454 Life Sciences (Branford), a Roche company, reports that Researchers led by the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany have published the complete Neanderthal mitochondrial genome sequence. The mitochondrial genome was generated using the 454 Sequencing technology to 35-fold redundancy, facilitating a detailed comparison against known human mitochondrial genomes and an analysis of recent human evolution. The study appears in the journal Cell.

Using the Genome Sequencer FLX system from 454 Life Sciences, investigators have identified a number of genetic variations potentially linked to prostate, breast, and colon cancers within a previously identified region of the human genome called 8q24. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland (USA) re-sequenced a total of 85 individuals representing case and controls for prostate and colon cancers.

Michael Kishbauch, President and CEO of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven), said in a statement, "I'm quite pleased to report broad progress across Achillion's diverse portfolio of anti-infective candidates in the second quarter of 2008, especially in our rapidly maturing HCV programs. Based on its promising pre-clinical profile, we nominated ACH-1625 as the first candidate from our internal HCV protease inhibitor program for clinical evaluation. ACH-1625 operates via a different, but potentially synergistic, mechanism from our NS4A antagonist candidate, ACH-1095, also now known as GS-9525, which we are developing in collaboration with Gilead Sciences."

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire) announced a new patent assigned to Alexion pertaining to the company's anti-CD200 humanized monoclonal antibody, which is known by its working name, ALXN6000. "Alexion continues to be focused on developing first-in-class therapeutics for patients who have severe and life-threatening medical conditions, and few, if any, treatment options," said Leonard Bell, M.D., CEO. "We are committed to fully investigate the therapeutic potential of ALXN6000 as a drug therapy for patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other hematologic and solid-tumor cancers."

An article in the New Britain Herald notes that two spine surgeons at the Hospital of Central Connecticut at New Britain General are the first in the area to implant a new, motion-preserving spinal device from Applied Spine Technologies (New Haven). HCC neurosurgeon Ahmed Khan, MD, and Torrington-based orthopedic surgeon Lane Spero, MD, implanted the Stabilimax NZ® Dynamic Spine Stabilization System into a 55-year-old Clinton man suffering from painful narrowing of the spine.

Bayer HealthCare (Leverkusen, Germany/West Haven) announced the the New England Journal of Medicine has published results of a Phase 3 trial demonstrating that Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets decreased the absolute risk of death by 31 percent in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, versus patients who received placebo. This represents a 44 percent improvement in median overall survival for patients treated with Nexavar.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany/Danbury) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval of Aptivus® (tipranavir) capsules/oral solution with dosing information for treatment-experienced pediatric patients between the ages of 2-18 infected with HIV-1. The oral solution formulation, which is a new dosage form of APTIVUS, was also approved for treatment-experienced adults. The oral solution formulation will be available in the U.S. beginning in mid-September.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (New York/Wallingford) reports that teachers from CT and other states are joining the ranks of public school teachers who will offer the 11-lesson curriculum called "ReSEARCH, An Educational Journey" to their high school students. It takes students from the spark of an idea for a new medicine through the research and development process to delivery of medicines to patients. The program is now being taught in more than 40 school districts in eastern and Midwestern states.

Cantor Colburn LLP (Hartford), in the August/September issue of its newsletter, reviews a Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against a trademark owner. more Top litigator Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Morgan has joined Cantor Colburn as a partner in its Atlanta office. more

Cara Therapeutics (Shelton) in 2Q 2008 added $12 million to what is now a $36 million "series C" round of funding.

Connecticut Innovations (Rocky Hill) has been named by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the county’s top 100 venture capital firms in the early stage company category.  The ranking is based on the number of first-time fundings to companies in the startup and early stages of development made by VC firms and similar entities in calendar year 2007 as measured by the "MoneyTree Report" from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters.

Dr. Tim Shannon, president of CuraGen Corporation (Branford), said, "We are very pleased with the improvement of our balance sheet during the second quarter and the rapid progress CR011-vcMMAE has made in the clinic during the first half of 2008. Over the past six months, the CR011-vcMMAE clinical development program has achieved milestones ahead of schedule including initiation of the Phase II breast cancer trial and accelerated enrollment of patients into the Phase II melanoma trial. Over the remainder of 2008, we look forward to completing enrollment in the melanoma study and subsequently presenting updated results during the fourth quarter of this year." The company expects to end 2008 with approximately $87 to $89 million of cash and investments.

The Praxair Regional Heart & Vascular Center at Danbury Hospital (Danbury) is the first hospital in Connecticut to offer patients the newest generation of drug-eluting stents to treat coronary artery disease. "The main advantage of the new device, known as the XIENCE V everolimus eluting coronary stent, is deliverability," said Robert Timmermans, MD, of Cardiac Specialists, PC, an interventional cardiologist. "The thin, flexible design makes it easier to deliver the stent to the narrowed or blocked artery and that’s always good for the patient."

GlaxoSmithKline (Research Triangle Park, NC) announced top-line results from an interim analysis of the Phase III pivotal study evaluating ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20®) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Dr. Steven Zweibel has joined he staff of Hartford Hospital (Hartford) as the Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology. In this capacity, Dr. Zweibel will oversee the Hospital’s Electrophysiology department and will be treating patients with complex electrical heart disorders, such as an irregular heart beat.

HistoRx (New Haven) has named William C. Sullivan senior vice president, Diagnostic Operations. In this newly created position, Mr. Sullivan will be responsible for expanding the role of the company’s diagnostics development process, overseeing the manufacture of HistoRx diagnostic products, and growing revenues associated with the clinical diagnostics services provided by HistoRx. He has more than 25 years of experience leading operations of technology-driven businesses in the in vitro diagnostics and medical devices industries.

Ipsogen (Marseille, France/New Haven), a molecular diagnostic company specialized in the development, the manufacturing and the commercialization of diagnostic assays for breast cancer and leukemia, announced the CE marking of its JAK2 tests for myeloproliferative disorders. CE marking is a major requirement in European Community regulation of medical devices.

The Vision Care Institute™, LLC, a company of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ), said that nearly 300 athletes worldwide used The AchieveVision™ Program, a state-of-the-art visual skills assessment and optimizing program, in advance of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, to help ensure their vision is in peak condition for competition. The program supplements regular eye exams by moving beyond basic acuity to assess the visual skills that play a role in an athlete’s performance.

MannKind Corporation (Valencia, CA/Danbury) will hold a ceremony September 17 in Danbury marking the expansion of manufacturing facilities for its Technosphere® Insulin System, currently in Phase 3 testing. The company plans to announce the marketing trade name for the product at the ceremony. Results suggest that Technosphere® Insulin produces a profile of insulin levels in the bloodtream that approximates the insulin profile normally seen in healthy individuals immediately following a meal, but which is absent in patients with diabetes.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Branford) a developer of specialty drugs to treat neurological, psychiatric and pain disorders, has appointed John Krayacich president and CEO. He will be responsible for leading the company's drug and business development for ganaxolone, an adult and pediatric epilepsy candidate in Phase II, and chelerythrine, a pre-clinical schizophrenia candidate. He has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development with 13 years focused on neuroscience diseases. Most recently, he was with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, where he served as global program head for the antidepressant agomelatine, and vice president and global head of neuroscience project management.

NanoViricides, Inc. (West Haven) said that it has signed a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for rabies treatment study. The study, to be performed in collaboration with the CDC Rabies Program, is scheduled to begin soon. "This study will expand on two successful animal studies of RabiCide™-I performed previously by the government of Vietnam," said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of NanoViricides. "In those prior studies we achieved a 25% to 30% survival rate in animals that had already developed rabies. We believe this strong survival rate is a historical first achievement for any post-infection rabies treatment."

Separately, the company reported "excellent efficacy" for its EKC-Cide™ nanoviricide drug candidate, which demonstrated prevention of conjunctival injection (redness, dilation and prominence of the conjunctival blood vessels) and blepharitis (crusting, discharge and inflammation of the eyelid margins) using mathematical clinical scores calculations.

In a statement, Stephen R. Davis, President and CEO of Neurogen Corporation (Branford), said, "We remain focused on our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials in Parkinson's disease and restless legs syndrome with aplindore, our dopamine D2 partial agonist. We expect to have results from these studies by the end of the year. We also continue to carefully limit our resource commitments while we gather and evaluate data related to adipiplon, our GABA alpha 3 partial agonist. With $42.8 million as of the end of the quarter, we have the capital to get to important clinical results and then determine how best to employ our capital for our shareholders' benefit."

With canine motion sickness the leading reason pet owners are not able to take their dogs on day trips or vacation, Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY/Groton/New London) is encouraging more people to talk with their veterinarians about managing travel with their dog. Pfizer’s Cerenia™ (maropitant citrate) is the only veterinary approved canine medication in America, Europe and Canada to prevent vomiting from a wide range of causes, including motion sickness.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) (Washington, DC) reports that there are a record 301 new medicines being developed for mental illnesses. "The medicines being developed treat a range of conditions, from depression to anxiety, and from schizophrenia to dependence on alcohol and drugs," said PhRMA senior vice president Ken Johnson. "These medicines are either in clinical trials or awaiting review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and they will help patients live longer, happier, and healthier lives. It’s important for patients and healthcare providers to know that research into mental illness remains a top priority."

Purdue Pharma L.P. (Stamford) has introduced "In the Face of Pain®," a free interactive toolkit that enables advocates to create individualized action plans, educational materials, and presentations pertaining to pain management.  more

The School of Health Sciences at Quinnipiac University (Hamden) will begin offering two online graduate programs for practicing occupational therapists in the Fall 2008 semester. Through the program, occupational therapists can pursue a post-professional master of science degree in occupational therapy or a certificate of advanced graduate study.

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) a development-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections, announced that George M. Milne, Jr., Ph.D., has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Milne succeeds Harry H. Penner, Jr., who served as Board Chairman since the Company's first Board meeting in January, 2001. The company also announced that Joseph Amprey, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed to the board of directors, succeeding David Mott.  Mr. Mott, formerly with MedImmune and MedImmune Ventures, is also continuing as an independent director of the Company. Rib-X’s board now consists of 10 members. 

Triumvirate Environmental, Inc. (Somerville, MA) has acquired four branches of Enviro-Safe New England. "We continue to build a productive, long-term, customer-intimate environmental services company," said John McQuillan, president and CEO of Triumvirate Environmental.

VION Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) has entered into an  agreement with the Dutch-Belgian Cooperative Trial Group for Hematology Oncology to conduct a clinical trial of laromustine (Cloretazine® (VNP40101M)) with standard remission-induction therapy in patients aged 18-65 with previously untreated acute myelogenous leukemia and high-risk myelodysplasia. VION shares are now quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board.

Following is recent news from The University of Connecticut (Storrs) and the University of Connecticut Health Center (Farmington).

Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that eight start-up companies enrolled in the University of Connecticut ’s Technology Incubation Program have received a financial boost through the Connecticut Small Business Incubator Program. The UConn program provides space and services to enhance the success of early stage firms that have a technology link to the university. more

Fotios Papadimitrakopoulos, a chemistry professor in the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and his graduate students have published new results in Nature Nanotechnology showing how they isolated a particular type of carbon nanotube from a sample and manipulated it in a way that could have broad applicability in drug and gene delivery, electronic devices, and nanotechnology research. more 

Nature Nanotechnology also published research that included as collaborator and co-author Steven L. Suib, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and department head at UConn, and his former graduate student, Jikang Yuan, Ph.D. ’07, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. The research identified a membrane than can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil. UConn’s Center for Science and Technology Commercialization filed an application for a patent on the material. more

Scientists at the UConn Health Center are using polymers to produce a new generation of orthodontic appliances that are making their way out of the lab and into the marketplace. In Storrs, a protein is being used to create an artificial retina, and new compounds are being developed to combat the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. more

UConn engineering professor Robert Weiss has devoted his career to manipulating polymers to produce an array of useful products, from better golf balls to improved proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. Last May he was honored by the Society of Plastics Engineers with the society’s International Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements in polymer research. more

Steven Geary, a UConn professor of pathobiology who specializes in infectious diseases of animals, is one of eight tenured professors nationwide selected to be 2008-09 Jefferson Science Fellows at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. more

Residents in orthopaedics can learn the "rules of the road" in the UConn Bioskills Laboratory at the UConn Health Center. more

Experts at the UConn Health Center’s Voice and Speech Clinic have helped high-profile professional singers, actors, and broadcasters, as well as teachers, lawyers, ministers, and others get their voices back after struggling with chronic hoarseness and other problems. more

For the second time in five years, USA Hockey chose Dr. Robert Arciero, one of UConn’s sports medicine physicians, to be lead team physician for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Hockey Championship tournament held in May. more 

Seven UConn chemistry graduate students direct ed an all-day symposium on "Transitioning into Green Chemistry" at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia in August. more

Following is recent news from Yale University and the Yale School of Medicine (New Haven).

Yale University researchers have found a new method to create lasting genetic changes within human cells, opening up the possibility of new treatments for inherited diseases like sickle cell anemia. Researchers corrected a specific defect within a human gene that causes the blood disorder thalassemia, the researchers reported in a study to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Scientists in the laboratory of Peter Glazer, professor and chair of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology and professor of genetics at the Yale School of Medicine, were also able to slip a sort of genetic repair kit into blood stem cells. In theory, repairs to these hematopoietic progenitor cells would enable the body to produce healthy red blood cells indefinitely.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Immunity, Yale University Researchers show that in systemic autoimmune diseases B cells can be activated the absence of T cells. The findings were surprising because many scientists believed that B cells remain quiet in autoimmune diseases unless they are stimulated first by T cells, said <Mark Shlomchik, MD, professor of laboratory medicine and immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

A magnetic resonance imaging brain scanning and genetics study published by Yale researchers in the journal Biological Psychiatry, is another piece of emerging evidence suggesting that vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, may be crucial to mental health. "The combination of brain imaging and genetics research has exciting potential to reveal the genes that are important in the development of brain disorders," said Hilary Blumberg, M.D., neuroimaging expert and lead author of the study. Dr Blumberg is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Diagnostic Radiology at the Yale School of Medicine and Yale Child Study Center as well as Director of Yale's Mood Disorders Research Program.

Yale University researchers reported they have found a molecular mechanism by which estrogen improves memory, a finding that may aid the quest to improve cognition in aging women without the negative health effects of hormone therapy. "No study has been able to directly link changes in the brain with changes in memory, so our study helps to fill in this gap," said Karyn Frick, associate professor of psychology and senior author of the study.

Yale University researchers have shed new light how bacteria like the ones that cause Legionnaires' disease and Q-fever raise such havoc in human patients. In the journal Science, Craig Roy, professor at the Yale School of Medicine in the section of microbial pathogenesis, reports that some gram-negative pathogens actually secrete proteins into eukaryotic cells that turn off mechanisms in the cells designed to destroy the bacteria.

A new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation could explain why the cold and flu virus symptoms that are often mild and transient in non-smokers can seriously sicken smokers. "The findings suggest that smokers do not get in trouble because they can't clear or fight off the virus; they get in trouble because they overreact to it," said lead author Jack A. Elias, M.D., the Waldermar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine and chair of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Min-Jong Kang, M.D., associate research scientist, was first author.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found the brain's appetite center uses fat for fuel by involving oxygen free radicals-molecules associated with aging and neurodegeneration. The findings, reported in the journal Nature, suggest that antioxidants could play a role in weight control. The study's lead authors were Sabrina Diano and Tamas Horvath, who are an associate professor and professor, respectively, in the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Neurobiology. Horvath is also chair of the Section of Comparative Medicine.

Yale University researchers have discovered a new way that autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) can be triggered, they reported Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A team led by Richard Flavell, professor and chairman of Immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine, investigated whether the molecule TGF-Beta (transforming growth factor beta) plays a pivotal role in preventing T cells from launching an attack on the body's own tissues.

Yale University scientists reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science evidence suggesting that the tiny cilia found on brain cells of mammals, thought to be vestiges of a primeval past, actually play a critical role in relaying molecular signals that spur creation of neurons. "It's an exciting development," said Matthew Sarkisian, post doctoral fellow in the department of neurobiology and co-first author on the study.

The epidemic of Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by a bacterium that has European ancestry, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that is co-authored by scientists at Yale School of Public Health and the University of Bath in England. "Understanding the evolution of pathogens is a key epidemiological tool," said Durland Fish, professor of epidemiology and principal investigator on the Yale research team that took part in the project.

Heroin addicts fare better when treated with an opiate maintenance medication than one designed to block the drug's effects, Yale University researchers reportin the journal Lancet.

In a study published online in the journal Psychological Science, Yale University researchers Brian Scholl and Joshua J. New offer an explanation for "motion-induced blindness," a phenomenon in which the mind makes objects in plain sight simply disappear. Movies of the effects can be seen at the researchers website: http://www.yale.edu/perception/MIB/

The Yale School of Medicine has received funding through the Connecticut Cancer Partnership and the state's Department of Public Health to improve and enhance the palliative and end-of-life care curriculum for students. The Yale School of Medicine has worked with the Schools of Nursing and Divinity, Yale Religious Ministries, and the Palliative Care Services of Yale-New Haven Hospital to develop an interdisciplinary program that will focus on symptom management, culture and spirituality, and the importance of a multi-disciplinary team approach to patient care.

The traces of organic material found in fossil feathers are remnants of pigments that once gave birds their color, according to Yale scientists whose paper in Biology Letters opens up the potential to depict the original coloration of fossilized birds and their ancestors, the dinosaurs. Yale PhD student Jakob Vinther worked on the project with ale paleontologist Derek E. G. Briggs and Yale ornithologist Richard O. Prum.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide in children, according to a new review of studies from 13 countries published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health. Lead author is Young-Shin Kim, M.D., assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center.

Commonly viewed as an inevitable consequence of aging and often ignored in clinical practice, falls among the elderly were cut by 11 percent when researchers at Yale School of Medicine used a combination of fall prevention educational campaigns and interventions aimed at encouraging clinicians to incorporate fall-risk assessment and management into their practices. The study was conducted by Mary E. Tinetti, M.D., the Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine, epidemiology and public health and investigative medicine at Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues.

A study by Yale School of Medicine researchers will explore whether a diet rich in protein can improve bone health in post-menopausal women. Karl Insogna, M.D., professor of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine, will conduct the Supplemental Protein to Outsmart Osteoporosis Now (SPOON) study in 200 women over age 60.

Michael P. Snyder, the Lewis B. Cullman Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and director of the Yale Center for Genomics and Proteomics was awarded the 2007 Connecticut Medal of Science, the state's highest honor for achievement in science. Snyder is best known for his pioneering research in the area of genomics and proteomics. His laboratory laid the groundwork for large-scale characterization genes and gene interactions, and his ongoing research in the area functional genomics involves analyzing thousands of genes or proteins at once to discover their interrelationships. This work is the foundation for what many now call "systems biology."

Michael Simons, M.D., a distinguished heart researcher and physician, has been appointed section chief of cardiovascular medicine at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH). Simons assumed his new position at YNHH and YSM on September 1, having served as chief of cardiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School.

A group of Yale undergraduates have discovered dozens of potentially beneficial bioactive microorganisms within plants they collected in the Amazon rain forest, including several so genetically distinct that they may be the first members of new taxonomical genera. The endophytes were collected during a 2007 trip to Peru organized by Scott Strobel, chair of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, with a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

For more member news, see the July 2008 issue of CURE News