FluGen has won a $14.4 million grant from the Defense Dept.’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program’s Peer Reviewed Medical research program’s mechanism to test its lead universal flu vaccine, RedeeFlu, the company said today. As part of the three-year award, the Madison, Wis.-based company will run two studies of RedeeFlu to show that the universal […]
Clinical Trials
How etectRx’s “smart pill” aims to improve patient compliance trends
When Harry Travis first met Neil Euliano and learned about his medication adherence technology, the pharmaceutical industry was beginning to usher in the age of pricey drugs with Hepatitis C therapies that hit the market at prices like $500 or $1,000 dollars a pill. “It just so happened at the time, really expensive medications were […]
Researchers combine a smart phone, insulin pump and CGM in diabetes study
In a study published this week in Diabetes Care, researchers combined an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitoring receiver and a smart phone with cloud-based algorithms to automatically monitor and adjust a patient’s glucose levels. The team pointed towards a number of systems that are designed to function as an artificial pancreas, but still require that […]
NanOlogy takes nanoparticle tech into Phase II trials
In the last two weeks, NanOlogy has launched trials evaluating its cancer-fighting paclitaxel nanoparticle suspension in patients with prostate cancer and in patients with ovarian cancer. The Texas-based company’s nanoparticle tech is based on a production process that cuts the size of chemotherapy crystals by up to 400 times, creating stable nanoparticles with increased surface […]
BrainStorm enrolls first ALS patient in late-stage NurOwn trial
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (NSDQ:BCLI) said today that the first patients have been enrolled in its Phase III trial evaluating NurOwn as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, at Massachusetts General Hospital and UC Irvine Medical Center. The trial, which is slated to enroll 200 patients, is designed to include the pre-specified patient subgroups who […]
Medtech stories we missed this week: Oct. 13, 2017
From Orthocell’s distribution deal to CorNeat unveiling its artificial cornea, here are seven medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth mentioning. 1. OrthoCell inks Australian distro deal Orthocell announced in an Oct. 10 press release that it has signed a distribution deal with Surgical Specialities. The deal will make Surgical Specialities the […]
FDA advisory committee backs Aerie’s Rhopressa eye drug
An FDA advisory committee voted today in favor of Aerie Pharmaceuticals‘ (NSDQ:AERI) Rhopressa product candidate. The dermatologic and ophthalmic drugs advisory committee voted unanimously that clinical trials support the efficacy of Aerie’s netarsudil ophthalmic solution for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Nine members of the committee voted to […]
Boehringer Ingelheim, Anthem partner for largest real-world COPD trial
As part of a research collaboration launched in 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim and Anthem have partnered to study people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in real-world settings to assess how commonly-prescribed drugs may reduce the occurrence of COPD exacerbations. The team, which also includes Anthem’s outcomes research subsidiary HealthCore, plans to investigate whether adding an inhaled […]
European task force: Docs should favor drug-eluting stents over bioresorbable scaffolds
Physicians should not use bioresorbable scaffolds in place of current-generation drug-eluting stents, according to a report from the European Society of Cardiology and European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Inventions. The ECS/EAPCI report says that as long as concerns remain about the increased risk of myocardial infarction and scaffold thrombosis linked with bioresorbable scaffolds, physicians should […]
Here’s how the diabetes industry’s leaders think about patient-centered R&D
Designing devices centered around patients is a goal espoused by nearly all device companies nowadays, as they aim to make products that people want to use and can incorporate into their everyday lives. Underscoring those products is often years of research and some in the industry have begun to think about how a patient’s needs […]