| Today's Top Story |  |  | | - Appeals court affirms Myriad Genetics' right to patent cancer genes
A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the right of Myriad Genetics to patent the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are linked to most inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancers. The court, however, ruled that Myriad has no right to patent methods of comparing or examining DNA sequences. The decision gives the biotech sector "at least a temporary sigh of relief," but the ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court, a biotech patent lawyer said. Reuters (8/16), Pharmalot.com (8/16)        | HEALTHY CASH FLOW SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
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  | Health Care & Policy | | | | - IDRI and Medicago gain FDA OK to start trial of H5N1 flu vaccine
The FDA gave the Infectious Disease Research Institute and Medicago authorization to begin a clinical trial to evaluate a vaccine candidate against the H5N1 flu in about 100 adults at three centers in the U.S. "Our idea is to ultimately produce a one-dose vaccine that you could give yourself," IDRI Vice President Darrick Carter said. Xconomy/Seattle (8/16) - Pfizer's JAK inhibitor shows promise in ulcerative colitis trial
A midstage study found that Pfizer's Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib effectively treated patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, most of whom were nonresponsive to standard treatments such as immunosuppressants, glucocorticoids and mesalamine. Clinical response was observed at eight weeks in 78% of patients who received the drug's highest dose, compared with 42% of those on placebo. Medscape (free registration) (8/15) - ThromboGenics and Novartis' eye drug is effective in 2 trials
Two studies involving 652 participants showed that ThromboGenics and Novartis' drug candidate ocriplasmin improved vision in patients with vitreomacular adhesion. The treatment enhanced visual acuity in approximately a quarter of patients, compared with about 10% of patients on placebo. The European Medicines Agency and the FDA will include the trials when considering approval. Fox Business/Dow Jones Newswires (8/15) | Company & Financial News | | | |
| Food & Agriculture | | | | | Industrial & Environmental | | | | - EPA nears approval of sorghum as an advanced-biofuel feedstock
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public input on a plan to approve grain sorghum as a feedstock for cellulosic-ethanol production. Supporters of the plan say sorghum is a suitable feedstock because it isn't used as food, can tolerate arid conditions better than other crops and yields roughly the same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn. The EPA's plan is a "good first step" toward diversifying the feedstocks for advanced biofuels, said Matt Hartwig, the Renewable Fuels Association's communications director. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (8/15)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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