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U.S. Health Care System Fails To Protect Patients From Deadly Medical Errors
Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) sounded the alarm about the widespread toll of medical errors in a groundbreaking report call "To Err is Human." The report prompted a rush of congressional hearings and promises of reform. But in the decade since the report was published, little progress has been made implementing key reforms recommended by the IOM to improve patient safety, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

Former President Clinton, U.N. Advisor Douste-Blazy Announce Voluntary Airline Ticket Donation
Former President Clinton has joined efforts to raise money for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria from travelers purchasing electronic airline tickets, the New York Times reports. At a press conference in Paris with United Nations special advisor Philippe Douste-Blazy, Clinton said, "If you provide a user-friendly, efficient way of giving, the contributors will use this system."The U.N. is behind the effort, which will enable travelers to voluntarily add a $2 donation for projects to fight malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS when buying an airline ticket, the Times reports. Both Clinton and Douste-Blazy are working with a newly formed group - Leading Innovative Financing for Equity, or LIFE. LIFE is comprised of eight different groups working to raising money for health aid. According to Douste-Blazy, efforts targeting small donors will begin in January 2010. He added that "the idea is that the citizens of the world are connected by the Internet and credit cards and can show their solidarity."The groups also hope to reach people renting cars, booking hotels or buying train tickets, the Times reports (Carvajal, New York Times, 5/21). Clinton said U.S. air passengers will be able to voluntarily participate in the program, adding, "There is no question that huge numbers of people will participate in this. They understand that it doesn"t cost much and that 100% will go to save lives." (AFP/Google.com, 5/20).
News of the day
Mystery Of DNA Conformation Unravelled By Baylor Researchers
An iconic photograph (http://img.timeinc.net/time/80days/images/530228.jpg) of Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson show the pair discussing with a rigid model of the famous double helix.
Medical Devices

Vantia Therapeutics' Lead Candidate VA106483 Demonstrates Positive Anti-diuretic Effect In Phase IIa Trial In Nocturia

Vantia Therapeutics, an emerging pharmaceutical company developing novel, small molecule drugs targeting large, underserved medical markets, announces positive results from a Phase IIa clinical trial of its lead development compound VA106483 for nocturia. The trial showed that oral VA106483 was successful in producing a predictable and sustained anti-diuretic effect in patients, as determined by increased osmolality and decreased urine output. The study also found that VA106483 was generally well tolerated among the patient population. Nocturia (defined as waking frequently to urinate at night thereby disturbing sleep significantly) is a common condition, with prevalence increasing markedly with age. It is often the presenting symptom in men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and affects at least 70% of BPH patients. There is currently no adequate treatment for nocturia and it represents a potential market estimated at more than US$500 million. VA106483 is a novel small molecule drug candidate that exerts its effect directly in the kidney by binding to vasopressin (V2) receptors, which regulate water balance. It was discovered by Vantia from its extensive drug candidate library. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study was designed to investigate the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of single and repeated oral doses of VA106483. The trial involved 27 elderly men aged 65 years or more with a history of nocturia. Based on these results, Vantia now plans to advance VA106483 into a larger Phase IIb clinical efficacy study in the second half of 2009. Dr Jim Phillips, CEO of Vantia Therapeutics, said "VA106483 was discovered and has been developed by Vantia based on its small molecule drug development expertise and is the first of several potentially high-value drug candidates in our pipeline. The clinical results for VA106483 are very encouraging and we look forward to advancing it into the next stages of clinical development. These results will also further highlight the value of this new drug candidate as we progress partnership discussions in parallel. " About Vantia Therapeutics Vantia Therapeutics is an emerging pharmaceutical company developing novel, small molecule drugs targeting large, underserved medical markets. Formed in 2008 as a spin-out of Ferring Research Ltd"s small molecule R&D, it has two clinical phase products, VA106483 for the treatment of nocturia in BPH patients and VA111913 for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea, as well as preclinical and discovery programmes based on protease inhibition with potential in the areas of oncology and inflammation. The company"s investors include MVM Life Science Partners, SV Life Sciences and Novo A/S. Vantia Therapeutics is situated on Southampton Science Park, UK, where it occupies 10,000 sq ft of chemistry and biology facilities About nocturia Nocturia (defined as waking to void at night) is a common condition, with prevalence increasing markedly with age. It is often the presenting symptom of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) with at least 70% of BPH patients complaining of nocturia. Whilst some symptoms of BPH are successfully addressed by the standard BPH therapies of alpha blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, nocturia remains inadequately treated. With estimates putting the number of BPH/nocturia sufferers at 55 million in the seven largest markets world wide, and only 10% of these believed to be receiving any kind of treatment, it is a clear area of unmet medical need estimated to be worth in excess of $500m. The hormone vasopressin is involved in the regulation of the body"s water content and as a vasopressin agonist VA106483 has been shown to act as an anti-diuretic. Vantia Therapeutics


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