Stakeholders Share Data to Design Better Trials for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Source: Patricia F. Dimond, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News   (5/15/12)
"The Coalition Against Major Diseases is an industrial consortia of companies willing to share precompetitive knowledge and work in support of projects identified as high priority by the FDA and in the interest of public health." More >

FDA Panel Recommends Approval of Quad Regimen
Source: Catherine Shaffer, BioWorld  (5/14/12)
"The FDA's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee agreed with the efficacy outcome, and there was little discussion or debate on the efficacy of Quad." More >

FDA Panel Wants Higher Bar for Medical Devices Aimed at Curbing Obesity
Source: Mass Device, Ingrid Mezo  (5/14/12)
"High-risk medical devices intended to help obese patients lose weight should result in more weight loss than lower-risk methods, an FDA advisory panel said last week." More >

Venture Capital Is Not Dead. . .Just Resting!
Source: MD+DI, Brian Buntz  (5/14/12)
"Summarizing her thoughts on the venture capital model, venture capitalist Lisa Suennen jokingly quoted Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch: 'It is not dead. . .it is just resting!'" More >

UMass to Break Ground on Biotech Testing Facility
Source: Herald News, Grant Welker  (5/13/12)
"The facility allows start-up companies to conduct research, test and scale up their products, or partner with other startups. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says it will eliminate a common barrier for entering the life science industry." More >

Expression Profiles Accurately Predict Breast Cancer Response to Chemotherapy
Source: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (5/11/12)
"Scientists have identified two gene-expression profiles that can predict how well breast tumors respond to specific types of chemotherapy, independent of standard variables such as age, tumor grade and estrogen receptor status." More >

Will Mayo v. Prometheus Fire Up Pharma?: Kevin DeGeeter
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (5/10/12)
Newly discovered biomarkers could provide physicians with information that will aid in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The big question for investors is whether, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling Mayo Collaborative Services Inc. v. Prometheus Laboratories, companies will be able to profit from that innovation. In this exclusive interview with
The Life Sciences Report, Kevin DeGeeter, senior analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., shares the names of a select group of companies with good prospects, focusing on those targeting "sweet spots" in personalized medicine. More >

Investment Banker Kevin DeGeeter's Best Idea Yet
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (5/10/12)
Personalized medicine and targeted therapeutics are about narrowing down disease to achieve more definitive diagnostics and then finding more precise therapies. One could argue that every person's cancer is a different disease because the tumor cells contain the patient's own genome and are therefore different from the next individual's tumor cells. Newer genetic-based technologies are useful in detecting disease that was previously undetectable. Analyst and Director Kevin DeGeeter of New York City-based investment bank Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. follows personalized medicine and medical device companies ranging from small- to mid-cap, where investors can still reap multiples on original investment. I recently interviewed him for The Life Sciences Report and learned to look at cancer treatment in a new way. More >

Investing in Biotech Stocks: The Latest Buyout Candidate
Source: Diane Alter, Money Morning  (5/10/12)
"The M&A possibilities—as well as deep pipelines—have triggered surging investor interest in the biotech sector." More >

US May Speed Approval of 'Breakthrough' Drugs
Source: Reuters, Anna Yukhananov  (5/9/12)
"Experimental drugs that show a big effect early in development for treating serious or life-threatening diseases would get a faster and cheaper path to U.S. approval under a proposal likely to become law this year." More >

GlaxoSmithKline Goes Hostile in Bid for Human Genome Sciences
Source: Miyanville, Brett Chase  (5/9/12)
"GlaxoSmithKline has launched a hostile bid for Human Genome Sciences, three weeks after the biotech spurned a $2.6B takeover offer." More >

Scientists Discover New Inflammatory Target
Source: ScienceDaily  (5/9/12)
"Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have found a new therapeutic target to combat inflammation. The findings could lead to potential therapies for millions of people who suffer from arthritis." More >

Taxing Jobs out of Existence: George Will on the Medical Device Tax
Source: Washington Post, George Will  (5/9/12)
"In 2010 Congress, ravenous for revenue to fund Obamacare, imposed a 2.3% tax on gross revenue from U.S. sales of medical devices beginning in 2013. The tax might, however, be repealed." More >

Researchers Tap into the Final Frontier: The Sea
Source: Patricia F. Dimond, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News  (5/7/12)
"Currently, 13 therapeutic agents with marine origins are in clinical development." More >

Catalysts Move Drug and Medtech Stocks: Michael Hay and Jocelyn August
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report   (5/3/12)
When studying stock charts it is not hard to see sharp spikes up and deep nosedives related to development milestones and setbacks in the life cycle of a drug or medtech company. The analysts at San Diego-based Sagient Research Systems have made a science out of following the regulatory and media events that can move stocks. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Sagient Vice President Michael Hay and Senior Analyst Jocelyn August demonstrate their expertise with actionable ideas and provide names of companies through which investors might reap profits. More >

Looking at Small Medtech and Biotech in Canada: Nick Waddell
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (5/3/12)
Is there a developing Silicon Valley model in Canada? Not quite yet, but Publisher and Founding Editor Nick Waddell of the Vancouver-based Cantech Letter would like to see that happen. Meanwhile, he's looking for—and finding—exciting small- and micro-cap ideas as potential big returners. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Waddell discusses current favorite healthcare names that will surely surprise people who have not been looking North. More >

What is the 'ASCO Effect'?
Source: Deborah Baratz, Money Morning  (5/3/12)
"The ASCO Effect move often starts in April. But there's almost always an additional stretch in May during which oncology stocks experience near-vertical spikes in very short periods." More >

Catastrophically Successful Life Extension
Source: Patrick Cox, The Daily Reckoning  (4/30/12)
"Our lives will be profoundly affected by emerging biotechnologies that will push maximum healthy life spans up much faster and further than ever before." More >

ER Doctors Face Quandary on Painkillers
Source: New York Times, Catherine Saint Louis  (4/30/12)
"The frequent prescription of narcotics in emergency departments for dental pain has been quantified for the first time by research financed by the National Institutes of Health, bringing to light another way opioids get into circulation and contribute to the rampant abuse of painkillers in the United States." More >

Investing in Biotech Stocks: The Buyout Binge Continues
Source: Money Morning  (4/27/12)
"The biotechnology buyout deals just keep coming, meaning those investing in biotech stocks have scored some juicy profits, with more on the way." More >

Tap into Low-Risk Biotech and Specialty Pharma for Growth: Steven Palmer
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (4/26/12)
The somewhat obscure specialty biotechs and pharmas seek to add value by giving new life to older technologies and molecules. President and Chief Investment Officer Steven Palmer of AlphaNorth Asset Management embraces this strategy to generate exceptional returns while mitigating some of the risks inherent in drug development. In this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, Palmer shares favorite life sciences names that could offer huge returns. More >

Pharma & Biotech Stock Outlook
Source: Zacks Investment Research  (4/26/12)
"With most of the big pharma companies already facing or likely to face patent challenges for their blockbuster products, the companies have been looking toward M&A and in-licensing activities to make up for the loss of revenues that will arise with key products losing patent exclusivity." More >

Computing the Best High-Resolution 3-D Tissue Images
Source: ScienceDaily  (4/25/12)
"Real-time, 3-D microscopic tissue imaging could be a revolution for medical fields such as cancer diagnosis, minimally invasive surgery and ophthalmology." More >

Amgen Kicks Off Week of Big Biotech Earnings
Source: Minyanville, Brett Chase  (4/24/12)
"It's imperative that each company meets sales and profit targets for the past quarter, but investors are particularly interested in updates on drugs being developed as they represent future growth." More >

AstraZeneca's Big Drug Deal
Source: Diallah Haidar, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (4/23/12)
"The acquisition will give the company access to a number of promising drugs, including a developing treatment for gout, a condition that causes joint inflammation." More >