Hepatitis C News In The Morning Dec 07

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Hepatitis C News In The Morning Dec 07

A Thought Provoking Entry On Standfords blog Today Folks .Social media sites may lure patients to dubious promotions

By Margarita Gallardo

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have made it easy for chronic disease sufferers to find support and share information. But according to this American Medical News piece, they're also leaving patients susceptible to advertisers who may be promoting unregulated products or therapies.

Harvard researchers recently looked at the promotional activity on 15 Facebook groups dealing with diabetes and:They found that each group had an average of 9,289 participants.

The majority of participants posted only once, but of the 9% who posted three or more times, 30% were clearly promoting products, and 3% of the promotional posts contained inappropriate or unsupported therapeutic claims.

Other research has shed light on inaccurate or misleading health information posted online, and Harvard physician Greene, MD, PhD, says this should encourage doctors to have an open dialogue with their patients: Physicians should be asking patients where they learn about their conditions, where they learn about potential cures or tools to help them manage their conditions, and encourage an open conversation where patients can feel comfortable bringing in information they have learned on social media.

miRNA Research to Experience Rapid GrowthROCKVILLE, MD--(Marketwire - December 6, 2010) - MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of RNCOS's new report, "Global miRNA Market Outlook," to their collection of Biotechnology market reports.

For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?ProductID=6000943

Currently, the research community is primarily focusing on the widespread chronic diseases such as Cancer, Hepatitis, and Diabetes. Additionally, miRNA and its role in various diseases are being studied from a genetic point of view. Success in these areas would eventually fuel the movement into other important and rare diseases.

In Case You Missed This On Boceprevir Yesterday

Research Fuels Hope For Hard-To-Treat Hepatitis C Patients07 December 2010The outlook for patients with hepatitis C continues to improve as results from a clinical trial led by a Saint Louis University researcher found that the drug boceprevir helped cure hard-to-treat patients...

[read article]

Vertex is once again news on wall street..........

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX: $33.50) has been picked by Standard & Poor's Equity Research as its Focus Stock of the Week. VRTX carries S & P's highest investment recommendation of 5-STARS, or Strong Buy."Our recommendation is based on our positive outlook for Vertex's development drug telaprevir to emerge as a leader in new treatment paradigms for chronic hepatitis C," said Silver, Biotechnology Equity Analyst at Standard & Poor's Equity Research. "We also view favorably Phase III results among prior treatment-failure patients, particularly in relapsers/partial responders, versus other late-stage development rivals. Vertex completed an FDA new drug application in November 2010 and requested a six-month priority review, which we view as likely to be granted in early 2011."

Silver observes that although VRTX shares are volatile, which he attributes to its significant cash burn rate related to pipeline investment and to a rapidly changing chronic hepatitis C competitive landscape, he expects Vertex to dominate the market over the near term, while aggressively advancing next-generation combination products of its own to support long-term market share. He also looks for Vertex to attract acquisition interest, as big pharma faces a patent cliff with few late-stage drugs with market potential as promising as what he sees for telaprevir.

To view a video of Mr. Silver discussing Vertex Pharmaceuticals Click Here

Continue reading...................

Today published at FierceBiotech is an article on vaccines which are still in development. A few great examples: HCV, HIV/AIDS , MRSA , you might want to check it out.

Blockbuster Vaccines of the Future

Previously we took a look at the late-stage pipeline for diseases that are already vaccine-preventable. Now, we're examining the drugs in development for diseases that are not yet available for treatment--vaccines that, if approved, could put an end to some of today's most challenging diseases and end up as blockbusters a decade from now.

Hepatitis C and E All strains of hepatitis attack and destroy the liver, leading to infection, cirrhosis and possibly cancer. Intercell and Glaxokline have Phase II programs for hepatitis C and E, respectively. The combined market for a preventative hepatitis vaccine is projected to hit $2.3 billion.

Continue reading.............

Another good read from FierceBiotech this morning.

Rare diseases: All the rage in Big PharmaEvery once in a while, the stars align just right so that the itch to make a profit and to "do good" can both be scratched at the same time. And that is why pharmaceutical companies are jostling all over each other trying to get a piece of the action in rare diseases. There are conditions that, while debilitating to those who suffer from them, impact so few people, it seems counterintuitive that giant pharmaceutical companies would be ramping up their R & D departments to find treatments and cures. But they are, with encouragement and help from the FDA and the Institute of Medicine.

In case you missed it :

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Microsulis Medical announces first U.S. patient treated with Accu2i percutaneous microwave tissue ablation system

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7. December 2010 02:21GA_googleFillSlot("NewsMedicalSquares");Microsulis Medical Limited, the leading company in microwave technology for medical devices, today announced that the first U.S. patient was treated with the company's Accu2i percutaneous microwave tissue ablation (pMTA) system. The Accu2i pMTA system, which is now in worldwide distribution, is indicated for the coagulation of soft tissue during surgical procedures and recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance. The procedure involved a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer, and was

performed by Dr. N. ph Espat, professor and chief, surgical hepatobiliary oncology at Medical Center, Boston University. During the procedure, Dr. Espat combined microwave ablation using the Accu2i pMTA system of one 3cm tumor with surgical resection of two additional tumors.

Related Blog Entries

Liver Cancer: Microwave ablation (MWA) or RFA ?

Hello Folks, today Medgadget added a video (see below) presentation on "Microsulis microwave ablation (MWA) system" which is used to destroy liver tumors by heat generated microwave energy. The device is beneficial when liver tumors can not be removed surgically. The advantages of MWA over RFA (Radiofrequency Ablation) are highlighted below.

Liver Cancer: Video Understanding SIR-Spheres microspheres - Whats Being Discussed ?

Understanding SIR-Spheres microspheres - Whats Being Discussed ?

SIR-Spheres microspheres are used to treat "secondary liver cancer where the cancer originates in the bowel (colon) and then spreads to the liver". This type of cancer is called metastatic colorectal cancer. SIR-Spheres microspheres is generally not regarded as a cure, but has been shown to shrink the tumors more than chemotherapy alone.***NotePrimary liver cancer (or hepatocellular cancer), intrahepatic bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), are diseases that occur when the tumor originates in the liver and did not spread from another organ.

Did you see this yet ?

During HCV Treatment:lower levels of ribavirin found in African American patients then non-African American

Pharmacy Student's Drug Model Could Mean Better Outcomes for Hepatitis C Patients

University of land School of Pharmacy researchers have developed a mathematical model for choosing an appropriate dosage of the hepatitis medications for individual patients.

The work helps explain why African American patients tend to not respond as well to the drugs as other patients.For the work, student researcher Runyan Jin, MD, PhD, won the best student research award and a $1,000 prize for her work at the 2010 American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) scientific meeting. Her project involved analyzing 900 blood samples from 400 patients enrolled in a multi-center trial to determine why hepatitis therapy works for some patients, but not others.

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Protease AVL 192

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Hepatitis C:HCV Protease AVL-192/Avilomics platform to covalent irreversible protease inhibitors

Irreversible inhibition of a protease central to hepatitis C infection; New HCV Protease AVL-192:

Download the PDF here .

Also See: Avila Presents Data On Their Hepatitis C Drug AVL-192 At AASLD

Dec - New Protease blockers that irreversibly inhibit the HCV protease enzyme

Mon, Nov 29, 2010

A new study has demonstrated that irreversible covalent inhibition can increase selectivity, potency and duration of action, broadens applications for targeted covalent drugs to the protease gene family. Avila Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel targeted covalent drugs, has demonstrated the first-ever selective irreversible inhibition of a viral protease using a targeted covalent drug.

Other Health News

Public Release: 7-Dec-2010 Journal of Infectious Diseases

Influenza virus strains show increasing drug resistance and ability to spread

Two new studies raise public health concerns about increasing antiviral resistance among certain influenza viruses, their ability to spread, and a lack of alternative antiviral treatment options. The findings are published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Lancet

Low-dose aspirin reduces death rates from range of cancers by between 20 and 30 percent

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has contributed to a study showing that a low dose of aspirin reduces the occurrence of several common cancers. The study is published in today's Lancet. Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation

http://Hepatitis Cnewdrugs.blogspot.com/2010/12/hepatitis-c-news-in-morning-dec-07.html