454 Life Sciences (Branford), a Roche company, announced that a team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have characterized the human gut microbiome by sequencing the microbial communities of adult twins and their mothers with the Genome Sequencer FLX System. The work is part of the International Human Microbiome Project, an initiative to define the role and structure of microbial communities within the human body.

In a recent statement, Michael Kishbauch, president and CEO of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) said: "Having completed a private equity financing in August 2008, we are quite pleased to have resources available to advance our pipeline, particularly our hepatitis C candidates, ACH-1095 and ACH-1625, forward into the clinic. Our NS4A antagonist candidate, ACH-1095 (also known as GS-9525), which we are developing in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, has the potential to be both scientifically and commercially complementary with HCV protease inhibitors in development. Our proprietary HCV compound, ACH-1625, has unique properties from other protease inhibitors in development. We expect to see both compounds in the clinic next year, pending successful completion of the currently on-going preclinical studies."

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire) said that Soliris® (eculizumab), a terminal complement inhibitor developed by the company, was observed by investigators to reduce blood measures associated with undiagnosed blood clots and inflammation in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). A separate study found that Soliris was observed to reduce indicators of pulmonary artery hypertension in patients with PNH. "The common, severe, and progressive clinical consequences of PNH are becoming more apparent as researchers gain more experience and basic knowledge with regard to this disease," said Leonard Bell, M.D., the company's CEO.

Bayer HealthCare (Leverkusen, Germany/West Haven) announced study results showing that patients with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) taking once-yearly cycles of alemtuzumab reduced their risk of relapse by 74 percent and the risk of sustained accumulation of disability by 71 percent compared to patients treated with the active comparator Rebif® (high-dose interferon beta-1a). The mean disability of patients on alemtuzumab improved from baseline, whereas the mean disability of those on Rebif worsened.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany/Danbury) said that results from PRESIDE  (Prevalence of Female Sexual Problems Associated with Distress and Determinants of Treatment Seeking), the largest survey assessing the prevalence of female sexual problems, show that low sexual desire is the most commonly reported sexual problem in women age 18 or older. Funding for PRESIDE was provided by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (New York/Wallingford) announced new data from studies of IXEMPRA™ (ixabepilone) plus capecitabine compared to capectabine alone, including a pre-specified sub set analysis demonstrating a significant increase in progression free survival in patients with triple negative breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancer patients are diagnosed based upon the lack of three “receptors” – estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). "Patients with advanced, triple negative breast cancer have limited treatment options and a poor prognosis," said Hope S. Rugo, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine and Director, Breast Oncology Clinical Trials Program, University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. "For this reason, it is important to explore the potential of other current and developmental therapies to discover more and effective treatment options for patients with this specific type of breast cancer."

Cantor Colburn LLP (Hartford) has added two experienced intellectual property attorneys with scientific backgrounds. David Henn has 17+ years’ experience in preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications, having worked in private practice, as in-house counsel at Xerox, in technology transfer at State University of New York (SUNY)’s Research Foundation, and as a Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Nicholas Sisti joins Cantor Colburn LLP from Darby & Darby in New York City, where he drafted pharmaceutical, chemical and medical device applications and amendments. Dr. Sisti has served as patent counsel at Lundbeck Research USA in Paramus, NJ, and at Pfizer in Groton, Conn.

Connecticut Innovations (Rocky Hill) announced that it has made an investment of $300,000 in FMP Products Inc. (FMP) through its Eli Whitney Fund. With operations in Greenwich and New Milford, CT, FMP is developing laboratory automation equipment and software to help improve the productivity of researchers in the pharmaceutical, industrial, educational, and governmental arenas.

CuraGen Corporation (Branford) announced preliminary data from an ongoing Phase II trial of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets GPNMB, for the treatment of patients with unresectable Stage III or Stage IV melanoma. "The apparent prolongation in progression-free survival of 4.5 months, compared to a historical expectation of 1.7 months, combined with clear objective responses and tumor reduction in the majority of patients, suggests that CR011-vcMMAE has the potential to become an important novel therapy in this patient population," commented Dr. Timothy Shannon, president and CEO of CuraGen.

Genomas Inc. (Hartford) recently entered a $2.5 million partnership with the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Medical Sciences and the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. (Pridco) to conduct a clinical and research study to better understand the culturally diverse genetic makeup of the Puerto Rico population.

GlaxoSmithKline (Research Triangle Park, NC) said new results from a study evaluated the combination of GSK's TYKERB^® (lapatinib) plus Novartis' Femara^® (letrozole) versus letrozole alone as a first-line treatment regimen in hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer.  In the study, women diagnosed with post-menopausal, hormone receptor positive and metastatic breast cancer experienced a 5.2 month increase in median progression-free survival compared to women treated with letrozole alone.

Hartford Hospital (Hartford) announced that Dr. Stuart Lieblich has been elected secretary/treasurer of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Lieblich has received several honors and distinctions throughout his career, including being named to the "Top Dentists" lists by Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Magazine. Beyond treating trauma patients at Hartford Hospital, he volunteers his time at its Dental Clinic.

Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA/Branford) is changing its name to Life Technologies following the merger of Invitrogen and Applied Biosytems, Inc, of Norwalk, CT. Life Technologies includes the former Protometrix located in Branford, CT.

Ipsogen (Marseille, France/New Haven) has expanded its range of products for leukemia with the introduction of its MPL W515L/K MutaScreen™ Kit. The kit contains positive and negative controls, ready-to-use mixes of primers and probes, and cut-off samples for screening of W515L and W515K mutations.

Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ) said that Phase 3 data demonstrate efficacy and tolerability of paliperidone palmitate, an investigational long-acting therapy for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Life Technologies Corporation (Carlsbad, CA/Branford) announced that its technology for next-generation genomic analysis, the SOLiD™ System, has been named the Life Science Innovation of the Year for 2008 by The Scientist, a scientific publication focused on the life science industry.

MannKind Corporation (Valencia, CA/Danbury) announced that it has met the primary endpoints of its final two pivotal Phase 3 studies of AFRESA™, the company's ultra rapid acting, inhaled insulin product. "We are very pleased to announce the positive outcome of these, the last of our three pivotal Phase 3 studies. We look forward to presenting more complete data, including analyses of secondary endpoints, as soon as they are available, which are expected before the end of this year. AFRESA promises to be an important additional option for the treatment of patients with diabetes. Our next step is to finalize a new drug application for AFRESA, which we expect to submit to the FDA in early 2009," commented Dr. Peter Richardson, MannKind's chief scientific officer.

Commenting on the progress of Neurogen Corporation (Branford), Stephen R. Davis, president and CEO, said: "We will continue to focus our resources on the development of our D2 partial agonist, aplindore, for the treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome and Parkinson's disease. We were very pleased to report positive Phase 2a results with Aplindore in both of these disorders in October. Not only did we see very strong signals of efficacy, but in both studies aplindore's partial agonist profile appeared to be very well tolerated at the doses we plan to take forward. This offers the potential advantage of fewer side-effects and shorter titration periods and the possibility of no required titration in RLS."

NanoViricides, Inc. (West Haven) announced hat they have executed a cooperative research and development agreement with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP). This joint R&D effort will enable AFIP scientists to test the effectiveness of several NanoViricides anti-viral nanomedicines against deadly bird flu viruses (H5N1). the company said.

Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY/Groton/New London) and Sigma-Tau, and Italian company, announced that they have entered into a license and supply agreement under which, following applicable regulatory submissions and approvals, the companies will market Eurartesim®, a novel fixed dose artemisinin-based combination therapy, in Africa. Eurartesim® aims to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in adults and children, while reducing the potential for re-infection.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) (Washington, DC) affirmed its support of responsible direct-to-consumer advertising, stating that "in numerous studies and surveys, DTC advertising has been shown to play a key role in educating and empowering patients, improving patient understanding of disease and available treatments, and fostering strong relationships between patients and their healthcare providers."

Purdue Pharma L.P. (Stamford) announced it has entered into a global strategic alliance with Mundipharma International Corporation Limited and Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to advance the research, development, and commercialization of Infinity's discovery and early clinical programs in the areas of oncology and neuropathic pain. The alliance will focus on supporting Infinity's pipeline of novel, small molecule oncology drug candidates. Purdue's associated company, Purdue Pharmaceutical Products L.P., and Mundipharma will have the worldwide rights to assume development of Infinity’s fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) program.

Health sciences professor Ronald Beckett of Quinnipiac University (Hamden) recently discussed the findings of his research about smoked body mummies of the Anga people preserved in the remote New Guinea village of Koke. Using native materials, the villagers assisted Beckett and his crew to restore the mummy Moimango, father of the village chief Gemtasu. Some of the native materials used included suca (tree sap), which was used as an adhesive, and tapa (tree bark), used to reinforce Moimango's legs.

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) announced positive topline results from a Phase 2 clinical trial with the intravenous form of its novel anionic quinolone antibiotic, delafloxacin (RX-3341). The double-blind study showed that both doses (300mg BID and 450mg BID) of delafloxacin were as efficacious as the FDA approved dosing regime for tigecycline in the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI). Additionally, when evaluated in vitro against the Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms isolated from patients within this trial, delafloxacin was shown to be the more active compound overall, including its activity against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and quinolone-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. "This is the third Phase 2 clinical trial showing delafloxacin to be both efficacious and safe," said Susan Froshauer, PhD, president and CEO of Rib-X.

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

In one of the most stringent studies to date of the popular blood pressure-lowering drugs known as beta blockers, researchers at the UConn/Hartford Hospital Evidence-based Practice Center have confirmed that these drugs reduce the chances of a heart attack following non-cardiac surgery but increase the risk of having a stroke. Ripple Talati, an adjunct assistant professor of pharmacy and a cardiovascular pharmacology and outcomes fellow, authored the study. more

UConn's Office of Technology Commercialization has launched a new website developed to increase exposure to UCONN commercialization activities for a variety of audiences.  According to OTC Managing Director Bruce Carlson, “Commercialization of UCONN research is a key component of the University’s new academic plan. Our goal is to increase the involvement of alumni, faculty and students in the commercialization process by providing information that will facilitate access to UCONN intellectual property and other resources of interest to industry and entrepreneurs.”  Go to http://otc.uconn.edu/  to view the new site.

Johann Peter Gogarten, professor of molecular and cell biology at UConn's  College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will begin work in January on a new five-year project to unearth the “roots” of the Darwin-inspired Tree of Life. The project is funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. more

The UConn Health Center is a leading partner in a state pilot program that by next fall will have provided colorectal cancer screenings for up to 600 uninsured or underinsured Connecticut residents. The Connecticut Colorectal Cancer Screening Demonstration Project, funded by a state grant, screened its first patients in December. more

A large-scale clinical trial underway at three sites, including UConn’s Human Performance Laboratory, aims to pinpoint the prevalence of statin-induced muscle pain and weakness and to better understand how the most prescribed class of drugs in the world exerts its potentially harmful effects on muscles. Linda Pescatello, a professor of kinesiology in the Neag School of Education and a principal investigator at UConn’s Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention, is part of the team conducting the four-year study through a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute. more

Daniel Rosenberg is trying to figure out why some early colon lesions are suppressed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy, while others seem to thrive under similar conditions. His research has drawn the attention of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which awarded Rosenberg a $1.8 million grant and identified his work as an “exemplar of NCI-funded translational research.”  Rosenberg is a professor of medicine and genetics and developmental biology, an investigator in the Center for Molecular Medicine, and co-director of the Colon Cancer Prevention Program at the UConn Health Center. more

UConn dramatically expanded its nanotechnology research capabilities with the opening of a 1,000-square-foot "clean room" that will allow scientists to fabricate cutting-edge devices for use in defense, industry, and medicine. The Nanobionics Fabrication Facility – as the dust-free ‘clean room’ is formally known – supplements state-of-the-art research technology worth more than $20 million,  ncluding high-power electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, and advanced spectrometers, that is currently available at the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) in UConn's Edward V. Gant Science Complex. more

A study by a Health Center researcher takes a scientific look at a therapy that is often considered unscientific – hands-on healing. Gloria Gronowicz, professor of surgery, found that Therapeutic Touch performed by trained energy healers significantly stimulated the growth of bone, tendon, and skin cells in lab dishes. Her findings are published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research and the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. more

A new major gift will enable the UConn Health Center to offer an integrated imaging and treatment suite. The suite will help patients move seamlessly from diagnostics to treatment, using the latest technology. It will be the first of its kind in the region. Torrington natives Carole and Ray Neag made the $3.8 million pledge to upgrade the Health Center’s computed tomography (CT) scanner with a new, more advanced model, and to incorporate new planning and treatment tools into the suite. more

Think outside the box. That’s the first piece of advice Jennifer Murphy gives her students. Murphy, who advises students majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology in UConn's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Student Advisement and Advocacy Award. more

Medical student Neena Qasba spent most of last summer in Bolivia studying poor women’s use of small loans for essential health services. Cheryl Bilinski, an MD/MPH student, spent the summer in Haiti working on a prevention and treatment program for pregnant women and newborns with syphilis. The two students represent the growing number of UConn Health Center students who study abroad during their graduate school careers. more

New grants intended to promote collaboration between researchers at UConn in Storrs and the UConn Health Center in Farmington have recently been awarded to 11 research teams. The year-long grants – known as UCHC/Storrs and Regional Campus Incentive Grants, or UCIG – are approximately $50,000 each. They were jointly funded from the research budgets at Storrs and the Health Center, using money derived from indirect costs on extramural grants. more

As part of the ongoing process to explore affiliations with regional hospitals, University officials have released a conceptual framework document that calls for significantly enhanced ties between the UConn Health Center and Hartford area hospitals. more

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, vice president for health affairs at the UConn Health Center and dean of the medical school, has been named among "100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era" by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. more

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

Pregnancy and surgery patients with a serious blood disorder that causes excessive clotting have responded well to treatment with a man-made anti-clotting protein. "This is a remarkable technologic feat,” said study investigator Michael Paidas, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and director of the Women and Children’s Center for Blood Disorders at Yale. “We’ve shown that this genetically engineered protein can prevent complications linked to antithrombin deficiency. Ours is the first team in the United States to use the protein in a clinical trial with pregnant patients."

Recent research at Yale opens the door to semiconductor devices that are operated by the force of light. “While the force of light is far too weak for us to feel in everyday life, we have found that it can be harnessed and used at the nanoscale,” said team leader Hong Tang, assistant professor at Yale. The research appears in the November 27 issue of Nature.

Researchers at Yale University have created a blueprint for artificial cells that are more powerful and efficient than the natural cells they mimic and could one day be used to power tiny medical implants. The scientists began with the question of whether an artificial version of the electrocyte – the energy-generating cells in electric eels – could be designed as a potential power source. "The electric eel is very efficient at generating electricity," said Jian Xu, a postdoctoral associate in Yale’s Department of Chemical Engineering. "It can generate more electricity than a lot of electrical devices."

Yale researchers have taken the first critical steps in unraveling the mysteries of brain aneurysms, the often fatal rupturing of blood vessels that afflicts 500,000 people worldwide each year. An international team — led by Murat Gunel, professor of neurosurgery and neurobiology, and Richard Lifton, Sterling Professor and chair of genetics, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator — scanned the genomes of more than 2,000 individuals suffering from intracranial aneurysms along with 8,000 healthy subjects. They discovered three chromosome segments, or loci, where common genetic variations can create significant risk for ruptured aneurysms, which in turn cause strokes.

Halting a medication that treats one ailment because it may worsen another is a treatment trade-off decision that elderly patients with multiple medical conditions would rather take part in, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. "Taking this kind of active role in treatment decisions means more customized outcomes for patients," said study author Terri Fried, M.D., professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

Yale researchers have described how dueling brain systems may explain why you forget to drop off the dry cleaning and may point to ways that substance abusers and people with obsessive compulsive disorder can overcome bad habits. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Christopher J. Pittenger, M.D., and colleagues describe a sort of competition between areas of the brain involved in learning that results in what Pittenger calls the "dry cleaning effect." One area of the brain called the striatum helps record cues or landmarks that lead to a familiar destination. It is the area of the commuter’s brain that goes on autopilot and allows people to get to work, often with little memory of the trip.

Rather than infer that nanotechnology is safe, members of the public who learn about this novel science tend to become sharply polarized along cultural lines, according to a study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School in collaboration with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. The report is published online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The determining factor in how people responded was their cultural values, according to Dan Kahan, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor at Yale Law School and lead author of the study. "People who had more individualistic, pro-commerce values, tended to infer that nanotechnology is safe,” said Kahan, “while people who are more worried about economic inequality read the same information as implying that nanotechnology is likely to be dangerous."

In the battle against obesity, Yale University researchers may have discovered a new weapon — a naturally occurring molecule secreted by the gut that makes rats and mice less hungry after fatty meals. Published in the November 26 issue of the journal Cell, a report suggests the molecule may help regulate how much animals and people eat, according to the team headed by Gerald I. Shulman, Yale professor of medicine and cellular & molecular physiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Our judgment of a person’s character can be influenced by something as simple as the warmth of the drink we hold in our hand. In the current issue of the journal Science, Yale University psychologists show that people judged others to be more generous and caring if they had just held a warm cup of coffee and less so if they had held an iced coffee. "When we ask whether someone is a warm person or cold person, they both have a temperature of 98.6," said John A Bargh, a professor of psychology at Yale and co-author of the paper with Lawrence E. Williams of the University of Colorado who received his Ph.D. from Yale earlier this year. "These terms implicitly tap into the primitive experience of what it means to be warm and cold."

Research collaboration among scientists working in the traditionally unrelated fields of biology, physics and engineering will accelerate at Yale, thanks to a gift from Dr. Raymond and Beverly Sackler. Leading researchers from three different faculties at Yale – the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering and the faculty of Arts and Sciences – will be brought together through the programs of the new Sackler Institute for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences. Dr. Lynne Regan, who holds Professorships in both Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Chemistry, has been appointed by the Provost to be the first Director of the Institute.

A study to help nurses hone their heart-monitoring skills has received the largest grant in the history of the Yale School of Nursing — $3.9 million. The funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health will enable Yale School of Nursing Professor Marjorie Funk, and co-investigator Barbara Drew of the University of California–San Francisco School of Nursing, to conduct a five-year, 16-hospital clinical trial. The study’s long-term goal is to improve nursing practices related to electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring so that more accurate diagnosis and more timely treatments lead to better outcomes for patients.

The Yale School of Public Health is partnering with Tsinghua University in Beijing to provide management and leadership education for 500 underserved women in China working in the healthcare field. The partnership, beginning in 2009, is part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative.

The link between food marketing and the growing childhood obesity epidemic is the focus of a $6.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. The principal investigators, Rudd Center Director Kelly D. Brownell and Deputy Director Marlene Schwartz, will use the grant to develop a three-year program to identify opportunities to improve the health of children and adolescents in the United States by reducing the harm associated with food marketing to youth.

Yale Professor Mark Reed, whose research has contributed to nanotechnology in areas from quantum dots to molecular electronics, has been named a fellow of the IEEE, one of the most prestigious honors given by this professional association for the advancement of technology.

Among the undergraduate offerings Yale University is making freely available by Internet access through the Open Yale Courses are three popular science courses in biomedical engineering, physics and astronomy. "Frontiers of Biomedical Engineering," taught by professor W. Mark Saltzman, is newly added to the initial offerings of "Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics" by professor Charles Bailyn and "Fundamentals of Physics" by professor Ramamurti Shankar. more

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