Biotech Week articles from March 2001

Biotech Week archives from March 2001

NIH-Funded Medical Schools Agree On Guidelines That Would Strengthen Conflict Of Interest Policies.(National Institutes of Health)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Agreeing that the protection of research subjects is paramount, the leaders of eight of the top-10 U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded medical schools and another six nationally prominent leaders...

'Virtual Walls' Confine Liquids Within Microchannels.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fabricating pathways and manipulating fluid flow in microdevices just got a lot easier with the help of "virtual walls" - sides that lack physical barriers. Controlling the flow of gas and liquids...

Treatment With Magnetic Rods Studied.(implantation of magnetic rods to aid in prostate cancer thermotherapy)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Iowa researchers are developing a new approach to treat prostate cancer using heat generated by implanted magnetic rods to destroy the cancer. The UT scientists hope the new technique...

Tiny Silicon Devices Measure, Count, And Sort Biomolecules.(nanofluidics)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Up to now, most biologists have studied the molecules of life in test tubes, watching how large numbers of them behave. But now researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, are using...

Combination p53 Gene Therapy/Paclitaxel Chemotherapy Evaluated In Vivo.(for ovarian cancer treatment)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7- (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- The addition of chemotherapy to gene therapy regimens may improve therapeutic outcomes, researchers in the United States report. "SCH58500 (ACN53) is a...

New Class Of Drugs Shows Potential For Treatment.(endothelin receptor antagonists show potential for treatment of heart failure)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New drugs that relax blood vessels may improve blood flow in people with heart failure, according to two preliminary studies reported in the February 19, 2001, issue of Circulation. The...

FDA Approves U.S. Clinical Trials for Penn State/Arrow Heart Assist Device.(Arrow LionHeart)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first series of U.S. clinical trials for a new kind of heart assist device, called the Arrow LionHeart, developed by Pennsylvania State University...

Cellular Phones To Monitor Health?(use of cellular phones to monitor pulse and breathing rate)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7- (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A bomb has reduced a shopping mall to rubble, leaving rescue workers desperate to know if anyone inside is still alive. Thanks to a remarkable discovery at Bell Labs in New Jersey, they could one day...

Harvard Medical School Scientists Comment On Drafts Of Human Genome.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a special issue of Nature, dated February 15, 2001, but published online February 12, scientists around the world explained the latest findings, challenges, and applications of the Human Genome...

Compound Discovered That Doesn't Affect Food Intake.(gAcrp30 controls weight gain without affecting food intake)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the Whitehead Institute and Genset Corporation have found a new compound that controls weight gain in obese mice without affecting their food intake. The compound, called gAcrp30...

CpG Motifs Have Therapeutic Potential.(as vaccine adjuvants in cancer treatment)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7- (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -CpG motifs may influence the success of vaccines, immunotherapies, and gene therapies, Genzyme Corp. researchers suggest. "The mammalian immune system has...

Functional MRI Reveals Brain's Innate Plasticity.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Functional imaging of the brain demonstrates that this highly complex organ adapts to injury by redistributing its cognitive workload across established neural networks and recruiting local cortical...

Medicine Made To Match Genetic Profile.(pharmacogenetic research)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- You say the antibiotic that cured your best friend's bladder infection made you break out in a full body rash? And the hormone therapy they used to shrink your father's prostate cancer made it grow...

Women Sought For Testosterone Replacement Study.(conducted by the United States National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) are recruiting women who have premature ovarian failure - formerly known as premature menopause - to determine if...

Procedure Not As Effective As Endarterectomy.(carotid stenting not as effective)
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7- (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Carotid stenting, in which a metal mesh tube is inserted into the main neck artery feeding the brain, is less effective than surgery as a treatment for carotid blockages that can lead to stroke, a Duke...

Delta-Like Proteins May Play Role In Stem Cell Proliferation.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer-Delta-like protein, in addition to numerous other regulatory duties, plays an important role in controlling the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells,...

Once-Daily Coviracil Shows Promise In HIV Infected Patients.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIRS), Durham, North Carolina, has presented data from two Phase UL, 48-week trials, which included over 900 patients comparing once-daily Coviradil (emtricitabine, FTC)...

Study Finds Phenotyping Better Than Genotyping To Predict Response To Antiretroviral Therapy.
March 7, 2001... 2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results presented at the 8th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections demonstrate, for the first time, the superiority of the Virtual Phenotype [tm] over conventional genotyping tests,...

Study Finds Monoclonal Antibody Is Safe And Beneficial Treatment.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new drug for treating Crohn's disease (CD), is safe and beneficial for patients who have not gotten relief from other medications, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study published in the March...

Novel Therapy Enters Clinical Trials.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stanford University Medical Center researchers are testing a novel inhaled therapy to help cystic fibrosis patients avoid progressive lung damage that can lead to respiratory failure. Richard...

Researchers Identify Barriers To Enrollment.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most patients do not participate in cancer clinical trials because they don't want to use investigational treatments, even though entry into such trials is frequently associated with a higher survival...

Breast Cancer Detection Technique Uses Fluorescent Molecules.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A detection technique for early-stage breast cancer that literally tracks and illuminates cancerous cells was announced March 14, 2001, by a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania School of...

Oligodeoxynucleotide Co-Administration With HIV-1 Vaccine Boosts Immune Response.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer Administering an oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) DNA sequence together with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine induces a stronger immune response...

Osteoprotegerin Gene Therapy May Prevent Bone Loss.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Delivery of the osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene via a single adenoviral vector inhibits bone loss in mice, researchers at the pharmaceutical company Amgen report....

Newly-Formulated DTaP Vaccine Approved With Only Trace Amounts Of Thimerosal.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- On March 7, 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a newly formulated version of Tripedia, a diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine without preservatives...

Commercial Assays Not Specific Enough.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A comparison of six commercial enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis reveals a lack of accuracy due to cross-reaction with...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Accelerated Program To Fight HIV/AIDS In Africa.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) announced on March 14, 2001, new initiatives to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The company will now make its two AIDS medicines, [Videx.sup.R]...

Whole-Blood Antigen Assay Closely Correlates Skin Test Results.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have developed a whole blood antigen assay that can reliably identify tuberculosis infections. When compared to skin testing with tuberculin purified...

EntreMed Scientists Report Discovery of New Inhibitor.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EntreMed, Inc. (ENMD) announced on February 21, 2001, the discovery and first publication of a new angiogenesis inhibitor known as [Metastatin.sup.R]. Metastatin is the third recent discovery from...

Most Elderly People Cannot Use Flu Inhaler Effectively.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most elderly people cannot use the inhaler device that delivers the anti-influenza drug zanamivir (Relenza), a new study reports. Researchers suggest that improvements should be made to the...

Introgen and Texas Heart Institute Collaborate On Drug Development.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (INGN) and the Texas Heart Institute announced on March 14, 2001, that they have signed a sponsored research agreement to study the effects of gene therapy in cardiovascular...

Oligonucleotide Targets Murine Fas mRNA In Hepatocytes.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - An oligonucleotide that targets murine Fas mRNA appears to reduce Fas expression in the liver and to protect mice from death caused by agonistic Fas antibody....

Robot-Assisted Brain Surgery Is Feasible.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Despite advances in technology and technique, there will always be one limiting factor in the operating room: the surgeon. Hours of exacting work can tire anybody, especially someone navigating the...

Modified Adenovirus-Based Gene Therapy To Be Tested For Recurrent Cancer.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine is one of nine medical centers in the U.S. trying to determine if injections of a genetically modified common cold virus may be an...

Computer Model Predicts Outcome Of DNA Shuffling.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Industries using DNA shuffling to improve enzymes, therapeutic proteins, vaccines, and viral vectors may soon have a computational method for predicting the number and likely locations of crossovers,...

Drug Reduces Pain and Tenderness, Phase II Study Shows.
March 28, 2001... 2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Symbollon Corporation (SYMBA) presented data on March 13, 2001, from a recently concluded Phase II clinical trial of its patented drug, IoGen [TM], which is being developed as a treatment for...