454 Life Sciences (Branford)  reports that researchers have performed de novo sequencing and assembly of the Atlantic cod genome in order to identify genes and genetic variations underlying important traits for cod aquaculture. Data were generated by the Genome Sequencer FLX System from 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company.

Leonard Bell, MD, CEO of Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire), said: "In Q3, we continued to execute strongly on both our operational and research initiatives. We are serving a growing number of patients with PNH, while building our global presence to help more patients in countries around the world. Our research and development teams made important progress in Q3. We are deepening our focus in our lead development areas of nephrology and transplant, while also investigating Soliris® as a potential treatment for patients with an increasing number of other rare, severe complement-mediated disorders." PNH (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria) is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder.

Amarin Corporation (Dublin/Mystic) plans to substantially increase its local work force in the next few months after securing $70 million in financing to take its first medication all the way through the U.S. drug-approval process. AMR101, which reduces triglyceride levels in the blood and targets people at risk of heart disease, will begin two late-stage clinical trials now that Amarin has new funding in place. Jonathan Rowe, head of intellectual property and portfolio strategy for Amarin, said the company's $70 million in financing is the second-largest deal this year for private investment in a publicly traded company.

Bayer HealthCare (Leverkusen, Germany/West Haven) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new indication for Mirena® (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in women who choose to use intrauterine contraception as their method of contraception.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany/Ridgefield) closed a deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business.  The acquisition, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim’s companion animal and cattle portfolios and strengthens the company’s position as a leading vaccine supplier.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (New York/Wallingford) reported updated phase 2 clinical data which show that XL184 demonstrated activity in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.

Cantor Colburn LLP (Hartford) said that five of its attorneys have been given important committee assignments at the International Trademark Association. more

Danbury Hospital (Danbury) hosted a Spirit of Women Wellness Weekend in October. "Our health is our best investment," said Patricia Tietjen, MD, FCCP, FACP, Chair, Danbury Hospital Department of Medicine. "As women, we are always looking for the latest health information to ensure our family’s health and wellness, but we often end up neglecting our own health." Visitors were able to sign up for a screening mammogram and get information on breast and cervical cancer.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (Research Triangle Park, NC) said that as of October 27 approximately half a million people had received its pandemic H1N1 vaccine, Pandemrix™, as part of programs across Europe.

Dr. Paul Thompson, Director of Cardiology at Hartford Hospital (Hartford), has been awarded $865K in Federal Recovery Act grant monies to research the effectiveness of the complementary medicine Coenzyme Q10 in reducing muscle-related side effects that can occur in patients taking high-dose statins.

Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ) said that Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman of Xerox Corporation, was appointed to the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Branford) appointed George Horner of Sofinnova Ventures and Harry T. Rein of Foundation Medical Partners to its Board of Directors. "We are thrilled to expand our board of directors with George and Harry, both of whom have tremendous track records for advancing drug pipelines, leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies and in delivering value to stakeholders," said John Krayacich, CEO, president and director of Marinus Pharmaceuticals. The company announced April 10 the close of a $20 million Series B financing. It announced March 3 that it met its primary endpoint for its Phase 2 clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of ganaxolone as adjunctive therapy in adults with partial onset seizures, a type of epilepsy.

NanoViricides, Inc. (West Haven) announced that it had recently raised more than $4.3 million in equity financing. The company projeced that this additional capital should be sufficient for at least 18 months of operations, or beyond December, 2010, at its current burn rate. In addition, as a result of strong and continued success in its anti-viral drug development programs, management said it believes that the company has significantly improved access to the capital markets for additional funding that may be needed for financing IND studies.

New England Biotech Association (Cambridge, MA) has named Paul Pescatello of CURE ??? NEBA members include the Biotech Association of Maine, CURE, New Hampshire Bio/Medical Council, Rhode Island BioGroup, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Massachusetts High Technology Council, and the Biotech Association of Vermont.

Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY/Groton/New London) announced that 24-week data from two clinical studies of the oral JAK inhibitor, CP-690,550, confirmed statistically significant ACR20 response and DAS28 remission rates for several doses versus placebo when given alone or in combination with methotrexate for patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) (Washington, DC) said in a statement October 29: "Our top priority is to help ensure that a comprehensive health care reform bill gets to the President's desk this year so that millions of uninsured Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage and services. ... We continue to believe that the Senate Finance Committee bill holds the most potential to improve the quality of care for all Americans. In the meantime, we will continue to play a constructive role in making sure that a health reform bill that is good for all Americans is enacted this year."

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

UConn researchers have generated 10 new stem cell lines from the cells of patients with a genetic disorder called Angelman syndrome. See article in this issue.

Two medications commonly used to treat high blood pressure appear to be effective in treating stable ischemic heart disease, one of the most common and potentially deadly forms of heart disease, according to a report by scientists at the University of Connecticut/Hartford Hospital Evidence-Based Practice Center. Treatment featuring the two medications – angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs – can lead to a reduction in risk of death, risk of heart attack, and risk of stroke, and fewer hospitalizations for heart failure for patients suffering from stable ischemic heart disease, the researchers say. C. Michael White, a professor of pharmacy practice at UConn, is Director of the Center. more

Two papers co-authored by Brenton Graveley and recently accepted for publication in the journals RNA and Cell are the first containing data generated by the Health Center’s powerful Illumina Genome Analyzer. Graveley, who oversees the Health Center’s Translational Genomics Core, predicts they are only the vanguard. That’s because the Illumina sequencer, acquired little more than a year ago, has already been used by Graveley’s team to generate over 125 billion bases of sequence, more than 40 times the size of the human genome. And, he notes, "The output is increasing exponentially." more

Radiologists, cardiologists, and oncologists at the Health Center are using a new computerized tomography (CT) scanner that offers unprecedented precision, speed, and patient comfort, thanks to a gift from UConn’s most generous donors."Ultimately it leads to real, significant improvements in patient care," says Dr. Douglas Fellows, chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Therapeutics. more

Shiva Kotha, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has won a coveted five-year, $430,000 NSF Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to support his research on strategies for improving the body’s ability to repair damaged bone. Kotha, who is also affiliated with the biomedical engineering program, is the 22nd UConn engineering faculty member to receive the CAREER Award since 1996, including 10 since 2007. more

Jennifer Paulovicks McCullagh earned her Ph.D. in communication sciences (audiology) in May, a month after she won two highly competitive national research awards for her work on how the auditory areas in the brain respond to noise. Now she is working to complete her second doctoral degree at UConn, the Au.D., or doctor of audiology, a four-year clinical degree recently established at UConn. more

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

Yale University researchers have reported making a clinical diagnosis for the first time using comprehensive DNA sequencing of all the protein-coding genes in the genome. Senior author of the paper is Richard Lifton, who is the Sterling Professor and chair in the Department of Genetics and professor of internal medicine. The team included Murim Choi, a postdoctoral fellow, and Shrikant Mane, director of Yale Center for Genome Analysis at the new Yale West Campus.

The right combination of estrogen and a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), which blocks the effects of estrogen in breast tissue, could relieve menopause symptoms and cut breast cancer risk, Yale researchers report. Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, and his colleagues treated breast and endometrial cell lines with either estrogen or estrogen plus one of the SERMs.

Leveraging more than $25 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Yale School of Medicine has created a new research center to study how our brain evolved uniquely human traits. Its founders hope that the center will identify new treatment options for many forms of mental illness, including schizophrenia, autism and bipolar disease. Chair of the Department of Neurobiology is Pasko Rakic, the co-recipient of the prestigious $1 million Kavli Prize for Neuroscience last year.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine, led by Emre Seli, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, are developing a fast, non-invasive test to help assess embryo viability for in vitro fertilization.

Yale researchers have been awarded a $320,000 grant from The Kiev Foundation to study new ways to treat Williams Syndrome, a rare, thus far incurable chromosomal disorder that causes cardiovascular and connective tissue problems. The grant supports the research of  Frank Giordano, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine (cardiovascular); William C. Sessa, professor and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacology and director of the Vascular Biology and Therapeutics Program; and George Tellides, M.D., professor of surgery (cardiothoracic). Williams Syndrome (WS) occurs in about 1 in 10,000 births. It is caused by the deletion of genes on chromosome 7. Characteristics of Williams Syndrome can include a flattened nasal bridge and small, upturned nose, prominent lips with an open mouth, puffiness around the eyes, an unusually cheerful personality, strong musical ability, attention deficit disorders, developmental delays, slack joints, and complications in blood flow due to thickened arterial walls, including those of the large artery that leaves the heart.

In a new study, Yale University researchers document a disturbing lack of consistency among U.S. hospitals in how quickly they treat patients in emergency rooms. Lead author is Leora Horwitz, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Other authors are Elizabeth Bradley, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Global Health Initiatives at the Yale School of Public Health, and Jeremy Green, graduate student at the Yale School of Public Health.

Two Yale School of Medicine physicians have been awarded a $4.1 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study a new pharmacological treatment for newly released HIV-positive inmates with alcohol dependence who are transitioning back into the community. The physicians are Frederick L. Altice, M.D., professor at Yale School of Medicine, director of clinical and community research at the Yale AIDS Program, and Sandra Springer, M.D., assistant professor of medicine.

Yale and Yale-New Haven Hospital are joining forces with UCL (University College London) and its associated hospitals in a transatlantic partnership to advance biomedical research and healthcare. The Yale-UCL collaboration will leverage the complementary strengths of these global institutions to accelerate progress toward common goals, initially by working to improve the human condition through translational medicine, according to a Yale statement.

Researchers have detected the effects of natural selection among two generations of contemporary women and predict their descendents will be slightly shorter and chubbier, have lower cholesterol and blood pressure and have their first children earlier in life. Senior author of the study is Stephen C. Stearns, who is Edward P. Bass Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University.

The proportion of in vitro fertilization (IVF) multiple births was lower in the eight states that provide insurance coverage for couples seeking IVF treatment, primarily due to fewer embryos transferred per cycle, Yale School of Medicine researchers report. J. Ryan Martin, M.D., a researcher in Yale’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and Pasquale Patrizio, M.D., director of the Yale Fertility Center, are the authors.

Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers. Leas author is Marietta Vázquez, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. Other authors include Isaac Benowitz, Daina Esposito, Kristina DePeau, Richard A. Martinello, M.D. and Eugene D. Shapiro, M.D.

Adult survivors of childhood cancer are 20 to 25 percent more likely to never marry compared with siblings and the general population, Yale School of Medicine researchers report. Lead author is Nina Kadan-Lottick, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. Other authors include Christopher Janson, Wendy Leisenring, Cheryl Cox, Amada M. Termuhlen, Ann C. Mertens, John A. Whitton, Pamela Goodman, Lonnie Zeltzer, Leslie L. Robison and Kevin R. Krull.

A gene variant makes people who experienced trauma as children or adults more susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Yale researchers have found. "This study helps us understand how genetic factors can contribute to vulnerability in different people," said Joel Gelernter, senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry, genetics and neurobiology at the Yale School of Medicine.

Schoolchildren with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are substantially more likely to engage in many types of criminal activity, a study published in The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics has found.. Lead author is Jason M. Fletcher, an assisstant professor at the Yale School of Public Health.

The least healthy breakfast cereals are those most frequently and aggressively marketed directly to children as young as age two, finds a new study from Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Lead researcher was Jennifer L. Harris, Ph.D, MBA, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center.

Current state taxes and levies on soft drinks are slowing consumption and resulting in slimmer waistlines, but the effect is generally small in magnitude, newly published research by the Yale School of Public Health has found. Assistant professor Jason M. Fletcher of Yale analyzed the effectiveness of various forms of soda taxation on body mass index (BMI) over a 16-year period.

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