| New Threats to U.S. Blood Supply Blood banks have added a number of new tests on donated blood in recent years, including checks for West Nile virus. But screening tests don't exist for many new infectious threats. online.wsj.com |
Pfizer Halts Trial of Pain Drug: Biotech's Latest Mishaps The Burrill Report submits: Pfizer (PFE) said it was halting a trial of its experimental drug tanezumab to treat chronic low back pain and diabetic peripheral neuropathy at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investigation of the compound continues in some areas of high unmet medical need, including cancer pain, the pharmaceutical company said. The FDA's request follows reports of adverse events in osteoarthritis patients taking tanezumab, and the agency's concerns regarding the potential for such events in other patient populations in which the compound is being studied. Pfizer said it will continue to work with the FDA to reach a common understanding about the appropriate scope of continued clinical investigation of tanezumab. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel is advising the agency to revoke Roche's (RHHBY.PK) right to market Avastin as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer after additional trial data convinced it that the biologic's risks might outweigh its benefits. The recommendation could put a $1 billion dent in Avastin's global sales some reports say, slicing as much as a sixth off Roche's $6 billion take from the drug in 2009 and opening up fears that European regulators may also revisit their approval of the drug's use in treating advanced breast cancer. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
RadNet Completes the Previously Announced Acquisition of the New Jersey Operating Subsidiary of Health Diagnostics (GlobeNewswire) LOS ANGELES -- RadNet, Inc. , a national leader in providing high-quality, cost-effective, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services through a network of 191 fully-owned and operated outpatient imaging centers, today reported it has completed the previously announced acquisition of the New Jersey operating subsidiary of Health Diagnostics. us.rd.yahoo.com |
Healthcare Headlines: Santarus Rallies, Amgen Announces Results M.E. Garza submits: Below is a look at some of the headlines for companies that made news in the healthcare sector on October 5, 2010. Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the publication of an integrated analysis of two randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials with RHUCIN (recombinant human C1 inhibitor, or rhC1INH), in the October issue of the peer reviewed Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
GE / Clarient Deal Expected to Accelerate Development of New Cancer Diagnosis Tools M.E. Garza submits: GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE), has agreed to a $580M deal to acquire Clarient, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRT), a leading molecular diagnostics firm. GE's Healthcare unit will pay $5 per common Clarient share or $20 per preferred share. This doesn't come as a big surprise. Back in early August, we released a report on Clarient where we recognized them to be a long-term leader in cancer diagnostics and molecular testing. They combine innovative diagnostic technologies with world-class pathology expertise to assess and characterize cancer. The rise of individualized medicine as the new direction in oncology has created a need for CLRT's resources in leading diagnostic technologies, such as flow cytometry and molecular testing. GE must be very interested in some of CLRT's next generation tests like Mammostrat and their proprietary taxane predictive product line that includes an array of tests created for lung, ovarian and breast cancers, among others. This represents more than a 50% gain from our initial coverage.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |