454 Life Sciences (Branford) cites a study reporting that researchers at Columbia University, the South African National Health Laboratory Services, the US Centers for Disease Control, and 454 Life Sciences have discovered a new virus that is responsible for a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Zambia and South Africa late 2008. The previously unknown arenavirus, which is distantly related to the Lassa virus and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, was characterized using the sequencing technology of 454 Life Sciences.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) said it has entered discussions with its collaboration partner, Gilead Sciences, Inc.,  regarding a proposal for restructuring their existing license and collaboration agreement. Achillion has proposed that it continue to develop ACH-1095, also known as GS 9525, with retention of certain rights by Gilead.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire) announced that its lead product, Soliris®, has received the 2009 Prix Galien France Award in the category of medicines for rare diseases. The award recognizes the scientific innovation represented by the complement-inhibition technology of Soliris®, and the impact the drug is having on the lives of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, an ultra-rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder.

Applied Spine Technologies (New Haven) named Craig Corrance, who has more than 20 years of management experience in global orthopaedic industries, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Corrance was formerly the president for Centinel Spine, Inc. Prior to Centinel, Mr. Corrance served in senior executive roles for both U.S. and international orthopaedic and spinal product companies, including Altiva Corporation and Scient'x USA.

Bayer HealthCare (Leverkusen, Germany/West Haven) announced results from Phase I and II trials of BAY 73-4506, a potent oral multi-kinase inhibitor currently being studied in multiple tumor types. "Bayer is committed to discovering new cancer-fighting therapies," said Kemal Malik, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Development at Bayer HealthCare.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany/Ridgefield) and AmeriCares Free Clinics have opened an expanded clinic in Danbury to serve the medical needs of the working underprivileged. "We share AmeriCares' commitment to improving the health of patients and their families and are proud to provide this clinic for the people of Danbury at this time of critical need," said J. Martin Carroll, president and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim. Carroll said the clinic, located at 76 West St., is a partnership between AmeriCares and Boehringer Ingelheim to address the urgent need for free, quality health care for the community's large uninsured population. He said the new facility will help those hardest hit by the recession.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (New York/Wallingford) said that results from an interim analysis of a long-term Phase 3 study at 102 weeks with ONGLYZA™ (saxagliptin), an investigational, selective, reversible inhibitor of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) enzyme, when added to metformin in people with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes, demonstrated an overall profile of adverse events consistent with that seen at 24 weeks, and produced long-term glycemic improvement, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin level (A1C).

Cantor Colburn LLP (Hartford) was awarded a multi-million dollar contract with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide patent legal services in the chemical arts. The NIH award includes an option to renew the contract each year for up to ten years. Cantor Colburn is one of only four law firms in the nation selected for this award. more

Daniel F. Drexler, a partner at Cantor Colburn, has been appointed president of the Connecticut Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA), for a year-long term. more

CuraGen Corporation (Branford) agreed to be acquired by Celldex Therapeutics Inc., based in Needham, MA. Celldex said the proposed acquisition will expand Celldex's Precision Targeted Immunotherapy Platform with the addition of a robust portfolio of 11 oncology-focused antibodies. (See story in this issue.)

Danbury Hospital (Danbury) announced that 27 physicians and surgeons affiliated with the hospital are recognized as "Top Docs 2009" in the April 2009 edition of Connecticut magazine. The annual "Top Docs" list is based on survey results from more than 2,000 questionnaires that are distributed to physicians across the state that asked respondents to name providers they would recommend, other than themselves, to whom they would send a loved one for "expert medical care."

In response to the Word Health Origanization announcement that H1N1 flu is pandemic, GlaxoSmithKline plc (Research Triangle Park, NC) said that, in addition to increasing production and supply of the anti-viral medication Relenza (zanamivir), the company is focusing efforts on development of a candidate A (H1N1) adjuvanted influenza vaccine.

Hartford Hospital (Hartford) said that Dr. Martin Wand has been elected vice chair of the American Board of Ophthalmology, the organization that certifies ophthalmologists in the U.S. Separately, Jeffrey Flaks, executive vice president and COO of Hartford Hospital, has been honored by his alma mater, The George Washington University, as the 2009 Health Services Management and Leadership Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.

Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ) reports a new analysis the company says demonstrates that a greater proportion of patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who had prior treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha agents and received subcutaneous injections of SIMPONI™ (golimumab) once every four weeks experienced significant improvements in signs and symptoms through week 24, compared with patients receiving placebo. 

MannKind Corporation (Valencia, CA/Danbury) announced that it has begun clinical development of a next-generation inhalation system to optimize the delivery of drug powders based on the proprietary Technosphere® technology platform. The inhalation system is as small as a whistle and designed to be easy-to-use, discreet and patient-friendly when used with therapies such as the investigational ultra rapid acting insulin AFRESA® (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder. The delivery system technology can also be used with other therapeutic proteins.

NanoViricides, Inc. (West Haven) announced it has signed a pre-clinical study agreement for the evaluation of NanoViricides' drug candidate for herpes keratitis of the eye. The study will be conducted by Thevac, LLC, a spin-off of the Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA. It will be performed in collaboration with the Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, which administers the LSU-Tulane Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research (Director, K. G. Kousoulas, PhD).

Neurogen Corporation (Branford) announced that it is pursuing strategic options including a sale of the Company or a sale of its assets and that it is taking additional steps to conserve capital while pursuing those options.

Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY/Groton/New London) said it will launch a program to help eligible unemployed Americans and their families who have lost their health insurance maintain access to their Pfizer medicines for free. The inspiration for the new program, called MAINTAIN™ (Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need), was generated by Pfizer employees who were witnessing friends, family and neighbors struggle to make ends meet after losing their jobs, the company said.

Dimebon, a drug being developed by Pfizer researchers in Groton and New London, shows promise in the treatment of Alzheimer's, according to a July 17 article in The Day (New London). more

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) (Washington, DC) is launching a new national broadcast advertising campaign emphasizing the importance and success of free-market initiatives such as the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D). "PhRMA echoes the sentiment shared by President Obama and members of Congress that it is critical that all Americans have access to high-quality and affordable healthcare coverage and will do everything we can to help ensure that a comprehensive healthcare reform bill gets to the White House this year," said PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Protein Sciences Corp. (Meriden) a $35 million contract to develop a new way to make influenza vaccines. Even before receiving the contract, the company had begun manufacturing a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.although it had no specific order from the U.S. Government. The company said that orders have come in from other countries, including Mexico and Australia.

Purdue Pharma L.P. (Stamford) announced that RYZOLT™ (tramadol HCl extended-release tablets) is now available for the management of moderate to moderately severe chronic pain in adults who require around-the-clock treatment of their pain for an extended period of time.

Quinnipiac University (Hamden) has once again been named among the nation's best universities providing a full range of undergraduate and master's level programs in the U.S. News & World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges issue, which hits newsstands August 26.

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (New Haven) announced that Russell Greig, Ph.D., of SR One venture capital, has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. The Rib-X board now consists of eleven members. Prior to joining SR One, Greig served as President of GSK’s Pharmaceuticals International from 2003 to 2008.

Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New Haven) announced that an analysis of clinical data of its lead anticancer agent Onrigin™ (laromustine) Injection in patients over the age of sixty with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was presented in a poster at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Ann Cahill, Vice President, Clinical Development, commented, "This poster presents an objective analysis of the co-morbid conditions with which so many elderly AML patients present. It demonstrates that the patient population forming the basis of the efficacy claims in Vion’s New Drug Application was indeed a poor-risk population, with multiple risk factors predicting for a poor prognosis."

Wiggin and Dana (New Haven) announced that partner Dale L. Carlson was installed as President-Elect of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) for the 2009-2010 term. This is the first time a member of a Connecicut firm has been named to this position. Carlson is  chair of the firm's Patent Practice Group and is an adjunct professor of patent law at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

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

In a study published in the journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, UConn researchers found that eating one cup of raisins a day and walking regularly as exercise helps reduce hunger and significantly decreases levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol – the so-called ‘bad cholesterol’ – in the blood stream. The principal investigator was Maria Luz Fernandez, a professor of nutritional sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. more

Women at increased risk may be eligible to participate in a new breast cancer prevention study offered at the Health Center’s Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. The ExCel research study is an international study aimed at discovering whether a certain treatment can help prevent breast cancer. The medication is from a class of drugs, aromatase inhibitors, that suppresses estrogen production. Aromatase inhibitors are already approved to treat advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women. more

Robert Birge, The Harold S. Schwenk Sr. Distinguished Chair in Chemistry at the UConn, has won the 2009 Connecticut Medal of Science, the state’s highest award for scientists. more

Victoria Robinson, an assistant professor of molecular and cell biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has won a $936,000 early career development award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The five-year award is for a research project on a bacterial protein known as BipA. Robinson’s research group has uncovered a link between BipA and a “magic spot” molecule in bacteria that was discovered 30 years ago. more

Arthur Günzl, an associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, has been awarded a grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is the first Health Center researcher to receive a Gates Foundation grant. Günzl’s research focuses on Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite carried by the tsetse fly in Sub-Saharan Africa that causes sleeping sickness. There are an estimated 500,000 cases each year, and in some African provinces, half the population is infected. more

Wei Sun, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, was recently awarded an American Heart Association National Scientist Development grant of more than $300,000. The grant will support his work to develop accurate biomechanical models that depict how human hearts respond to a heart valve repair procedure called percutaneous transvenous mitral annuloplasty. more

A high fidelity patient simulator known as SimMan that allows UConn medical students to prod, poke, and pull with barely a peep. But that doesn’t mean SimMan can’t communicate with the students. He comes with prerecorded sounds and utterings, he can cough, moan, and wheeze. SimMan can also talk – his voice is courtesy of Dr. Thomas Nowicki, emergency room physician and director of medical simulation at UConn. more

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

In research that could lead the way to development of stronger vaccines and better therapy against tumors and autoimmune diseases, a team of researchers from Yale School of Medicine has shown how blocking a protein that controls cellular growth and death increased the number and lifespan of disease-fighting immune cells. The research is published in the July issue of Immunity. Lead author is Richard A. Flavell, Ph.D., of Yale School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Working with yeast, a team led by Mark Hochstrasser, Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, discovered four factors called assembly chaperones that are crucial to the construction of a key part of the proteasome complex. Their findings are reported in the journal Cell. Proteasomes are a sort of cellular shredder, taking specific proteins within the cell and breaking them apart so they will not block cell proliferation or accumulate to toxic levels.

In research that could lead to new asthma drugs, scientists have discovered that a protein, TRPA1,  may be a trigger of allergy-induced asthma in mice. They also demonstrated how a drug known to reduce inflammatory and neuropathic pain may also inhibit asthma symptoms in mice. Their paper is published in the May 18-22 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead author is Sven-Eric Jordt, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine.

A team of Yale University scientists has discovered how basophils,  a component of the human immune system, triggers – and sometimes worsens – allergic reactions. The research appears in Nature Immunology. Lead researcher is Ruslan Medzhitov of the Yale School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In a research advance that could eventually change the way men are treated for prostate cancer, scientists at Yale University and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System report that certain molecular markers detected in initial biopsy specimens obtained at the time of diagnosis were associated with higher death rates from the disease. The paper appears in the May 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Yale researchers describe a breakthrough in safe and effective administration of potential antiviral drugs — small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules that silence genes — the first step in development of a new kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The work is reported May 4 as an advance online publication of Nature Materials. "RNA interference is a promising approach for prevention and treatment of human disease," said lead author Kim Woodrow, Yale postdoctoral fellow in Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science.

In research that could lead to new approaches for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a Yale School of Medicine team has found that suppressing a liver enzyme that induces glucose production helped diminish the symptoms of the disease in a rat model — reducing blood glucose concentrations, decreasing rates of glucose production in the liver, and improving insulin sensitivity.  Decreasing expression of the gene, Sirtuin 1, also lowered total cholesterol levels. The research appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. First author is Derek Erion, a graduate student in cellular and molecular physiology at Yale.

High levels of brain energy are required to maintain consciousness, according to Robert G. Shulman, Sterling Professor Emeritus of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale and lead author of a paper on the subject in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Yale researchers have demonstrated silicon-based nanocantilevers, smaller than the wavelength of light, that operate on photonic principles eliminating the need for electric transducers and expensive laser setups. The work is reported in an April 26 advance online publication of Nature Nanotechnology. Senior author is Hong Tang, assistant professor of electrical and mechanical engineering in the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

In the first study to gauge the benefits of anger control training in adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS), researchers at the Yale Child Study Center have found that cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful for short-term improvement in anger and aggression. The study is reported in the April issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The lead author is Denis Sukhodolsky, associate research scientist in the Yale Child Study Center.

Maternal and newborn outcomes were greatly improved when doctors implemented a series of simple clinical interventions at Yale-New Haven Hospital’s obstetrical unit. Yale School of Medicine researchers report their results in the May issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. First author is Christian Pettker, M.D., and senior author is Edmund Funai, M.D.

About three of four ADHD (attention deficit disorder) individuals with an IQ of more than 120 – a score that ranks them in the top nine percent of the U.S. population – showed significant impairments in memory and cognitive tests when compared to people with similar IQ’s who do not suffer from the disorder, according to Yale researchers. Thomas E. Brown, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, is lead author of the study, which will be published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

The repetitive behaviors exhibited by some children and teens with autism spectrum disorders are not reduced with the antidepressant citalopram, according to a study in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Lawrence Scahill, professor at Yale University School of Nursing and the Child Study Center was the principal investigator at Yale for the multi-center study. Yale Child Study Center Director Fred R. Volkmar, M.D., authored an accompanying editorial.

In a study that sheds light on how insurance coverage may drive health care and may reveal an unexpected result for the uninsured, a team of Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital physicians has found that babies from uninsured families who are born with congenital defects are far more likely than those whose families have insurance to be transferred out of the large community hospitals where they are born and into children’s hospitals for corrective surgery. Paradoxically, these uninsured babies may receive better care at the children’s hospitals, which are fully staffed with pediatric specialists, say the researchers. Corresponding author of the study is R. Lawrence Moss, M.D., the Robert Pritzker Professor and Chief of Pediatric Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, and Surgeon-in-Chief of Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital.

In an effort to transform medical education and bring it into line with 21st century scientific knowledge, Yale School of Medicine Dean Robert J. Alpern, M.D., and Sharon Long, Ph.D., Dean Emerita of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, co-chaired a committee of renowned scientists and physicians who are calling for a major overhaul of undergraduate premedical and medical school curricula. Their report, entitled “Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians,” has been issued by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Yale School of Medicine scientist Jeffrey R. Gruen, M.D., has received a $5.2 million grant from the Manton Foundation to further his research on the genetics of dyslexia. Gruen’s discovery of a gene involved in dyslexia was named one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2005 by the journal Science.

Yale University’s G. Shirleen Roeder, a world expert on the genetic shuffling which takes place during the formation of sex cells, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a scientist in the United States. Roeder is he Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Professor of Genetics at the Yale School of Medicine and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Yale University Professor Scott Strobel has been named a National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellow by the Department of Defense in recognition of his efforts to convert chemical byproducts of a Patagonian fungus into an alternate fuel source. Stroebel is Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Chemistry at Yale.

Food advertising on television increases automatic snacking on available foods in children and adults, according to a series of experimental studies conducted by researchers from Yale University. "This research shows a direct and powerful link between television food advertising and calories consumed by adults and children," said lead author Jennifer Harris, PhD, Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. The research appears in the journal Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.

Bone-morphogenetic protein, a genetically engineered biological agent used to promote bone formation,  is associated with a higher rate of complications in cervical spine (neck) fusions and greater hospital charges for all categories of spinal fusions, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Lead author is Elizabeth B. Claus, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of biostatistics at the Yale School of Public Health and a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

A single gene plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis in mice, according to research published in the journal Cell Metabolism. Lead author is William C. Sessa, Ph.D., of the Yale School of Medicine.

In an effort to help families and school administrators fight the epidemic of obesity among children, a Yale-led team of researchers has developed a practical coding system to evaluate school wellness policies, which are required of all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. "School wellness policies can offer a valuable framework for school districts seeking to make health, nutrition and physical activity a priority, as long as they are comprehensive and strong in the guidelines they set out," said lead author Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D., deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

In the journal Science, researchers at Yale University and University of Illinois at Chicago detail the molecular mechanisms that govern the metabolism of the element selenium in the human body. "There are 25 human selenoproteins, and most of them are probably essential for life," said Dieter Söll, co-senior author of the paper, who is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale.

For more member news, see the May 2009 issue of CURE News