ALSO NOTED: Acomplia linked to deaths in the U.K.; Does HDL really prevent heart disease?; and much more...

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> While the FDA has been slammed by some drugmakers for its too-conservative approach to drug approval, it may have made the right move with Acomplia. But recent findings by the U.K.'s drug regulator show Sanofi's weight-loss drug has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse reactions since the company launched it in Britain two years ago. Sanofi still hopes to re-submit the drug as a diabetes treatment. Report

> Scientists have linked high-density lipoproteins (HDL), also known as "good" cholesterol, to lower cardiovascular risk for quite some time, but the Journal of the American Medical Association released a study on June 3, 2008, saying that HDL might not be protective after all. HDL report

> Moody's Investors Service says U.S. drug manufacturers can expect to see their credit ratings drop over the next year, despite respectable cash flow and decent profitability. The report cites concerns about increasing levels of offshore cash by the companies. Report

> For the past 15 years Dr. Francis Collins has been a leader of the genetics revolution in the U.S. Last week he announced that he would be stepping down from the post. Report

> OncoMed's Michael Clarke, George Q. Daly at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Sir Martin Evans from Cardiff University and Rene Hen from BrainCells/Columbia University are among 12 stem cell luminaries highlighted by Forbes. Report

> A group of researchers theorized that genetic engineering used to block an immune response in cells outside the brain would accelerate the progress of Alzheimer's disease by spurring inflammation. Instead, they said, an animal study showed that the process eliminated as much as 90 percent of the amyloid plaque associated with the memory-wasting disease. Report

> The Buck Institute for Age Research was the only non-academic group to receive California stem cell grants for new research facilities this year. Report

And Finally... Move over mascara. Allergan announced today that it will be filing a new drug application for bimatoprost, a drug that it claims encourages eyelash growth. Report

Nobel Prize goes to gene targeting trio

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

As a child, Mario Capecchi spent four years on the streets in his native Italy, surviving by stealing or begging for food. Today, he's one of three scientists--the other two are Oliver Smithies and Sir Martin Evans--who've won the Nobel prize for medicine, recognition for their collective work on gene targeting, a process that allows researchers to turn genes off and on in mice. Their work involved introducing a genetic alteration in embryonic stem cells which are then injected into a mouse embryo. That development has spurred a huge advance in understanding the role of genes and health--and advanced a myriad number of therapeutic programs.

- see the release from the Nobel Assembly
- read the article from the New York Times

Related Article:
Gene therapy makes a big comeback. Report