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Sinovac Provides Update On Clinical Trial For H1N1 Vaccine Trials
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE AMEX: SVA), a leading provider of vaccines in China, announced today that the clinical trial of its A/H1N1 influenza vaccine is proceeding well. All of the volunteers have received their first shot of the vaccine and, during the three-day observation of safety, the preliminary tests on the A/H1N1 influenza vaccine have indicated that the vaccine is safe and reliable in humans.

FDA Approves Boston Scientific's TAXUS(R) Liberte(R) Long Stent
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its TAXUS((R)) Liberte((R)) Long Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System, a next-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) designed for long lesions. At 38 mm, it is the longest available DES, providing doctors an option that can potentially reduce the number of stents used in more complex cases, simplifying procedures and reducing costs. It affords a more efficient treatment option for the estimated 8 to 10 percent(1) of patients with long lesions. The Company plans to launch the product in the U.S. next month. It received CE Mark approval in 2007.
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Researchers Identify A Novel Mechanism That Could Be Targeted To Prevent Cancer Spread
Researchers have discovered a key to the function of a specific protein that helps control the levels of other critical proteins within cells, including a protein that suppresses the spread of cancer. The new information about the mechanism of action of the protein, called gp78, may enable researchers to explore new types of therapies to prevent the spread of cancer. The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the June 26, 2009, issue of Molecular Cell.
Mental Health

American Academy Of Hospice And Palliative Medicine Leader Suggests Health Care Reforms To Cut Costs

Congress can help diminish barriers to quality care for people with serious illness, according to Howard Tuch, MD, MS, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). AAHPM was one of three groups that presented information at a Capitol Hill briefing coordinated by the offices of US Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Charles Boustany, MD, sponsors of legislation (HR 1898) that would provide Medicare coverage for "end of life" care consultations. Tuch, a geriatrician in practice at The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, the largest community-based, not-for-profit hospice provider in the country, said many of the problems in the current system -- uneven quality, over-utilization, lack of coordination and preventable transitions between health care institutions -- become particularly evident in the last years of life: "Chronically and seriously ill patients constitute only 5%-10% of patients yet account for more than 50% of health care costs. More than 25% of Medicare costs are incurred in the last year of life. Improving health care in the last stages of life will be necessary to create a sustainable health care system." Tuch pointed to recent studies that demonstrate significant cost savings of hospice and palliative care over usual care and suggested that both will be necessary to achieve the kind of patient-centered, high quality and efficient health care system lawmakers are seeking to design. Tuch is a former Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and worked as a policy advisor on the Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means. Tuch suggested Congress enact reforms that would grow the hospice and palliative care workforce through support for faculty and by lifting restrictions in graduate medication education funding. He also encouraged federal funding to support needed research that could provide the evidence base to guide clinical care and care delivery. Palliative medicine is the interdisciplinary specialty that focuses on improving quality of life for patients with advanced illness and for their families through relieving pain and other distressing symptoms, care coordination and informed decision making. Palliative care is provided alongside all other appropriate disease-directed treatments. Hospice offers comprehensive and ongoing interdisciplinary care for patients facing life-threatening or serious conditions, as well as their families. To be eligible for hospice, patients must have a life expectancy of 6 months or less and must choose to forgo efforts at curative treatment for their terminal illness. Hospice care is most often provided in a patient"s home. The AAHPM has developed a detailed outline of recommendations for health care reform that suggests several targeted steps to strengthen workforce, research and care delivery, including for the growing population of Medicare beneficiaries. The group represents more than 3,600 physicians and providers caring for patients with life-threatening or serious conditions and their families. Hospice and palliative medicine is a newly recognized medical subspecialty that focuses on relieving pain and suffering, improving communication with patients and families and informed decision-making regardless of prognosis or eligibility for hospice care. American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine


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