a
decision because it's not clear whether Barr Pharmaceuticals' plan
to sell Plan B emergency contraception over the counter to women 16
and older but by prescription to younger teens is legal or
enforceable.
Aug 31st: FDA announces nationwide recall of Medline brand of
alcohol-free mouthwash and hygiene kits containing mouthwash because
of possible health risk
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying the
public of a nationwide voluntary recall of alcohol-free mouthwash
and hygiene kits containing mouthwash distributed by Medline
Industries, Inc., Mundelein, Ill. because of the potential
contamination with Burkholderia cepacia. Consumers and health care
providers who have Medline brand alcohol free mouthwash should stop
using the product immediately and check to see if it is being
recalled.
Aug 31st: Beckman Coulter signs rapid diagnostics supply
agreement with Princeton BioMeditech Corp.
In a move that underscores its growing commitment to the market
for rapid diagnostic medical test products, Beckman Coulter Inc has
entered into a supply relationship with Princeton BioMeditech Corp (PBM).
Under the agreement, PBM will supply a wide range of rapid
diagnostic tools used at the point of medical care to Beckman
Coulter's Primary Care Diagnostics business unit. Princeton
BioMeditech Corp is a leading innovator and manufacturer of simple
and rapid diagnostic products used at the point of care. Based in
Princeton, NJ, the company offers more than 70 tests covering
fertility management, infectious diseases, cardiac markers, drugs of
abuse, cancer markers, environmental and veterinary diagnostics.
Based in Fullerton, CA, Beckman Coulter Inc is a leading
manufacturer of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and
supplies that simplify and automate laboratory processes.
Aug 30th: Genencor Receives Defense Contract to Develop a
Process for Emergency Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Genencor International, a Danisco company, announced today that
it has received a grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a process for rapid manufacture
of emergency pharmaceuticals to defend against biological agents.
The process will be based upon Genencor's technology for large scale
manufacture of monoclonal antibodies in fungal systems which can,
theoretically, be used to mass produce a number of newly identified
vaccine or therapeutic candidates. The goal is to be able to
manufacture 10 million doses of vaccine within 2 months of
identifying the biological agent.
Aug 30th: Celera Diagnostics Identifies New Heart Attack Genes
Variations in human genes may raise a person's risk of a heart
attack as much as smoking or high blood pressure, according to new
findings from Celera Diagnostics. The research company says it has
linked variations in four genes with an increased risk for heart
attack. None of the genes had been previously associated with a
heart attack, and the discovery could lead to new treatments for
coronary heart disease. Celera says the gene variants identified can
cause the same kind of increased risk for a heart attack as high
cholesterol, hypertension or smoking. Celera Diagnostics, a joint
venture between Applied Biosystems and Applera-Celera Genomics Group
(NYSE: CRA) in Rockville, will publish the findings in the American
Journal of Human Genetics.
Aug 29th: Third Wave Technologies receives FDA clearance of
pharmacogenetic test
Third Wave Technologies Inc announced that the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has cleared the company's Invader UGT1A1
Molecular Assay for in vitro diagnostic use. It is the first
pharmacogenetic test to be approved by the FDA for use as a
companion diagnostic to a specific drug therapy. The Invader UGT1A1
test is cleared for use to identify patients who may be at increased
risk of adverse reaction to the chemotherapy drug Camptosar (irinotecan)
by detecting and identifying specific mutations in the UGT1A1 gene
that have been associated with that risk. Camptosar is used to treat
colorectal cancer and was relabelled recently to include dosing
recommendations based on a patient's genetic profile. Third Wave
Technologies is a leader in the development and marketing of
molecular diagnostics for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis
applications, providing physicians and researchers with superior
tools to diagnose and treat disease.
Aug 29th: First Production Of Human Monoclonal Antibodies In
Chicken Eggs Published In Nature Biotechnology
Origen Therapeutics today announced the first published
scientific report of fully functional, human sequence monoclonal
antibodies (mAbs) produced in chickens. The antibodies were
expressed solely in the chicken oviduct and deposited into egg white
in concentrations of 1-3 milligrams per egg. Moreover, antibodies
produced in this manner demonstrated 10-100 fold greater
cell-killing ability (ADCC) compared to therapeutic antibodies
produced by conventional cell culture methods. The new report was
published in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology by
researchers from Origen Therapeutics and their collaborators at
Medarex, Texas A&M University and the University of California, Los
Angeles. A research brief commenting on the potential impact of this
development for the production of human therapeutic proteins was
also published in the September issue of Nature Medicine.
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