La Jolla, Calif., biotechnology firm Cordex Pharma has reached a deal that will move its investigational heart drug through late-stage clinical trials with backing from Durham-based Cato BioVentures, the venture capital arm of clinical research organization Cato Research.

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The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Jim Prentice, announced the release of the draft screening assessments and risk management scope documents for 19 chemical substances included in Batch 5 of the Chemicals Management Plan. “The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the safe management of chemical substances, which is why we launched the Chemicals Management Plan in 2006,” said Minister Aglukkaq.
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KMR GROUP, a firm analyzing biopharmaceutical R&D performance, announces the launch of a Biologics R&D Study to assess recent developments in biologics, including monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins, with a focus on the successes and challenges across the research & development spectrum. The benchmarking study, beginning this spring, will encompass biologics capability through technology acquisitions, licensing opportunities, and in-house development.
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Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials. Now a team of scientists has created miniscule flakes of silicon that glow brightly, last long enough to slowly release cancer drugs, then break down into harmless by-products.
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A new survey released today by IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Silico Research reveals that if biopharmaceutical — or life-sciences — companies fail to collaborate, they risk costly delays in the production of new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics and support services.
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Vikram Juneja, a UC San Diego senior, has been named the first Churchill Scholar at the university and he will use the $50,000 award to complete a one-year graduate program at Cambridge University, where he will work on a master’s thesis on cancer stem cell research. Juneja, a mechanical engineering major, has maintained a near 4.0 GPA, earning A+ grades in almost half his courses.
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For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren’t possible while snoozing. How, then, has this seemingly life-threatening behavior remained constant among various species of animals? A new study by scientists at North Carolina State University shows that the fruit fly is genetically wired to sleep, although the sleep comes in widely variable amounts and patterns.
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A strain of laboratory mice that has “superhealing” powers has been found to resist inflammation after a knee injury, and also to avoid developing arthritis at the injury site in the long term, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Their findings illuminate the mechanisms of post-traumatic arthritis and could point to therapies for this condition, which commonly afflicts younger people who lose productivity during their prime working years.
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A Dane County, Wis., jury on Monday ruled that Pharmacia, which Pfizer acquired in 2003, inflated the prices of medications sold to the state Medicaid program, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
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One-third of El Paso’s residents cross the Texas-Mexico border to Ciudad Juarez to purchase medication and health care services, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health El Paso Regional campus. Results from this study are published in the February issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association.
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