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PharmAthene Submits Proposal To BARDA In Response To Broad Agency Announcement For Advanced Research And Development For Valortim(R)
PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PIP), a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced that it has submitted a proposal to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in response to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA-BARDA-09-34) for advanced research and development of medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. PharmAthene has requested funding to further develop Valortim(R), a fully human monoclonal antibody, for the prevention and treatment of anthrax infection. To date, the Company has received funding commitments from the U. S. government totaling up to $24 million to advance the development of Valortim(R).
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Sanofi Pasteur Begins Shipments Of Fluzone(R), Influenza Virus Vaccine For 2009 - 2010 Seasonal Influenza
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced that it has shipped the first doses of the 2009-2010 formulation of Fluzone((R)), Influenza Virus Vaccine. Fluzone vaccine is indicated for active immunization in people 6 months of age and older against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B contained in the seasonal influenza vaccine. Fluzone vaccine is the only vaccine licensed in the United States for children as young as 6 months of age through adults.
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Fertility Treatments Becoming More Common, Costly To Health Care System, CDC Says
The number of assisted reproduction procedures, such as in vitro fertilization, continues to increase at a rapid pace, with half of the 54,656 infants born in 2006 being twins, triplets or higher multiples, according to a series of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, HealthLeaders Media reports. Since 2001, the number of live-birth deliveries -- which includes those in which at least one infant was born -- as the result of assisted reproductive technology increased by 41%, and the number of infants born as a result increased by 34%, according to CDC. ART services are offered at 483 medical centers, compared with 421 in 2001.According to CDC, ART procedures are more likely to result in multiple births, which produce higher rates of complication in the infants, such as prematurity, low birthweight and disability. CDC said that the cost of treating complications resulting from ART pregnancies totaled $1 billion in 2005, presenting an economic burden to hospitals and payers. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology recommend that doctors transfer one embryo in women younger than age 35, one or two in women ages 35 to 37, no more than three embryos in women ages 38 to 40 and up to five in older women and "extraordinary circumstances." However, CDC reported that about 16% of ART procedures since 2001 involved four or more embryos, and 5% involved five or more embryos, indicating that these guidelines were not widely followed. According to CDC, "In certain states, ART procedures are not covered by insurance carriers, and patients might feel pressured to maximize the opportunity for live-birth delivery by transferring multiple embryos." The report also noted that physicians might be implanting more embryos to increase the percentage of total live-birth deliveries by their patients. The report said that to "minimize the adverse maternal and child health effects associated with multiple pregnancies, ongoing efforts to limit the number of embryos transferred in each ART procedure should be continued and strengthened."Many hospitals consider ART a lucrative field because most patients undergoing the procedures have private insurance or pay out of pocket. However, health plans pass on the costs of complications to employers and the insured in the form of higher premiums, HealthLeaders Media reports. Thomas Moore, director of Obstetrical Services at the University of California-San Diego, said, "Even though private insurance pays a large percentage of the cost of caring for these newborns, it can be expensive for the health insurance industry overall," adding, "At $2,000 to $3,000 a day for intensive care, which can continue three and four months, that"s a cost that raises premiums across the board" (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 6/12).
Diagnostics

Adult Cancer Survivors At Increased Risk Of Psychological Distress

Long-term survivors of cancer that developed in adulthood are at increased risk of experiencing serious psychological distress, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The estimated 12 million cancer survivors in the United States represent approximately 4 percent of the population, according to background information in the article. "The number of cancer survivors has steadily increased over the last three decades and is expected to continue to increase with the implementation of improved cancer screening, the adoption of more efficacious cancer treatment and the aging of the population," the authors write. "As more individuals survive cancer, it is important to understand how cancer and cancer therapies affect long-term quality of life and psychological adjustment." Karen E. Hoffman, M.D., M.H.Sc., of Brigham and Women"s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues studied participants in the National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional in-person survey conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau. Participants in the 2002 to 2006 surveys were asked questions about their history of cancer and assessed using a scale of serious psychological distress. The researchers compared the responses of 4,636 individuals who had survived five years or longer following the diagnosis of an adult-onset cancer with those of 122,220 individuals who had never had cancer. A total of 5.6 percent of cancer survivors screened positive for severe psychological distress within the previous 30 days, compared with 3 percent of those without cancer. "After adjustment for other clinical and sociodemographic variables, long-term survivors who were younger, were unmarried, had less than a high school education, were uninsured, had more comorbidities or had difficulty performing instrumental activities of daily living were more likely to experience serious psychological distress," the authors write. A history of cancer may affect current mental health in several ways, the authors note. "Cancer diagnosis and treatment can produce delayed detrimental effects on physical health and functioning such as secondary cancers, cardiac dysfunction, lung dysfunction, infertility, neurological complications and neurocognitive dysfunction," they write. "A cancer history can also affect social adaptation, employment opportunities and insurance coverage. Adjusting to these functional and life limitations may create long-term psychological stress." A total of 9 percent of long-term cancer survivors and 6 percent of individuals without cancer reported seeing or talking to a mental health professional within the previous 12 months. One-third of survivors with serious psychological distress reported using mental health services, whereas 18 percent said they could not afford mental health care during the previous year. "Because long-term survivors may not be seen by oncologists as frequently as they were during treatment, or at all, the increased risk of serious psychological distress and the need to screen for serious psychological distress should be communicated to primary care physicians and other care providers," the authors conclude. "Given that cancer survivors with more chronic medical conditions tended to be those most at risk for psychological distress in this study, the findings also underscore the need to integrate medical and behavioral health care for survivors. Specifically, cancer survivorship clinics may benefit from having mental health providers on staff for a multidisciplinary approach to the care of these patients." Arch Intern Med. 2009;169[14]:1274-1281. Archives of Internal Medicine


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