FORTUNE -- The human genome can now be sequenced for as little as $1,000. But actually deciphering all that raw genetic data can still cost upwards of $10,000, costly by any stretch. Redwood Shores, California-based Bina Technologies thinks that disparity means opportunity. The company, founded last year, began as a cancer research project at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. It morphed into a business when CEO Narges Bani Asadi, then a Ph.D student, realized the current process of analyzing medical data could be simplified by combining three distinctly different disciplines: bioinformatics -- or computer sciences applied to biology and medicine -- cloud computing, and high-performance computing. Some researchers may upload their raw sequenced genetic data to a cloud-based analysis service, but that data is oftentimes massive -- as much as 300 gigabytes. Uploading the data and processing it with the help of hundreds of computers into a genetic profile can then take more a month. "What makes Bina unique is we don't get some off-the-shelf algorithm and try to optimize it," says Asadi. "We have a very unique architecture where a lot of competition may only have only software or cloud-based solutions." MORE: The death of cash The Bina Box … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma Also Included In: Transplants / Organ Donations Article Date: 11 Jul 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for: Stem Cell Transplant Recipients - Rabbit Antibodies Help Leukemia Patients During the study, led by Amir Toor, M.D., hematologist-oncologist in the Bone Marrow Transplant Program and member of the Developmental Therapeutics program at VCU Massey Cancer Center, researchers viewed the outcomes of 48 patients who received a transplant of stem cells from a related donor to the outcomes of 50 patients who alternatively received rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) before being given a transplant of stem cells from an unrelated donor. This study has been published in Bone Marrow Transplantation The results showed similar outcomes for both groups in terms of relapse, mortality, and development of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a common occurrence that can happen when a transplant is inserted and the new material clashes with the recipient's body. When the patients were followed up at 35 months, 50% of the ATG group and 63% of the no ATG group were still alive. Generally, unrelated stem cell transplants typically have significantly poorer outcomes. Toor says: Thus, being able to provide improved outcomes … Continue reading →

HATFIELD, England, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisai Europe Limited today announces the Swissmedic approval of Inovelon (rufinamide) oral suspension for adjunctive (add-on) treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) in patients over the age of 4 years in Switzerland. Many patients who receive the orphan drug rufinamide are children, partially disabled, and this new formulation has been developed as a child-friendly, orange-flavoured drinkable liquid to aid the administration of treatment for this rare, severe form of epilepsy. "Drinkable medicines can be particularly useful for children who find conventional tablets difficult to swallow. The rufinamide suspension formulation will provide patients, parents and caretaker with a new choice of method of administration which could result in better treatment adherence, " said Dr Klaus Meyer from Bethesda Tschugg Clinic, Switzerland. "Improving treatment compliance, especially for patients with this severe form of epilepsy, is an important step to help them manage their seizures." LGS is a rare form of epilepsy accounting for five percent of all cases and rising to approximately 10 percent of childhood therapy resistant epilepsy cases.[1] The annual incidence of the condition affects about 2.8 per 10,000 births in Europe.[1] Effective LGS management and compliance to treatment is of … Continue reading →

HATFIELD, England, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The European Medicines Agency (EMA)has acceptedthesubmission by Eisai of an application to extend the use of adjunctive epilepsy treatment Zonegran (zonisamide) in the treatment of partial seizures (with or without secondary generalisation) to include children aged six years and above. A decision on this new licence extension application is expected in September 2012. This submission was based on data from the double-blind, randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled Phase III CATZ study, which showed that zonisamide is more effective than placebo, and well tolerated in paediatric epilepsy patients (6-17 years) with partial-onset seizures treated with one or two other anti-epileptic drugs.[1] Specifically, results showed that significantly more patients responded positively to treatment with zonisamide (50.5%) versus treatment with placebo (31.0%).[1] Safety and tolerability assessments showed that the overall incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was similar for zonisamide (55.1%) versus placebo (50.0%). There were low rates of serious TEAEs in the zonisamide and placebo groups (3.7% vs 2.0%) and TEAEs leading to withdrawal from the study (0.9% vs 3.0%).[1] Zonisamide is a second generation anti-epileptic drug (AED) with multiple mechanisms of action and a chemical structure unrelated to other AEDs, which means it is unlikely to … Continue reading →