| Cord Blood America Reduces Initial Storage Fee to $495 With Launch of 'Afford-A-Cord' Program (PR Newswire) Cord Blood America, Inc. , announced today its stem cell processing and storage subsidiary, CorCell, is launching "Afford-A-Cord," which reduces the initial cost of storing umbilical cord blood stem cells from $2075 to $495 plus medical courier service. Â The Afford-A-Cord program will be offered as an additional payment option to CorCell's long standing traditional payment programs. us.rd.yahoo.com |
Vivus's Obesity Drug Raises Familiar Questions Derek Lowe submits: One big story from last week was the FDA advisory panel's "No" decision on Qnexa, the drug-combo obesity therapy developed by Vivus (VVUS). This is the one that's a combination of phentermine and topiramate, both of which have been around for a long time. And clinical trials showed that patients could indeed lose weight on the drug (with the required diet and exercise) - but also raised a lot of questions about safety. And it's safety that's going to always be a worry with any obesity drug, even once you get past the (rather large) hurdle of showing efficacy. That's what took the Fen-Phen combination off the market, and what torpedoed Acomplia (rimonabant) and the other CB-1 compounds before they'd even been property launched. The FDA panel basically agreed that Qnexa helps with weight loss, but couldn't decide how bad the side effects might be in a wider patient population, and whether they'd be worth it:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Momenta Poised to Dominate $100B Blood Thinners Industry Investment U submits: by Alexander Moschina Chances are, you’ve never heard of this small Massachusetts-based biotech firm… But on July 23, an important announcement from the FDA sent its shares skyrocketing 81%.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
FDA Chief Looks to Antibiotic Resistance The FDA is intensifying its focus on problems caused by antibiotic resistance among humans and feed animals through the widespread use of those drugs over the past several decades. online.wsj.com |
Medicare Data Trove Yields Clues A Wall Street Journal investigation of the $500 billion Medicare system offers a window into doctor fraud and abuse. online.wsj.com |