Special Pinning Ceremony to Take Place at Partner Hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles

SALT LAKE CITY, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On July 23, Western Governors University, www.wgu.edu, will join with its southern California partner hospitals to celebrate the graduation of the first students from its one-of-a-kind nursing prelicensure degree program. During the event, which will take place at 8:45 a.m. (PDT) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Thalians Auditorium, students will watch WGU’s semi-annual commencement online and participate in a traditional nursing “pinning” ceremony.

WGU’s B.S. in Nursing (Prelicensure) program is the nation’s first online, competency-based bachelor’s degree program designed to prepare students for initial licensure as registered nurses. The CCNE-approved program combines WGU’s online, competency-based academic approach with clinical simulations and clinical intensives supervised by onsite clinical coaches and instructors serving as WGU adjunct faculty. More than 100 students are currently enrolled in the program, which is now operating at select locations in California and Texas and is scheduled to expand to Florida, Indiana, and Utah in the next six months.

This innovative program was developed by nonprofit WGU in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Utah Department of Workforce Services, and major healthcare partners, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, HCA, Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare West, and Tenet Healthcare. This partnership was created to address the growing shortage of registered nurses by making quality nursing education more accessible.

Cedars-Sinai Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN, one of the leaders in the conception of WGU’s B.S. in Nursing program, said, “We began work on this program because the nation needs more valid, reliable mechanisms to produce baccalaureate-prepared nurses. WGU’s competency-based, online prelicensure program has proven that it can help meet that need. Congratulations to these first students on their achievement and to WGU for creating this path.”

Participating hospitals and clinical partners include:

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Fountain Valley regional Medical Center
• Huntington Memorial Hospital
• Lakewood Regional Medical Center
• Los Alamitos Medical Center
• Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Access
• Riverside Community Hospital
• St. Francis Medical Center
• St. John’s Well Child and Family Clinic
• Watts Clinic

“Our country is facing a growing shortage of baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses, and we’re challenged with finding a way to make quality nursing education more accessible,” said Jan Jones-Schenk, WGU Chief Nursing Officer. “WGU’s program allows students to complete their studies and their clinical requirements without leaving their homes and families. This unique program provides each student with one-on-one clinical coaching in addition to individualized mentoring by qualified nursing faculty and high fidelity simulation labs. We know that this nursing education will directly help to improve the quality of healthcare in the U.S. We’re very proud of our first graduates, and we are confident that they are well-prepared to enter the workforce.”

About Western Governors University’s B.S. in Nursing (Prelicensure) Program

WGU’s B.S. in Nursing (Prelicensure) degree program is designed to provide students with the content knowledge and extensive in-hospital clinical experience need to earn a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and prepare students to sit for the national NCLEX licensing exam. Clinical experience includes intensive work in simulation labs and in healthcare facilities under the guidance of expert staff nurses who provide coaching and clinical learning opportunities. For more information regarding the program, go to http://www.wgu.edu/RN , or call 1-866-225-5948.

About Western Governors University (WGU)

“[WGU is] the best relatively cheap university you’ve never heard of.”– TIME magazine

Featured on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, WGU is the only university in the U.S. offering competency-based degree programs and the only nonprofit, fully online university with students in all 50 states. WGU offers degree programs in Business, Education, Information Technology, and Healthcare Professions, including Nursing. Founded by 19 U.S. governors in 1997, WGU’s mission is to increase access to quality higher education. Since it opened its virtual doors in 1999, the university has grown into a national institution, serving more than 25,000 students. WGU is self-sustaining on tuition, and does not rely on state or national support to fund its operations.

WGU is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). WGU nursing programs, which have nearly 2,500 students nationwide, have been accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). WGU’s Teachers College is the first and only exclusively online provider of teacher education to receive accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations. They include institutions such as AT&T, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dell, the Eli Lilly Foundation, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, Qwest, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank. More information is available at www.wgu.edu.

Follow WGU:

http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university

http://twitter.com/wgu

http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv

http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:
Joan Mitchell – Director of PR
801-428-5463
[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:
866-225-5948
www.wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University

For the fourth consecutive year, San Francisco Health Plan earns Department of Health Care Services Gold Award for Quality Care

SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — San Francisco Health Plan (SFHP), the City’s community health plan serving over 60,000 residents, announced it is the exclusive recipient of the 2010 Gold Award for Excellence in Quality Care from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). This is the fourth year in a row that SFHP has received the honor.

Award rankings were determined by Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) results, a nationally recognized performance measure of health plans developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

SFHP was the only health plan out of 21 Medi-Cal managed care health plans statewide that achieved HEDIS scores at or above the high performance levels in 11 of 15 measures.

“This award acknowledges the effort of the San Francisco provider network and the responsibility they take for the health of our members,” said Dr. Kelly Pfeifer, SFHP Medical Director. “Instead of waiting until patients are sick, our doctors and clinics reach out to make sure our members are getting the preventive care they need to stay healthy.”

SFHP motivates members to become active participants in their own care. For example, teens that are prone to avoid doctor visits are provided with free movie tickets for receiving an annual physical exam.

“This is a significant achievement for SFHP and its dedicated provider network. We have been successful in winning this award year after year only through commitment and unmatched dedication of our staff and the providers in our network. We are honored to receive this award and are proud of our partnership with our providers,” said John F. Grgurina, Jr., CEO of San Francisco Health Plan.

Through sharing best practices and technical assistance for providers, and providing outreach and incentives for members, SFHP has become one of the leading community health plans in the state.

The HEDIS awards for 2010 are determined by results achieved in the 2009 calendar year.

About San Francisco Health Plan

San Francisco Health Plan, a licensed community health plan providing affordable health coverage to over 60,000 low and moderate-income families residing in San Francisco. SFHP was designed for and by the residents it serves – many of whom would not be able to otherwise obtain health care for themselves or their families. Through SFHP, members have access to a full spectrum of medical services including preventive care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, family planning, and substance abuse programs. SFHP’s mission is to provide superior, affordable health care emphasizing prevention and promoting healthy living with the goal of improving the quality of life for the people of San Francisco. For more information on SFHP, visit www.sfhp.org.

About HEDIS

HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) is a set of standardized performance measures designed to ensure that purchasers and consumers have the information they need to reliably compare the performance of managed health care plans. The performance measures in HEDIS are related to many significant public health issues such as cancer, heart disease, smoking, asthma and diabetes. Health Plan performance is reported publicly through consumer materials to help people choose the best health plan for their needs. HEDIS has become more than a set of measures; it is part of an integrated system to establish accountability in health care nationwide. HEDIS is sponsored, supported and maintained by National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). For more information on HEDIS, visit www.ncqa.org

SOURCE San Francisco Health Plan

PARIS and BASEL, Switzerland, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Cellectis bioresearch, the genome customization specialist and a commercial subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), and Lonza, a world leader in biotechnology production, announce today that they have reached a significant milestone in the development of a newly bioengineered cell line.

Using their proprietary meganuclease technology, Cellectis bioresearch successfully managed to deactivate (“knock-out”) the cell-based glutamine synthetase (GS) in CHO-K1SV, Lonza’s proprietary host cell line. This achievement comes as part of an overall strategic plan to further advance the GS Gene Expression System(TM) offering and is expected to contribute to shortened development timelines critical for the early phases of bioproduction.

“We are very pleased to deliver Lonza’s engineered cell line ahead of time and to demonstrate the great potential of meganucleases for knock-outs in the bioproduction field,” said Dr. Christophe Delenda, CSO of Cellectis bioresearch.

“Removal of the cell-based GS activity will enable Lonza to make further improvements to its proprietary GS Gene Expression System(TM) and shorten development timelines via accelerated selection of highly productive clones and increased productivities,” said Dr. Richard Alldread, Head of Technology Development and Strategic Projects, Lonza Development Services. “Lonza aims to have the new cell line available for services and licensing in late 2011.”

Lonza’s proprietary technology, the GS Gene Expression System(TM), uses selection via glutamine metabolism to rapidly generate high-yielding and stable recombinant cell lines. Hundreds of cell lines using the GS System(TM) have already been created to generate therapeutic proteins for clinical trials and in-market supply. Removal of the cell-based GS activity will enable further improvements to be made to the selection process for creating highly productive recombinant cell lines.

Details of the payment from Lonza triggered by this milestone were not disclosed.

About Cellectis bioresearch

Cellectis bioresearch was incorporated as a subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS) in June 2008. It provides life science researchers with ready- and easy-to-use tools for genome customization. These tools, based on sequence specific nucleases, enable the engineering of cells with optimized features for drug discovery, protein production and gene functional studies. The genome customization products and services can be purchased online from www.cellectis-bioresearch.com. Check the website for more information.

Follow Cellectis bioresearch on Twitter: http://twitter.com/genegineer

About Cellectis

Cellectis improves life by applying its genome engineering expertise to a broad range of applications, including agriculture, bioresearch and human therapeutics. Cellectis is listed on the NYSE-Euronext Alternext market (code: ALCLS) in Paris.

For further information about Cellectis, visit our website at: www.cellectis.com

Follow Cellectis on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cellectis

About Lonza

Lonza is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Its products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. Lonza is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts, which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. In addition, Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Furthermore, the company is a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition, hygiene, preservation, agro and personal care markets.

Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. In 2010, the company had sales of CHF 2.680 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com.

Disclaimer

This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe, for shares in Cellectis in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company’s objectives based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management only and involve unforeseeable risk and uncertainties that could cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the forward-looking statements above.

SOURCE Cellectis

SOUDERTON, Pa., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — No one knows what the future might bring, but taking charge of one’s financial future by purchasing long term care insurance is an important step. No well-planned retirement should be without long term care insurance. It is the very cornerstone of retirement security.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110720/PH38056LOGO )

An unexpected health condition can strike at any time and completely exhaust a family’s life savings. Contrary to what many people believe, Medicare and private health insurance programs do not pay for the majority of costs associated with long term care services that most people need – help with personal care such as dressing or using the bathroom independently.

Acquiring a long term care insurance plan is an essential step for individuals desiring to protect their assets and get the care they may need. But for many Americans with extended health conditions, access to long term care insurance coverage can be challenging. For these individuals, United Security Assurance offers LifeStyle Solutions(SM) (LSS) and LifeStyle Solutions Select(SM) (LSS Select), tax-qualified, pool of money plans in the states of Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.

These innovative products expand our underwriting guidelines and offer individuals who have previously been or who would otherwise be turned down for long term care insurance the opportunity to obtain coverage. This is good news for people with more severe health problems than average, such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis or osteoporosis.

“Coverage for long term care costs is the last large unfunded liability for many Americans,” said Bill Neugroschel, CEO of United Security. “Many of us have coverage for our lives, our medical needs, our houses and our cars, but we often don’t think about how we will cover the cost of long term care. This is a major gap in our financial planning which long term care insurance like LifeStyle Solutions can address,” he said.

In addition to being tax-qualified long term care insurance plans, LSS and LSS Select also offer a network of integrated Wellness, HomeWorks and Care Planning Service Programs. These services are aimed to help individuals diagnosed with extended health conditions live for decades, and with good long term care they could stand a better chance of staying independent and enjoying those years.

About United Security Assurance Company of Pennsylvania

United Security Assurance Company of Pennsylvania (http://www.usa-cal.com), a privately held company, is dedicated to providing quality health products at fair and reasonable rates, and committed to the fair treatment of its agents and policyholders. The company currently offers products in 19 states, and has expertise in the individual insurance market, especially long term care, home health care, hospital indemnity, and senior life products. For more information or to find out how you can get started selling these products contact:

Theresa Robinson
Director of Marketing and Communications
United Security Assurance Company of Pennsylvania
Phone: +1 800 872 3044

SOURCE United Security Assurance Company of Pennsylvania

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Advanced Health Media (AHM), the leading supplier of speaker program and commercial compliance management solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, has named James Burgess as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He assumes responsibility from Jeff Brady who has served as AHM’s Chief Executive Officer since March 2010 after serving as its President for 9 years. James brings over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology & Services industry.

“James will be focused on continuing to provide best in class service to our customers and creating innovative solutions to serve them further. His service and technology background are an excellent fit for AHM’s technology based service offerings,” stated Kevin McMurtry, AHM Founder and Chairman. “I look forward to working with James as he builds and executes the AHM vision for continued growth.”

Most recently, James was President and CEO of Healthland, a leading developer of hospital management software specializing in financial and clinical applications for rural and critical access hospital networks. James has also served as President and CEO of Mediware Information Systems Inc. from 2005 to 2007 and before that General Manager of the Health Information Systems division of 3M. Prior to 3M James held various management and executive positions at IBM Corporation.

“James brings substantial healthcare, technology and business experience to AHM,” said Peter Manos, Managing Partner at Arlington Capital Partners. “His experience and expertise will provide the right leadership while AHM pursues an aggressive growth strategy.”

James comments, “I am excited to join AHM, a leader in this market with a great reputation, a world class customer base, a passionate group of employees and a bright future. I plan to build on AHM’s legacy and lead the business to the next level of success.”

About AHM

Advanced Health Media, located in New Providence, NJ is a Microsoft Certified Partner company that supplies a combination of custom technology and management services to provide the only comprehensive solution for program management and compliance administration specifically designed for the highly regulated pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.ahmdirect.com.

SOURCE Advanced Health Media

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc., (MID) has been awarded CE Mark Certification for its FloShield(TM) laparoscopic visualization system. This certification is mandatory for sale of certain medical devices in the European Union.

The FloShield system provides for an uninterrupted clear view during laparoscopic procedures. FloShield uses airflow from the insufflator to defog and deflect debris from the lens of the laparoscope without removing the scope from the abdominal cavity for cleaning. Surgeons have to interrupt surgery as often as ten times per hour to remove the scope and manually clean it. FloShield dramatically reduces, and often eliminates, interruptions to clean the lens. FloShield is the only medical device that prevents optics from becoming obscured.

“The advent of HD ten years ago was the last breakthrough in laparoscopic vision,” says Wayne Poll, M.D, FloShield inventor and CEO of MID. “FloShield represents the last hurdle in laparoscopic visualization.”

The FloShield system, which received FDA 510(k) approval in 2008, is in early distribution within the U.S., and in use at approximately 40 hospitals throughout the country. The system was certified ISO 13485 compliant in December of 2010, clearing the path for CE Marking.

“We have been contacted by several European and Asian distributors who are interested in FloShield,” says Poll.

FloShield is manufactured in Franklin, OH. Poll says the company has more than tripled employment over the last two years from four full time employees to 14.

About Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc.

Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc. (MID) was founded in 2007, by Wayne Poll, M.D., a laparoscopic surgeon. MID’s first market offering is the FloShield(TM) system of laparoscopic visualization devices. The FloShield franchise will soon add Flo-X(TM), the first biocompatible agent with 510(k) clearance for washing the lens of the laparoscope in situ. The company is also developing complimentary technology that manages the entire air space in laparoscopic surgery, which will improve the environment and experience for laparoscopic surgeons.

Funding for the company was led by the Ohio TechAngel Funds with additional funding from three other Ohio-based angel funds including Queen City, NorthCoast and ECOTAF. MID has received venture funding from Charter Life Sciences and Reservoir Partners. The company is headquartered at 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus, OH in the TechColumbus technology business incubator. For more information, visit www.midsurgical.com

SOURCE Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc.

U.S. News and World Report released its 22nd annual Best Hospitals rankings on Tuesday, with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ranking No. 1 on the 2011-2012 “honor roll” of top hospitals.

The paper’s rankings distinguished 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 nationwide, although only 17 earned spots on the Honor Roll, which signifies the highest level of medical excellence.

The rankings are based on a survey of nearly 10,000 specialists, along with performance statistics from nearly 5,000 hospitals in areas such as death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation.

“These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients,” said Avery Comarow, editor of U.S. News Health Rankings.

“Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high.”

The 17 hospitals that made the national honor roll include:

1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore

2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

3. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

4. Cleveland Clinic

5. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles

6. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, N.Y.

7. UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco

8. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston

9. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.

10. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

11. Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis

12. UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

13. University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle

14. University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor (tie)

15. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville (tie)

16. Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York

17. Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, Calif.

The paper also released a list of top hospitals within 16 medical specialties in 94 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.  These include:

• Cancer – University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery – Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland.
• Diabetes and Endocrinology – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Ear, Nose and Throat – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Gastroenterology – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Geriatrics – Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City.
• Gynecology – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Nephrology – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Neurology and Neurosurgery – John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Ophthalmology – Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami.
• Orthopedics – Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City.
• Psychiatry – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
• Pulmonology – National Jewish Health, Denver-University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora.
• Rehabilitation: – Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
• Rheumatology – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Urology – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

As part of a larger, upcoming project, the paper will release next Tuesday its “ËœTop Doctors’ list — a directory of some 30,000 top rated physicians, searchable by location and hospital affiliation across a wide range of specialties and subspecialties.

The full “Best Hospitals” rankings can be viewed here.

GARDEN GROVE, Calif., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — HYCOR Biomedical, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of in vitro diagnostic products, today announced that Sean-Xavier Neath, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). In this role, Dr. Neath will support the company as it works to expand its product lines and provide additional support for customers.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Neath to the HYCOR team and are confident he will have great impact on key areas of our business,” said Dick Aderman, CEO, HYCOR. “Given his diverse background in the academic, clinical and business sectors we look forward to learning from his experience and leveraging his unique perspective during this important time of growth for the company.”

Dr. Neath brings extensive knowledge and leadership in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries having served in medical affairs positions for a number of leading companies, including BRAHMS USA and Biosite. During his time at BRAHMS USA, Dr. Neath lead new product development strategies, including clinical trial design and regulatory submission planning. In addition, Dr. Neath was responsible for medical education, marketing and reimbursement program development. In his role at Biosite, Dr. Neath provided strategic counsel to the business development, marketing, sales and R&D teams and also developed educational curricula for physician clients.

“I’m pleased to join the HYCOR team to identify product development opportunities and work to expand the customer support services that HYCOR customers value most,” said Dr. Neath.

About HYCOR Biomedical, Inc.

Founded in 1981, HYCOR is a global manufacturer and marketer of in vitro diagnostics products. Since its founding, HYCOR has expanded its presence into urinalysis, allergy and autoimmune products used in clinical laboratories, hospitals and doctors’ offices worldwide. Among its products, HYCOR markets the HYTEC(TM), KOVA® and AUTOSTAT(TM) brands. The company is focused on delivering products that provide the highest value to clinicians through innovation, reliability and customer service. For more information, please visit www.hycorbiomedical.com.

SOURCE HYCOR Biomedical, Inc.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Medical Affairs function arguably plays the most critical role in a biopharmaceutical organization with heavy responsibilities across areas such as clinical development, KOL development, scientific publications, and medical education.

Recent regulatory changes have pushed Medical Affairs to the forefront of many organizations’ priority list. Smart companies and effective biopharma leaders are looking to this area to help them work effectively with the larger medical community and allow the companies to perform better on behalf of their physician and customer stakeholders.

In fact, according to a recent study from Best Practices, LLC research 37% of Medical Affairs spending, on average, is allocated for medical/clinical research, with the top quartile of respondents spending more than 60% for the clinical function. Meanwhile, medical education takes up 18% of allocations, according to the study.

However, a top challenge still on the minds of Medical Affairs executives is insufficient resources, including budget and headcount, for developing and maintaining an effective Medical Affairs group, according to the study.

“Medical Affairs Resources, Structures & Trends,” primary research conducted by Best Practices, LLC’s, provides medical affairs executives with recent trends in budget and staffing resources, key challenges and top success factors for the function.

Download a complimentary white paper at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr1093.htm that includes selected best practices drawn from extensive primary research with executives from 25 leading biopharmaceutical companies.

The full 40-page report contains more than 100 benchmark metrics and 20 executive narratives, providing medical affairs executives with recent trends in budget and staffing resources, key challenges and top success factors for the function.

Key topics of this primary research include:

• Organizational structures
• Budget allocation for medical affairs functions and outsourcing
• Recent and anticipated changes in resource levels
• Impact on medical affairs functions on company success
• Key success factors and challenges for medical affairs

For more information on this study and other recent primary research studies, contact Cameron Tew, Executive Director of Research, at 919.403.9246 or at [email protected].

BEST PRACTICES, LLC, conducts work based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. Best Practices, LLC has been a leader in pharmaceutical research and consulting for more than 17 years; our clients include 48 of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies.

SOURCE Best Practices, LLC

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — ImpactRx, the pioneer in measuring the impact of promotion on physician prescribing behavior, announces that Rob Delghiaccio has joined ImpactRx as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Jim Cronin was promoted to Senior Vice President, Oncology Franchise.

Rob Delghiaccio comes to ImpactRx with 18 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, on both the client and vendor sides of the business. Most recently, he spent nearly six years at GfK Healthcare where he was Senior VP, Business Development. Rob’s market research experience includes uncovering market needs and identifying trends through the development, management, and analysis of primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative research. He has worked with a variety of data sets while servicing both in-line brand teams and pre-launch compounds at various stages of development. Rob’s therapeutic areas of expertise include both the gen med arena – Cardiovascular, CNS, Metabolic and Respiratory – as well as Oncology across a number of tumor types.

Rob began his career in sales and managed care roles at Lilly, worked for Merck in Market Research and at Ethicon Endo – a J&J Company. Rob is a graduate of the University of Arizona and received his MBA from Harvard University.

Jim Cronin has over 15 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing exclusively in oncology for the past 10 years. As Senior Vice President Oncology Franchise, he will join ImpactRx’s management team and will oversee the entire Oncology Franchise to ensure that best practices and optimal use of ImpactRx’s data and appropriate analysis are consistently offered to all oncology clients. Jim has been instrumental in building ImpactRx’s oncology business unit–taking it from a start up offering to its current position as the industry’s gold standard for measuring oncology sales force performance and its affect on physician reported patient treatment decisions.

About ImpactRx

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mount Laurel, N.J., ImpactRx’s longitudinal panels of high value, iPhone-connected physicians are the exclusive source of continuously-captured promotion and treatment data. Through its proprietary methodology, the Company annually captures one million details and three-million treatment decisions, fueling its unique ImpactData(TM) industry database. ImpactRx is a private company with investment financing provided by Symphony Technology Group (www.symphonytg.com) and Merck Capital Ventures. For more information, visit: www.impactrx.com.

CONTACT:
Lesley Bailey
Senior Director, Product Development/Marketing
ImpactRx, Inc.
856-802-4133
[email protected]

SOURCE ImpactRx

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Memorial Blood Centers (MBC) today announced the formal launch of an innovative new web-based system that adds convenience and enhanced privacy for blood donors when completing their pre-donation health history. The iDonate Interview (SM) program, for the first time, provides MBC blood donors the opportunity to answer all required health history questions–from the privacy of their home or office on the day of their donation.

“Enhancing the donation experience for our loyal and generous donors is goal #1 at Memorial Blood Centers,” said Kris Belanger, Senior Director, Donor Services. “That’s why we are so excited to be among just a handful of blood centers in the country to be providing this secure, automated system. We are very aware of the commitment our generous volunteers make whenever they come in to donate blood. They are taking time away from work and family, and we are extremely grateful for their willingness to give. With the launch of iDonate Interview we want to acknowledge our donors’ dedication to saving lives and are doing whatever we can to help reduce the total amount of time they are required to spend at their donation appointment.”

Safe, secure, and available online 24/7, iDonate Interview is a computer-assisted, self-interview program accessible from any computer with internet access. At a convenient time and place, donors log in to http://www.mbc.org/idonate to review donor education materials and complete a personal health history that determines their eligibility to make a blood donation that day. Once the health history questionnaire has been completed, donors print out a bar-coded receipt that contains their hidden responses and carry it with them to their same-day donation appointment. At any one of MBC’s 11 donor centers or community-sponsored blood drives, a MBC staff member will scan the iDonate Interview receipt, review all responses, answer any questions, and verify eligibility.

iDonate Interview includes an audio feature for Internet Explorer users and offers donors the flexibility to skip a question, to review later with a MBC staff member, or navigate back to change a response to an earlier question.

Responses to the same health history questions are required of all donors, whether using iDonate Interview or completing the questionnaire with the assistance of a MBC Collections Specialist at the time of a donation appointment. All blood centers are governed by rules and regulations established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which mandates that the health history interview be completed on the same day the blood donation is made, as a safety measure for both the recipient and the donor.

Please remember that blood donors are always needed. Please call 888-GIVE-BLD today to schedule an appointment.

About Memorial Blood Centers

Memorial Blood Centers has been saving lives for over 60 years as an independent nonprofit supplying life-saving blood to area hospitals and other partners throughout the U.S. Operating 11 donor centers and conducting hundreds of blood drives each month, Memorial Blood Centers also provides comprehensive testing and expert technical services as a national leader in transfusion medicine. For more information, call 888-GIVE-BLD or visit MBC.org.

SOURCE Memorial Blood Centers

Oct. 21, 2011 Summit panels spotlight medical home outcomes, accountable care relationships, workforce issues, team-based care and behavioral health integration

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Five short years ago, the patient centered medical home was a little-known model with the promise to improve patient outcomes and transform health care delivery. In October, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative will trace the progress of the medical home in the context if its own five-year history of stakeholder collaboration focused on continued advancement of what is now the rapidly expanding medical home concept. The Summit will be held Oct. 21, 1011 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.

The PCPCC is a coalition of more than 700 organizations representing the nation’s business leaders, consumers, primary care physicians and other health care stakeholders with the shared goal of advancing adoption of the patient centered medical home (PCMH). The Annual Summit is an opportunity to engage high-level national leadership and convene the membership around the ideas and practices to expand PCMH implementation nationwide. The theme for the meeting, “Five Years Making Healthy Connections: Collaborating to improve care in the PCMH,” applies both to the team-based care approach that is part of the PCMH model, as well as the stakeholder collaboration essential to the rise and expansion of the medical home as a central tenet for health care transformation.

“The medical home is the centerpiece for models of care designed to coordinate what is now an inefficient, fragmented system,” said Amy Gibson, PCPCC chief operating officer. “The positive impact of the medical home is now well established. As we move towards more accountable models of care, we look to the patient centered medical home and a collaborative, team-based approach to enhance care for individual patients as well as patient populations, and to rein in the overall cost of care.”

Keynote speeches will be offered by Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Richard Baron, MD, director, Seamless Care Models Group, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Thought leaders from industry, federal programs, think tanks and the PCMH field will participate in discussion panels on topics such as team-based care in the PCMH, outcomes of the PCMH: purchasers and payers in the accountable care landscape; workforce training and education; and integration of behavioral health in the medical home. Speakers include:

• John Crosby, JD, chairman, Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative; executive director, American Osteopathic Association
• Paul Grundy, MD, MPH, president, Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative; global director of healthcare transformation, IBM
• David K. Nace, MD, vice president, medical director, McKesson Corporation
• Terry McInnis, MD, MPH, president, Blue Thorn Inc.
• Susan Edgman-Levitan, executive director, The Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Joanne Pohl, Ph.D., ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, professor, University of Michigan School of Nursing (invited)
• Nancy Ford, director of regional clinics, Dean Health System
• Col. George D. Patrin, MC, special projects officer, patient family centered care NRMC/CLINOPS (invited)
• David Hanekom, MD, vice president of medical management and chief medical officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
• Marjie Harbrecht, MD, CEO, Health TeamWorks
• Melinda Abrams, MS, vice president of patient-centered coordinated care, The Commonwealth Fund
• Duane Putnam, national director, employers–coalitions, organizations and associations, Pfizer Inc.
• Dana Safran, Sc.D., senior vice president, performance measurement and improvement, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Emma Hoo, director, Pacific Business Group on Health
• Jay Sultan, associate vice president, product manager for value-based reimbursement, The TriZetto Group
• Cynthia Belar, Ph.D., ABPP, executive director, education directorate, American Psychological Association
• Lucinda Maine, executive vice president and CEO, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
• Elizabeth “Libby” Baxley, MD, professor and chair of department of family and preventive medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
• Barbara A. Cubic, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School
• Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D., CEO, American Psychological Association
• Rodger Kessler, Ph.D., ABPP, research director, Collaborative Care Research Network; research assistant professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine
• Russell Glasgow, Ph.D., deputy director of implementation science, National Cancer Institute’s division of cancer control and population sciences
• Susan McDaniel, Ph.D., Dr. Laurie Sands distinguished professor of families and health; director, Institute for the Family; Department of Psychiatry associate chair, Department of Family Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center

For a complete agenda or to register for the PCPCC Annual Summit, go to http://pcpcc.net/event/summit/10-21-2011/registration.

The PCPCC is organized and financed to provide better outcomes for patients, more efficient payment to physicians and better value, accountability and transparency to purchasers and consumers. Studies of the PCMH model show that it improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. It also lowers health care costs by improving care coordination and communication between primary care physicians and their patients.

About the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative
The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 800 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians, and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient centered medical home. The Collaborative believes that, if implemented, the patient centered medical home will improve the health of patients and the health care delivery system. For more information on the patient centered medical home and a complete list of the PCPCC members, please visit http://www.pcpcc.net/.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative

NEW YORK, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Just one year after the FDA approved Provenge, an immunotherapy for treating advanced prostate cancer, Medicare announced that they will continue to pay in full for Provenge when used in accordance with label indications. Provenge, unlike traditional hormone or chemotherapy treatments, uses a patient’s own cells to fight the cancer, thereby extending the life of the patient. Dr. David Samadi, Vice Chairman, Department of Urology, and Chief Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, sees the value in drugs such as Provenge for certain patients, but believes there’s a more direct way for most patients to tackle prostate cancer diagnosis.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110718/NY36892 )

Provenge works by in-lab training of a patient’s own immune system cells to fight the protein that surrounds prostate cancer. During treatment the patient undergoes a series of three procedures; each time cells are removed, trained and reintroduced in the patient in hopes that the body will attack the cancer like an infection. Testing indicates that Provenge can slow the progress of prostate cancer, thereby extending a patient’s life. Though the side effects are minimal, the expense is not; Provenge therapy costs approximately $93,000 per patient. “Provenge is seeing good results,” comments Dr. Samadi, “but this is a late game effort.” Provenge is being used on advanced prostate cancer patients who either don’t respond to hormone therapy or are experiencing the return of their prostate cancer. “When newly-diagnosed prostate cancer patients meet with me I urge them to make treatment decisions now that will serve them long into the future,” says Dr. Samadi. “I don’t want my patients, down the road, to be looking at options that will buy them a year or two. I want them to make choices now that will help them move beyond prostate cancer.”

When treating prostate cancer patients, some specialists recommend a “watchful waiting” course of action. Dr. Samadi firmly believes this methodology does not best serve most patients. As a skilled surgeon, Dr. Samadi is able to perform robotic prostatectomy procedures to remove the prostate and all signs of cancer surrounding it, eliminating the waiting and life-long worry. He has performed over 3,300 successful robotic prostate surgeries and his patients have a cure rate of 97 percent.

“Watchful waiting can be risky business,” cautions Dr. Samadi. “Prostate cancer patients can spend their lives returning for testing, worrying of growth or spread, and then dealing with treatment after treatment when the cancer advances. I want more for my patients.” For some, the wait-and-see method leads to a life of repeat treatments, drug hopping, and less-than-ideal survival outcomes. “The key to eradicating prostate cancer is to start early,” stresses Dr. Samadi. “Test early, remove early.”

In fact, studies indicate that in post-surgery biopsies many patients’ prostate cancer was actually far more advanced than initial staging tests indicated. “The fact remains that until the cancerous prostate is removed and tested, it’s impossible to know the exact location and staging of the cancer. Removing it altogether is the way to go.”

For more information, please view the following links:

Dr. Samadi Discusses New Prostate Cancer Treatment Drugs

Comparing Prostate Cancer Treatment Options – Robotic Surgery Vs. Watchful Waiting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dC4T9JAJss

Robotic Surgery On Good Day New York

Related links:

http://www.smart-surgery.com

http://il.smart-surgery.com/

http://www.roboticoncology.com

SOURCE www.RoboticOncology.com

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — BioTech Medical, Inc. announces the addition of the BioTech Medical Original Tempur-Med® Dental Chair Pad and Head Cushion to its ever expanding line of innovative support surface products.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that our office doesn’t receive a call for this product,” said Cathy Tippey, Director of Medical Operations for BioTech Medical, Inc. “We listened to our customers, and now, through an “exclusive” licensing agreement with Tempur Medical, BioTech Medical is able to offer the only dental chair overlay and head cushion made of Tempur-Pedic’s proprietary material,” said Tippey.

The addition of the BTM Original Tempur-Med® Dental Chair Pad and Head Cushion, the same pad and cushion that dental offices have trusted for years, is just another step towards providing BioTech Medical’s customers a one stop shopping experience in offering their patients the best choices available.

ABOUT BIOTECH MEDICAL, INC.

BioTech Medical, Inc. is a leading distributor and provider of innovative products and support surfaces to the DME and Worker’s Compensation industry. BioTech Medical’s comprehensive product and service offerings are used to enhance the safety and quality of patient care in extended care facilities and home care settings.

BioTech Medical, Inc. is a North Canton, Ohio based division of privately held Suarez Corporation Industries (SCI), a leading international marketing company. For more information, please visit www.BioTechMedicalinc.com.

    Contact:  Lauren Capo
              [email protected]
              330-497-6866

SOURCE BioTech Medical, Inc.

BETHLEHEM, Pa., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In an effort to expand its offerings for infusion therapy in both the acute care hospital and outpatient markets, with an initial focus on home infusion, B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) announced today an exclusive alliance with CME America to distribute the BodyGuard® line of electronic infusion pumps.

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The five-year exclusive distribution agreement allows B. Braun customers access to the safety, reliability and therapeutic flexibility of CME America’s BodyGuard electronic infusion pumps.

“B. Braun’s collaboration and synergy with CME America further demonstrates our commitment to bringing our customers infusion therapy systems that address key home infusion therapy needs, such as flexibility and a wide-range of programming options, while remaining cost-effective,” said Eric Melanson, Director of Marketing for Infusion Systems, B. Braun Medical Inc. “Strong hallmarks of the BodyGuard product portfolio include wide capabilities in therapy settings, a host of green power options, and an on-pump history capability.”

B. Braun’s customers will have access to the full line of BodyGuard electronic infusion pumps, including these four pump models:

• BodyGuard 323 multi-therapy pump – Programmable in five modes (continuous, intermittent, TPN, PCA and 25-Step) to deliver antibiotics, chemotherapy, parenteral and enteral nutrition fluids, analgesics and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Flexible configuration allows for pole-mounted use and a carrying pouch for homecare.
• BodyGuard 545 epidural pump – Specially designed and color-coded for epidural medication infusion.
• BodyGuard 575 PCA pump – Delivers continuous, bolus and clinician-activated bolus infusions for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA).
• BodyGuard 121 (Twins) pump – A two-channel pump designed for hospital and home use when administering more than one medication.

About CME America

CME America, LLC is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-registered medical device manufacturer and specification developer based in Golden, Colorado. CME infusion pumps and syringe systems have been used in hospitals, clinics and patients’ homes in the United States and Canada for more than 10 years. Since 1993, CME infusion products, including electronic infusion pumps, syringe infusion pumps and disposable infusion sets, have become well-established in Europe and Asia for their functional designs and reliable performance.

Worldwide, more than 75,000 CME infusion pumps have been sold to customers in 46 countries. CME pumps are used for a variety of IV therapy applications in such settings as hospitals, surgery centers, homecare and research centers. CME pumps are known for their simplicity of use, clinical flexibility, accuracy and innovative programming and safety features derived from direct user input.

About B. Braun

B. Braun is a leading manufacturer of infusion therapy and pain management products with an environmentally-friendly focus. Guided by the company’s “Sharing Expertise®” philosophy, B. Braun addresses the critical issues of infection prevention, medication safety and environmental responsibility by promoting best practices that help clinicians reduce medication errors, prevent healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) and achieve sustainability objectives.

Consistently recognized by Frost & Sullivan and KLAS for its medical technology and support services, B. Braun employees share their knowledge with colleagues and customers to improve working processes in hospitals and medical practices and to enhance the safety of patients and healthcare professionals. For more information, call 800-227-2862, e-mail us at [email protected] or visit B. Braun at www.bbraunusa.com.

SOURCE B. Braun

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — MedImmune announced today that it has begun shipping FluMist® (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) to influenza vaccine distributors who service health care providers throughout the United States.

MedImmune expects to provide approximately 15 -16 million doses of its trivalent (three-strain) nasal spray flu vaccine for the 2011-2012 influenza season through a variety of private health care practices, public health departments, school-located vaccination programs, military bases, and other venues. Healthcare professionals should refer to FluMist prescribing information for appropriate administration.

FluMist is indicated for eligible individuals 2-49 years of age. The most common side effects of FluMist are runny or stuffy nose; sore throat and fever over 100 degrees F.

This year, flu vaccines contain the three strains recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and World Health Organization (WHO), including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain.

The CDC recommends that flu vaccine be administered to eligible recipients aged six months and older every year as soon as the vaccine becomes available. A MedImmune analysis looking at pediatric populations suggests that starting influenza vaccinations as soon as product is available (July – September) — months earlier than the typical influenza vaccination season — may help reach an additional 10.5 million children at already-scheduled healthcare provider visits.

“MedImmune is committed to supporting public health efforts to initiate seasonal influenza vaccination as early as possible each year, greatly widening the window of opportunity for vaccination,” said Steve Projan, Ph.D, MedImmune’s Senior Vice President, Research & Development. “The data show that vaccination with FluMist in the late summer helps protect against influenza throughout the influenza season, even into the late spring.”

FluMist is available in every state, except South Dakota, through the federally funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, which provides vaccines at no cost to eligible children. FluMist is also available on the Vaccine for Adults contract allowing state and local immunization programs to access the vaccine at the public-sector price for community vaccination programs focused on young adults and immunization of first-responders and healthcare workers.

Based on a nationally-representative sample of private insurance claims from approximately 50 percent of US patients, FluMist accounted for 34 percent of seasonal influenza vaccinations given to children two through 18 years of age during the 2009-2010 season. FluMist is covered by approximately 99 percent of private health plans which offer immunization benefits.

Important Safety and Eligibility Information for FluMist

What is FluMist® (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal)?

FluMist is the first and only nasal spray flu vaccine approved in the United States to help prevent influenza and is indicated for the active immunization of eligible individuals 2 to 49 years of age against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B contained in the vaccine.

Who may not be able to get FluMist?

You should not get FluMist if you: are allergic to eggs, gentamicin, gelatin, or arginine; have ever had a life-threatening reaction to influenza vaccinations; or are 2 through 17 years old and take aspirin or medicines containing aspirin-children or adolescents should not be given aspirin for 4 weeks after getting FluMist unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise.

Children under 2 years old should not get FluMist because there is a chance they may wheeze (have difficulty with breathing) after getting FluMist.

Tell your healthcare provider if you: are currently wheezing; have a history of wheezing if under 5 years old; have had Guillain-Barre syndrome; have a weakened immune system or live with someone who has a severely weakened immune system; have problems with your heart, kidneys, or lungs; have diabetes; are pregnant or nursing; or are taking Tamiflu®, Relenza®, amantadine, or rimantadine.

They will decide if FluMist is right for you.

What are the most common side effects of FluMist?

The most common side effects of FluMist are runny or stuffy nose; sore throat; and fever over 100 degrees F.

Please see accompanying complete product information, including patient information at www.medimmune.com.

For more information, please visit www.FluMist.com.

About MedImmune

MedImmune, the worldwide biologics unit for AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN), has approximately 3,500 employees worldwide and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. With an advancing pipeline of promising drug candidates, MedImmune strives to deliver life-changing products, a rewarding career to our employees and a tireless commitment to improving patient health. For more information, visit MedImmune’s website at www.medimmune.com.

SOURCE MedImmune

HURRICANE, Utah, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — A word that frequently comes up in family therapy is “enmeshment.” It’s a therapeutic term that is sometimes misused and often misunderstood. Just what is enmeshment and how can a family recover from this dysfunctional relational pattern? To find out, we asked David Prior, LMFT. Prior is the executive director of Sunrise RTC, a treatment program for adolescent girls known for its effective work with enmeshed family relationships.

In this first of two installments, Prior discusses the symptoms and causes of enmeshment.

What is “enmeshment?”

Enmeshment is a description of a relationship between two or more people in which personal boundaries are permeable and unclear. This often happens on an emotional level in which two people “feel” each other’s emotions, or when one person becomes emotionally escalated and the other family member does as well. A good example of this is when a teenage daughter gets anxious and depressed and her mom, in turn, gets anxious and depressed. When they are enmeshed the mom is not able to separate her emotional experience from that of her daughter even though they both may state that they have clear personal boundaries with each other. Enmeshment between a parent and child will often result in over involvement in each other’s lives so that it makes it hard for the child to become developmentally independent and responsible for her choices.

What causes two people to become enmeshed?

The causes of enmeshment can vary. Sometimes there is an event or series of occurrences in a family’s history that necessitates a parent becoming protective in their child’s life, such as an illness, trauma, or significant social problems in elementary school. At this time the parent steps in to intervene. While this intervention may have been appropriate at the time, some parents get stuck using that same approach in new settings and become overly involved in the day to day interactions of their children.

Other times, and perhaps more frequently, enmeshment occurs as a result of family patterns being passed down through the generations. It is a result of family and personal boundaries becoming more and more permeable, undifferentiated, and fluid. This may be because previous generations were loose in their personal boundaries and so it was learned by the next generation to do the same. Or it may be a conscious decision to stay away from family patterns of a previous generation that felt overly rigid in its personal boundaries.

Is enmeshment really a bad thing or is it just when two people are very close?

Enmeshment is different than two people being very close. Close relationships are a wonderful part of life and often allow for appropriate independence within the relationship. Enmeshment, however, becomes a problem because the individuals involved start to lose their own emotional identity. They lack a certain level of autonomy that they need in order to grow emotionally and relationally. In a parent-child relationship this creates a dynamic in which teenagers who need to develop appropriate autonomy become developmentally stymied. They are either too afraid to venture into increased autonomy and become dependent on their parents, or they become reactive to the enmeshment and run too far in the other direction, sometimes making poor choices in their effort to be independent.

Is it possible to love your child too much?

No. I don’t think it’s possible to love your child too much. Love and enmeshment are two different things. However, enmeshment can be a misdirected expression of love.

Do fathers or mothers tend to be more enmeshed with daughters or is there not a clear trend one way or the other?

You can definitely have enmeshment that goes in any direction in relationships. You can have enmeshment between one parent and a child, between both parents and numerous children, and between siblings. Probably the most common dyad we see with enmeshment in is between a mom and daughter, but we see it all over the place.

What’s the opposite of enmeshment? Is that just as problematic?

The opposite of enmeshment is disengagement, in which personal and relational boundaries are overly rigid and family members come and go without any apparent knowledge of what each other is going through. This can be just as problematic as enmeshment. In fact, in its extremes, disengagement can be more difficult to work with because it’s easier to teach an engaged relationship how to redirect some of their energy than it is to get a disengaged relationship to engage.

What’s the right relational balance between these unhealthy extremes?

A good relational balance involves family members recognizing that they have different emotions and can make independent decisions, while also recognizing that their decisions affect others. In these relationships a parent can see that their daughter is upset and anxious and can even empathize with her, but this does not get the parent into an aroused emotional state in which they feel like they have to fix the emotion (or that which caused the emotion) of their daughter. They empathize and show nurturing concern for their daughter but allow her the emotional space to solve her own problems with their support.

How can I know if I am in an enmeshed relationship?

Those in enmeshed relationships are often the last to see it. But with awareness you can start to recognize some of the signs: 1. If you cannot not tell the difference between your own emotions and those of a person with whom you have a relationship. 2. If you feel like you need to rescue someone from their emotions. 3. If you feel like you need someone else to rescue you from your own emotions. 4. If you and another person do not have any personal emotional time and space.

DAVE PRIOR MAY BE REACHED AT [email protected]; VISIT SUNRISE RTC AT WWW.SUNRISERTC.COM

Media Contact: David Prior Sunrise Residential Treatment Center, 866.661.7547, [email protected]

SOURCE Sunrise Residential Treatment Center

BALA CYNWYD, Pa., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — MediMedia Information Technologies (MMIT), the complete source for formulary intelligence, is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Gutelius as Vice President of Business Development. Rob will assume responsibility for all of MMIT’s Sales and Client Service activities for the organization. Mr. Gutelius joined MMIT in September of 2008, and has an ability to understand customer challenges and issues and develop a consultative approach in creating solutions. “Rob has worked in tandem with the Sales and Client Service teams in creating innovative strategies to optimize the client experience and utilization of our products,” said Marty Caron, President and CEO of MMIT. “We are excited to have him leading our Sales and Service efforts as we continue to offer innovative solutions for our diverse customer base.”

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Prior to joining MMIT, Rob spent 20 years at IMS Health holding positions of increasing responsibility in Sales and Service. During his years at IMS, he was responsible for the overall management of IMS’ West Coast Sales office, and gained extensive knowledge of secondary data, applications and integration.

Separately, Chin Hock (C.H.) Low has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer. C.H. has served in Senior Executive roles with technology firms such as Ryzing LLC, Orbius Inc. and StarCite, Inc. Mr. Low brings over 30 years of experience in software product management, software development and technology group management in various startup and early stage companies.

“The addition of C.H. to our management team is an important step in leveraging our market leadership position by further investing in and enhancing our technology platform and products; and in building new products for current customers and new related markets,” said Marty Caron. “It is important that we retain our leadership position in offering innovative solutions to help our clients keep up with regulatory reform; drive down costs and take advantage of business opportunities. We look forward to the considerable insight and experience that C.H. brings to the company, and are excited to have the benefit of his leadership in the design and delivery of inventive solutions for our customers.”

Rob and C.H. join a growing team of executives at MMIT including Marty Caron, Ron Berg, Jayne Cortino and Tom Gardner. These appointments follow the acquisition of MMIT by Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLC in March of this year.

About MediMedia Information Technologies

MMIT provides plan-specific and managed care formulary information to pharmaceutical, health insurance, and electronic prescribing companies. The company’s solutions are all built around a central formulary database integrating data from managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, state Medicaid plans, over 1000 Medicare Part D plans, and self-insured employer plans. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Newtown, Pennsylvania. For additional information please visit www.mminfotech.com.

About Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLC

Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLC (SGE) is a private equity group investing in growth capital and buyout opportunities in information services, software, and financial technology. SGE’s team of dedicated investment professionals brings a unique set of experience combining venture investing with operational expertise. For additional information please visit www.sgep.com.

SGE is an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG), a world-leading, technology empowered financial trading firm specializing in making markets and providing liquidity. SIG includes affiliated entities specializing in institutional brokerage, research, private equity, and venture capital. SIG employs approximately 1,500 individuals located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. For additional information please visit www.sig.com.

SOURCE Susquehanna Growth Equity, LLC

BRISBANE, Calif., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — SARcode Bioscience, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today the completion of a $44 million Series B private equity financing. The financing round was led by Sofinnova Ventures and was augmented by the additional backing of Rho Ventures and existing investors Alta Partners and Clarus Venture Partners.

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“We believe that SARcode is uniquely positioned to make significant breakthroughs in the treatment of dry eye that could improve therapeutic options for millions of patients,” commented Garheng Kong, General Partner of Sofinnova Ventures. “SARcode’s proprietary compound has demonstrated the ability to alleviate both the signs and symptoms of dry eye by directly targeting the inflammatory origin of this debilitating disease,” Kong added. “We have been impressed by the broad ophthalmic product development and marketing experience of the SARcode executive team and look forward to working with them and the investor syndicate as the company’s lead dry eye program moves into Phase 3 clinical trials,” said Martin Vogelbaum, Partner at Rho Ventures.

Proceeds from the Series B financing will largely support further clinical development of SAR 1118, SARcode’s lead compound for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. SAR 1118 is a first-in-class, topical small-molecule integrin antagonist that inhibits T-cell mediated inflammation, a key component of dry eye. In a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 230 subjects with dry eye disease, SAR 1118 demonstrated an improvement in corneal staining at 12 weeks and an increase in tear production as early as 2 weeks. In addition, subjects receiving SAR 1118 reported dose-dependent improvements in visual-related function at 12 weeks, which included the ability to read, drive at night, use a computer and watch television. SAR 1118 was well tolerated. Ocular adverse events were mostly mild, transient and related to initial instillation of the drug. SARcode plans to initiate pivotal Phase 3 clinical studies with SAR 1118 in the second half of 2011.

“We are extremely pleased with this financing, and are grateful for the confidence and trust from such renowned life-science investors,” said Quinton Oswald, Chief Executive Officer of SARcode Bioscience. “In the US alone, the current dry eye market potential is over $1 billion. This is expected to grow substantially in the next decade due to an aging population and increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, both of which contribute to higher rates of dry eye disease. There is clearly a large opportunity to develop therapeutic agents that can rapidly treat the signs of dry eye and improve symptomatic visual-related quality-of-life. With the support of our investors, we look forward to bringing this novel dry eye therapy to the market.”

About Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is a prevalent and often chronic condition estimated to affect approximately 20 million people in the US. It is among the most common diseases treated by ophthalmologists throughout the world, and has been shown to have a significant impact upon quality of life. Dry eye varies in severity and etiology, and symptoms most commonly manifest as discomfort, visual disturbances, and tear film instability due to decreased quality or quantity of tears. A major contributing factor towards the development of dry eye is inflammation caused by T-cell infiltration, proliferation and inflammatory cytokine production that can lead to reduction in tear film quality and ocular surface damage.

About SAR 1118

SAR 1118 is a potent novel small molecule lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1; CD11a/CD18) antagonist under investigation for a broad range of ocular inflammatory conditions including dry eye and diabetic macular edema. LFA-1 is member of the integrin family of adhesion receptors found on the surface of all leukocytes and represents a therapeutic target central to a number of inflammatory stimuli. SAR 1118 has demonstrated potency in blocking LFA-1 binding to its cognate ligand, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1; CD54), thereby inhibiting cell adhesion, cytokine production, and cellular proliferation in in vitro models. In a Phase 2 trial, SAR 1118 demonstrated dose-dependent improvements in both signs and symptoms of dry eye.

About SARcode Bioscience

SARcode Bioscience, Inc., founded in 2006, is a venture-backed ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company based in Brisbane, CA. SARcode’s lead development program is a novel class of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) antagonists for the treatment T-cell mediated inflammatory diseases. Institutional investors include Alta Partners, Clarus Venture Partners, Rho Ventures and Sofinnova Ventures. www.sarcode.com.

About Sofinnova Ventures

Sofinnova Ventures has over 30 years of experience building life science corporate spin-outs and start-ups into market leaders. With $1 billion under management, the firm applies capital and expertise to guide companies to successful exits. Sofinnova’s team of MDs and PhDs has significant scientific, operational and strategic experience, specializing in financing later stage clinical compounds. Sofinnova has offices in Menlo Park and La Jolla, California. www.sofinnova.com.

About Rho Ventures

Rho Ventures has a multi-stage investing strategy focused on high-growth companies in large markets. Rho Ventures’ investments span new media, healthcare, IT, communications, energy technology and other disruptive technologies. Rho Ventures brings nearly 30 years of venture experience, combined with its partners’ deep sector expertise and its far-reaching network to assist each portfolio company. Rho Ventures is currently investing from Rho Ventures VI, a $510 million fund. The firm has offices in Palo Alto, Calif., New York and Montreal, with investments across the globe. www.rho.com.

SOURCE SARcode Bioscience, Inc.

OXFORD, England, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In October 2007, Enigma Diagnostics (Porton Down, UK & San Diego, USA) announced the award of a euro 3 Million grant by the European Commission Framework 7 programme. This EU Commission award was won in a competitive process and the grant was to support development of a rapid, fully automated molecular diagnostic system for Seasonal Influenza (circulating strains of Influenza types A & B) to be based on Enigma’s concept ML (mini-laboratory) instrument system. The RANGER project started on 1st of July 2008 with a consortium of members. This was led by Enigma Diagnostics and included the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) with responsibility for assay development, Sagentia (Harston, Cambridge, UK) supporting development of the Enigma® ML prototype system and Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health collecting samples for clinical trials. PERA administered the project on behalf of the consortium.

The concluding meeting of the RANGER consortium was held at Enigma’s Oxford site on 30th June 2011 at which Enigma demonstrated the use of the Enigma® ML system from sample to result in less than 60 minutes, using a swab and running a Seasonal Influenza, real-time PCR assay.

John McKinley, Chairman of Enigma Diagnostics, said, “Enigma and all of the RANGER consortium recognise the valuable contribution of the EU Commission in supporting the successful development of the Enigma® ML system. This has progressed from initial design concept to pre-clinical assessment of the Seasonal Influenza test at the HPA Porton Down laboratories earlier this year. The Enigma® ML system will now move to the commercialization stage during 2012.”

The Enigma® ML system will be showcased at AACC (American Association for Clinical Chemistry) at stand116 from 26th to 28th July 2011.

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 201569.

About Enigma Diagnostics Limited

Enigma Diagnostics Limited specialises in developing next generation rapid molecular diagnostic instrument platforms for decentralized and point-of-care settings. Enigma’s innovative and proprietary technologies combine the speed and sensitivity of real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) with the simplicity needed for decentralized and point-of-care testing providing results from a raw sample in less than 60 minutes. The Company is targeting a number of multi-billion pound markets, core among which are the Clinical and high-value Applied Markets. Enigma’s commercialization strategy is to maximize revenues from a continuous flow of market leading rapid diagnostic point-of care instrument and assay platforms, based on unique technologies and underpinned by its broad Intellectual Property portfolio. Enigma will partner with market leaders where global penetration of markets is required and where appropriate, will engage regional partners and build in-house sales and marketing capability to direct distribution of its products.

For more information visit www.enigmadiagnostics.com

Press Contact:
Tatjana Quinn
Telephone: + 44 (0)1235 854076
[email protected]

SOURCE Enigma Diagnostics Limited

GREAT RIVER, N.Y., July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Netsmart Technologies, Inc. (www.ntst.com), a leading provider of software and services for health and human services organizations, today announced that its Insight(TM) 7.1 electronic health record (EHR) software for local health departments has achieved 100 percent ONC-ATCB ARRA Ambulatory Certification.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110620/NY22778LOGO)

With the complete certification of the Insight solution, all three Netsmart enterprise software solutions have now attained 100 percent ARRA certification. Healthcare provider organizations must adopt an ARRA-Certified EHR to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare incentive funds for the Meaningful Use of an EHR.

“Attaining 100 percent ARRA certification for our enterprise software suites underscores our commitment to helping our clients provide the highest possible quality of care,” said Michael Valentine, chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. “In a world of converging, integrated care we made a concerted decision to go beyond the basic ARRA criteria and build clinical and data integration capabilities into our solutions that equip our clients for long-term success.”

Insight 7.1 software will be designated as a Complete EHR on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Certified Health IT Product List. Testing was conducted under Drummond Group’s Electronic Health Records ONC-ATCB program. Drummond Group, Inc., is an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) named by the Office of the National Coordinator to provide Meaningful Use certification for EHR systems and applications.

“We appreciate that Netsmart is equipping its clients to qualify for Meaningful Use incentive funds, especially as local health departments and other health and human services agencies face unprecedented funding challenges,” said Elaine Kempf, administrator, St. Clair County (Mich.) Health Department, an Insight software client organization.

Health departments are currently eligible for ARRA incentives based on the number of Eligible Professionals (EPs), such as physicians and nurse practitioners, in their organization, assuming the organization meets criteria for Meaningful Use of a certified EHR and the professionals assign their incentives to the organization. The total benefit for Medicaid Eligible Professionals is $63,750 per EP over a six-year period – a significant financial incentive for organizations.

In the first year of participation in the Medicaid Meaningful Use funding program, healthcare providers need only adopt (purchase) an ARRA-certified EHR to meet the Meaningful Use requirement of using an ARRA-certified EHR. There is no requirement to demonstrate Meaningful Use in the first year, and no EHR reporting is required. Eligible providers who have already adopted, implemented or upgraded to an ARRA-certified EHR would also receive a first year payment.

For more information about Netsmart solutions for local health departments, visit www.netsmartpublichealth.com. To learn more about Meaningful Use and how Netsmart helps behavioral health and public health organizations qualify for ARRA incentive funds, visit www.ntst.com/meaningfuluse.

About Netsmart Technologies

Netsmart Technologies is an established, leading supplier of software-as-a service (SaaS) and internally-installed software solutions for health and human services providers. More than 18,000 client organizations, including 350,000 care providers and more than 40 state systems, use Netsmart products to help improve the quality of life for millions of people each year.

Netsmart clients include public health departments, mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, vital records offices, and managed care organizations. Netsmart’s products are full-featured information systems that operate on a variety of operating systems, hardware platforms, and mobile devices, and offer unlimited scalability.

Netsmart provides the solutions and expertise that help its clients meet all the criteria for Meaningful Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and avoid the costly, time-consuming process of integrating solutions from multiple vendors.

Building upon the complete EHR, Netsmart clients can also create a complete connected care environment using Netsmart OrderConnect(TM) for e-prescribing and order entry, Netsmart CareConnect(TM) to share clinical information and lab results, and the Netsmart ConsumerConnect(TM) Web portal to provide secure and private consumer access to care information.

For information about Netsmart Technologies’ full range of solutions for health and human services organizations, visit www.ntst.com or call 1-800-472-5509.

Avatar® 2011, CMHC/MIS 4.2 and Insight 7.1 are 2011/2012 compliant and have been certified by the Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

Avatar is a registered trademark of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

Netsmart OrderConnect, Netsmart CareConnect, Netsmart ConsumerConnect and Insight are trademarks of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

PORTLAND, Ore., July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today DCIPA, the Physicians of Douglas County, and OCHIN/O-HITEC announced a partnership agreement to help DCIPA’s UmpquaOneChart users meet the federal requirements of Meaningful Use (MU) as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Over the next 12 months, O-HITEC will work with UmpquaOneChart users to help them meet MU by providing a menu of assistance services that include, self-assessments, site audits and certifications, access to discounted 3rd party Health IT services and HIPAA evaluation and certification assistance.

Clayton Gillett, O-HITEC’s Executive Director said, “DCIPA was an early electronic health record (EHR) adopter in the Roseburg community with the UmpquaOneChart system, and they led the way for many Oregon providers to join the health information technology (Health IT) movement. We’re very excited about this partnership and believe that DCIPA providers will continue to lead the state in Health IT adoption and meaningfully using technology to benefit their patients.”

“DCIPA is pleased to join O-HITEC and looks forward to working together to improve overall health care in Douglas County and the State of Oregon,” stated, Arlan Zastrow, M.D., EMR Steering Committee Chairman.

Both Organizations are committed to advancing EHR adoption and assisting providers as they work towards utilizing their EHRs to improve patient care, safety and also lower costs.

About OCHIN/O-HITEC

OCHIN is a national non-profit collaborative headquartered in Portland, Oregon that provides integrated HIT software products and services to community health clinics, mental health services and small practices serving the medically underserved. For more information please visit www.ochin.org. Oregon’s Health Information Technology Extension Center (O-HITEC) provides education, outreach, and assistance to facilitate successful implementation, and meaningful use of certified electronic health records. O-HITEC strives to transform healthcare, improve quality and deliver value through effective use of information technology. For additional information please visit www.ohitec.org

DCIPA, the Physicians of Douglas County, is an innovative organization comprised of over 100 local physicians. DCIPA was founded in 1993 to unite local physicians to best meet our community’s healthcare needs. Since DCIPA’s inception, its primary role is that of a fully-capitated health plan to administer the Oregon Health Plan Medicaid program in Douglas County. Additionally, DCIPA owns and operates several other affiliated companies like UmpquaOneChart. Participating in the partnership with O-HITEC coincides with DCIPA’s mission “Serving the needs of Physicians and their Patients in Douglas County.” For more information, please visit www.dcipa.com.

    Contacts:
    Elaine Cheney                          Ruby Haughton-Pitts
    Relationship Manager                   Communications Director
    DCIPA                                  OCHIN, Inc.
    541-677-6000                           503.784.2284
    [email protected]         [email protected]

SOURCE OCHIN

EDISON, N.J., July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Crestor and Zocor are widely-used prescription strength drugs designed to lower “bad cholesterol”. Both drugs are classified as “statins”, medicine which lowers blood cholesterol levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. This group of drugs has had a controversial history, starting with Baycol, a drug similar to Crestor and Zocor, touted as a “super statin” before its recall from the market. Despite numerous objections from medical researchers and reputable consumer groups due to safety concerns, the drug was approved by the FDA in August of 2003, and launched a month later. Even before their FDA approval, these drugs showed signs of being linked to serious muscle and kidney problems, including the potentially fatal, muscle-destroying condition rhabdomyolysis.

Zocor and Crestor are strongly marketed by their parent companies, Merck and AstraZeneca respectively. By early 2004, 27% of all new prescriptions for statin drugs were for Crestor. The Wall Street Journal reported:

“AstraZeneca sales force (Crestor) was making more calls to doctors than any of its competitors. Beginning in late February, reflecting the sales calls, new prescriptions of Crestor began to rise and overtook Lipitor by the beginning of March 20.”

This style of pharmaceutical marketing is so effective that in 2010, the statin Lipitor was the #1 selling drug in America by unit, with Crestor at #6.

Warning-sign side effects include:

• muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness
• lack of energy
• fever
• chest pain
• yellowing of the skin or eyes
• pain in the upper right part of the abdomen
• nausea
• extreme tiredness
• unusual bleeding or bruising
• loss of appetite
• flu-like symptoms
• sore throat, chills, or other signs of infection
• rash
• hives
• itching
• difficulty breathing or swallowing
• swelling of the face, throat tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
• hoarseness
• numbness or tingling in the fingers or toes

These drugs are extremely profitable for the companies that market, produce, and sell them, as well as potentially, extremely dangerous for those who pay for and consume them. Lawsuits are currently being brought against the companies producing Zocor and Crestor. Many people across America have experienced unnecessary and dangerous side-effects as a result of these drugs. One of the law offices conducting lawsuits into both Crestor and Zocor is Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy, LLP located in Edison, New Jersey and Toms River, New Jersey, a legal group with a history of award-winning legal services in the tri-state area and nationally in matters involving catastrophic personal injury, mass torts, medical malpractice, class actions, and consumer fraud litigation. Those who have been injured by Crestor or Zocor use should not hesitate to contact a lawyer.

Contact: Angela McKillop
[email protected]
NJAdvocates.com
Tel: (732) 777-0100
Fax: (732) 248-8273

SOURCE Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy, LLP

BLUE BELL, Pa., July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, has reported data demonstrating long-term durability of T cell immune responses of up to over two years (at the latest time measured) in 7 of 8 evaluated patients following a fourth vaccination of VGX-3100, its investigational SynCon® DNA vaccine for treating cervical dysplasia and cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) that is delivered using intramuscular electroporation. The data further highlights the viability of using multiple booster vaccinations with a DNA vaccine delivered using electroporation, in contrast to other non-replicating vaccine vectors that may induce unwanted immune responses against the vector after multiple vaccinations. These results were presented at DNA Vaccines 2011, hosted in San Diego by the International Society of DNA Vaccines, by Mark Bagarazzi, MD, Inovio’s Chief Medical Officer.

“Achieving long-lasting immune responses exceeding two years is exceptional,” said Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio’s president and CEO. “In general, the durability of these T cell responses places Inovio’s DNA vaccine technology on par with live virus vaccines, but without their various safety and other issues, and substantially exceeds current data from alternative non-replicating vaccine technologies. Furthermore, being able to use multiple vaccinations without safety concerns or unwanted immune responses is a notable advantage of Inovio’s DNA vaccine technology.”

“There is no therapeutic live virus vaccine nor non-replicating vaccine for cervical dysplasias and cancers in the market, so Inovio’s DNA vaccine for cervical dysplasias/cancer answers an unmet need by providing a non-invasive and potentially more effective approach for treating these diseases. Additionally, with respect to any disease that requiring sustained T-cell responses to provide protection or fight the disease, such as hepatitis C virus and HIV, these strong durable immune responses are promising.”

Inovio’s original phase I, designated HPV-001, treated 18 women who had previously been diagnosed with and surgically treated for high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2/3), a premalignant lesion that may lead to cervical cancer, with a three-vaccination regimen of its VGX-3100 therapeutic DNA vaccine delivered with its CELLECTRA® electroporation device. In a longer-term analysis of T cell responses by ELISpot at nine or more months after the initial vaccination (> six months post last vaccination), of 13 initially responding patients, 12 (92%) had maintained significant T cell responses nine to 19 months after their first vaccination. One subject that did not respond early on remained a non-responder. Importantly, the level of T cell responses remained strong.

Inovio then initiated this follow-on study, designated HPV-002, with the intent to assess safety and immune responses following a fourth vaccination. Of the original 18 subjects, 11 T-cell responders and two non-responders were eligible and agreed to participate. All thirteen were injected with a fourth dose of 6 mg of VGX-3100, regardless of the original dose they received (0.6 mg (0.3 mg each of two DNA plasmids), 2.0 mg, or 6.0 mg).

To date, of 8 of 13 patients analyzed, 7 of 8 (87%) patients displayed strong T-cell responses that have persisted for up to over two years. One patient that had a negative T-cell response prior to the fourth vaccination remained negative. Response magnitudes remain high and three subjects are responding to additional antigens (among the four antigens encoded by the vaccine) that they were not previously responding to prior to this fourth vaccination.

Inovio is now recruiting for its Phase II study, which is designed to enroll 148 patients with CIN 2/3 or CIN 3 at approximately 25 study centers in the US, Korea, South Africa, Australia, and Canada. This randomized, placebo-controlled study will assess histopathological response to vaccination as the primary endpoint as well as humoral and cell mediated immune responses to VGX-3100. Cervical samples will be analyzed for evidence of immune responses in the cervix. Subjects will also be monitored for tolerability and safety. See the Phase II clinical trial protocol for HPV-003.

About VGX-3100

Inovio’s VGX-3100 is designed to raise immune responses against the E6 and E7 oncogenes common to HPV types 16 and 18, i.e. four antigens. These oncogenes are responsible for transforming HPV-infected cells into pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. The goal is to stimulate a T-cell immune response strong enough to cause the rejection of these infected or transformed cells from the body. The potential of such a therapeutic vaccine would be to treat precancerous dysplasias (CINs), cervical cancers, as well as other anogenital and head and neck cancers caused by these HPV types.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Inovio is developing a new generation of vaccines, called DNA vaccines, to treat and prevent cancers and infectious diseases. Its SynCon(TM) vaccines are designed to provide broad cross-strain protection against known as well as newly emergent strains of pathogens such as influenza. These vaccines, in combination with Inovio’s proprietary electroporation delivery devices, have been shown to be safe and generate significant immune responses. Inovio’s clinical programs include three separate programs in Phase II clinical studies, including VGX-3100 for treating cervical dysplasia and cancer Other Inovio clinical programs include those for avian flu (preventive) and HIV vaccines (both preventive and therapeutic). Inovio is developing universal influenza and other vaccines in collaboration with scientists from the University of Pennsylvania. Other partners and collaborators include Merck, ChronTech, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, University of Southampton, and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. More information is available at www.inovio.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop electroporation-based drug and gene delivery technologies and DNA vaccines and our capital resources. Actual events or results may differ from the expectations set forth herein as a result of a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in pre-clinical studies, clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical and clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable in other trials or for other indications, that the studies or trials may not be successful or achieve the results desired, that results from one study may not necessarily be reflected or supported by the results of other similar studies and that results from an animal study may not be indicative of results achievable in human studies), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of electroporation technology as a delivery mechanism or develop viable DNA vaccines, the adequacy of our capital resources, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by the company or its collaborators, including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that the company and its collaborators hope to develop, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving product liability, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide the company with meaningful protection from others using the covered technologies, whether such proprietary rights are enforceable or defensible or infringe or allegedly infringe on rights of others or can withstand claims of invalidity and whether the company can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of the company’s technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, our ability to successfully integrate Inovio and VGX Pharmaceuticals, the impact of government healthcare proposals and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other regulatory filings from time to time. There can be no assurance that any product in Inovio’s pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products, or that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate.

CONTACTS:
Investors: Bernie Hertel, Inovio Pharmaceuticals 858-410-3101 [email protected]
Media: Jeff Richardson, Richardson & Associates 805-491-8313 [email protected]

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110127/LA37605LOGO)

SOURCE Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Researchers develop a new low-energy defibrillation method

An international team of scientists from the Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (Göttingen, Germany), Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) the Ecole Normale Sup©rieure de Lyon (France), the University Medicine Göttingen (Germany), the Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), and the Institut Non-Lin©aire de Nice (France) have developed a new low-energy method for terminating life-threatening cardiac fibrillation of the heart. They have shown that their new technique called LEAP (Low-Energy Anti-fibrillation Pacing) reduces the energy required for defibrillation by more than 80% as compared to the current conventional method. Their discovery opens the path for the painless therapy of life threatening cardiac fibrillation. The scientists describe their results in the current issue of Nature.

In a healthy heart, electrical pulses that propagate across the heart muscle in an orderly fashion control the organ’s movements: at regular intervals the heart’s ventricles and atria contract and relax again. In the case of cardiac arrhythmia, however, this does not work reliably. Here, electrical pulses may propagate throughout the heart chaotically, disabling the regular heartbeat and thus preventing the body from being properly supplied with blood. The most common cardiac arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which affects more than 10 million people in Europe and US.

For patients suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation there is one reliable solution: a defibrillation. A strong electric pulse, which patients perceive as painful and which can damage the surrounding tissue forces the heart back into its regular beating. The international team of scientists led by Stefan Luther from the Max Planck Institute and Flavio Fenton from Cornell University has proposed a new method. Using a cardiac catheter the researchers create a sequence of five weak electrical signals in the heart. “Only a few seconds later, the heart beats regularly again”, says Luther describing the team’s newest results.

Even though LEAP and standard defibrillation seem to work similarly at first sight, they initiate completely different processes within the heart. “The classic defibrillator works by using a very strong electric field that excites all cells of the organ. In contrast, LEAP uses low-energy pulses to synchronize the tissue”, says Fenton. For a short moment they can no longer transmit any electrical signals; the chaotic activity is terminated. “Afterwards, the heart resumes its normal, regular beating. The situation can be compared to turning a malfunctioning computer off and on again,” says Robert Gilmour from Cornell University.

The new method terminates the turbulent electric activity within the heart step by step. “Our most important allies are natural heterogeneities within the heart such as blood vessels, fatty tissue or fibrotic tissue”, says Eberhard Bodenschatz from the Max Planck Institute. In experiments and computer simulations the researchers were able to show that these heterogeneities can act as the origins for synchronizing waves. “Quite weak electrical pulses suffice to stimulate the cells in these regions”, says Alain Pumir from Lyon. With every additional pulse more heterogeneities are activated, thus gradually suppressing chaotic activity.  “The heterogeneities act as small control sites that ““ once activated ““ can ‘reprogram’ the entire organ”, adds Valentin Krinsky from Nice.

In principle, the results also apply for defibrillation of ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening arrhythmia, which is terminated only by external and implantable defibrillators. For a large number of patients wearing implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) the new technique may eliminate pain, improve the success rate of treatment, prolong battery life and therefore reduce the need for surgical device exchanges.

“The development of LEAP is a groundbreaking result and an outstanding example of successful interdisciplinary collaboration between physicists and physician-scientists, with immediate impact on the development of novel therapies for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias”, says Markus Zabel from the University Center Göttingen. The ideas leading to LEAP were first developed by asking elementary physical questions about the interaction between electric field and cardiac tissue; the results of earlier theoretical work in physics, in particular in the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), may be finding their way to clinics. Indeed, “we are working to get this to the patient as fast as possible”, adds Gerd Hasenfuss, the head of the Heart Center Göttingen.

This work was supported by the Max Planck Society, the National Science Foundation (#0800793 and #0926190); the National Institutes of Health; by IFCPAR; by BMBF; by the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007″“2013 through HEALTH-F2-2009-241526 (EUTrigTreat).

—

On the Net:

• Fraunhofer-Geselschaft
• Nature

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Hospice Foundation of America has developed “Addressing Cultural Diversity in Hospice Care,” a free online webinar that looks at how, and why, different cultures may, or may not, utilize hospice. This tutorial aims to prepare and equip hospice organizations, and its providers and volunteers, with strategies and information to meet the needs of culturally diverse patients and loved ones.

“It is a human instinct to hope for comfort, peace, and dignity, and to be surrounded by loved ones at the end of life,” says Lisa McGahey Veglahn, Program Officer at Hospice Foundation of America. “And yet, there are differences in how people cope with dying and death.” HFA’s new free online webinar looks at how backgrounds and cultures can influence end-of-life experiences, including how people deal with a terminal diagnosis and grieve a death. Many elements make up a person’s culture — language, social circumstance, religion and spirituality, sexual orientation and gender. All of these can impact how individuals find meaning and purpose in their living and dying and come to terms with the loss and remembrance of family and loved ones. As the Office of Minority Health notes, “Quite simply, health care services that are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patients can help bring about positive health outcomes.” The outcome can include a good hospice care experience at the end-of-life.

HFA’s new program, plus additional resources and Fact Sheets, is available at no charge. Free Continuing Education credits are available for a wide range of professionals. This program is part of HFA’s Hospice Information Center, an extensive online library that also includes programs such as Understanding Hospice, Family Caregiving, and Coping with Cancer at the End of Life. The programming provides hospices and other community organizations the opportunity to educate staff and volunteers about the basics of hospice care, caregiving, and grief, and links are provided to guide viewers to more information on a variety of subjects. Other resources are available for consumers, to help family and friends learn about hospice and how it can help people cope with some of life’s most challenging situations, in a format that is accessible and understandable. Resources are also available in Spanish and Chinese.

Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org ) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those who cope personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief and bereavement. This project is provided through the support of a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support hospice and end-of-life care outreach and education. CMS funds of $571,000 with HFA in-kind services of $5,710 are funding a variety of outreach and educational programs, including this project.

Contact: Lisa Veglahn, 800-854-3402
[email protected]

SOURCE Hospice Foundation of America

Cancer studies less likely than other research fields to make data available for reuse

A new study finds that — even in a field with clear standards and online databases — the rate of public data archiving in cancer research is increasing only slowly. Furthermore, research studies in cancer and human subjects are less likely than other research studies to make their datasets available for reuse.

The results come from a study of patterns of research data availability conducted by Dr Heather Piwowar of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.

Data collected in scientific research is often useful for future studies by other investigators, but scientists have rarely made their raw research data widely available. Tools and initiatives are underway to encourage scientists to publicly archive their data. This analysis confirms there is still much room for improvement.

By querying the full text of the scientific literature through websites like Google Scholar and PubMed Central, Piwowar identified eleven thousand studies that collected a particular type of data about cellular activity, called gene expression microarray data. Only 45% of recent gene expression studies were found to have deposited their data in the public databases developed for this purpose. The rate of data publication has increased only slightly from 2007 to 2009. Data is shared least often from studies on cancer and human subjects: cancer studies make their data available for wide reuse half as often as similar studies outside cancer.

“It was disheartening to discover that studies on cancer and human subjects were least likely to make their data available. These data are surely some of the most valuable for reuse, to confirm, refute, inform and advance bench-to-bedside translational research,” Piwowar said.

“We want as much scientific progress as we can get from our tax and charity dollars. This requires increased access to data resources. Data can be shared while maintaining patient privacy,” Piwowar added, noting that patient re-identification is rarely an issue for gene expression microarray studies.

Most likely to share their data in public databases were investigators from Stanford University and those who published in the journal Physiological Genomics.

Scientist sometimes email each other to request datasets that aren’t available online, but these requests often go unanswered or are denied by the original investigators. Publishing data in online data repositories is considered the best way to share data for future reuse.

Recent policies by the NSF seek to increase the amount of data disseminated from federally-funded research by requiring data management and dissemination plans in all new grant applications.

—

On the Net:

• National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent)
• Physiological Genomics

MONTREAL, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – Medicom® Inc. (A.R. Medicom Inc.), the Montreal-based leading manufacturer of high
quality disposable medical supplies, announced today that it has
acquired a 78% controlling share of Kolmi-Hopen Group, based in France,
effectively increasing its international market reach.

Kolmi-Hopen Group achieved sales of $23.5 million in 2010 with its
European market-leading dual approach: Kolmi manufacturing high-quality
and health care sector disposable products, and Hopen sourcing standard
as well as hygiene and protection products. The Group produces its
highest quality products at its facility in France, and outsources
basic products in Asia, resulting in the most extensive range of
products available in the European market, spanning both the health
care sector and equipment for personal and environmental protection.

Kolmi-Hopen Group also expects its new facility in
Saint-Barthelemy-d’Anjou, France, to be operational as of June 2012.
The new facility will significantly increase its manufacturing
capabilities due to an upgraded production process and a new clean
room, among the largest in Europe.

Kolmi was founded in 1879 in Saint-Barthelemy-d’Anjou, France, and
pioneered single-use surgical drapes and gowns in the 1970s. Kolmi’s
product line grew to include personal hygiene products in 1999. Hopen
was founded in 2003, and in 2006 Kolmi merged with Hopen to create the
largest European disposable medical products manufacturer that also
boasted the widest product line with more than 400 skus.

About Medicom® (A.R. Medicom Inc.)
Medicom® manufactures and distributes high quality infection control and
patient care products worldwide. It is present on the five continents
thru its sales, logistics and manufacturing sites.

Founded by Ronald Reuben in 1988, Medicom® is privately owned and its
product line spans dental, veterinary, industrial and medical
single-use supplies, as well a comprehensive line of oral health care
products.

Leading Medicom® brand names include Denti-Care, Dry-Back®, Duraflor®
Halo, Safe-Mask®, Safe-Gauze® and Safe-Touch® as well as AMD Ritmed
medical products.

SOURCE Medicom Inc.

More than 500,000 tons of onion waste are thrown away in the European Union each year. However, scientists say this could have a use as food ingredients. The brown skin and external layers are rich in fiber and flavonoids, while the discarded bulbs contain sulphurous compounds and fructans. All of these substances are beneficial to health.

Production of onion waste has risen over recent years in line with the growing demand for these bulbs. More than 500,000 tons of waste are generated in the European Union each year, above all in Spain, Holland and the United Kingdom, where it has become an environmental problem. The waste includes the dry brown skin, the outer layers, roots and stalks, as well as onions that are not big enough to be of commercial use, or onions that are damaged.

“One solution could be to use onion waste as a natural source of ingredients with high functional value, because this vegetable is rich in compounds that provide benefits for human health”, Vanesa Benítez, a researcher at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain), tells SINC.

Benítez’s research group worked with scientists from Cranfield University (United Kingdom) to carry out laboratory experiments to identify the substances and possible uses of each part of the onion. The results have been published in the journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition.

According to the study, the brown skin could be used as a functional ingredient high in dietary fiber (principally the non-soluble type) and phenolic compounds, such as quercetin and other flavonoids (plant metabolites with medicinal properties). The two outer fleshy layers of the onion also contain fiber and flavonoids.

“Eating fiber reduces the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal complaints, colon cancer, type-2 diabetes and obesity”, the researcher points out.

Phenolic compounds, meanwhile, help to prevent coronary disease and have anti-carcinogenic properties. The high levels of these compounds in the dry skin and the outer layers of the bulbs also give them high antioxidant capacity.

Meanwhile, the researchers suggest using the internal parts and whole onions that are thrown away as a source of fructans and sulphurous compounds. Fructans are prebiotics, in other words they have beneficial health effects as they selectively stimulate the growth and activity of bacteria in the colon.

Sulphurous compounds reduce the accumulation of platelets, improving blood flow and cardiovascular health in general. They also have a positive effect on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory systems in mammals.

“The results show that it would be useful to separate the different parts of onions produced during the industrial process”, explains Benítez. “This would enable them to be used as a source of functional compounds to be added to other foodstuffs”.

References: Vanesa Benítez, Esperanza Mollá, María A. Martín-Cabrejas, Yolanda Aguilera, Francisco J. L³pez-Andr©u, Katherine Cools, Leon A. Terry, Rosa M. Esteban. “Characterization of Industrial Onion Wastes (Allium cepa L.): Dietary Fiber and Bioactive Compounds”. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 66 (1): 48-57, 2011. DOI: 10.1007/s11130-011-0212-x.

—

On the Net:

• FECYT – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
• Plant Foods for Human Nutrition

CHICAGO, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — BMO Harris Bank announced today that it has hired Alex Geier as Managing Director. Alex will lead a team focused on providing senior financing to private equity investors in the Healthcare space.

“Alex has a terrific reputation within the healthcare leveraged lending sector,” said Dan Marszalek, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance, BMO Harris Bank. “Our Healthcare lending team is already very active in the industry, particularly from a private equity perspective, and with his 25 years of leveraged lending experience, Alex substantially increases both our industry expertise and our ability to execute financings across multiple sectors.”

Working closely with his Healthcare investment banking colleagues in BMO Capital Markets, Alex plans on substantially growing the Healthcare business by focusing on middle market and upper middle market private equity investors throughout the United States.

About Alex Geier

Alex Geier was previously at UBS Investment Bank where he spent 12 years focused on Healthcare leveraged finance. In his most recent role, he was Managing Director, Leveraged Finance, responsible for the origination and execution of all Healthcare sector leveraged loan, bridge loan, high yield bond and mezzanine debt financings. Alex also spent over a decade at BancAmerica Corporation, including roles in high yield research and corporate finance, and worked at BT Alex. Brown in high yield research, covering the Healthcare sector.”

Alex has his B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Duke University, and his M.B.A. from Northwestern University.

About BMO Harris Bank

Based in Chicago, the bank has approximately 700 branches and approximately 1,350 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial institution with 1,600 branches, a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion, and combined U.S. businesses that rank as the 12th largest commercial bank, by assets, in the United States.

BMO Harris Bank is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Banking deposit and loan products and services are provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc. (HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC-registered investment advisor. Insurance products are offered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Investment banking services are provided by BMO Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCMC) and BMO Capital Markets GKST, Inc. (GKST), a Municipal Bond Dealer and member FINRA and SIPC. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc. (Harris SBSB), an SEC registered investment advisor. Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC (Harris myCFO), an SEC-registered investment advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Stoker Ostler Wealth Advisors (Stoker Ostler) is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Investment advisory services to institutional clients are provided by Harris Investment Management (HIM) or its wholly-owned subsidiary HIM Monegy (Monegy), SEC-registered investment advisors. Products offered by HIS, HBIS, BMOCM, Harris SBSB, Harris myCFO, Stoker Ostler, HIM, and Monegy, which are affiliated companies and wholly owned subsidiaries of BMO Financial Corp.,: Are not insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, not a deposit of or guaranteed by any Bank or Bank Affiliate, may lose value. The purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition to any bank loan or service. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location.

SOURCE Harris Bank

(Ivanhoe Newswire)–Placebos are often referred to as “dummy pills” in research trials for new drug therapies, but whether or not placebos can actually influence objective measures of disease has been unclear. A recent study led by Harvard Medical School investigators at Brigham and Women’s hospital (BWH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, analyzed the impact of two placebo treatments versus standard medical treatments in asthma patients.

The study concluded that when it came to patient-reported outcomes, placebos were equally as effective as the standard medical treatment in helping to relieve patients’ discomfort and their self-described asthma symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to see if the placebo effect actually exists. The study examined 39 patients diagnosed with chronic asthma that were randomly assigned to undergo treatment with an active albuterol inhaler (the standard medical treatment), with a placebo albuterol inhaler, with a shame acupuncture, or with no intervention at all. The study’s conclusion showed that the treatment with the albuterol inhaler resulted in a 20 percent increase in maximum forced expiratory volume in one second. This result compared with an increase of about seven percent for each of the two placebo treatments as well as the “no treatment” control.

Michael Wechsler, M.D., Associate Director of the Asthma Research Center at BWH and assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School was quoted stating, “Since there was no difference between either of the placebo treatments and the placebo “Ëœcontrol’ [no treatment], we can report that there was no objective placebo effect with regard to change in lung function.” Patient’s descriptions of their systems suggest however that a subjective placebo effect does exist. Patients reported statistically significant symptomatic improvement with albuterol, as well as with the placebo inhaler and with the sham acupuncture.

Upon examining the results, researchers involved in the study were surprised to find that there was no placebo effect in this experiment at first glance. Once they reviewed patients’ subjective descriptions of how they felt however, for both the active treatment and the placebo treatment, it became very apparent that the placebos were as effective as the active drug in helping patients to feel better.

Ted Kaptchuk, senior author of the study and director of the program in placebo studies at BIDMC and associate professor of medicine at HMS was quoted saying, “It is clear that for the patient, the ritual treatment can be very powerful. This study suggests that in addition to active therapies for fixing diseases, the idea of receiving care is a critical component of what patient’s value in health care. In a climate of patient dissatisfaction, this may be an important lesson.”

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, July 13, 2011

CAMBRIDGE, England, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —

Executives from O2h (Cambridge, UK) and Heptares Therapeutics (Welwyn
Garden City, UK) signed an agreement to substantially increase the number of
FTE chemists provided by O2h to support discovery programmes at Heptares.

Dr Miles Congreve, Head of Chemistry at Heptares said, “O2h has been a
valuable partner for Heptares and we are happy to further extend our
synthetic chemistry team to include a full lab unit at O2h.”

O2h’s 12 FTE lab units are modular, fully-customizable, well-equipped
and IT-secure spaces which offer the optimum environment for highly
productive, dedicated chemistry teams.

“Heptares has built some great partnerships with large biotechnology and
pharma companies who recognize the strength of the Company’s GPCR expertise
and proprietary StaR(R) technology’s. This is a new milestone in our
on-going relationship with Heptares and we are excited to support them on
their journey,” said Sunil Shah, CEO, O2h.

About Heptares Therapeutics

Heptares is a drug discovery company creating new medicines targeting
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The Company is currently leveraging its
GPCR expertise and proprietary StaR(R) technology to build a pipeline of
best-in-class and first-in-class GPCR-targeted medicines for the treatment
of CNS, metabolic and other diseases.

GPCRs represent the single most important family of drug targets in the
human body, yet, due to their inherent instability when removed from cell
membranes, little or no structural information about these valuable targets
has been available to drive structure-based drug discovery programmes.
Heptares’ StaR(R) (Stabilised Receptor) technology enables the first-ever
thermo-stabilisation of GPCRs. This breakthrough allows Heptares scientists
to resolve GPCR structures and deploy structure-based drug discovery
techniques to identify potent and selective drug candidates to previously
undruggable targets.

Heptares has raised more than $40 million from leading venture
investors, Clarus Ventures, MVM Life Science Partners, Novartis Option Fund
and Takeda Ventures, and has formed partnerships with AstraZeneca, Shire,
Takeda and Novartis. For additional information, please visit:
http://www.heptares.com

About O2h, a Piramal Group Company

O2h is the discovery services arm of Piramal Pharma Solutions Ltd, a top
10 global CRAMS group, offering a unique full-service partnership at every
stage of the pharma life-cycle. Piramal Pharma Solutions employs 2,500
people across 9 specialist sites in North America, UK and India. The Piramal
group has a 140 year history and is publicly listed company (BSE:
PIRAMALHE).

O2h’s 200 employees work within its project management office in
Cambridge, UK and its operations in Ahmedabad India. Current clients of O2h
include several top 20 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the US,
Europe and Japan.O2h adheres to the highest standards of performance with a
particular emphasis on rapid interactive communications and delivery speed.
Services provided by O2h include FTE-based medicinal, synthetic chemistry,
and process chemistry as well as in vitro biology services. Further
information on O2h can be found at http://www.o2h.com.

        
        Contact information:
        Dr Ekta Ahuja
        [email protected]
        OXYGEN HEALTHCARE LTD
        23 Cambridge Science Park
        CB4 0EY

SOURCE Oxygen Healthcare Ltd (O2h)

Getaway n Play Cafe designed for kids, families, faculty and staff; uses local products

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — For children staying at hospitals, meal times can be one of the brightest spots in their days. Planners took this to heart when planning the new cafeteria at the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, which opens in November.

The Getaway n Play Cafe in the C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, will offer a combination of healthy but fun food options as well as a variety of activities that promise to make meals fun and provide entertainment – for children and women patients and their families.

“We will have a variety of entertainment and activities,” says contract administrator Craig Luck, a member of the retail food service team. “Story times and magicians, TV and movie nights will be on tap for kids.

For new moms and moms-to-be, the plan is to offer manicure and pedicure days.”

They really blew everyone away with their vision and solutions for our requirements,” says Luck of the contractor, Aramark.

Slated to open Nov. 14, the retail food vendor will bring together the vision created by a team of U-M Health System employees, patients and families, which met for about a year, discussing dining preferences.

The new cafe will feature a Subway Sandwich shop, a full menu featuring noodle entrees, sandwiches and grilled favorites, a ‘Snatch it Up’ area for grab-and-go items, and a dessert bar.

The Subway choice will give kids an option they recognize that still is healthy, says Luck.

“Kids want something they recognize because they know what to expect, but Subway also allows us to meet M-healthy requirements.”

All products will be local and the cafeteria will offer green products such as biodegradable potato-product forks and spoons.

Catering and bulk meals are available so families and kids can have family-style meals together. Breakfast is available all day. And, some food choices will come in regular or mini portions with healthy baked options.

The Getaway n Play Cafe will be open from 6 a.m. – 12 a.m., with a limited menu after 9 p.m., daily.

The food service selection team identified over a dozen areas of interest to define requirements for the new dining facility. The team created a survey for staff, patients and families.

“We met for a full year to look at different attributes of the retail food choice,” says Jackie Lapinski, children’s and women’s hospital project manager. “We talked about nutrition, greenness, food choices and family needs.”

The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country. It was nationally ranked in all ten pediatric specialties in the U.S. News Media Group’s 2011 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” including third in the country for heart and heart surgery. In November, the hospital moves to a new 1.1 million square feet, $754 million state-of-the-art facility that will be home to cutting-edge specialty services for newborns, children and women.

SOURCE C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital

STRATHAM, N.H., July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Timberland PRO® Renova(TM) series is in full bloom this summer, offering new work shoe options for nursing professionals that are both comfortable and stylish. While it’s no secret the majority of a nurse’s day is spent on his or her feet, the brand’s recent “Always on My Toes” survey revealed that 54 percent of nurses have worked 16 hours or more in one shift – that’s double the length of a typical work day! Because of this, it’s important for nurses to have the proper footwear to support their body when long shifts are part of the daily routine, not to mention, protect against slippery situations in hospitals, where linoleum floors are ubiquitous.

This season, the brand is expanding its Renova(TM) series, so every nurse can look and feel their best when they’re on the job. The most popular shoe in the series – the “Professional” – is now available in sleek, crocodile emboss designs that boast matte or metallic shades, and a new t-strap style, both of which are easy to put on. Features include:

• Timberland PRO® Anti-Fatigue Technology offers all-day standing support, foot and leg support and superior shock absorption
• Premium full-grade leathers and micro suede upper linings offer style and durability
• Heel-to-toe rocker sole reduces forefoot pressure
• 3M® Scotchgard(TM) protector provides stain resistance
• SafeGrip(TM) slip-resistant outsole grips in wet and dry conditions, enabling professionals to move quickly and confidently
• Bi-Fit® Tri-density footbed for maximum support
• Anatomically shaped, oblique toe box allows forefoot to spread, reducing fatigue

“We incorporate Anti-Fatigue Technology within the Renova(TM) series to help alleviate stress on the feet, while the heel-to-toe rocker sole lessens the impact of heel strike,” said Jim O’Connor, senior director of product and marketing for Timberland PRO. “Pair these features with slip-resistant outsoles and we have the ultimate footwear option for nursing professionals, so they can stay focused on their job and not on their aching feet.”

Other styles within the Timberland PRO® Renova(TM) series include the “Caregiver,” now available in both blue mosaic and pink flower prints. Since the “Always on My Toes” survey additionally noted 92 percent of nurses think style is important when it comes to their nursing shoes, the Caregiver allows workers to give scrubs the ultimate accessory, packaged in a comfortable and reliable shoe.

The Timberland PRO® Renova(TM) series is ideal for any nursing professional and with a variety of styles and patterns, there’s an option for every need and personal taste (MSRP ranges from $60 – $110). To view, purchase or learn more about the Timberland PRO® Renova(TM) series collection, visit www.renovacollection.com.

About Timberland PRO

Building on the Timberland (NYSE: TBL) heritage of craftsmanship and quality, Timberland PRO is recognized as an industry leader in the design, engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and accessories for working professionals who require the best comfort and protection on the job. Timberland PRO embraces the company’s commitment of “doing well and doing good”-forging powerful partnerships among employees, consumers and service partners to transform the communities in which they live and work. To learn more about Timberland PRO, please visit: www.timberlandpro.com. To learn more about Timberland, please visit www.timberland.com.

SOURCE Timberland PRO

(Ivanhoe Newswire) ““ Compared to standard diagnostic procedure, infants with cystic fibrosis who received treatment based on a diagnostic procedure involving gathering and culturing fluid samples from the lungs didn’t have a lower prevalence of lung-damaging infection or structural lung injury at 5 years of age, according to this study.

Early pulmonary infection in children with cystic fibrosis, particularly with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is associated with an increased risk of illness and death. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is an alternative diagnostic tool used when young children with cystic fibrosis cannot provide saliva, but evidence for its clinical benefit is lacking, according to background information in the article. BAL is a medical procedure in which a bronchoscope is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs and fluid is instilled into a small part of the lung and then recollected for examination.

Claire E. Wainwright, M.B.B.S., M.D., of the Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether BAL-directed therapy for pulmonary exacerbations in the first 5 years of life in infants with cystic fibrosis reduced P aeruginosa infection and structural lung injury at age 5. The randomized controlled trial included infants diagnosed with cystic fibrosis through newborn screening programs in 8 Australasian cystic fibrosis centers. Recruitment occurred between June 1999 and April 2005.

Participants received BAL-directed (n = 84) or standard (n = 86) therapy (based on oropharyngeal [pertaining to the mouth and the pharynx] cultures) until age 5 years. The BAL-directed therapy group underwent BAL before age 6 months when well, when hospitalized for pulmonary exacerbations, if P aeruginosa was detected in oropharyngeal specimens, and after P aeruginosa eradication therapy. Treatment was prescribed according to BAL or oropharyngeal culture results. Primary outcomes at age 5 years were prevalence of P aeruginosa on BAL cultures in both the BAL-directed and standard therapy groups and total cystic fibrosis computed tomography (CF-CT) score (as a percentage of the maximum score) on high-resolution chest CT scan.

Of 267 infants diagnosed with cystic fibrosis following newborn screening, 170 were enrolled and randomized and 157 completed the study. No statistically significant between-group differences for either of the primary outcomes were detected. P aeruginosa infection diagnosed by BAL culture was detected in 8/79 (10 percent) in the BAL-directed therapy group vs. 9/76 (12 percent) in the standard therapy group. For the outcome of total CF-CT score, data were obtained in 76 children (90 percent) in both study groups. The average total CF-CT scores for the BAL-directed therapy and standard therapy groups were 3.0 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

“This study highlights the importance of examining diagnostic and management interventions using appropriately designed randomized controlled trials in a clinical practice setting. BAL-directed therapy provided no clinical, microbiologic, or radiographic advantage and led to an increased risk of predominantly mild adverse events as a direct result of bronchoscopy as well as disadvantages such as the need to fast prior to the procedure, exposure to anesthesia, and potential perioperative anxiety. BAL remains a useful research tool in young, nonexpectorating children with cystic fibrosis. In clinical practice, however, BAL is perhaps best reserved for young children whose conditions are deteriorating despite parenteral [by injection, usually through the veins] antibiotic therapy, when unusual or antibiotic-resistant pathogens, including clonal P aeruginosa strains, are suspected, and to diagnose patients with chronic P aeruginosa infection,” the authors were quoted as saying.

SOURCE: JAMA, published online July 13, 2011

NEW YORK, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A consortium comprised of funds advised by Apax Partners (“Apax”), together with controlled affiliates of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (“PSP Investments”), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) for $68.50 per common share in cash.

KCI is a U.S.-based medical device company focused on the design, manufacture, marketing and service of therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. The transaction is valued at approximately $6.3 billion, including KCI’s outstanding debt.

In 2010, KCI reported revenues of $2.0 billion. The company’s products address a broad range of patient needs and are used by healthcare professionals around the world in a wide range of diverse care settings, such as acute care hospitals, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and wound care clinics.

The consortium plans to work actively in partnership with the management of KCI to further invest in the global medical products sector to expand the company’s core business, develop innovative products and extend into new geographies where significant opportunities exist.

Buddy Gumina, Partner and co-head of the Apax Healthcare team, commented: “We are highly impressed by the culture of innovation at KCI and are excited to work with a business that produces solutions that dramatically improve the lives of many people around the world. Over the years, we have reviewed multiple investments in the medical devices and products industry, having originally identified it as a key growth sector within our overall healthcare investment practice. Based on this experience, we possess a deep understanding of KCI’s business and the markets in which the company operates. We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with CPPIB and PSP Investments to support the company’s continued growth.”

Andre Bourbonnais, Senior Vice-President, Private Investments for CPPIB, said, “KCI is the market leader in its businesses with strong growth potential particularly outside of the core U.S. market. KCI’s business is well positioned for growth based on global trends such as demographics, including longevity and an aging population. Together with KCI’s management, Apax and PSP Investments, we look forward to building upon KCI’s leading market shares and positioning the company for continued long-term success.”

Derek Murphy, First Vice President, Private Equity at PSP Investments, said: “This is an attractive opportunity to acquire a global market leader offering stable core revenues and significant growth opportunities through new products and geographic expansion. Apax brings significant expertise in the healthcare sector, while CPPIB is a like-minded investor with a long-term investment horizon.”

The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. It is currently expected that the acquisition will close in the second half of 2011.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to the consortium. The consortium has secured committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse AG. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to the consortium. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal advisor on the financing to the consortium. Epstein Becker is acting as healthcare regulatory counsel to the consortium. CPPIB was also separately advised by Torys LLP. PSP Investments was also separately advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

About Apax Partners

Apax Partners is one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups. It operates across the United States, Europe and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Funds under the advice of Apax Partners total over $40 billion around the world. These Funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax Partners Funds invest in companies across its global sectors of Tech & Telecom, Retail & Consumer, Media, Healthcare and Financial & Business Services. For further information about Apax, please visit www.apax.com.

Apax Partners
Ben Harding / Georgiana Brunner
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 6401 / 6429
Email: [email protected]

Todd Fogarty
Tel: +1 212 521 4854
Email: [email protected]

About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong Kong, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At March 31, 2011, the CPP Fund totaled $148.2 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.ca.

CPPIB
May Chong
Tel: +1 416 868 8657
Email: [email protected]

About PSP Investments

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is a Canadian Crown corporation established to manage investments for the pension funds of the Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. PSP Investments’ mandate is to manage funds entrusted to it in the best interests of the contributors and beneficiaries of the pension plans and to maximize investment returns without undue risk of loss having regard to the funding, policies and requirements of the plans and their ability to meet their financial obligations. For more information about PSP Investments, visit www.investpsp.ca.

PSP Investments
Mark Boutet
Tel: +1 514 925 5431
Email: [email protected]

About KCI

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI’s success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing and the lives of patients around the world. The company employs approximately 7,100 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.

SOURCE Apax Partners; PSP Investments; Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) announced today that it expects to release its 2011 second quarter results after the market closes on Monday, August 1, 2011. A conference call and webcast will be held Tuesday, August 2 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern Time) to discuss the company’s results and outlook for the future.

To participate in the call, interested parties may dial (800) 847-9525 and reference passcode 83361141. Alternatively, interested parties may access the call in listen-only mode at www.skilledhealthcaregroup.com. A replay of the conference call will be available after 12:00 noon Pacific Time at www.skilledhealthcaregroup.com.

About Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, California, is a holding company with subsidiary healthcare services companies, which in the aggregate had trailing twelve month revenue of approximately $855 million and approximately 14,600 employees as of March 31, 2011. Skilled Healthcare Group and its wholly-owned companies, collectively referred to as the “Company,” operate long-term care facilities and provide a wide range of post-acute care services, with a strategic emphasis on sub-acute specialty health care. The Company operates long-term care facilities in California, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas, including 74 skilled nursing facilities that offer sub-acute care and rehabilitative and specialty health skilled nursing care, and 23 assisted living facilities that provide room and board and social services. In addition, the Company provides physical, occupational and speech therapy in Company-operated facilities and unaffiliated facilities. Furthermore, the Company provides hospice and home health care in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and New Mexico. The Company leases 5 skilled nursing facilities in California to a third party operator. References made in this release to “Skilled Healthcare,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. and each of its wholly-owned companies. More information about Skilled Healthcare is available at www.skilledhealthcaregroup.com.

Investor Inquiries:
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc.
Dev Ghose or Chris Felfe
(949) 282-5800

SOURCE Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc.

NEW YORK, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — After more than fifteen (15) years as a Senior Partner in the New York personal injury firm Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, Shkolnik & McCartney, LLP, Hunter Shkolnik has joined Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP (“Napoli Bern”) as a Senior Partner of the firm, which will henceforth be known as Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, LLP. Paul Napoli said: “Mr. Shkolnik led the complex and mass tort litigation team at Rheingold, Valet and he has long been active nationally as a leader in Pharmaceutical and Mass Tort litigations. We expect that he will continue to do so in the future”.

Mr. Shkolnik has concentrated his areas of practice to the trial of significant personal injury cases primarily in the area of drug, medical device, automobile, heavy truck and aviation related product liability and medical malpractice actions. He serves as a chairman, leader or court appointed representative on Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees in various consumer class actions and drug and medical device mass tort litigations including: In re: Toyota Sudden Acceleration Litigation 10:2151: Member, Liaison Counsel Committee For Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claimants; In re: Oral Sodium Phosphate Solution- Based Products Liability Litigation 09:2066 Co-Lead Counsel; In re: Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Lead Litigation Member, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee; In re: Kaba Simplex Locks Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation; In re: POM Wonderful LLC Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation; In re: Medtronic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators Litigation 05:1726 Member, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee; In re: Guidant Corp Implantable Defibrillators Products Liability Litigation 05:1708, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee; In re: Nuvaring Products Liability Litigation; New Jersey Levaquin Mass Tort Litigation-Discovery Co-Chair; New Jersey Nuvaring Litigation-Liaison Counsel; Co-Liaison Counsel New Jersey Metaclopromide Mass Tort Litigation. Hunter was a member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee and a lead counsel in the N.Y. Diet Drug/Phen-Fen litigation; a member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee and a lead counsel in the N.Y. Sulzer Inter-Op Hip and Knee Implant litigation.

“Shkolnik’s diverse experience, combined with that of Napoli Bern Ripka’s other Senior Partners and Associate Attorneys will make the firm an even more powerful voice in the legal community,” said Napoli Senior Partner Marc Jay Bern. Bern has been practicing since 1975 and has tried cases and lectured throughout the country. He was appointed to the Trasylol Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (“PSC”) Executive Committee by the Hon. Donald Middlebrooks of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, sitting on In re: Trasylol Products Liability Litigation (MDL-1928); Mr. Bern is also a member of the discovery committee for In re: MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) Products Liability Litigation (MDL-1358) pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Shira Scheindlin. In addition, Mr. Bern has been appointed to the New Jersey Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Levaquin Products Liability Litigation. Senior Partner Paul Napoli has been in practice since 1992 and has extensive experience trying various types of tort cases. He has been named co-liaison counsel for the State of New York Diet Drug (Fen-Phen) litigation and Rezulin litigation. Mr. Napoli was also appointed by the Court to lead the U.S. District Court litigation seeking payment for the Ground Zero workers who suffered respiratory injuries working in the clean up and debris removal efforts at the WTC site following the September 11th attacks. In that capacity, Mr. Napoli recently negotiated the historic $812,500,000.00 settlement on behalf of the Ground Zero workers. The firm represents injured individuals and municipal entities throughout the United States in claims arising from defective products, pharmaceutical mass torts, environmental disasters, professional liability (including medical, dental and podiatric malpractice), complex liability cases and other tragedies involving loss of life or health as a result of the negligence of others. Over the years, Napoli Bern has recovered more than two billion dollars for its clients.

The newly formed firm has its primary offices in the iconic Empire State Building in New York, New York, with offices in Long Island, New Jersey, Miami, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Press Release Contact Information:
Hunter Shkolnik
Senior Partner
Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, LLP
(212) 267-3700
[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, LLP

BETHESDA, Md., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — According to a study released this week by UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the overwhelming majority of patients with high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer do not receive the recommended treatment and surveillance, leaving them at higher risk for bladder cancer recurrence, progression, and death.

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), the first national organization dedicated to advancing bladder cancer research and public awareness, is not surprised by the study results, said Lawrence Rzepka, BCAN Executive Director. “However, we continue to be disappointed by the low quality of care and attention many bladder cancer patients are receiving.”

The UCLA study examined the records of more than 4,500 bladder cancer patients from across the country. These patients had high grade, relatively aggressive disease that had not invaded the muscle wall of the bladder. Of the patients studied, only 1 out of 4,500 received treatment that met all of the recommended guidelines for care as issued by the American Urological Association and National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

When asked why patients are not receiving vital treatment and surveillance, Dr. Badrinath Konety, BCAN Scientific Advisory Board member and co-author of the study, said that the problem lies with the doctors. “We found that the greatest cause of this lack of compliance is the doctors. Providers are failing to offer their bladder cancer patients the care that is proven to reduce mortality.”

This means that patient care could be improved by identifying why doctors are not giving bladder cancer patients the recommended treatment. Dr. Bernard Bochner, BCAN Scientific Advisory Board member and urologic surgeon at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said that in some cases the guidelines are seen as controversial, and in other cases doctors may not be familiar with the current standards and guidelines of care. However, Dr. Bochner notes that the data supporting the need for some follow-up and treatment of patients with potentially aggressive non-muscle invasive tumors has been available for many years.

Dr. Bochner is currently leading an effort sponsored by BCAN to study physicians as they treat patients with more advanced bladder cancer. His group will first determine whether doctors are complying with key treatment guidelines. When the recommended treatment is not provided, they will identify the reasons. This data will complement the results of the UCLA study, which found that physicians were not complying with care guidelines in early stage bladder cancer, but did not identify the reasons for the doctors’ lack of compliance.

“Ultimately, we hope Dr. Bochner and his colleagues will be able to determine why many doctors do not comply with current guidelines, and what can be done to remove the obstacles and ensure that doctors give all patients the appropriate care,” said Gary Steinberg, BCAN Scientific Advisory Board chairperson and Chief of Urologic Oncology at the University of Chicago. “Their work is an important piece of the collaborative research that has come out of BCAN’s annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank, which brings leading researchers from across the country together to advance bladder cancer research.”

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network was created in May 2005 as the first national non-profit organization for bladder cancer. BCAN’s mission is to increase public awareness about bladder cancer, advance bladder cancer research, and provide educational and support services for the bladder cancer community. For more information about BCAN or additional comments regarding the UCLA study, please call Grace Schroer at (301) 215-9099 ext. 202.

SOURCE Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network

Strategic Partnership Optimizes End-of-Life Care

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Proposed healthcare reform in the United States will significantly impact how healthcare is provided and funded for millions of Americans. A new strategic partnership between Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care (PPHPC) and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs and the opening of the new hospice inpatient unit is improving the way the two organizations effectively meet the healthcare needs of their community. The Pikes Peak Hospice Unit at Penrose Hospital officially opens July 12 when patients transition to the new facility.

PPHPC has offered inpatient care at the St. Francis Health Center (SFHC) building since 1994. Plans to close the SFHC building presented a unique opportunity to maximize collaboration between two well-respected organizations. The new hospice inpatient unit is designed and equipped to manage the most serious care needs, enhancing delivery of care in a comfortable and peaceful setting for patients and their families. The unit has 16 private patient rooms, a tranquility spa, family common areas, palliative care clinical office, exam room, clinical work areas and areas for the 50 full- and part-time inpatient staff and volunteers.

“As we continue to hear about healthcare reform, the evolution of healthcare delivery demands stronger partnerships than we’ve ever had,” said Martha Barton, president and CEO of PPHPC. “As demonstrated by this strategic alliance, PPHPC continues to pursue service expansions that increase access to direct care when and where people need it the most.”

The new Pikes Peak Hospice Unit at Penrose Hospital represents just one component of PPHPC’s broader vision of integrated community partnerships and collaborations with other healthcare systems and providers. “We will soon announce another step to optimize end-of-life care in our community. A new headquarters will include optimal workspace for all our outpatient teams, specialized pharmacy, palliative care specialists, specialized grief support, commemoration, education and research, as well as for our Foundation. We also expect to grow with additional inpatient units,” said Barton.

Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (www.nhpco.org), a nonprofit representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States, helped introduce Pikes Peak Hospice Unit at Penrose Hospital. “Since its founding 31 years ago, Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care has always been one of the top 25 hospice programs in the United States,” said Schumacher. “This new unit in Colorado Springs is one of the preeminent hospital-connected inpatient hospice units nationally.”

Nationally, more than 1.65 million people received hospice care in 2010. These numbers will continue to grow as more patients, and their families, seek greater participation in end-of-life decisions. “Based on the 2010 U.S. Census Report, it’s predicted that between 2011 and 2028, 70 million people are going to die in the United States. That’s a lot of people who are going to need end-of-life services,” said Schumacher.

www.pikespeakhospice.org

Contact:
Robin Whitten
Director of Communication
719.634.3400

SOURCE Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care

Johns Hopkins expert calls for testing and mandatory reporting

A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought. Screening is especially important because in many cases there are no symptoms.

“We usually think of STDs as more prevalent in young people, but our study results clearly show that with trichomonas, while too many young people have it, even more, older women are infected,” says senior study investigator Charlotte Gaydos, M.S., Dr.P.H.

Results of a study to be presented July 12 at the annual meeting of the International Society for STD Research, in Quebec City, Canada, by Gaydos and her co-investigators show that among 7,593 U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 89, women 50 and older had the highest trichomonas infection rate, at 13 percent. Women in their 40s were next, at 11 percent. The study, which collected test samples from women in 28 states, is believed to be the largest and most in-depth analysis of the STD ever performed in the United States, complementing periodic national surveys of adolescents and individual city reports.

“Trichomonas infections are quite treatable with antibiotics,” says Gaydos, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.” And these high numbers really warrant older women getting screened by their family physicians and gynecologists during routine check-ups to make sure they are not infected and are not inadvertently spreading it to others.”

Overall, the survey results showed that 8.7 percent of all women tested positive for the STD. Previous estimates, using older, less reliable tests had indicated an overall infection rate of less than 4 percent. In the new study, the infection rate was 8.5 percent in women ages 18 and 19, dropping slightly to 8.3 percent for women in their 20s.

Gaydos says testing is needed to prevent transmission of the parasite because some infected women and most infected men show no signs of the disease, such as liquid discharge from the vagina or penis, irritation while urinating and genital itching. Left untreated, trichomoniasis can lead to severe health problems. Trichomonas infection is closely tied to co-infection with HIV, easing transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. Gaydos says trichomoniasis can also lead to inflammation of the vagina, urethra and cervix and to pelvic inflammatory disease, and in pregnant women, the infection has been known to cause premature labor and result in more low-birth-weight babies.

The public health threat of trichomonas is compounded, Gaydos adds, by the fact that, unlike other common STDs, such as the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, confirmed cases of parasitic trichomonas infection do not have to be reported to local public health officials and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“What we are really witnessing with trichomonas, especially in older women, is that no one ever looked, no one ever tested and diagnosed, and no one is really getting treated, so the infection persists year after year,” says Gaydos. She says that in addition to encouraging women to get tested, federal agencies should make trichomonas a reportable condition, as are chlamydia and gonorrhea, so that public health officials can screen, track and develop better methods to halt infections.

Among the study’s other key findings were that infection rates were highest among black women of all ages, at 20 percent, almost twice what earlier estimates had suggested and more than three times the rate in whites, at 5.7 percent. Gaydos says this finding mirrors results of other health surveys tying increased STD infection rates ““ such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, too — to high levels of poverty, unemployment, and lack of education in different racial and ethnic groups.

Such social and economic disparities, she says, also help explain why the infection rate in jails, in which a large proportion of the prison population is African American, was 22.3 percent; and why women in the relatively poorer Southeast United States have the highest regional trichomonas infection rate, at 14.4 percent, whereas women in the more affluent Northeast had the lowest, at 4.3 percent.

“This survey information is vital to tailoring our efforts to get women, especially black women and women in jails, tested, diagnosed and treated,” says Gaydos.

The Johns Hopkins team last December published survey results about trichomonas infection rates in men, in whom the disease is even harder to detect. Initial study data from 500 men tested for all three common STDs showed that at least 10 percent of all men participating in the study carried the parasite, whose infection can cause inflammation of the male reproductive organs. Solving the problem in men is also important, Gaydos says, because of the risk of re-infection and instances in which women and men have multiple sex partners and all will need treatment.

In the current study, test samples were collected from women in private clinics, emergency departments, hospitals, jails and community health STD clinics between July 1 and Dec. 30, 2010. Left over samples ““ consisting of either a urine, cervical or vaginal swab, or liquid pap smears, with the names removed ““ were then retested specifically for trichomonas, after they had already been clinically tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Researchers used the latest genetic assay, a test that is almost 100 percent foolproof in detecting trichomonas, instead of traditional testing methods, which are only accurate about half the time.

Funding for the study was provided by participating academic centers, including the Johns Hopkins University. Testing supplies were provided free of charge to testing sites by the assay equipment manufacturer, Gen-Probe, of San Diego. Gaydos has in the past received grant funding from Gen-Probe, but only for studies on the accuracy of their trichomonas assay, not this latest study.

Samples were collected from across the country, including from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The U.S. CDC lists Trichomonas vaginalis as the most common sexually transmitted disease in the nation, with an estimated 7.2 million men and women newly infected each year. The World Health Organization estimates the annual rate of new infected people at 173 million.

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On the Net:

• Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions