Appeals court upholds federal funding of embryonic stem cell research

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August 27, 2012 More than 2,700 companies nationwide are saving on lab supplies, shipping, news distribution, office products and more through the BIO Business Solutions cost-savings program. Find out how. The news summaries appearing in BIO SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief, Inc., an independent e-mail newsletter publisher. The information is not compiled or summarized by BIO. Questions and comments should be directed to SmartBrief at bio@smartbrief.com.   Today's Top Story  Appeals court upholds federal funding of embryonic stem cell studies A federal appeals court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit challenging government funding for human embryonic stem cell studies based on a 1996 law that prevents taxpayer funding of work that harms embryos. The law allows funding of work that uses previously derived ESCs, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Chief Judge David Sentelle wrote. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (8/24)      Earn 2X rewards points on shipping costs with The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping • 1X points on everything else LEARN MORE AND APPLY   Health Care & Policy  GSK and Theravance plan regulatory submission of COPD combo drug GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance will start filing regulatory applications for an investigational, once-daily drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by year-end, after concluding late-stage trials. The drug, UMEC/VI, is a combination of umeclidinium bromide, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, and vilanterol, a long-acting beta-2 agonist. American City Business Journals/San Francisco/BiotechSF blog (8/24), Reuters (8/24)      Bristol sells shingles drug candidate to Synergy Synergy Pharmaceuticals acquired Bristol-Myers Squibb's experimental shingles drug FV-100. The treatment was well tolerated at 200 milligrams and 400 milligrams and significantly reduced pain and incidence of postherpetic neuralgia during a midstage study. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (8/24)      Bristol ends development of experimental hepatitis C drug Bristol-Myers Squibb halted development of hepatitis C drug candidate BMS-986094, a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, after a patient died and eight others experienced kidney and heart toxicity during a midstage study. The company said it is working with the FDA to evaluate the drug's effects. "We're still focused on our HCV development program," and "we're going to do whatever it takes to get the best treatment to patients," Bristol spokeswoman Cristi Barnett said. Bloomberg Businessweek (8/24)      Researchers convert blood cells to iPS cells without viruses Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have developed a virus-free way to convert adult blood cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, according to a study published in the journal Public Library of Science. The method allowed for the conversion of 50% to 60% of blood cells into iPS cells, researchers said. The researchers used plasmids to insert genes that modify the cells. ZeeNews.com (India)/Asian News International (8/23)        Company & Financial News  Genetics institute in Scotland gets close to $95M for research The Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland has received nearly $95 million from the Medical Research Council for genetics research. The funding will support research on diseases including arthritis, schizophrenia and cancer. BBC (8/26)      Novira raises $23M to develop antiviral drugs Novira Therapeutics pulled in $23 million in a Series A funding round, led by 5AM Ventures and Canaan Partners. Proceeds will go toward developing capsid-inhibiting antiviral drugs for chronic hepatitis B and HIV infection. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (8/24)      NIH grants $22.5M to immune response research project The NIH awarded the Scripps Research Institute a $22.5 million grant to study innate and adaptive immune system responses to bacterial and viral pathogens using genomics and systems biology. The project will focus on pathogens listed as priorities by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (8/24)        Drug Development & Manufacture Basic Training  How to enable PAT Process analytical technology, or PAT, is a must for applying a quality- and risk-based approach to biopharmaceutical development. In this article, members from the American Society for Quality working group offer best practices for developing analytical methods to enable PAT. Get more free content like this by subscribing to BioPharm International. BioPharm International (8/2012)        Featured Content    How to Get Your Problem Employee Back on Track SwimLabs Rides London's Wave Can't Give Raises This Year? Try Training Instead   Food & Agriculture  India plans to set up agricultural biotech institute India's Union Cabinet has approved a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture to establish an Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology in Ranchi. The institute will be set up as a deemed university and will house schools for genomics, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, diagnostics and prophylactis, nanobiotechnology, basic and social sciences, and commercialization. The Hindu Business Line (India) (8/24)        Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by BIO SmartBrief readers in the past week. Report: Rare diseases are lucrative targets for drugmakers (PharmaTimes (U.K.)) Report: 3 drugs to drive breast cancer market in next 10 years (MedCityNews.com) Genzyme clears way for MS drug Lemtrada by pulling Campath (Reuters) Researchers initiate stem cell trial for autism (Bloomberg) Janssen and GSK launch late-stage trials of RA drug sirukumab (Reuters) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Industrial & Environmental  Okla. researchers work toward high-yield switchgrass Scientists in Oklahoma State University and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., are working to develop a better-yielding strain of switchgrass that would be easier to process into advanced biofuels. "I don't believe corn is the viable way forward for biofuels," said Stephen McKeever, OSU's vice president for research and technology transfer. The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (8/24)        News from BIO  Ship with FedEx FedEx is now offering member companies discounts of up to 35% off select FedEx services, both U.S. and international services. The BIO program with FedEx is one of the many cost-savings programs offered by BIO through its Business Solutions program. There is no charge for BIO member companies to participate in any of the BIO Business Solutions programs -- it is a benefit of membership. 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