Blog Archives
Top 5 News Stories: 11/2-11/9
1) Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc. opening office in Cambridge, Mass. MassBio – 11/08/2012
Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc., the leading developer of capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry based metabolomics, today announced the opening of its first U.S. office in Cambridge, Mass. The new office is expected to house up to 20 employees and a laboratory by 2015. HMT is based in Tsuruoka, Japan. Link
2) FDA experts give Novartis’ Cushing’s drug unanimous endorsement Fierce Biotech – 11/08/2012
An FDA panel of outside experts gave Novartis some good news going into its R&D day today. The panel provided a unanimous thumbs up for Signifor (pasireotide), a new therapy for Cushing’s disease. Link
3) FDA approves Pfizer drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis Chicago Tribune – 11/06/2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it has approved a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis developed by Pfizer Inc, two weeks ahead of the date the agency was expected to complete its review. Link
4) Cultural synergy at Millennium Pharmaceuticals The Boston Globe – 11/03/2012
But something different happened when Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. bought Cambridge-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion in 2008. It’s the way of the business world. When a global drug company takes over a biotechnology firm, it can be expected to streamline operations, decree new management structures, and impose its rigid Big Pharma corporate culture on the locals. Link
5) Personal struggle inspires testing for hemophiliacs Mass High Tech – 11/08/2012
Dr. Glenn Pierce knows first-hand the struggles of patients with hemophilia. The chief medical officer of Biogen Idec Hemophilia was born with hemophilia, a rare genetic disorder in which the blood doesn’t clot normally, and now through their respective organizations, he and a coalition of others will offer free genetic testing or genotyping to people with hemophilia and their families. Link
Top 5 News Stories 9/22 – 9/28
1) MindChild Medical gets FDA clearance of fetal monitor Mass High Tech– 09/26/2012
North Andover-based MindChild Medical Inc. received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its fetal heart monitor. The clearance comes seven months after the startup first filed the 510(k) pre-market notification application with the FDA for Meridian, its non-invasive monitor designed to report fetal heart rate data.
2) Study of Rare Disease Helps in Search for Clues on Aging Wall Street Journal – 09/25/2012
A drug first developed for cancer has shown promise as a treatment for progeria, a rare and fatal rapid-aging disease in children, and it may have implications in treating cardiovascular problems associated with normal aging.
3) Novartis Drug Shows Success With Plaque Psorasis Investor Place – 09/27/2012
Novartis announced on Thursday that mid-stage drug trails of its new psoriasis treatment had proven effective. The Swiss drug maker said that its new drug, AIN457 mitigated moderate-to-severe symptoms in people suffering from plaque psoriasis nearly three times as much as people in a control group taking a placebo.
Top 5 News Stories 6/30-7/6
1. Bristol’s Amylin Deal Heralds Acquisition Hunger Bloomberg News – 7/03/12
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s $5.3 billion deal to buy diabetes drugmaker Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN) gives Bristol (BMY) immediate access to a market of growing medical need, while heralding a burgeoning hunger among pharmaceutical companies for acquisitions.
2. The time is now for health care change – Guest Opinion The Herald News – 07/04/2012
“In order for the Medicare program to be economically sustainable, the healthcare industry must shift its focus away from primarily treating illness to a more holistic approach aimed at keeping people healthy.”
3. Agios connects dots between enzyme and cancer Mass High Tech – 07/05/2012
Scientists at Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. discovered new evidence that links metabolic enzyme and acute myeloid leukemia, a common form of adult cancer.
Guest Post: John P. Butler, CEO of Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals on World Hemophilia Day – Closing the Gap on Access to Treatment
Imagine that you have a child with a rare, life-threatening condition, and there were treatments available to help your child live a normal, healthy life, but you don’t have access to those treatments. This is the situation faced by hundreds of thousands of hemophilia patients and their families around the world. The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) estimates that approximately 75% of the 400,000 people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders throughout the world receive inadequate treatment or no treatment at all.
People with hemophilia have low levels of a protein called clotting factor, which is essential for blood clotting. If this condition is not treated, a person can have uncontrolled internal bleeding following an injury or surgery. In more severe forms of hemophilia, bleeding into muscles or joints can occur spontaneously, without an obvious reason. Acute bleeding episodes can be life-threatening. Less severe bleeding can still cause long-term damage to joints, muscles and organs.
There are effective treatments for hemophilia available today, but thousands of patients around the world never receive these treatments. People with hemophilia may not be correctly or swiftly diagnosed and they may not have access to the treatment they need after their condition is identified.
