Archive for the 'Devices and Technology' Category
July 22nd, 2010 by admin
Nigeria is fast-tracking mobile authentication services in its fight against drug counterfeiters. Manufacturers will bear the brunt of the cost, at least initially. The costal country of 150 million is at the forefront of African anti-counterfeiting efforts, thanks largely to a rampant supply of malaria drug fakes. In mid-May, the nonprofit Pedigree Network and computer giant HP launched an authentication trial in Nigeria and Ghana; Nigeria is also conducting tests with Merck using technology from Sproxil.
Continue reading ‘Nigeria Takes on Fake Drugs with New Technology’
June 29th, 2010 by admin
Cytori Therapeutics may need to spend $10 million more than anticipated to get clearance for its first product because of a stricter-than-anticipated regulation. Cytori had laid out $200 million in eight years on the device and was seeking ”fast-track” clearance for the body-tissue repair device. But now it must take the slower regulatory path used for about one in every 10 experimental devices.
Continue reading ‘FDA Imposes Hurdle for Cytori Breast Repair Device’
June 28th, 2010 by admin
Despite fears of cancer risks, despite abundant–and growing–competition, Lantus can power Sanofi-Aventis to its ambitious goals for growth in the diabetes arena. That’s what the company’s diabetes chief, Pierre Chancel, tells Bloomberg, anyway. Chancel says Lantus will continue to lead competitors, he says, even as longer-acting versions of insulin hit the market. “To beat Lantus, a product needs to show superiority in more than one parameter,” he told the news service. “We’re still not seeing that.”
Continue reading ‘“We’ll Make our Diabetes Goals,” Says Sanofi’
June 21st, 2010 by admin
Patients recovering from congestive heart failure at a New York hospital are being offered a telemonitoring system to help with medication compliance. The data collected from the system generates an e-diary of patient adherence to the prescribed drug regimen, so clinicians and doctors can monitor compliance at the patient or study group level.
Continue reading ‘RFID System Checks Rx Compliance’
June 18th, 2010 by admin
I’ve always envied people who can get injections without flinching, as somehow, seeing a needle enter the skin gives me the jitters. This is probably the reason intravenous drug abuse has never appealed to me (next to the addiction and death issues, of course). But thanks to Pantec Biosolutions and its Please (Painless Laser Epidermal System) device, getting a jab may no longer require the doctor to chase after a 33-year-old man shrieking down the hospital halls.
Continue reading ‘Forget Needles. ‘Please’ Delivers Drugs via Lasers’
June 17th, 2010 by admin
The scramble to come up with a faster and cheaper way to sequence a genome just got a credible new contender which aims to do the job for the bargain basement rate of $30. The first time scientists sequenced a human genome, the price tag hit $3 billion. That price point has quickly plunged to about $20,000, putting sequencing genomes for the purposes of drug discovery work within the reach of biopharma companies. But this new company, a spinoff from Harvard University dubbed GnuBio, says the trick to bringing sequencing within reach of most people on the planet revolves around deciphering fragments of DNA from droplets streaming through a tiny tube.
Continue reading ‘Genome Sequencing for $30 – A Harvard Spin-off Promise’
June 16th, 2010 by admin
Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment has received more than a dozen regulatory approvals so far this year, and it plans to make approximately 80 significant submissions across its seven franchises between 2010 and 2012. In fact, the MD&D business segment, which generated $23.6 billion in sales in 2009 and became Johnson & Johnson’s largest business segment, holds the No. 1 or 2 market positions in the majority of its markets. These facts were emphasized in a business review, during which Alex Gorsky, worldwide chair of MM&D, said the company is “very pleased, but not satisfied.”
Continue reading ‘J&J Medical Devices & Diagnostics Segment Receives Significant Regulatory Approvals’
June 7th, 2010 by admin
While many medical professionals continue to debate the effectiveness of mammograms for women prior to age 50, a new study concludes that such tests are becoming more precise in their ability to “detect and intercept” breast cancer, the Group Health Research Institute recently announced. Data from more than 2.5 million screenings for more than 970,000 women ages 40 to 79 determined that by 2004, radiologists were able to correctly identify cancerous lesions in women nearly 84 percent of the time, up from 71.4 percent in 1996. While over the same time period, the accuracy with which radiologists correctly identified non-cancerous lesions decreased from 93.6 percent in 1996 to 91.7 percent in 2004, researchers were not overly concerned with the “false-positive test results.”
Continue reading ‘Breast Cancer Detection through Mammograms Improved’
June 4th, 2010 by admin
Over the last decade, $301 billion was spent on 1,496 medical device mergers and acquisitions, according to Deal Search Online. Novartis’ $39 billion buyout of Nestle’s 77 percent interest in Alcon took the top spot as the largest medical device deal in the last decade. Boston Scientific’s $27.2 billion acquisition of Guidant Corporation in 2005 came in second.
Continue reading ‘Medical Device Deals of the Decade’
June 3rd, 2010 by admin
Bio-Optronics, Inc., a leader in healthcare workflow software, launches Clinical Conductor(TM) Enterprise, a new comprehensive, in-depth clinical study management system, at the Association of Clinical Research Professionals Global Conference & Exhibition in Tampa, Florida. The Clinical Conductor(TM) Enterprise CTMS is an extensive optimized clinical trial management system (CTMS) designed to centralize crucial information on patients and studies to ensure an accurate and efficient workflow throughout the clinical trial process. Specifically designed for CROs, SMOs, and sponsors, Enterprise CTMS builds on the well-established benefits offered by Clinical Conductor(TM) Site CTMS, which is already being used in over 600 sites worldwide, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Ukraine and South Africa.
Continue reading ‘Clinical Conductor Clinical Trial Management System Enjoys Record Growth’
