From the Lab Bench

• Caltech Researchers Discover Link Between Schizophrenia, Autism and Maternal Flu
  Researchers led by Paul Patterson (photo right), Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences at Caltech, have isolated a protein,  interleukin-6, that plays a pivotal role in the chain of events linking schizophrenia and autism to exposure to maternal flu. A paper containing their results, "Maternal immune activation alters fetal brain development through interleukin-6," is published in the Oct. 3 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Featured Patent of the Week

Light Adjustable Multifocal Lenses
Assigned to Calhoun Vision, Inc. (Pasadena)

Patent #: 7,281,795
Date Granted: October 16, 2007
This invention pertains to a novel implantable intraocular lense (IOL) to correct for aphakia following cataract surgery. What is unique about this invention is that the IOL's optical properties can be adjusted post-operatively, including conversion from a single to a multi focal lense.

General Interest

• Big Pharma Paying More for Small Firms
  Large pharma companies, facing a slowdown in their own development pipelines, are laying big bets on small, private drug companies early in the product development stage. This trend, highlighted recently by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s purchase of Adnexis in late September for $430 million in cash, is driving up valuations for those startups at the same time that Wall Street is raising the hurdles for them to go public. ...Read more

• Top 5 Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industry Layoffs of 2007
  2007 has been a rough year for a number of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry’s biggest players. Concerns about patent expirations, falling sales due to drug safety concerns, redundancy from acquisitions and a general need streamline operations contributed to decisions to cut employees. Click here to see the list of the top five pharma and biotech layoffs of 2007.
• Scientist Apologizes for Hurtful Remarks
  James Watson gets in hot water over comments about intelligence levels among blacks. A profile of Watson in the Sunday Times Magazine of London quoted him as saying that he's "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa;" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really," Read more
• Why Employers Should Care About Their Workplace
  A growing body of research is finally proving what advocates of workplace quality have known for decades: that the human beings who execute the goals of business are more than just cogs in a wheel. Truly engaging them can have an almost magical effect on the bottom line .... Read more

Company Headlines

• Abraxis Bioscience (Los Angeles):
  • Abraxis and Biocon Ltd. Announce Approval of ABRAXANE in India for Treating Breast Cancer
  • Abraxis Receives a Positive Opinion in Europe from the CHMP for the Approval of ABRAXANE for Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer
  • Abraxis gets FDA approval for chemotherapy drug
• Allergan (Irvine):
  • Allergan Closes Esprit Pharma Purchase
• Amgen (Thousand Oaks):
  • Amgen Defends Its Turf as Competition Looms for Anemia Drug
  • Senator Baucus (D:MT) seeks to overturn anemia drugs decision
• Beckman Coulter (Fullerton):
  • Beckman Coulter alleges HemoSense infringed patent
• Cortex Pharmaceuticals (Irvine):
  • Cortex Names Pierre Tran, MD, MMM, Chief Medical Officer and VP of Clinical Development
• Endologix (Irvine):
  • Endologix Announces 2007 Third Quarter Financial Results Conference Call
• Grant Life Sciences (Los Angeles):
  • Grant Life Sciences In-Licenses  Technology for Detecting the Presence of Cervical Cancer-Causing HPV Types
• I-Flow (Lake Forest):
  • I-Flow Purchases 15% of HAPC, Inc. Common Stock; Announces Further Agreement with HAPC, Inc. Regarding InfuSystem Transaction
• MannKind Corp. (Valencia):
  • The Exubera Winner
  • Clouds Hang Over Inhaled Insulin After Exubera's Demise
• Masimo (Irvine):
  • Breaking Study: Masimo Pleth Variability Index (PVI) Shown Effective in Noninvasive Detection of Changes in Ventricular Preload and Fluid Volume
• Nihon Kohden America, Inc. (Irvine):
  • Nihon Introduces Prefense Early Detection and Notification System
• Obagi Medical Products (Long Beach):
  • Data Show Obagi Medical Products' Solubilized Benzoyl Peroxide Gel May Provide Dramatic Reductions in Acne Lesions Within Four Weeks
• Prolacta Bioscience (Monrovia):
  • Breast Milk Shipped to Africa to Help Feed Orphan Children
• SenoRx (Aliso Viejo):
  • SenoRx gets FDA nod to sell breast biopsy ultrasound system
• Simulation Plus (Lancaster):
  • Simulations Plus Releases Major Upgrade to ClassPharmer(TM) Software

Masimo (Irvine)

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) develops patient monitoring technologies such as pulse oximetry devices. The company has 27 career opportunities (managerial, legal, engineering and manufacturing). Click here for more information.

• 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

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

Click Here for SoCalBio Calendar

Thanks to Sponsors

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

February 29, 2008
2^nd SoCalBio Human Resources  Conference Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles

Featuring a keynote presentation on
"Evolution and Modes of Specialization of U.S. Life-Science Regional Clusters: The Labor Market Implications" 

 
Richard Seline, CEO
New Economy Strategies

Sponsors
Los Angeles - Orange County 
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Sponsorship and Display Opportunities Available
Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

(Los Angeles & Irvine)

Glumac provides consulting engineering for four market segments - Commercial, Healthcare, Institutional, and Advanced Technology.

• For more information, contact Edwin Lee, Managing Principal, at 213-239-8866

SoCalBio thanks the School of Continuing  Education (SCE), North Orange County Community College District for providing a silver sponsorship of the upcoming SoCalBio Human Resources Conference on February 29, 2008. 

SCE provides many programs for vocational training and upgrading job skills. Click here for more information

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