Industry & Company Headlines

• FDA damned if it does, damned if it doesn't 
  The FDA just can't win. After years of public ridicule and congressional scrutiny, the Food and Drug Administration is taking a tougher stance against drugmakers in its review of new medicines. That new cautiousness, however, rankles its most powerful constituents: Big Pharma CEOs who charge that the agency is standing in the way of new medicines - and progress.

Featured Gadget

Xcorporeal's Portable Artificial Kidney

The West Los Angeles-based -- Xcorporeal -- is developing a battery-powered miniature artificial kidney that features a pump for circulating blood and water, a fluid-collection bag and a filtration system that eliminates impurities. The device, according to its investor Dr. Victor Gura (photo right), is being tested in a small clinical trial in Italy and may end up being a good alternative to dialysis. Dr. Gura is a nephrologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Patent of the Week

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Via Unidirectional 
Propagation of Action Potentials

US Patent 7,292,890 Issued on November 6, 2007 and assigned to Advanced Bionics Corp. (Sylmar)

This invention describes an implantable medical device for stimulating a vagus nerve using unidirectional propagation of action potentials along a vagus nerve to treat medical conditions such as epilepsy and depression.

Company Headlines

• Abraxis BioScience (Los Angeles):
  • Abraxis Announces the Closing Date for Company Split
• AcuNetx (Torrance):
  • AcuNetx Is Taking its Ocular Diagnostic Devices to the Workplace Safety and Police Markets
• Advanced Cell Technology (Los Angeles):
  • Advanced Cell Technology Announces 12-Month Results of Myoblast Therapy Trial
• Aeolus Pharmaceuticals (Laguna Hills):
  • Aeolus Pharmaceuticals' AEOL 10150 Protects Lungs Against Mustard Gas
• Amgen (Thousand Oaks):
  • Amgen Subpoenaed Over Products
• Beckman Coulter (Fullerton):
  • Beckman Coulter Signs Agreements With MedAssets; Renews Chemistry, Automation and Immunoassay
• City of Hope (Duarte):
  • City of Hope Licenses RNAi Biology IP to Dicerna
• Edwards Lifescience (Irvine):
  • Edwards' Fund Awards More Than $2.5 Million in Charitable Grants
• Epeius Biotechnology (San Marino):
  • FDA Approves the Opening of a Phase II Registration Protocol Using Rexin-G for Osteosarcoma
• North American Scientific (Chatsworth):
  • North American Scientific Showcases its Therapeutic Radiology device
• Visiogen (Irvine):
  • Visiogen Achieves Full Enrollment of Synchrony(R) Subjects in Its Phase III Clinical Trial
• Watson Pharmaceuticals (Corona):
  • Bayer files patent infringement suit against Watson
  • Watson Files FDA Application for Generic YAZ(R)

Jobs

• Allvivo Vascular (Lake Forest):
  • Lab assistant
• BioScreen Testing (Torrance, CA):
  • QA Supervisor
  • GC Chemist
  • RA Chemist
• NeuroSystec Corp. (Valencia, CA):
  • Analytical Chemist
  • Sr. Mechanical Engineer

Advance Your Career

• Keck Graduate Institute
  • Master of Bioscience Degree
  • Executive Education for Women
• University of Southern California
  • Master's in Regulatory Science 
  • Certificates: Food Safety, Patient & Product Safety, Clinical Trial Design & Management
• University of California Irvine
  • Medical Product Development Certificate Program
  • Clinical Trials Certificate Program
• California State University Fullerton
  • Certificate in Pharmaceutical Engineering
  • Certificate in Pharmaceutical Product Lifecycle Risk Management

New Members

InnoSense LLC
(Torrance)

InnoSense LLC is developing and commercializing cutting-edge technologies in chemical and biological sensing, multi-analyte sensing, materials, nanotechnologies, hydrogen, alternative energies, and medical fields. The firm will be represented in SoCalBio by its President & CEO Dr. Kisholoy Goswami (photo right).

Upcoming SoCalBio Events

November 14, 2007
7:00 - 9:30 am
Hyatt Regency in Irvine

SoCalBio Breakfast in Orange County 

Click Here to RSVP

Life-Science Industry "Sneak Peak" Introducing

Novel Biotech Approaches in Targeting Neurological Disorders

• Anergix, a USC spin-off targeting multiple sclerosis;
• Cenomed Biosciences, an Irvine-based joint venture between Abraxis Bioscience and Cenomed, which targets disorders such as cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's; and
• Kadmus Pharmaceuticals, a UCI spinoff focusing on endocannabinoid pathways to develop drugs for anxiety, depression and panic.

Click Here for SoCalBio Calendar

Thanks to Sponsors

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

January 28, 2008
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
UCI University Club in Irvine

SoCalBio Workshop on Accessing Government Funding

Click here to RSVP

Learn about funding opportunities from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army .. See attendee evaluation of previous workshop held on Jan. 2007

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

February 29, 2008
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles

2^nd SoCalBio Human Resources  Conference

Click Here to RSVP

Organized by the Southern California Biomedical Council, this conference provides a forum for information sharing among HR executives in device and biotech companies, HR service providers, bio-recruiters, educators, and workforce training professionals to address the growing human capital and employment needs of the life-science industry in Southern California ... More information

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

Recommended

November 15, 2007

Westin Hotel, Costa Mesa

Second Annual California 
Medical Device Forum

OCTANe will host this conference in Orange County on November 15. This event will draw an array of industry entrepreneurs, corporate executives, as well as university scientists, researchers, and venture capitalists. 

For agenda and registration, see conference website at: www.camedicaldeviceforum.com