http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/
Thursday, November 5, 2009
2010 Biomaterials Meetings
January
January 25-27 Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2010
The Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, DC
www.phacilitate.co.uk/cgtherapy
March
March 7-10 14th annual Hilton Head Workshop: Regenerative Medicine: Advancing to Next Generation Therapies
Hilton Head Island, SC
Abstract deadline: November 13, 2009
www.hiltonhead.gatech.edu
April
April 21-24: 2010 Society For Biomaterials Annual Meeting and Exposition Seattle, Washington
April 21–23 Bone Tissue: Hierarchical Simulations for Clinical Applications Workshop
UCLA campus, Los Angeles, California
http://ortho.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=136
http://www.ipamucla.edu/programs/bone2010
May
May 27–29 ASAIO's 56th Annual Conference
Hilton Baltimore
Abstract Deadline January 19, 2010
www.asaio.com
September
September 1–4 BIOSPINE 3 – 3rd Congress of Biotechnologies for Spinal Surgery organized by Regenerate (European Network for Regenerative Medicine)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
www.biospine.org
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
| Organization Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining |
Preventing the spread of infection through the innovative use of materials and design. The spread of swine flu, MRSA, C. difficile and other infections in the healthcare environment is something that must be tackled on all fronts if we wish to contain the threat to patients, staff and employees working with infected people. In addition to the antiviral treatments available, the innovative use of materials and related technologies has an extremely important secondary role to play within hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, and even the home and office environments. This one day conference will explain the threat, and look at a number of ways of reducing the spread of infection including:
The conference will outline the work being done by the NHS, through the National Innovation Centre and the NHS Healthcare Acquired Infection (HCAI) Technology Innovation Programme, and it will identify the methods of getting new products and solutions into the NHS through the Design Bugs Out project and the Smart Solutions programme. Chair: · Keynote 1: The Threat Explained, Professor Clive Beggs, Professor of Medical Technology at the · Keynote 2: The Healthcare Acquired Infection (HCAI) Technology Programme. Paul Cryer, Programme Manager, Department of Health, HCAI Technology Innovation Programme · Infection Prevention: the Journey to Market. Chris Dyke, Medilink West · Biofilm Models for the Testing of Antimicrobial-Releasing Materials . Dr Jonathan Pratten, UCL Eastman Dental Institute · Recent Developments in Copper Protection. Mark Tur, Copper Development Agency · Antimicrobial Fabrics – An Overview. Brian McCarthy, Technical Textiles, Materials KTN · Application and Evaluation of Durable, High Activity, Antimicrobial Coatings Based on Nano Ag by Chemical Vapour Deposition. Howard Foster, Parasitology and Disease Research Centre, School of Environment and Life Sciences, · Inorganic Nanomaterials for Antimicrobial Protection. Selvaraj Subbiah, Intrinsiq Materials · Ultra Thin, Prophylactic Liquid Glass (SiO2) Coatings for Use in Healthcare and Associated Environments. Neil McClelland, Project Manager, Nanopool GmbH · Lenticular Posters as a Visual Stimulus for Infection Control. Robbie Rohan, P4YT · Nanosensors for Superbugs and Superdrugs, Dr Rachel McKendry, · Open Air Factor- A Cascade Reaction of Hydroxyl Radicals , Alan Mole, Tri-Air Developments Ltd. · The Use of UV Light in Infection Control. John Burrows, Pathogen Solutions Ltd · NHS Smart Ideas: Temporary Isolation Unit, Mike Phillips, Renfrew Group · Design Bugs Out Part 1: Hospital Equipment. Grace Davey, Helen Hamlyn Centre, RCA · Design Bugs Out Part 2: Design Principles of Hospital Furniture. Geoff Hollington, Design Consultant Who Should Attend Cost: £260+VAT . Concessions available for event partner and IOM3 members, students and unemployed. Event Partners: |
2nd Chinese-European Symposium on Biomaterials in Regenerative Medicine
| 16-20 November 2009 |
Barcelona, Spain |
| Organization The European Society for Biomaterials (ESB), Chinese Committee for Biomaterials (CCBM) and the Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya |
Presentation After the successful first joint symposium held in Suzhou (China) on April 2006, this 2nd meeting will be the perfect opportunity for Chinese and European researchers to gather together again. Last highlights and achievements in biomaterials and tissue engineering will be presented and future trends and challenges will be discussed. The meeting will offer the most suitable platform for networking and partnering and will for sure foster EU-China collaborations. Deadlines Topics include
|
Third International NanoBio Conference
NanoBio-Zurich 2010
Registration and abstract submission is now open
The Third International NanoBio Conference will take place at ETH Zurich, August 24-27, 2010. For this 4-day conference, we will have at least 38 invited, internationally renowned speakers for plenary and two parallel sessions, as well as poster sessions and an industrial exhibition. We expect around 500 participants, 250 - 300 posters and about 15-20 exhibitors.
This meeting gathers the leaders of this progressive field from all over the world helping scientists to get an update on the most recent achievements in the different topics of nanobiotechnology, to discuss, to network, to exchange stimulating new ideas, and to take responsibility in forming public opinion about nanobiotechnology.
Sessions topics include:
- NanoBio Sensing
- NanoBio Materials
- NanoBio Interfaces
- NanoBio Devices
- Drug delivery & Nanomedicine
- Nanomedical imaging
- Nanotoxicology
- Biomimetic and Bioinspired Nano-Structured Materials and Interfaces
- Nano-scale Characterization Techniques and Single Molecule Analysis
Follow this link to see the flyer for the Third International NanoBio Conference 2010, Zurich
NanoBio-Zurich 2010_Flyer
Stem cells 'can treat diabetes'
An experimental stem cell treatment has enabled patients with type 1 diabetes to go for as long as four years without insulin injections, researchers say.
A US-Brazilian project with 23 patients found most were able to produce their own insulin after a transplant of stem cells from their own bone marrow.
Even those who relapsed needed less insulin than before.
But writing in the journal JAMA, the team warned the treatment may only work in those very recently diagnosed.
The treatment is designed to stop the immune systems of those with type 1 diabetes, a condition which usually develops in childhood, from mistakenly destroying the cells which create insulin.
To measure its effectiveness, team from Northwestern University in the US and the Regional Blood Centre in Brazil, looked at levels of C-peptides, which show how well the body is producing insulin.
Twenty of the 23 patients who received the treatment became insulin-free - one for as long as four years. Eight had to return to insulin injections, but at reduced levels.
The treatment did not work in three of the patients, and it was also unlikely to work in patients more than three months after diagnosis of diabetes, said Dr Richard Burt of Northwestern. This was because by this stage, the immune system had destroyed the body's islet cells.
It was also unlikely to be have any therapeutic benefits for those with type 2 diabetes, mainly associated with obesity, as these patients still make insulin.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: "although this remains an interesting area of research, the importance of a limited extension to this study should not be overstated - this is not a cure for Type 1 diabetes."
He added: "we would like to see this experiment carried out with a control group for comparison of results and a longer-term follow up in a greater number of people.
"It is important that the researchers look at the causes of the apparent improvement in insulin production and C-peptide levels in some participants. In particular, it is crucial to find out whether this is associated with the timing of the treatment or possible side effects of it rather than the stem cell transplant itself.
"It would be wrong to unnecessarily raise the hopes of people living with diabetes about a new treatment for the condition on the back of the evidence provided in this study."
-BBC News
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Boom time for biomaterials
Rapid developments are afoot in the field of biomaterials, and are likely to have major effects on patient care soon. But science isn't the only thing defining the pace of progress.
Introduction
In this issue of Nature Materials we take a look at recent advances in the field of biomaterials — the study of interactions between in vivo or in vitro biological systems and materials — and look at what we can expect in the future. The move of modern biomaterials from lab to hospital may seem to be a rapid one, but humans have been augmenting the body with implants for centuries. As far back as 200 AD it is thought that iron dental implants were used in Europe, and the Mayans fashioned nacre teeth from sea shells around 600 AD; both types of material became integrated into the bone after implantation1.
Artificial human epidermis in a liquid-culture flask; new skin grafts grown from patients' own cells have lower risks of rejection.
Although what constitutes the very first biomaterial may remain somewhat ill-defined, it is clear that modern biomaterials are evolving at an intense pace. From simple implants like intraocular lenses, which restore sight to millions of cataract patients every year and were first used more than half a century ago, to more complex materials that not only perform mechanical tasks in the body, but can also interact with and even direct the body's response for maximum restorative power. Indeed, researchers are becoming adept at creating grafts and implants that don't only mimic the body, but actually encourage it to 'colonize' the foreign material itself, growing new skin, cartilage or blood vessels. This boom is in part a result of more specific knowledge about the human body at the cellular level. The improved understanding of body tissue and its interaction with materials, together with the increase in collaboration from scientists from different disciplines to help disseminate this knowledge and enable its use in engineering, has allowed the rapid developments that we are now seeing.
The step changes in the approach to biomaterials are examined in our special issue: the evolution of biomaterials from simple embedded devices to more complex functional materials that control biological interactions is examined in our Commentary from James Burns, who argues that it is likely to be the most prosperous research and development direction in the future for the field2. And developments in the field of tissue engineering are reviewed by Molly Stevens and colleagues3, who are of the opinion that the field is better served by trying to generate less complex materials that can stimulate the body to heal and improve itself using biology as a tool, rather than concentrating on more and more complex materials to replace body tissues themselves.
A field such as biomaterials touches on many ethical questions, from sample sources to how advances are deployed into clinical care across the population. The wider public, politicians and policy makers quite rightly have a role in considering these questions, resulting in research in this area regularly being scrutinized and influenced by external factors. For instance, a current research area in biomaterials focuses on how materials properties, such as mechanical elasticity or chemical properties, can influence the differentiation and growth of cells; indeed, this is a common theme for papers within our own pages4, 5. For this type of study, stem cells are of particular use, as they begin as unspecialized cells with the ability to grow into different types of cell depending on need. The well-publicized ethical debate surrounding the sourcing of stem cells from embryos has been going on for some years, and is not limited to those that are used in biomaterials studies.
On 9 March 2009, President Obama lifted restrictions laid down by the Bush administration on federal funding for research into new stem cell lines. A single embryo can provide a theoretically limitless source of stem cells as the line can be grown indefinitely. However, researchers have been in need of stem cell lines with more diverse genetic make up, including those with genetic problems such as Parkinson's and autoimmune diseases. Obama's move has freed US scientists to add to the currently available 21 stem cell lines, broadening research possibilities into specific genetic problems. Clearly, these political and ethical debates are needed, but some US researchers felt that the Bush administration's stance put them at a disadvantage compared with their colleagues in other countries6. Legal factors, such as the fear of litigation mentioned by Robert Langer in our interview7, will also have a role in what research scientists and companies are willing and able to undertake and fund.
Back in the biomaterials research lab, the multidisciplinary approach that is helping to fuel growth fits perfectly with the ethos of materials science in general, and reflects the tactics used by a large number of our authors and readers. We look forward to seeing what happens next, and hope that science, not external factors, will be the major determinant of the nature of future research and the speed with which these developments occur.
Top of page
References
Ratner, B. D. et al. Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine (Academic Press, 2004).
Burns, J. W. Nature Mater. 8, 441–443 (2009). Article
Place, E. S., Evans, N. D. & Stevens, M. M. Nature Mater. 8, 457–470 (2009). Article
Mitragotri, S. & Lahann, J. Nature Mater. 8, 15–23 (2009). Article ChemPort
Benoit, D. S. W., Schwartz, M. P., Durney, A. R. & Anseth, K. S. Nature Mater. 7, 816–823 (2008). Article ChemPort
Owen-Smith, J. & McCormick, J. Nature Biotech. 24, 391–392 (2006). Article PubMed ChemPort
Nature Mater. 8, 444–445 (2009). Article
Introduction
In this issue of Nature Materials we take a look at recent advances in the field of biomaterials — the study of interactions between in vivo or in vitro biological systems and materials — and look at what we can expect in the future. The move of modern biomaterials from lab to hospital may seem to be a rapid one, but humans have been augmenting the body with implants for centuries. As far back as 200 AD it is thought that iron dental implants were used in Europe, and the Mayans fashioned nacre teeth from sea shells around 600 AD; both types of material became integrated into the bone after implantation1.
Artificial human epidermis in a liquid-culture flask; new skin grafts grown from patients' own cells have lower risks of rejection.
Although what constitutes the very first biomaterial may remain somewhat ill-defined, it is clear that modern biomaterials are evolving at an intense pace. From simple implants like intraocular lenses, which restore sight to millions of cataract patients every year and were first used more than half a century ago, to more complex materials that not only perform mechanical tasks in the body, but can also interact with and even direct the body's response for maximum restorative power. Indeed, researchers are becoming adept at creating grafts and implants that don't only mimic the body, but actually encourage it to 'colonize' the foreign material itself, growing new skin, cartilage or blood vessels. This boom is in part a result of more specific knowledge about the human body at the cellular level. The improved understanding of body tissue and its interaction with materials, together with the increase in collaboration from scientists from different disciplines to help disseminate this knowledge and enable its use in engineering, has allowed the rapid developments that we are now seeing.
The step changes in the approach to biomaterials are examined in our special issue: the evolution of biomaterials from simple embedded devices to more complex functional materials that control biological interactions is examined in our Commentary from James Burns, who argues that it is likely to be the most prosperous research and development direction in the future for the field2. And developments in the field of tissue engineering are reviewed by Molly Stevens and colleagues3, who are of the opinion that the field is better served by trying to generate less complex materials that can stimulate the body to heal and improve itself using biology as a tool, rather than concentrating on more and more complex materials to replace body tissues themselves.
A field such as biomaterials touches on many ethical questions, from sample sources to how advances are deployed into clinical care across the population. The wider public, politicians and policy makers quite rightly have a role in considering these questions, resulting in research in this area regularly being scrutinized and influenced by external factors. For instance, a current research area in biomaterials focuses on how materials properties, such as mechanical elasticity or chemical properties, can influence the differentiation and growth of cells; indeed, this is a common theme for papers within our own pages4, 5. For this type of study, stem cells are of particular use, as they begin as unspecialized cells with the ability to grow into different types of cell depending on need. The well-publicized ethical debate surrounding the sourcing of stem cells from embryos has been going on for some years, and is not limited to those that are used in biomaterials studies.
On 9 March 2009, President Obama lifted restrictions laid down by the Bush administration on federal funding for research into new stem cell lines. A single embryo can provide a theoretically limitless source of stem cells as the line can be grown indefinitely. However, researchers have been in need of stem cell lines with more diverse genetic make up, including those with genetic problems such as Parkinson's and autoimmune diseases. Obama's move has freed US scientists to add to the currently available 21 stem cell lines, broadening research possibilities into specific genetic problems. Clearly, these political and ethical debates are needed, but some US researchers felt that the Bush administration's stance put them at a disadvantage compared with their colleagues in other countries6. Legal factors, such as the fear of litigation mentioned by Robert Langer in our interview7, will also have a role in what research scientists and companies are willing and able to undertake and fund.
Back in the biomaterials research lab, the multidisciplinary approach that is helping to fuel growth fits perfectly with the ethos of materials science in general, and reflects the tactics used by a large number of our authors and readers. We look forward to seeing what happens next, and hope that science, not external factors, will be the major determinant of the nature of future research and the speed with which these developments occur.
Top of page
References
Ratner, B. D. et al. Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine (Academic Press, 2004).
Burns, J. W. Nature Mater. 8, 441–443 (2009). Article
Place, E. S., Evans, N. D. & Stevens, M. M. Nature Mater. 8, 457–470 (2009). Article
Mitragotri, S. & Lahann, J. Nature Mater. 8, 15–23 (2009). Article ChemPort
Benoit, D. S. W., Schwartz, M. P., Durney, A. R. & Anseth, K. S. Nature Mater. 7, 816–823 (2008). Article ChemPort
Owen-Smith, J. & McCormick, J. Nature Biotech. 24, 391–392 (2006). Article PubMed ChemPort
Nature Mater. 8, 444–445 (2009). Article
Nature Materials 8, 439 (2009) doi:10.1038/nmat2451
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Siemens Introduces Next-Generation Molecular Diagnostics Technology for HIV-1 Viral Load Testing
21/01/2009Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector
Siemens Healthcare received CE marking approval to sell the new VERSANT kPCR Molecular System and the VERSANT HIV-1 RNA 1.0 Assay (kPCR) for monitoring the viral load of HIV-1 infected patients who are undergoing antiviral therapy. Viral load testing measures the plasma levels of the virus, which is critical when monitoring and guiding patients’ HIV therapy. "With nearly three million people diagnosed as HIV positive each year, innovation to improve both workflow and patient care is critical,” said Donal Quinn, CEO, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “We are pleased to offer clinical laboratories leading-edge molecular technology that supports effective diagnosis and treatment of this challenging and devastating infectious disease." The VERSANT kPCR Molecular System, a kinetic polymerase chain reaction analyzer, delivers excellent assay performance with high sensitivity and broad range. The system delivers versatility through its quality nucleic acid extraction technology and ability to streamline workflow and improve efficiency in the clinical laboratory. The fully automated system offers enhanced software that interfaces with medical Laboratory Information Systems, which are used to download patient work-orders and upload patient test results. “The VERSANT kPCR Molecular System represents a significant expansion of our molecular diagnostics portfolio that will allow us to offer a growing menu of infectious disease and genomic tests, as well as sample preparation solutions for our customers,” said David Okrongly, senior vice president, molecular diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. The VERSANT HIV-1 1.0 Assay (kPCR) is run on the VERSANT kPCR Molecular System and allows viral load changes to be distinguished accurately, improving HIV viral load management. It also demonstrates excellent precision across the entire reporting range and equivalent detection of HIV RNA genotypes.
Siemens Healthcare received CE marking approval to sell the new VERSANT kPCR Molecular System and the VERSANT HIV-1 RNA 1.0 Assay (kPCR) for monitoring the viral load of HIV-1 infected patients who are undergoing antiviral therapy. Viral load testing measures the plasma levels of the virus, which is critical when monitoring and guiding patients’ HIV therapy. "With nearly three million people diagnosed as HIV positive each year, innovation to improve both workflow and patient care is critical,” said Donal Quinn, CEO, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “We are pleased to offer clinical laboratories leading-edge molecular technology that supports effective diagnosis and treatment of this challenging and devastating infectious disease." The VERSANT kPCR Molecular System, a kinetic polymerase chain reaction analyzer, delivers excellent assay performance with high sensitivity and broad range. The system delivers versatility through its quality nucleic acid extraction technology and ability to streamline workflow and improve efficiency in the clinical laboratory. The fully automated system offers enhanced software that interfaces with medical Laboratory Information Systems, which are used to download patient work-orders and upload patient test results. “The VERSANT kPCR Molecular System represents a significant expansion of our molecular diagnostics portfolio that will allow us to offer a growing menu of infectious disease and genomic tests, as well as sample preparation solutions for our customers,” said David Okrongly, senior vice president, molecular diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. The VERSANT HIV-1 1.0 Assay (kPCR) is run on the VERSANT kPCR Molecular System and allows viral load changes to be distinguished accurately, improving HIV viral load management. It also demonstrates excellent precision across the entire reporting range and equivalent detection of HIV RNA genotypes.
Early Detection of Increased Thrombosis Risk
02/02/2009Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector
Siemens Healthcare has developed Innovance Antithrombin, a new test for determining congenital and acquired antithrombin deficiency. Insufficient levels of protein in blood can lead to increased thrombophilia. Reason: Antithrombin ensures balanced blood coagulation by reducing the activity of thrombin and coagulation factor Xa which are responsible for blood coagulation. Innovance Antithrombin detects insufficient antithrombin activity, enabling the early detection of an increased risk of thrombosis in patients. Innovance Antithrombin by Siemens Healthcare is a new chromogenic test for the automatic quantification of functionally active antithrombin in human citrated plasma. In contrast to antithrombin activity tests based on the inhibition of the coagulation factor thrombin, Innovance Antithrombin determines the activity of the antithrombin protein through the inhibition of coagulation factor Xa. This prevents distortion of the test result if a patient was given specific medication to prevent or treat thromboses, such as hirudin or other thrombin inhibitors. Innovance Antithrombin can be used with the automatic coagulation measuring devices from Siemens such as BCS and BCS XP as well as Sysmex CA-500, Sysmex CA-1500 and Sysmex CA-7000. The new test by Siemens is also suitable for diagnosing congenital or acquired antithrombin deficiencies which are known to be linked with an increased risk of thrombosis. Antithrombin deficiencies manifest themselves in reduced activity of the antithrombin protein. Two types of congenital antithrombin deficiencies are distinguished: in case of deficiency type I, the total quantity of existing antithrombin protein is reduced, whereas in case of deficiency type II, the protein concentration is normal, but the protein is defective in respect of its inhibitor function. Acquired antithrombin deficiency exists if less antithrombin protein is produced or more is spent than usual. This may result, for example, from liver diseases, DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), sepsis, acute hemolytic transfusion reaction, nephrotic syndrome or major surgical interventions. The test can also serve for monitoring the substitution therapy with antithrombin concentrates. The test kit components of Innovance Antithrombin are ready for use and therefore especially fast and easy to use. The test is based on a chromogenic measurement principle. Citrated plasma is mixed with a surplus of coagulation factor Xa. If heparin is present, part of coagulation factor Xa is bonded and deactivated by the antithrombin present in the specimen. Surplus, uninhibited coagulation factor Xa then splits a chromogenic substrate. In this process, coloring is released, the concentration of which is detected with a photometer. The higher the concentration of the produced coloring, the higher was the quantity of uninhibited coagulation factor Xa and the lower was the concentration of functionally active antithrombin originally present in the plasma specimen.
Siemens Healthcare has developed Innovance Antithrombin, a new test for determining congenital and acquired antithrombin deficiency. Insufficient levels of protein in blood can lead to increased thrombophilia. Reason: Antithrombin ensures balanced blood coagulation by reducing the activity of thrombin and coagulation factor Xa which are responsible for blood coagulation. Innovance Antithrombin detects insufficient antithrombin activity, enabling the early detection of an increased risk of thrombosis in patients. Innovance Antithrombin by Siemens Healthcare is a new chromogenic test for the automatic quantification of functionally active antithrombin in human citrated plasma. In contrast to antithrombin activity tests based on the inhibition of the coagulation factor thrombin, Innovance Antithrombin determines the activity of the antithrombin protein through the inhibition of coagulation factor Xa. This prevents distortion of the test result if a patient was given specific medication to prevent or treat thromboses, such as hirudin or other thrombin inhibitors. Innovance Antithrombin can be used with the automatic coagulation measuring devices from Siemens such as BCS and BCS XP as well as Sysmex CA-500, Sysmex CA-1500 and Sysmex CA-7000. The new test by Siemens is also suitable for diagnosing congenital or acquired antithrombin deficiencies which are known to be linked with an increased risk of thrombosis. Antithrombin deficiencies manifest themselves in reduced activity of the antithrombin protein. Two types of congenital antithrombin deficiencies are distinguished: in case of deficiency type I, the total quantity of existing antithrombin protein is reduced, whereas in case of deficiency type II, the protein concentration is normal, but the protein is defective in respect of its inhibitor function. Acquired antithrombin deficiency exists if less antithrombin protein is produced or more is spent than usual. This may result, for example, from liver diseases, DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), sepsis, acute hemolytic transfusion reaction, nephrotic syndrome or major surgical interventions. The test can also serve for monitoring the substitution therapy with antithrombin concentrates. The test kit components of Innovance Antithrombin are ready for use and therefore especially fast and easy to use. The test is based on a chromogenic measurement principle. Citrated plasma is mixed with a surplus of coagulation factor Xa. If heparin is present, part of coagulation factor Xa is bonded and deactivated by the antithrombin present in the specimen. Surplus, uninhibited coagulation factor Xa then splits a chromogenic substrate. In this process, coloring is released, the concentration of which is detected with a photometer. The higher the concentration of the produced coloring, the higher was the quantity of uninhibited coagulation factor Xa and the lower was the concentration of functionally active antithrombin originally present in the plasma specimen.
Infection: New Mode Found Of How Diseases Evolve
Researchers found a new way that bacteria evolve into something that can make humans sick. 20/02/2009
Researchers have discovered a new way that bacteria evolve into something that can make sick. The finding has implications for how scientists identify and assign risk to emerging diseases in the environment. The researchers found that bacteria can develop into illness-causing pathogens by rewiring regulatory DNA, the genetic material that controls disease-causing genes in a body. Previously, disease evolution was thought to occur mainly through the addition or deletion of genes. "Bacterial cells contain about 5,000 different genes, but only a fraction of them are used at any given time," Brian Coombes, lead investigator of the study, said. "The difference between being able to cause disease, or not cause disease, lies in where, when and what genes in this collection are turned on. We have discovered how bacteria evolve to turn on just the right combination of genes in order to cause disease in a host. It is similar to playing a musical instrument – you have to play the right keys in the right order to make music." With infectious diseases on the rise, the finding has implications on how new pathogens are identified in the environment. Scientists currently monitor the risk of new diseases by assessing the gene content of bacteria found in water, food and animals. "This opens up significant new challenges for us as we move forward with this idea of assigning risk to new pathogens," Coombes said. "Because now, we know it's not just gene content – it is gene content plus regulation of those genes." MEDICA.de; Source: McMaster University
Researchers have discovered a new way that bacteria evolve into something that can make sick. The finding has implications for how scientists identify and assign risk to emerging diseases in the environment. The researchers found that bacteria can develop into illness-causing pathogens by rewiring regulatory DNA, the genetic material that controls disease-causing genes in a body. Previously, disease evolution was thought to occur mainly through the addition or deletion of genes. "Bacterial cells contain about 5,000 different genes, but only a fraction of them are used at any given time," Brian Coombes, lead investigator of the study, said. "The difference between being able to cause disease, or not cause disease, lies in where, when and what genes in this collection are turned on. We have discovered how bacteria evolve to turn on just the right combination of genes in order to cause disease in a host. It is similar to playing a musical instrument – you have to play the right keys in the right order to make music." With infectious diseases on the rise, the finding has implications on how new pathogens are identified in the environment. Scientists currently monitor the risk of new diseases by assessing the gene content of bacteria found in water, food and animals. "This opens up significant new challenges for us as we move forward with this idea of assigning risk to new pathogens," Coombes said. "Because now, we know it's not just gene content – it is gene content plus regulation of those genes." MEDICA.de; Source: McMaster University
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Firms gloomier on outlook -By Robin Chan & Fiona Chan
PESSIMISM is increasingly taking hold of local companies with most now resigned that things will get worse over the next few months.
The weak sentiment is affecting industries across the economic spectrum, from hotels to petroleum and manufacturing. 'Firms are becoming more realistic in their outlook,' said HSBC economist Prakriti Sofat. 'There is no escaping the fact that things are deteriorating much faster than expected.'
All clusters within the manufacturing sector are downbeat, according to a survey conducted among about 390 firms by the Economic Development Board in recent weeks.
And about 60 per cent of the 1,400 services companies surveyed by the Department of Statistics also anticipate slower business in the wake of the global economic decline.
The most downbeat industries in manufacturing are computer peripherals and petroleum while hotels in the services sector are mired in gloom with 100 per cent of those surveyed believing that there is no way but down.
All other sectors have at least a few firms which believe that things will improve by June.
A comparison with the same survey last October provides a stark illustration of just how quickly sentiment has deteriorated.
Last October, four in 10 hotels, restaurants and caterers were still optimistic. They predicted a brighter outlook for March this year, with more than 90 per cent expecting to keep the same number of jobs or hire more people by the year-end.
Now not a single hotel surveyed in the recent poll retains such optimism.
Manufacturing is almost as grim. Last October, only 18 per cent of firms were pessimistic but now that has rocketed, with 57 per cent of manufacturers expecting conditions to worsen in the next six months.
All manufacturing industries apart from biomedical manufacturing are predicting job cuts in the next few months. They believe output will fall across the board, ranging from a 14 per cent decrease in food, beverages and tobacco production to a 100 per cent drop in some electronic modules and components.
One of the few bright spots is pharmaceutical firms, with 26 per cent believing that things will look up, although more than half still think it will get worse.
Job cuts are the most visible manifestation of the mood.
Chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing announced yesterday that it plans to cut more than 500 jobs here after forecasting a net loss of about US$147 million (S$221 million) for the first quarter.
The manufacturing sector lost 6,200 jobs in the last three months of last year, said the Manpower Ministry yesterday.
Employment is also likely to fall for services firms, according to the survey. In almost every industry, from wholesale and retail trade to financial and business services, there are more firms predicting job cuts than those anticipating more hires. Overall, 53 per cent of services firms expect things to get worse, with banks and fund managers among the gloomiest.
The Government expects the economy to shrink by up to 5 per cent this year after growing 1.2 per cent last year. Last week, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam unveiled a $20.5 billion 'resilience' Budget to help firms improve cashflow and preserve jobs.
Ms Sofat said: 'We are seeing things being done to cushion the blow somewhat, but it remains to be seen how much of that will actually go through. There will be more layoffs over the year, there is no escaping that fact.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 31, 2009.
The weak sentiment is affecting industries across the economic spectrum, from hotels to petroleum and manufacturing. 'Firms are becoming more realistic in their outlook,' said HSBC economist Prakriti Sofat. 'There is no escaping the fact that things are deteriorating much faster than expected.'
All clusters within the manufacturing sector are downbeat, according to a survey conducted among about 390 firms by the Economic Development Board in recent weeks.
And about 60 per cent of the 1,400 services companies surveyed by the Department of Statistics also anticipate slower business in the wake of the global economic decline.
The most downbeat industries in manufacturing are computer peripherals and petroleum while hotels in the services sector are mired in gloom with 100 per cent of those surveyed believing that there is no way but down.
All other sectors have at least a few firms which believe that things will improve by June.
A comparison with the same survey last October provides a stark illustration of just how quickly sentiment has deteriorated.
Last October, four in 10 hotels, restaurants and caterers were still optimistic. They predicted a brighter outlook for March this year, with more than 90 per cent expecting to keep the same number of jobs or hire more people by the year-end.
Now not a single hotel surveyed in the recent poll retains such optimism.
Manufacturing is almost as grim. Last October, only 18 per cent of firms were pessimistic but now that has rocketed, with 57 per cent of manufacturers expecting conditions to worsen in the next six months.
All manufacturing industries apart from biomedical manufacturing are predicting job cuts in the next few months. They believe output will fall across the board, ranging from a 14 per cent decrease in food, beverages and tobacco production to a 100 per cent drop in some electronic modules and components.
One of the few bright spots is pharmaceutical firms, with 26 per cent believing that things will look up, although more than half still think it will get worse.
Job cuts are the most visible manifestation of the mood.
Chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing announced yesterday that it plans to cut more than 500 jobs here after forecasting a net loss of about US$147 million (S$221 million) for the first quarter.
The manufacturing sector lost 6,200 jobs in the last three months of last year, said the Manpower Ministry yesterday.
Employment is also likely to fall for services firms, according to the survey. In almost every industry, from wholesale and retail trade to financial and business services, there are more firms predicting job cuts than those anticipating more hires. Overall, 53 per cent of services firms expect things to get worse, with banks and fund managers among the gloomiest.
The Government expects the economy to shrink by up to 5 per cent this year after growing 1.2 per cent last year. Last week, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam unveiled a $20.5 billion 'resilience' Budget to help firms improve cashflow and preserve jobs.
Ms Sofat said: 'We are seeing things being done to cushion the blow somewhat, but it remains to be seen how much of that will actually go through. There will be more layoffs over the year, there is no escaping that fact.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 31, 2009.
Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68B; cut 8,000 jobs
TRENTON, New Jersey - Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, said on Monday it is buying rival Wyeth for $68 billion in a deal that will quickly boost Pfizer's revenue and diversification and if it works as advertised help the company become more nimble.
The deal came as New York-based Pfizer set out a full house of issues: a 90 percent drop in income, a hefty charge to end an investigation, a severe cut in its dividend, a shockingly low profit forecast for 2009 and 8,000 job cuts starting immediately.
That's all on top of the colossal problem triggering this deal: the expected loss of $13 billion a year in revenue for cholesterol fighter Lipitor starting in November 2011, when it gets generic competition.
Pfizer also plans by 2011 to cut about 8,190 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies' workers implying a total job loss of almost 20,000.
By buying Wyeth, Pfizer will mutate from a maker of blockbuster pills to a one-stop shop for vaccines, biotech drugs, traditional pills and nonprescription products for both people and animals.
But plenty of pharmaceutical industry mergers have not lived up to their initial promise, including the deals that enabled Pfizer to leapfrog to the top of the industry buying Warner-Lambert in 2000 and, in 2003, Pharmacia Corp. Pharmacia was itself the result of the difficult marriage of Michigan's Upjohn & Sweden's Pharmacia, which took years and eventually new management to get beyond culture clash and fully integrate.
Pfizer and Warner-Lambert, likewise, had differences over Warner's focus on consumer health and Pfizer's “big corporation" image, plus “no vision as to which divisions would win out and which people would keep their jobs," recalled analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities.
“A lot of the turmoil that those acquisitions created hurt morale and productivity there's no doubt about that," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeff Kindler conceded during a news conference.
“We're in a much better position to bring on board the scientists and programs and projects that Wyeth has," Kindler said.
The cash-and-stock deal, one of the industry's biggest ever, is expected to close late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. It comes as Pfizer's 2008 fourth-quarter profit takes a brutal hit from a $2.3 billion legal settlement over allegations it marketed pain reliever Bextra and possibly other products for indications that had not been approved.
“In one single transaction, the combination with Wyeth advances every single one of (our) strategies," Kindler told reporters during a news conference.
Those goals include increasing sales in emerging markets, enhancing the ability to treat specific diseases, such as Alzheimer's, and becoming a top player in vaccines and biologic drugs, which are made from living cells.
Pfizer, also known for the impotence pill Viagra, said it will pay $50.19 per share for Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth.
Pfizer shares closed down $1.80, or 10.3 percent, to $15.65 Monday. Wyeth shares ended 35 cents lower at $43.39.
Analysts were split on how good the deal is but saw no benefit for consumers.
“This deal doesn't bring Pfizer the cure for Lipitor" revenue losses, but it brings short- and long-term cost savings, said Erik Gordon, biomedical analyst and professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. “It increases Pfizer's research capabilities in biologics, and it's good for Wyeth because Wyeth will now be able to tap into Pfizer's marketing machine."
Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold wrote to investors that the deal's addition to Pfizer earnings “should be massive," and could start even before the second year.
The deal likely will close, she added, and the amount of cash and debt that Pfizer has put together makes other suitors for Wyeth unlikely
Brozak said it still doesn't solve Pfizer's long-term problem of not having enough promising drug candidates.
“The question becomes what are they going to do to fill that research gap," Brozak said.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is halving its dividend to 16 cents per share and eliminating five of 46 manufacturing sites. Those closings will cost about $6 billion before taxes, of which $1.5 billion has been incurred, Pfizer said.
Pfizer has not identified which plants it will close. Wyeth said there's been no decision on job cuts among its staff due to the acquisition.
Pfizer said the new cost-cutting program will reduce spending by about $3 billion, $1 billion of which will be reinvested in the business.
Pfizer Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio said the company will put up $22.5 billion in cash and $23 billion in stock for the purchase, with $22.5 billion in debt covering the rest.
The deal is being financed by five banks: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase.
The tie-up will bring about $4 billion in cost savings by the end of 2012 and should add to Pfizer's earnings per share in the second full year after closing.
Both companies' boards approved the deal but Wyeth shareholders must do so. Wyeth's CEO, Bernard Poussot, will stay on through the transition but not beyond that. The companies did not discuss the fate of other top Wyeth managers.
The deal is likely to be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which typically handles pharmaceutical acquisitions. FTC spokesman Mitch Katz said the agency doesn't comment on pending transactions.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Pfizer's credit rating to 'AA' from 'AA',' and placed the company's ratings on a negative watch. Fellow ratings agencies Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are reviewing their ratings.
Acquiring Wyeth adds strengths in vaccines and biologic drugs. Together, the two companies will have 17 products with annual sales of $1 billion or more.
Shortly after announcing the Wyeth deal, Pfizer said fourth-quarter profit plunged on a charge to settle investigations into off-label marketing. The company earned $268 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with profit of $2.72 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year prior. Revenue fell 4 percent to $12.35 billion from $12.87 billion.
Excluding about $2.3 billion in legal charges, the company says profit rose to 65 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 59 cents per share on revenue of $12.54 billion.
In 2009, Pfizer expects earnings per share between $1.85 and $1.95, below forecasts for $2.49. The outlook includes costs of 21 cents per share related to financial strategies tied to the acquisition, Pfizer said.
Wyeth said Monday its fourth-quarter profit declined 5.6 percent, to $960.4 million, or 71 cents per share, down from $1.02 billion, or 75 cents per share, in the 2007 quarter.
Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 78 cents per share in the latest quarter. Revenue fell 7 percent to $5.35 billion, dragged down partly by unfavorable currency exchange rates.
Analysts expected Wyeth to earn 79 cents per share on revenue of $5.79 billion.
The deal came as New York-based Pfizer set out a full house of issues: a 90 percent drop in income, a hefty charge to end an investigation, a severe cut in its dividend, a shockingly low profit forecast for 2009 and 8,000 job cuts starting immediately.
That's all on top of the colossal problem triggering this deal: the expected loss of $13 billion a year in revenue for cholesterol fighter Lipitor starting in November 2011, when it gets generic competition.
Pfizer also plans by 2011 to cut about 8,190 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies' workers implying a total job loss of almost 20,000.
By buying Wyeth, Pfizer will mutate from a maker of blockbuster pills to a one-stop shop for vaccines, biotech drugs, traditional pills and nonprescription products for both people and animals.
But plenty of pharmaceutical industry mergers have not lived up to their initial promise, including the deals that enabled Pfizer to leapfrog to the top of the industry buying Warner-Lambert in 2000 and, in 2003, Pharmacia Corp. Pharmacia was itself the result of the difficult marriage of Michigan's Upjohn & Sweden's Pharmacia, which took years and eventually new management to get beyond culture clash and fully integrate.
Pfizer and Warner-Lambert, likewise, had differences over Warner's focus on consumer health and Pfizer's “big corporation" image, plus “no vision as to which divisions would win out and which people would keep their jobs," recalled analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities.
“A lot of the turmoil that those acquisitions created hurt morale and productivity there's no doubt about that," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeff Kindler conceded during a news conference.
“We're in a much better position to bring on board the scientists and programs and projects that Wyeth has," Kindler said.
The cash-and-stock deal, one of the industry's biggest ever, is expected to close late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. It comes as Pfizer's 2008 fourth-quarter profit takes a brutal hit from a $2.3 billion legal settlement over allegations it marketed pain reliever Bextra and possibly other products for indications that had not been approved.
“In one single transaction, the combination with Wyeth advances every single one of (our) strategies," Kindler told reporters during a news conference.
Those goals include increasing sales in emerging markets, enhancing the ability to treat specific diseases, such as Alzheimer's, and becoming a top player in vaccines and biologic drugs, which are made from living cells.
Pfizer, also known for the impotence pill Viagra, said it will pay $50.19 per share for Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth.
Pfizer shares closed down $1.80, or 10.3 percent, to $15.65 Monday. Wyeth shares ended 35 cents lower at $43.39.
Analysts were split on how good the deal is but saw no benefit for consumers.
“This deal doesn't bring Pfizer the cure for Lipitor" revenue losses, but it brings short- and long-term cost savings, said Erik Gordon, biomedical analyst and professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. “It increases Pfizer's research capabilities in biologics, and it's good for Wyeth because Wyeth will now be able to tap into Pfizer's marketing machine."
Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold wrote to investors that the deal's addition to Pfizer earnings “should be massive," and could start even before the second year.
The deal likely will close, she added, and the amount of cash and debt that Pfizer has put together makes other suitors for Wyeth unlikely
Brozak said it still doesn't solve Pfizer's long-term problem of not having enough promising drug candidates.
“The question becomes what are they going to do to fill that research gap," Brozak said.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is halving its dividend to 16 cents per share and eliminating five of 46 manufacturing sites. Those closings will cost about $6 billion before taxes, of which $1.5 billion has been incurred, Pfizer said.
Pfizer has not identified which plants it will close. Wyeth said there's been no decision on job cuts among its staff due to the acquisition.
Pfizer said the new cost-cutting program will reduce spending by about $3 billion, $1 billion of which will be reinvested in the business.
Pfizer Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio said the company will put up $22.5 billion in cash and $23 billion in stock for the purchase, with $22.5 billion in debt covering the rest.
The deal is being financed by five banks: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase.
The tie-up will bring about $4 billion in cost savings by the end of 2012 and should add to Pfizer's earnings per share in the second full year after closing.
Both companies' boards approved the deal but Wyeth shareholders must do so. Wyeth's CEO, Bernard Poussot, will stay on through the transition but not beyond that. The companies did not discuss the fate of other top Wyeth managers.
The deal is likely to be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which typically handles pharmaceutical acquisitions. FTC spokesman Mitch Katz said the agency doesn't comment on pending transactions.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Pfizer's credit rating to 'AA' from 'AA',' and placed the company's ratings on a negative watch. Fellow ratings agencies Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are reviewing their ratings.
Acquiring Wyeth adds strengths in vaccines and biologic drugs. Together, the two companies will have 17 products with annual sales of $1 billion or more.
Shortly after announcing the Wyeth deal, Pfizer said fourth-quarter profit plunged on a charge to settle investigations into off-label marketing. The company earned $268 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with profit of $2.72 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year prior. Revenue fell 4 percent to $12.35 billion from $12.87 billion.
Excluding about $2.3 billion in legal charges, the company says profit rose to 65 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 59 cents per share on revenue of $12.54 billion.
In 2009, Pfizer expects earnings per share between $1.85 and $1.95, below forecasts for $2.49. The outlook includes costs of 21 cents per share related to financial strategies tied to the acquisition, Pfizer said.
Wyeth said Monday its fourth-quarter profit declined 5.6 percent, to $960.4 million, or 71 cents per share, down from $1.02 billion, or 75 cents per share, in the 2007 quarter.
Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 78 cents per share in the latest quarter. Revenue fell 7 percent to $5.35 billion, dragged down partly by unfavorable currency exchange rates.
Analysts expected Wyeth to earn 79 cents per share on revenue of $5.79 billion.
From : http://www.khaleejtimes.com
900 New Biomedical Jobs to be created in Singapore this year
DESPITE facing challenges from the slowing global economy, the biomedical sector will create 900 new jobs this year as companies go ahead with their expansion plans here.
These include firms such as Wyeth, Abbott, GSK Bio, Schering Plough and Perkin Elmer, Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang said in Parliament on Monday.
To date, 11 of the world’s top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have already invested in more than 25 manufacturing facilities in Singapore, with another seven new plants set to open in the next three years.
‘We are confident that more will come to Singapore so that they can reach out to the Asian market more effectively,’ said Mr Lim. ‘Demand for effective medicines will continue to grow because people become more affluent and people age.’
Singapore should also ‘prepare for the upturn’ by entering new niches, such as medical technology and biologics, which are complex molecules derived from cells of mammals, bacteria and yeast.
Biologics in particular is expected to grow at 13 per cent a year, compared to just 0.9 per cent for the traditional pharmaceutical market, Mr Lim said.
Biomedical research is ripe for a stimulus - Garret FitzGerald
As Congress debates a major economic stimulus package, investment in energy research is high on the agenda. While this promises benefit to our economy and security, it highlights the value of reinvigorating our investment in another area of science -- biomedical research. The wealth and health of the nation can be measured in breakthroughs in the treatment of heart disease, AIDS and cancer, high quality jobs, and profitable industries. A recent report from the UK suggested a return on investment in biomedical science of 40%. So far, the US has managed to sustain its pre-eminence in biomedical research. Research publications and patent filings suggest our continued (though narrowing) leadership in innovation, our research universities continue their dominance of the global rankings, and the US remains the leading site of research conducted by pharma and biotech. But both the academic and industry sectors of our biomedical research enterprise are highly vulnerable. The budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has declined by more than 10% in real terms over the past 5 years. Most strikingly, initial success rates for grants that mark scientific independence have dropped into single figures and the average age of first recipients is now in the mid forties. Ironically, just as other countries invest in science and base their funding strategies on the NIH, our system is reverting to the model previously prevalent in Europe and Japan: aging leadership and indentured scientific servitude of the young. Given the increasing options elsewhere, our restrictive visa policy post 9/11 and the cultural legacy of the Bush years, our workforce is vulnerable. Just as China finances our economy, it also provides much of the human capital that sustains our biomedical research enterprise. Both forms of support are vital, yet mobile. Many large pharmaceutical companies are, for now, cash rich and casting around for acquisitions. However, just like the auto industry, their current business model is unsustainable. The number of new drugs approved by the FDA has fallen linearly from 53 in 1996 to 17 in 2007, the same number as in 1983. A slight bump upwards to 21 approvals in 2008 includes 3 drugs eventually approved on reconsideration and 3 radiocontrast agents. In other words, it doesn't buck the trend. This coincides with downward pressure on drug pricing. The growth in prescription drug sales -- 10% of the $286.5 billion US healthcare budget in 2007 -- had plummeted even before the present crisis: generics now account for roughly 60% of the market and are rapidly growing in market share. Pharma has reacted by shedding jobs in the US -- more than 100,000 over the past 5 years -- and moving research to join drug production in lower cost economies overseas. Anticipated future revenue for the industry has shifted dramatically towards Asia. The current crisis is likely to accelerate these trends. As pharma conserves its resources, it becomes less likely to extend credit to the academic sector -- a source of funds for biomedical research complementary to the NIH. Indeed, the same political factors that will depress drug prices are likely to drive down Medicare reimbursements to our major academic health centers. This will be compounded by the dramatically shrinking endowments, both of our universities and the charities that support biomedical research. Given these interacting pressures, how might a portion of the stimulus package be used to reinvigorate the enterprise? - Restore funding for the NIH. The new director must have resources to fuel innovation by individual investigators and invest in infrastructure -- including the national integration of healthcare information systems -- to allow universities translate the fruits of basic discovery into clinical benefit. Welcome as the stimulus money will be, it is a 2-year injection of resource. It can best support research programs and preserve jobs by providing bridge funding for those many grants now funded on the second round of review. Restoration of programmatic stability will require an increase in year - on year funding for the NIH. The touted funding of 1500 2 year R01 project grants by April would be a foolhardy Procrustean response to the constraints of stimulus funding. - Accelerate this translational process by integrating strategically the disparate missions of the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services -- particularly its Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). - Introduce a more graded process of drug approval and withdrawal. Use this reform specifically to reward innovation and to foster the progressive personalization of medicine. Fund programs that foster interaction of the FDA with academia. This would afford FDA scientists access to critical mass in emerging sciences. It would also provide a neutral testing ground where unanticipated concerns or opportunities relating to drugs, before or after their approval, might be pursued -- something of a Jet Propulsion Lab for the FDA. - Incentivize both the academic and industrial sectors to reform outmoded restrictions on intellectual property. These are configured on unrealistic expectations and impede the evolution of a modular interaction between the sectors as a drug moves from discovery through development. - Finally, foster the re-engagement in science of American youth. Develop integrated programs from grade school to graduate school. Develop training programs that blend traditional disciplines both for "blue skies" research and for development new therapies. Reinvest in the programs that had accelerated the time for visa approval for visiting scientists. Develop strategies, just like our competitors, to recruit and retain top talent from abroad.
From : http://www.the-scientist.com/
From : http://www.the-scientist.com/
Biomedical sector takes steps to handle harsh financial realities - Meredith Wadman
The financial crisis has not been kind to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, with prominent names such as Merck and DeCode Genetics taking recent blows.
DeCode, the pioneering Icelandic genetics and genomics company, watched its share price plunge from a 52-week high of $4.39 last December to 34 cents at closing on 13 November. This month, the company is scheduled to ask a panel convened by the NASDAQ stock exchange not to delist it now that its market capitalization has fallen below $50 million, the minimum required to trade on the tech-heavy exchange.
Although deCode is perhaps the most visible biotech struggling to survive, it is hardly alone. The Washington DC-based Biotechnology Industry Organization reported last month that nearly 100 publicly traded biotech companies have less than six months of cash remaining.
The picture is not much prettier on the pharmaceutical side, where, by the end of October, the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index, a composite of widely held, big pharmaceutical companies, had plunged more than 21% for the year.
New Jersey–based Merck was among the companies taking drastic action to trim costs. In October, as it reported a 28% drop in profits for the third quarter, it announced it would cut 7,200 jobs—more than 10% its workforce.
"We will get past this," says Mark McClellan, a former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner who now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC think tank. But he predicts that in the long run the current economic setback, combined with the financial pressure resulting from the growth of mandatory spending programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, will mean growing scrutiny for biotech and pharmaceutical companies: "There will be increasing attention to the question: are these products truly valuable? Are they making a real difference in the health of Americans, given how much money we're spending on them?"
DeCode, the pioneering Icelandic genetics and genomics company, watched its share price plunge from a 52-week high of $4.39 last December to 34 cents at closing on 13 November. This month, the company is scheduled to ask a panel convened by the NASDAQ stock exchange not to delist it now that its market capitalization has fallen below $50 million, the minimum required to trade on the tech-heavy exchange.
Although deCode is perhaps the most visible biotech struggling to survive, it is hardly alone. The Washington DC-based Biotechnology Industry Organization reported last month that nearly 100 publicly traded biotech companies have less than six months of cash remaining.
The picture is not much prettier on the pharmaceutical side, where, by the end of October, the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index, a composite of widely held, big pharmaceutical companies, had plunged more than 21% for the year.
New Jersey–based Merck was among the companies taking drastic action to trim costs. In October, as it reported a 28% drop in profits for the third quarter, it announced it would cut 7,200 jobs—more than 10% its workforce.
"We will get past this," says Mark McClellan, a former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner who now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC think tank. But he predicts that in the long run the current economic setback, combined with the financial pressure resulting from the growth of mandatory spending programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, will mean growing scrutiny for biotech and pharmaceutical companies: "There will be increasing attention to the question: are these products truly valuable? Are they making a real difference in the health of Americans, given how much money we're spending on them?"
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Internship Opportunities -2009 US
All of the Organizations listed below that have already updated their sites for 2009, or offer opportunities on an annual basis will be indicated by a (2009) after the co-op link
This website has selected co-ops from the larger Biology & Biotechnology Co-op Opportunities on the Web website that has "biomedical engineering "as a descriptor or may be of particular interest to students considering a career in the field.In addition to the valuable experience and good pay that a Co-op or Internship will give you, very many of the Opportunities listed on this website also provide Travel Reimbursement, Housing and Meals. So, don't let concerns about living expenses or the location of an organization posted on this website prevent you from checking out an exciting and challenging Co-op or Internship position!! If travel support, housing and meals are provided, this information will almost always be included in the details about the Co-op or Internship that can be found by clicking on the co-op website next to the organization's name and location.
To view information for any organization listed below:a. Point and click with your mouse on the organization's name to go to its homepage (for a university or college, you might want to go further to the homepage of the sponsoring department or program at that university or college, if it is not already the "homepage" link that is provided here). b. Point and click with your mouse on co-op to go to co-op/internship/research postings for that organization or to the website from which you can then access the co-op/internship/research postings
Albany Medical College, Albany, NY - co-op, application (2009) "Undergraduates Majoring in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Sciences, Engineering and other "Quantitative" Sciences: Cross-Training in the Biomedical Sciences"
This website has selected co-ops from the larger Biology & Biotechnology Co-op Opportunities on the Web website that has "biomedical engineering "as a descriptor or may be of particular interest to students considering a career in the field.In addition to the valuable experience and good pay that a Co-op or Internship will give you, very many of the Opportunities listed on this website also provide Travel Reimbursement, Housing and Meals. So, don't let concerns about living expenses or the location of an organization posted on this website prevent you from checking out an exciting and challenging Co-op or Internship position!! If travel support, housing and meals are provided, this information will almost always be included in the details about the Co-op or Internship that can be found by clicking on the co-op website next to the organization's name and location.
To view information for any organization listed below:a. Point and click with your mouse on the organization's name to go to its homepage (for a university or college, you might want to go further to the homepage of the sponsoring department or program at that university or college, if it is not already the "homepage" link that is provided here). b. Point and click with your mouse on co-op to go to co-op/internship/research postings for that organization or to the website from which you can then access the co-op/internship/research postings
Albany Medical College, Albany, NY - co-op, application (2009) "Undergraduates Majoring in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Sciences, Engineering and other "Quantitative" Sciences: Cross-Training in the Biomedical Sciences"
Auburn University, Auburn, AL - co-op, application (2009) Interdisciplinary Studies for Sensor and Biosensor Development - open to all undergraduate students enrolled in biology, chemistry, engineering,"
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX - co-op, application (2009) Summer Medical And Research Training (SMART) Program - Biomedical Engineering is one research field area that can be selected on applicationBoston University, College of Engineering, Boston, MA - co-op (2008) Research Experience for Undergraduates in Biomedical Engineering
Case Western University, Cleveland, OH - co-op (2009) Summer Undergraduate Research Program for Minorities - several participating departments including Biomedical Engineering in School of Engineering
Case Western University, Cleveland, OH - co-op (2009) Biomedical Engineering is one participating departmentCase Western University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland, OH - co-op (2009)
Clarion Health Partners, Inc, Methodist Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN - co-op (2009) Clemson University, Department of Bioengeering, Clemson, SC - co-op (2009) Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute (BBSI)Cleveland Clinic, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland, OH - co-op (2009) "applications will be continuously reviewed" - Undergraduate Engineering in Medical Research - positions are five-six months in length
Columbia University, Biological Sciences, New York, NY - co-op (2009) Amgen Scholars Program - includes Mentors from the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Cornell University, Nanobiotechnology Center, Ithaca, NY - co-op (2009)
Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Molecular Materials Group, Hanover, NH - co-op (2009)
Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Molecular Materials Group, Hanover, NH - co-op (2009)
Drexel University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Philadelphia, PA - co-op (2009) includes projects in Biomaterials and BiotechnologyDuke University, Pratt School of Engineering, Durham, NC - co-op (2009) scroll down to Educating Today's Engineers, click on Opportunities for students from colleges and universities across the nation to research at Duke - "offers research in all the departments of the Pratt School of Engineering—Biomedical Engineering,.....
Georgia Tech, Materials Science & Engineering, Atlanta, GA - co-op (2008)
Georgia Tech, Materials Science & Engineering, Atlanta, GA - co-op (2008)
Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues, Atlanta, GA - co-op (2008) "For more information, contact: education@ibb.gatech.eduHarvard University, Center for Nanoscale Systems, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2009) application is for 2009 - "We are seeking undergraduates from chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and geophysics"
Harvard University, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2008) Biomedical Optics Hospital for Joint Diseases, Musculosketal Research Center, New York, NY - co-op (2009) Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Huntington Medical Research Institute, Pasadena, CA - co-op (2009) "Accepting Applications for the Summer 2009" - "No stipend or housing assistance is provided for the participation in the program. (Exceptions can be made on an individual basis and verification of financial need will be required.)" - "previous lab experience in biology/chemistry/biomedical engineering"
Illinois Institute of Technology, Engineering Center for Diabetes Research and Education, Chicago, IL - co-op (2009)
Illinois Institute of Technology, Engineering Center for Diabetes Research and Education, Chicago, IL - co-op (2009)
Iowa State University, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Ames, IA - co-op (2009) "Application for the 2009 Summer Research Program - Check back January 2009 - Biological Materials and Processes
Iowa State University, The Human Computer Interaction Graduate Program, Ames, IA - co-op (2009) Summer Program for Interdisciplinary Research and Education Emerging Interface Technologies for "Students working towards an undergraduate degree in any of the HCI disciplines." - includes biosystems engineering
Johns Hopkins Univeristy, Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Baltimore, MD - co-op (2009)
Johns Hopkins Univeristy, Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Baltimore, MD - co-op (2009)
Johns Hopkins University, Institute for NanoBiotechnology, Baltimore, MD - co-op (2009) Exploration of Nanotechnology for Biology and Medicine
Kent State University, Department of Chemistry, Kent. OH - co-op (2009) several projects focus on biomaterials
Kent State University, Department of Chemistry, Kent. OH - co-op (2009) several projects focus on biomaterials
Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI - co-op, (2009) - for RIT, Gallaudet University, and California State-Northridge deaf and hard-of-hearing students only - scroll down to How to Apply - Some projects in Physiology-Related Fields may be of interest to biomedical engineers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA - co-op (2009) "apply on-line at the Department of Energy's SULI site: http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/ERULF/about.html" - Undergraduate Research Opportunities - Academic Majors include Engineering - Biological: Nanoparticle-Based Cancer Imaging Solutions
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA - co-op (2009) "apply on-line at the Department of Energy's SULI site: http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/ERULF/about.html" - Undergraduate Research Opportunities - Academic Majors include Engineering - Biological: Nanoparticle-Based Cancer Imaging Solutions
Louisiana Tech University, Biomedical Engineering Program, Ruston, LA - co-op (2009) application is for 2009
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2009) Amgen-UROP Scholars Program - "research, potentially including: Biological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (for bioengineering/biotechnology only),"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2009) Amgen-UROP Scholars Program - "research, potentially including: Biological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (for bioengineering/biotechnology only),"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Cambridge, MA - co-op, application (2009) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Engineering, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2009)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2009) "Research in such areas as....bioengineering..."Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA - co-op (2008) Biomedical Optics
Mayo Clinic and Graduate School, Rochester, MN - co-op, application (2009) Biomedical Engineering is one participating department Milwaukee School of Engineering, Rapid Prototyping Center, Milwaukee, WI - co-op (2008) "Students who have completed their sophomore year of an engineering, pre-engineering, computer science or science-based (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) curriculum"National Institutes of Health (NIH), Division of Bioengineering and Physical Science, Bethesda, MD - co-op (2009) Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship ProgramNational Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (13 university locations) - co-op (more details about the 2009 program) (2009)
Northwestern University, Biomedical Engineering & Department of Physiology, Evanston, IL AND Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Sensory Motor Performance Program, Chicago, IL - co-op (2009) Summer Internships in Neural Engineering Northwestern University, The Graduate School, Evanston, IL - co-op (2009) Summer Research Opportunity Program - Current Faculty Members include two in Chemical and Biological Engineering and several in Neural Engineering
Northwestern University, Materials Research Science & Engineering Center, Evanston, IL - co-op (2009) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) application includes biomaterials
Northwestern University, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Evanston, IL - co-op (2009) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) application includes biomaterials
Oakland University, Rochester, MI - co-op (2009) Summer Institute in Bioengineering and Health Informatics
Oakland University, Rochester, MI - co-op (2009) Summer Institute in Bioengineering and Health Informatics
Oregon Health & Science University, Neurological Sciences Institute, Portland, OR - co-op (2008) "...students majoring in biology, neuroscience, bioengineering,....."
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA - co-op (2009) Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA - co-op (2009) Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute
Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Bioengineering and Chemistry, University Park, PA AND Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA - co-op (2009) Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute
Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, Pittsburgh, PA - co-op (2009) Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, San Antonio, TX - co-op (2009)
Princeton University, Princeton Institute for Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton, NJ - co-op (2009) "We encourage applications for all science and engineering disciplines" - Projects offered in 2008 include some related to life science
Purdue University, College of Engineering, West Lafayette, IN - co-op, application (2009) Research areas include Bio-Transport and Micro Vascular System, Biomedical Acoustics and Signal Processing, Biomedical Electromagnetic, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Optics, Tissue Engineering
Rice University, Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Houston, TX - co-op (2009) Application is for 2009 - Bionanotechnology - scroll down to the last paragraph, "The summer internship program for undergraduates majoring in engineering..."Rice University, Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Houston, TX - co-op (2009) Application is for 2009 - Internship in Cellular Engineering
Rutgers - State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ - co-op (2009) Integrated Science and Engineering of Stem Cells
Rutgers - State University of New Jersey, Graduate School-New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ - co-op, application (2009) Research in Science and Engineering (RISE)
State University of New York at Stony Brook, Center for Science and Mathematics Education, Stony Brook, NY - co-op (2009) Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Research Scholars Program - participating researchers include those in Biomedical Engineering
State University of New York at Stony Brook, Center for Science and Mathematics Education, Stony Brook, NY - co-op (2009) Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Research Scholars Program - participating researchers include those in Biomedical Engineering
Syracuse University, Central New York - Puerto Rico Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, Syracuse, NY - co-op (2009) "research in any of the following disciplines: Biomedical Engineering
Texas A&M University, Michael E. DeBakey Institute, College Station, TX - co-op (2008) All positions are currently filled for this summer (2007) , please check back next spring (2008) - Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Mechanobiology of the Bat Wing Microvasculature - more details here - "investigate novel scientific questions concerning microvascular physiology and bioengineering"
Texas A&M University, Michael E. DeBakey Institute, College Station, TX - co-op (2008) All positions are currently filled for this summer (2007) , please check back next spring (2008) - Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Mechanobiology of the Bat Wing Microvasculature - more details here - "investigate novel scientific questions concerning microvascular physiology and bioengineering"
Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies, Philadelphia, PA - co-op (2009) Research program options include Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine
Tulane University, The Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation, New Orleans, LA - co-op (2009) "Areas of research: ...Biomedical Engineering"
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Physics, Birmingham, AL - co-op (2009) Available Projects include Materials for Biomedical Implants and Self Assembly of Materials for Tissue Engineering
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Physics, Birmingham, AL - co-op (2009) Available Projects include Materials for Biomedical Implants and Self Assembly of Materials for Tissue Engineering
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA - co-op (some 2008 information) (2009) Date of Appointment is June 8-July 31, 2009 - "offers summer undergraduate research in the departments of: Bioengineering, ..." University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA - co-op (2009) Amgen Scholars Program - Bioengineering is one Faculty Research Area/InterestUniversity of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA - co-op (2008) REU program in Bioanalytical Science
University of California at Riverside, College of Engineering, Riverside, CA - co-op (2009) University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA - co-op (2009) Amgen Scholars Program - Previous Amgen Faculty Mentors and their area(s) of research included Bioengineering
University of California, Irvine, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Irvine, CA - co-op (2009) "We will post information about future offerings in February 2009." - Integrated Micro/Nano Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - "fields of biomedical, physical, and engineering micro/nano-sciences"
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO - co-op (2008) Environmental Fluids: Science, Assessment and Treatment - "Students majoring in Biological Engineering; and Environmental Science" University of Colorado, Boulder, CO - co-op (2009) "Application materials must be postmarked no later than February 16, 2009" - Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training - Academic areas include Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of Colorado, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Boulder, CO - co-op (2009) Functional Materials Science and Engineering
University of Connecticut Health Center, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, Farmington, CT - co-op (2009) scroll down to Summer Undergraduate Research Internships in Quantitative Cell
of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering, Houston, TX - co-op (2009) one sample project was "Polymer Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications"
University of Illinois at Chicago, Departments of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Mechanical Engineering, Chicago, IL - co-op (2009) Novel Materials and Processing in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
University of Kansas, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Lawrence, KS - co-op (2009) several projects focus on topics related to biomedical engineering
University of Kentucky, Center of Membrane Sciences, Lexington, KY - co-op (2009) Undergraduate Research Experiences in Functional Materials
University of Maryland, Department of Bioengineering, College Park, MD - co-op (2009) - Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program
University of Maryland, The Institute for Systems Research, College Park, MD - co-op, application (2009)
University of Minnesota, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - co-op, application process (2009) includes tissue engineering
University of Minnesota, Supercomputing Institute, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - co-op (2009) University of New Mexico, Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, Albuquerque, NM - co-op (2009)
University of Notre Dame, Center for Nano Science and Technology , South Bend, IN - co-op (2008) "projects are designed for students in engineering disciplines (bioengineering, ...) "University of Pennsylvania, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Philadelphia, PA - co-op (2009) Several projects are related to Biomedical Engineering
University of Pennsylvania, Nano/Bio Interface Center, Philadelphia, PA - co-op (2009) University of Pittsburgh, Department of Bioengineering, Pittsburgh, PA - co-op (2008)University of Pittsburgh, Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Pittsburgh, PA - co-op (2009) Two REU programs - American Student Placements in Rehabilitation Engineering (ASPIRE) and Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research CenterUniversity of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Pittsburgh, PA - co-op (2009) An NSF Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute program
University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles, CA - co-op (2008) several Faculty Projects related to biomedical engineering
University of Washington, Seattle, WA - co-op (2009) Amgen Scholars Summer Program - 2009 Amgen Faculty include three in Bioengineering
University of Washington, Engineered Biomaterials, Seattle, WA - co-op (2009) "interdisciplinary research environment at the biology and engineering interface"
University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering, Madison, WI - co-op (2009) "Students may request projects in the following College of Engineering departments/programs - Biomedical Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Synchrotron Radiation Center, Madison, WI - co-op (2009) Synchrotron Radiation Center Research Experience for Undergraduates - "interested in a research project related ...biosciences..." US Food & Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Rockville, MD - co-op, application (2009) Medical Device Fellowship Program
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN - co-op (2009) CHECK BACK for 2009 - Bioengineering Education Technologies
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN - co-op (2009) CHECK BACK for 2009 - Bioengineering Education Technologies
Virginia Commonwealth University, Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, Richmond, VA - co-op (2009) Bioinformatics and Bioengineering Summer Institute Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Blacksburg, VA - co-op (2009) Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates in Biological Systems EngineeringVirginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Blacksburg, VA - co-op (2009) Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute - "select students will also have the opportunity to continue their research efforts at their home institution and come back for a 2nd summer research experience"
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC - co-op (2009) Summer Scholars ProgramWake Forest University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC - co-op (2009) Summer Research Opportunities Program in the Biomedical Sciences -"include many outstanding faculty members from the following departments of the medical school: biomedical engineering"
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC - co-op (2009) Summer Scholars ProgramWake Forest University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC - co-op (2009) Summer Research Opportunities Program in the Biomedical Sciences -"include many outstanding faculty members from the following departments of the medical school: biomedical engineering"
Wayne State University, Smart Systems and Integrated Microsystems, Detroit, MI - co-op, application (2009) includes projects in Biomedical Microsystems
West Virginia University, WVNano Initiative, Morgantown, WV - co-op (2009) "Who Should Apply? - Undergraduates who have finished their Freshman, Sophomore or Junior years with interests in engineering...biology.
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