Absorption Systems, a leader in testing drugs for ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity), has joined the Society of Toxicology, the premier global professional association of toxicologists, as an SOT Affiliate. The firm, a contract research organization, has more than a decade of experience assisting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in determining which compounds in development should be advanced into clinical testing. Continue Reading

“Let’s say you’re a public health official from the Centers for Disease Control, and you don’t really know how much disease is going to be averted by vaccinating different fractions of the population,” said Manski, the Board of Trustees Professor in Economics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “Then how should you choose a policy? That’s really what the paper tries to address.” Continue Reading

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has joined the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and the European Organization for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS) in supporting the goals of the third annual Rare Disease Day, February 28, 2010. Continue Reading

Teaching teens about sexually transmitted infections at school boosts factual knowledge, but does not necessarily translate to increased condom use, according to a new review from the United Kingdom. Continue Reading

The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) calls on the Obama Administration to fully fund its development priorities and to continue U.S. Leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS as an integral part of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative. Continue Reading

Leaders of the Texas Plant-Expressed Vaccine Consortium today announced a biotherapeutic manufacturing initiative designed to show proof of concept for a landmark new technology that could dramatically increase the nation’s capability to produce vaccines for infectious diseases, including influenza. Continue Reading

Welichem announced that the Company has begun to enroll patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial with its lead candidate, WBI-1001. The Phase IIa clinical trial is a 12-Week, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. The objectives of the trial are to evaluate the efficacy of the WBI-1001 cream in comparison to the vehicle and also to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the cream in patients with psoriasis. Continue Reading

Aradigm Corporation today announced that it dosed the first patient in the U.S. as part of its ORBIT-1 (Once-daily Respiratory Bronchiectasis Inhalation Treatment) trial, an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b study designed to evaluate the Company’s inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin (ARD-3100) in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (BE) under a U.S. IND. This orphan disease indication is a chronic, severe respiratory disease and there are currently no approved treatments for this disease in the U.S. Continue Reading

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIb trial in adult lung transplant patients with ALN-RSV01, an RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. RSV infection in lung transplant patients represents an important unmet medical need; the condition is associated with significant morbidity, including the development of acute lung transplant rejection in 10% to 20% of infected patients. Continue Reading

Thank you, Tom. I also want to thank NACCHO for hosting this important conference and for inviting me to speak here today. Public health is a top priority for this administration. So is strengthening our partnerships across government. So I’m glad I could come talk with you about how we can work together to keep Americans healthy and safe. Continue Reading