News and notes from the day in MedCity, Ohio:
Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center will participate in a consortium of national experts investigating why unexplained anemia is common in older adults, according to a case press release. The consortium, called the Partnership for Anemia: Clinical and Translational Trials in the Elderly, is the result of a $16 million grant awarded by the National Institute on Aging. Consortium members, including Dr. Nathan A. Berger, director of the program at Case and an oncologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, will spend the next six years conducting clinical trials and translational studies with the goal of developing better treatments. No word yet on the Northeast Ohio share of the grant. To sign up for the clinical trial at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, call 216-368-2059.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, acknowledged Tuesday night that he is “disappointed” that the compromise health-care package does not include a federal plan or expand Medicare, but he said he will support the current version because it would extend insurance to 30 million more Americans, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Brown, one of the leading congressional advocates of including a federal option in a health-care bill, dismissed complaints from progressives who say Senate Democrats should have stood firm on either a public plan or allowing people age 55 or older the chance to buy into Medicare. Instead, Brown said if the bill is scuttled, “we’re not going to get another chance” to expand health coverage any time soon.
Market Trends to Watch for Health Systems and Their Specialty Pharmacies
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
The Innovation Fund, administered by the Lorain County Community College Foundation, is investing $275,000 in five Northeast Ohio technology start-up companies. Three of the companies are in the life sciences industry: ReQuisite in Cleveland, which is developing cardiovascular balloons and stents with next generation drug-elutings coatings, will receive $100,000. So will Thermalin Diabetes, also in Cleveland, which is developing and commercializing a next-generation insulin that is super fast-acting and doesn’t need refrigeration. Meanwhile, Lifemedix in Akron, which is developing a hand-held, manually powered intravenous pump for the rapid fluid resuscitation of patients who suffer from shock, will receive $25,000.
The Summit County Medical Society recently struck a deal with a Web-based lab ordering site to provide low-cost blood tests for patients without health insurance, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Patients anywhere can access the program by visiting the medical society’s Web site, http://www.scmsoc.org, and selecting ”Uninsured patients click here.” The discount lab fee program is run by Prepaid Lab LLC in Avon Lake.
A study of a disease that was discovered by a Middlefield Township clinic will appear in this week’s early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to the Willoughby News-Herald. Dr. Heng Wang, a physician scientist at Das Deutsch Center Clinic for Special Needs Children, identified TMCO1 Defect Syndrome in patients from the Old Order Amish community in Northeast Ohio, the fourth largest Amish settlement in the United States, five years ago. The disease is characterized by unusual facial appearances, bone abnormalities and mental retardation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Xavier University in Cincinnati will hold MedCon 2010 — a Global Conference for the Medical Device Industry — May 4-10, 2010. Global regulatory officials and industry experts will facilitate general sessions, as well as track sessions on quality, regulatory and clinical trial issues. For the best rates, register before April 5. [Hat tip: Dialed-In]