Top 5 News Stories 6/22-6/29

1. Worcester competes for biotech Telegram.com – 6/24/12

After a day of pitching the attributes of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine to biotechnology representatives from around the world, Joseph P. McManus climbed onto a stool in the school’s booth, on the floor of Boston’s convention center, and nursed a bottle of water. Link

2. Senate Clears Bill Renewing $6 Billion FDA User-Fee Program The Wall Street Journal – 6/26/12

Senate lawmakers easily approved legislation that will allow the Food & Drug Administration to collect $6 billion in user fees from medical companies to help pay. Link

3. Hepregen gets $500K grant Mass High Tech – 6/27/12

Hepregen Corp. of Medford, a startup spun out of MIT in 2008 which is developing a liver model intended to mimics key functions of the human liver for use in drug development, has announced that it got a $500,000 SBIR Phase 2B grant. Link

4. Supreme Court upholds health-care law, individual mandate Washington Post – 6/28/12

A sharply divided Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health-care law Thursday, ruling that its key provision – an “individual mandate” to buy health insurance – is constitutional under Congress’s taxing authority. Link

5. Reaction to healthcare ruling mixed across sectors Mass High Tech – 6/28/12

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld nearly all the provisions of President Barack Obama’s signature health care overhaul law, the Affordable Care Act, including the “individual mandate” which requires that nearly all Americans have coverage. Link