After months of hype from Seattle-based biotech Cell Therapeutics Inc. about a second chance at FDA approval for pixantrone, the optimism was absent Monday as the company withdrew its new drug application for the proposed treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC) issued a release saying it needed “additional time” to prepare for the Food and Drug Administration review. The company asked for an extra month to prepare, but the FDA declined to reschedule in that time frame…

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The first meeting of a task force that will develop recommendations for medically necessary treatment for autism — and the qualifications of those who provide it — will be held Wednesday in Sacramento.

The Autism Advisory Task Force will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 204 at the Sacramento Convention Center at 1400 J St. The meeting is open to the public.

The task force is called for by Senate Bill 946, authored by Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento. The bill, signed by Gov…

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In a $785 million deal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with three national governments, the World Bank and 13 pharmaceutical companies in a new commitment to eliminate or control 10 neglected tropical diseases by the end of the decade.

The foundation joined with the U.S., United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates governments in the plan to focus on countries where neglected tropical diseases (NDTs) are endemic. The diseases affect 1.4 billion people worldwide.

The Gates Foundation is committing $363 million during a five-year period toward research for new and better drugs to address the diseases…

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Two days before Oregon’s House and Senate open shop for 2012, lawmakers have released some of the nearly 300 bills they’ll consider between Feb. 1 and March 6.

The bills will receive consideration during what amounts to the state’s first official annual session. Many measures won’t get full committee hearings until the Feb. 9 revenue forecast, at which lawmakers will learn the size of Oregon’s budget deficit.

Both the House and the Senate have already referred bills to committees.

Several measures will address ways that Oregon Gov…

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Industry presenters will focus on the Use and Benefits of Physiologic, Mechanistic Models in Drug Development.
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In a study that holds major implications for breast cancer research as well as basic cell biology, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a rotational motion that plays a critical role in the ability of breast cells to form the spherical structures in the mammary gland known as acini…
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All living organisms are made up of cells, behind these intricate life forms lie complex cellular processes that allow our bodies to function. Researchers working on protein secretion - a fundamental process in biology - have revealed how protein channels in the membrane are activated by special signals contained in proteins destined for secretion…
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The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint against Covington-based Omnicare Inc., moving to stop the company’s hostile bid to buy Louisville-based PharMerica Corp.

The case will be heard before an administrative law judge at the FTC in June.

As Business First reported earlier this month, Omnicare had disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would extend the deadline for the FTC to review its proposed acquisition until Jan. 26. Earlier Friday, Omnicare also extended its deadline to buy PharMerica shares to 5 p…

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A three-dimensional study of how enzymes in the malaria parasite Plasmodium synthesize essential vitamins, could help develop new drugs to combat the disease. Using electron microscopy, a team of scientists from Germany and the UK studied how the enzymes synthesize Vitamin B6, which has already been proposed as a target for new drugs…
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Inside the Brooks Sports shoe lab, tucked inside a suburban office park in Bothell, biomechanical engineers, footwear developers and designers are trying to create the latest and greatest running shoe.

Brooks’ efforts show the ever-increasing convergence of athletic performance gear and technology, which is expected to grow even more pronounced in the next five years as clothing gets embedded with UV screens and digital sensors, and as computers gain the ability to respond to people’s motions…

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