Biotech News

“If the precise, or high fidelity, repair processes break down, this would unleash the full mutagenic potential of the initial mutation, resulting in changes in many important genes”

"The implications of these findings are considerable," said David Schatz, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, professor of immunobiology at Yale, and senior author of the study. via Science Daily

“We think it is very important for the entire public worldwide to have access to these very precious experimental results”

An ambitious program announced today by a coalition of government agencies could lead to the end of animal testing to evaluate the safety of new chemicals and drugs. via USAToday.com

“Although the results are still very preliminary, they offer a promising new lead for developing drugs to treat a very timely and medically important health concern”

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Potentially deadly staph bacteria may be easily defeated by the body's own immune system once stripped of their golden hue by a drug developed to lower cholesterol, according to new research.

The findings offer a promising new direction in the fight against increasingly drug-resistant staph infections, according to the National Institutes of Health, which supported the research.

An international team of researchers found that a "squalene synthase inhibitor," originally developed by Bristol Myers Squibb, blocks infections of Staphylococcus aureus, named for its "golden halo," in mice. Read more

“Changing the primary objective while the trial is ongoing could potentially compromise the integrity of the study”

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators said Friday a GlaxoSmithKline vaccine appears safe and effective for stopping the leading cause of diarrhea in infants. via KOB-TV

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's holding company has revealed new investments in Kraft Foods Inc. via Columbus Telegram

“This represents a real increase in resistance”

By MIKE STOBBE ATLANTA - The flu season is getting worse, and U.S. health officials say it's partly because the flu vaccine doesn't protect against most of the spreading flu bugs. via North County Times

“As a society, we need to be able to test thousands of chemicals in thousands of conditions at a much faster rate than we did before”

U.S. government scientists proposed Thursday to limit the testing of potentially toxic chemicals on animals and replace it with new high-tech testing methods. via MedlinePlus

The lives of 22,000 patients could have been saved if U.S. regulators had been quicker to remove a Bayer AG drug used to stem bleeding during open heart surgery, according to a medical researcher interviewed by ... via KEYE-TV Austin

A private security guard in La Jolla, Calif., was fired for blocking access to a popular beach on the day the first harbor seal of the season was born. via RedOrbit

“We believe they fully comply with both the spirit and letter of the antitrust laws”

Federal regulators sued Cephalon Inc. on Wednesday, accusing the company of illegally blocking the sale of low-cost generics to protect its biggest money making drug. via BusinessWeek

“We do not want people exposed to this for very much longer”

U.S. health officials are urging that Gulf Coast hurricane victims be moved out of their government-issued trailers as quickly as possible after tests found toxic levels of formaldehyde fumes.

Fumes from 519 trailer and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi were _ on average _ about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some trailers, the levels were nearly 40 times customary exposure levels, raising fears that residents could contract respiratory problems. Read more

“News of a second progression-free survival study is obviously a positive, even with a different chemotherapy”

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Genentech Inc said on Tuesday its cancer drug, Avastin, met the primary goal of prolonging progression-free survival when combined with chemotherapy in a breast cancer study, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.

The biotechnology company said results of the late-stage study support Avastin's potential as a breast cancer treatment. It is already approved to treat colon and lung cancer and the company is awaiting a decision on breast cancer.

No new safety problems related to Avastin were observed in the study, which was sponsored by Roche Holding AG, the company said. The Swiss drugmaker holds a majority stake in Genentech and sells Genentech's drugs outside the United States. Read more

“It has almost nothing to do with feeding people”

As genetically engineered agriculture takes off worldwide, the biggest growth in its popularity in 2007 came in the developing world, according to a report released Wednesday. via The Post-Standard

“We have had experience going through the judicial process”

AstraZeneca Plc is convinced it can prevail in U.S. patent disputes over its two biggest drugs, Nexium and Seroquel, and has had no discussions about settling the cases, its chief executive said on Wednesday. via Reuters

“The decision making process Aventis used to investigate these problems was illogical and ineffective and it could have led them to come to the wrong conclusion”

A U.S. government investigator said Sanofi-Aventis had evidence that a safety study of its antibiotic contained fake data, but submitted it to the Food and Drug Administration anyway. via Canadian Online Health News

“Our heart goes out to his family”

The death of a 47-year-old chemist at Merck & Co. Inc. is under investigation after police found two small containers of chemicals, one containing a powder and the other, a liquid, near his body. via Home News Tribune

“These Web site entries are obviously troubling and raise further questions as to whether anyone within Merck or Schering-Plough knew the results of the ENHANCE trial prior to the official release of data”

A congressional committee has broadened its probe of the delay by drug makers Merck & Co. via Jersey Journal