News and notes from a day in MedCity, Ohio:
The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine has launched an early stage cancer drug development program and phase-1 clinical trials unit for patients who have solid tumors that have resisted cancer therapies, according to a university release. Led by Dr. Olivier Rixe, the Early Stage Drug Development Program is one of only a handful of dedicated phase-1 cancer units nationwide and the only one within 120 miles of Greater Cincinnati.
University Hospitals has received four gifts totaling $1.5 million to create an endowed, chaired position in neuropsychiatry, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.
The MetroHealth System in Cleveland has sold $75 million in Build America bonds (pdf) and will use the proceeds for capital projects throughout the system, according to Crain’s Cleveland.
You would think shares of Meridian Bioscience in Cincinnati would get more respect for their 3.1 dividend yield and 18-year record for issuing dividends, muses the Seeking Alpha blog.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given San Diego medical device company CareFusion — spun off by Dublin, Ohio’s, Cardinal Health in August — the nod to resume selling its Alaris SE line of drug infusion pumps, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The FDA pulled the pumps from the market three years ago because of problems with their keypads.
Fewer Ohioans in 2008 took advantage of a state law that allows for independent reviews of denied health-insurance claims, but the state is hoping to turn the tide in the coming years, reported Business First of Columbus.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Cleveland Emergency Medical Services will no longer serve as a hospital taxi for problems such as toothaches, boils and similar illnesses, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
CareSource in Dayton is the eighth largest Medicaid HMO in the country, but until its most recent nonprofit tax filing, it was difficult to determine just how much CEO Pamela Morris was being paid, according to the Dayton Daily News.
The city of Cincinnati has asked to be included in mediation involving the University of Cincinnati and the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati over the sale of Jewish Hospital to Mercy Health Partners and the future of the Health Alliance, which Jewish will be leaving and which could be dissolved, reported the Business Courier of Cincinnati.
Alcohol and drug problems are at the top reasons why doctors and health professionals get in trouble with the State Medical Board of Ohio, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
