Recommended Events
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| Thanks to SoCalBio Weekly Update Sponsor |
Welcome New SoCalBio Members
| Jordan NeuroScience, Inc.
(San Bernardino)
 Jordan NeuroScience was founded in 1996 by Kenneth Jordan, MD.,
FACP, to improve the treatment of patients with acute brain dysfunction... Learn more
Graves & Walton, LLP
(Los Angeles and Pasadena)
 Graves & Walton is an intellectual property litigation boutique founded to provide high-end intellectual property litigation services to companies and individuals.... Click here to learn more
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Join SoCalBioJoin well-known entrepreneur Alfred Mann and other SoCalBio leaders to promote the biotech and device industries in the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area for job creation and overall economic growth. |  |
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|  Editor: Ahmed Enany
President & CEO
Southern California
Biomedical Council
(SoCalBio)
enany@socalbio.org
www.socalbio.org | May 24, 2010  |
| Public Policy | Government Details $1B Stimulus For Small Life Science Companies
The U.S. government outlined plans for a $1 billion stimulus for small biotechnology, medical device and diagnostics developers that could hand up to $5 million to qualifying companies, both public and private. The program, part of the health-care overhaul approved in March and detailed by the Treasury Department Friday, is aimed at producing new therapies and creating jobs in a sector that has been hard hit in the economic slowdown and credit crisis because of its high capital needs.... Learn all the details during the May 28 SoCalBio Networking Forum
Healthcare Reform: How the Device Tax Will Work
 As part of the recent healthcare reform legislation, the medical technology industry will be taxed $20 billion over a 10-year period ending in 2019. Implementation of the 2.3% tax was delayed to January 1, 2013, giving device companies time to plan. The original 2010 start date would not have given device makers sufficient time to set aside funds to pay the tax. And, unless there is a change in administration, it is unlikely that the tax will be repealed... Read more |
| Generic Drugs | Generic Lipitor Highlights Divisive Canadian Healthcare Market
News that the industry's biggest selling product,
Lipitor, now faces generic competition in Canada is significant, if largely expected, given that the Canadian market alone accounts for roughly 10% of global sales of the lipid-lowering drug. Media coverage of the event also highlights the divisive nature of the Canadian healthcare market, with brand and generics companies increasingly unhappy with patent, regulatory and drug pricing policies of the government's agencies... Read more |
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SoCalBio Golf Classic
| SoCalBio/Image 2000 Golf Classic
(ending with with reception and dinner)
Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach
Thanks to Title Sponsor
Join your medtech and biotech colleagues and friends for a great day of golf in one of the exquisite courses in Southern California while you show your support for the bioscience industry, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and SoCalBio.
 This event will conclude with a cocktail reception and dinner featuring Dr. Leslie Weiner of USC who will address attendees about new multiple sclerosis treatment modalities
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RSVP for SoCalBio Events
| May 28, 7:00 to 9:30 AM
SoCalBio Networking Forum in Orange County
Navigating Healthcare ReformsUCI University Club in IrvineLearn from industry experts how the recently passed healthcare reform package can impact your business: Click here to RSVP****************************** **********************************
June 22, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
SoCalBio Luncheon and Roundtable Discussion for Cardiovascular Company Executives
DevicePharm (Irvine, CA)
The luncheon & Roundtable is solely for solid
peer-to-peer information exchange and debate. The
roundtable is open to SoCalBio member companies and invited executives affiliated with non-member companies.
Send e-mail to RSVP
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Under the Spot Light
| A Giant Leap for MannKind
This blog at Seeking Alpha contends that MannKind's Technosphere platform is a 'game-changer' and has the potential to be a disruptive technology in pharmacology. The firm is a standout among a field of biotech companies trying to change the world and bring their first product to market. MannKind is creating a new class of 'Ultra-Rapid Acting' Insulin thanks to underlying Technosphere technology. It is Ultra-Rapid Acting because it Peaks in 12-14 minutes and dissipates from the body just like a normal person's insulin response during a meal. This greatly reduces a patients' risk for hypoglycemia and is weight neutral.... Read more |
Clinical Studies
| Second Trial with ABRAXANE to Demonstrate Increased Survival in Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
A phase 2 clinical study evaluating
nab-paclitaxel (100 mg/m2) in advanced pancreatic cancer patients who have progressed on
gemcitabine-based therapy treatment resulted in 58 percent of patients achieving six-month overall survival (OS), with a median survival of 7.3 months and a median progression-free survival
(PFS) of 1.6 months. Five patients remain alive at a median follow-up of 12.7 months, including one patient with stable disease on cycle 15 of therapy.... Read more
Amgen Drug Shows Promise in Ovarian Cancer
An experimental drug being developed by Amgen Inc appeared to keep recurrent ovarian cancer in check longer when combined with chemotherapy than chemotherapy alone, according to a summary of data from a mid-stage study ... Read more |
Collaborations
| HemaCare Announces a Collaboration Agreement with Dendreon
The Van Nuys-based HemaCare Corporation will provide cellular collection services in Los Angeles and Maine for Dendreon's new autologous cellular
immunotherapy, PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T).... Read more
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics and Torrey Pines Institute Identify Peptides Which Show Potential To Generate Cancer Stem Cell Specific Immune Responses
The Woogland Hills-based cancer vaccine company and Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in San Diego, CA have identified several peptides which can generate CD-133 specific T-cells. CD-133 is found in high abundance on cancer stem cells
("CSCs") which makes it promising for immunological targeting.... Read more
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| Product Approval | Allergan Receives FDA Approval for ZYMAXID Ophthalmic Solution
ZYMAXID is a topical fluoroquinolone anti-infective indicated for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis caused by susceptible strains of the following organisms; Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mitis group, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus pneumonia.... Read more
AVANIR Pharmaceuticals Announces Zenvia Review Timeline Established by FDA with PDUFA Date of October 30, 2010
"If approved, Zenvia will be the first FDA approved treatment available for patients suffering from
PBA," said Randall Kaye, AVANIR's Chief Medical Officer. "We look forward to working closely with the agency during the upcoming months through the remaining stages of the review process" ... Read more |
| Personnel | Cardo Medical, Inc. Appoints Stephen Liu, M.D. to Board of Directors
Cardo Medical, an orthopedic medical device company based in Beverly Hills, California, announced today that Dr. Stephen Liu was appointed to its Board of Directors on April 8, 2010. Dr. Liu currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
ChiMed, Inc., a visual health content provider for consumers in Asia, and Chairman of First China Capital Partners, a boutique merchant bank based in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. From 1992 until 2006, Dr. Liu served on the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine, and was a team physician staff member for UCLA athletics for 8 years. During Dr. Liu's time at UCLA, Dr. Liu was a clinical advisor to multiple major medical device companies.... Read more
Endologix Names Thomas Wilder to Board of Directors Wilder is currently the president and CEO of Sequent Medical, a private company in Aliso Viejo focused on developing devices for neurovascular disease. He replaces Paul McCormick, whose term on the Board expired at the Annual Meeting. With the addition of Mr. Wilder and the departure of Mr. McCormick, the Company has five independent directors, up from four previously, and two non-independent directors, down from three previously.... Read more |
| Jobs Available | Second Sight Medical Products (Sylmar)
A medical device company developing a retinal prosthesis to provide sight to patients blinded from outer retinal degenerations, such as Retinitis Pigmentosa is seeking to fill the following positions: - Customer Service Manager
- Director of Quality Assurance
- Experimental Psychophysicist
- Low Vision Specialist
- Neurostimulation Scientist
- Vision Scientist
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| About SoCalBio |  SoCalBio membership links you to partners, contract manufacturers, regulatory and legal experts, and policy makers. The organization's programs help emerging biotech and medical device companies grow. Membership is affordable -- as low as $500 -- and offers access to networking opportunities, advocacy, discounts through our group purchasing program group purchasing program and other benefits you simply can't find elsewhere ... Join SoCalBio |
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