Industry News
Picture Perfect: Imaging in Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine
Imaging is taking on new roles in clinical trials, discovery, and even patient stratification.
By Allison Proffitt
February 7, 2012 |
Imaging in drug discovery has been rising to the forefront of conversations more and more recently. The IT & Informatics Best Practices winner for 2010 was Novartis' Image Analysis Interface and ImageECD, while the Oyster Imaging Collaborative Portal from Pfizer won an honorable mention in 2011. Managing editor Allison Proffitt spoke with Ken Kilgore, Director of Immunology Pharmacology at Janssen Research & Development (formerly Centocor Research & Development), a Johnson & Johnson company, about how—and why—imaging's role is changing in drug discovery.Read Article »
ALung poised for sales in Germany
By Alex Nixon PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWFriday, February 3, 2012
ALung Technologies Inc. closed on a $10 million fundraising round last week as it prepares to begin selling its artificial lung in Germany this year, the company said on Thursday.
The South Side medical-device company has raised $40 million from investors since its founding in 1997. Alung, though, expects to need at least $25 million more before it's ready to start selling in the United States, said CEO Peter DeComo.
"It's become much, much more expensive to get a product fully approved" by the European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he said.
Not only is approval more expensive. It's difficult convincing investors to fork over millions of dollars to a start-up after the financial crisis of 2008 and resulting recession, DeComo said.
The Future of InterVapor: Q&A with Uptake's Chief Medical Officer Steven Kesten
InterVapor, from Uptake Medical (Tustin, CA), is a non-surgical endoscopic lung volume reduction procedure that uses thermal ablation without leaving foreign materials in the lung. In clinical studies of patients with severe emphysema, InterVapor has demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in breathing function, exercise capacity and quality of life. The company has now closed a Series C funding round, which will support commercialization of InterVapor for treatment of severe emphysema. This news comes on the heels of Uptake Medical receiving CE mark approval for InterVapor in September, completing the first commercial use of InterVapor in Germany in November, and recently announcing TGA approval for InterVapor to be marketed in Australia. Steven Kesten, Chief Medical Officer at Uptake Medical, answered our questions about the company and its technology: Read Article »
Pulmonx Gains Regulatory Approval for Expanded Labeling for Emphysema Treatment
New labeling clears the way for the treatment of many more patients
NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, Jan 10, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pulmonx SARL today announced that its European notified body has granted CE approval for expanded labeling of its Zephyr(R) endobronchial valve (EBV). The approval was based upon an independent review of clinical data from numerous studies including the recently completed Chartis multi-center study(1) and the European VENT study (a randomized multi-center European trial of Zephyr EBV therapy)(2).Read Article »
Make CT Scans Part of Lung Cancer Screen, Group Says
By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: November 03, 2011
Patients at high risk for lung cancer should have regular screening with low-dose CT scans, according to guidelines issued by a consortium of the nation's major cancer centers.
A negative scan should be followed by annual low-dose CT scans for three years and then periodically until age 74, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommended in the guideline for lung cancer screening.Read Article »
The impact of quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery: Charting our course for the future.
Yi-Xiang J Wang1, Chin K. Ng2 Quant Imaging Med Surg Sep 11, 2011. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4292.2011.09.01
Visual inspection and interpretation by radiologists or other physicians with adequate trainings are the currently acceptable clinical practices of exploring and utilizing the information generated by various medical imaging technologies. This approach is considered adequate for disease detection, diagnosis, and even for disease staging. Modern imaging techniques, however, can be employed to collect both quantitative anatomic information and in vivo metabolic or functional information. Read Article »
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NIH-funded study shows 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose CT compared to chest X-ray:
NCI Press Release: Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Scientists have found a 20 percent reduction in deaths from lung cancer among current or former heavy smokers who were screened with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) versus those screened by chest X-ray. The primary research results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) were published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.Read Article »
