Monthly Archives: February 2012

Nelson man's £35,000 cannabis habit leads to prison sentence

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

Nelson man's £35,000 cannabis habit leads to prison sentence 12:30pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Wendy Barlow , Court reporter A 62-YEAR-OLD man, said to have a £35,600-a-year cannabis habit, has been jailed after he was caught growing the drug again. John Patrick Corbett, who is also an alcoholic, had 24 large cannabis plants, which could potentially have yielded 630 grams of the drug, worth more than £6,000, Burnley Crown Court was told. Corbett, who is on benefits, has a long record for cannabis offences and in November 2008 was spared prison for cultivating the drug at his home and claiming it was for medicinal purposes. Three years earlier, he had been given a community rehabilitation order for cultivating cannabis. The defendant, said to smoke £100 of cannabis a day, this time asked for help from the probation service again, but was jailed for 26 weeks instead. Corbett, of Clover Hill Road, Nelson, had admitted producing cannabis, last October. Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, told the court the cannabis farm, with 15 plants ready and nine growing, was not a very pro-fessional set-up. She said: “It was a bit shambolic, really.” The drugs could have been worth £6,300. Weighing scales … Continue reading →

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New Site Answers Hard Questions about Addiction

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

ProjectKnow.com Offers Vast Library of Information on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Addiction, and Recovery Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 22, 2012 ProjectKnow.com announced today the launch of its new website dedicated to answering hard questions that site visitors may have concerning substance and alcohol use. The new and improved website is intended to further the ProjectKnow.com goal of educating people about the causes, effects, symptoms and treatments for drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. Evalyn Smith, the Knowledge Manager of ProjectKnow.com, spoke about the goals of the new website: "ProjectKnow.com is about more than just providing information about drug and alcohol addiction and substance abuse treatment,” she said. “It’s something we do extremely well, but it’s also about fostering a community where visitors can ask real-world questions and get real help from their peers—people with a very personal stake in recovery." ProjectKnow.com makes a wealth of information on drug and alcohol use available to the site’s visitors to allow for extensive research into all aspects of dependency. From alcohol to street drugs to prescription drug abuse, with the amount of available information, visitors can learn how to identify whether they or someone they know has a drug-related problem. Once the … Continue reading →

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£140,000 sex drugs seized in raids

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

A haul of suspected counterfeit sex drugs worth an estimated £140,000 has been found in police raids. Around 28,000 suspected counterfeit erectile dysfunction tablets were seized by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) enforcement team following co-ordinated raids at three homes. The raids took place as part of Operation Fitzroy, with the assistance of Leicestershire Police, at homes in Albert Street and Moor Lane in Loughborough, along with the Metropolitan Police in Frazier Street, south east London. Two men have been arrested and drugs with an estimated value of £140,000 were seized. It is suspected that the haul included around 6,000 counterfeit Cialis tablets, used to treat erectile dysfunction, although this needs to be confirmed by testing, the MHRA said. Danny Lee-Frost, head of operations at the MHRA, said: "These raids demonstrate the MHRA's commitment to finding those attempting to deal with falsified medicines and send a very clear message that those responsible will not benefit from their criminality. "It is the role of the MHRA to ensure the public have access to acceptably safe medicines and this action has prevented potentially unsafe medicines from reaching the public." See the original post here: £140,000 sex drugs seized in … Continue reading →

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Health Plans in Michigan Get Creative with Their Pharmacy Benefits Management

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that Michigan health plans are coming up with creative ways to manage their pharmacy benefits. Priority Health has formed an oncology patient centered medical home that will test a new payment reform system for chemotherapy drugs, according to the Michigan Health Plan Analysis. Another example of creative pharmacy benefit management is Health Alliance Plan’s Hospital Readmission Avoidance program launched in January 2012. Under this plan clinical pharmacists will be integral in preventing hospital readmissions for the plan’s most chronically ill Medicare members, according to the report. “With clinical guidelines being encouraged by health plans, the pharmaceutical industry will see opportunities to advocate for their drugs to be used in treatment plans,” says Betsy Dooley, market analyst with HealthLeaders-InterStudy. The Michigan Health Plan Analysis also answers the following key questions: What new plan design yielded high enrollment for BC/BS of Michigan in 2011? What factors contributed to regional and national health plans gaining enrollment between 2010 and 2011? What lawsuit could potentially alter competition within Michigan's health insurance industry? Why Pharmaceutical Company Managed Markets Teams Need Health Plan Analysis Health Plan Analysis identifies key health plan trends, allowing … Continue reading →

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VistaGen Therapeutics Engages MissionIR as Its Investor Relations Advisor

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire -02/21/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB - News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, has retained MissionIR, a national investor relations consulting firm, to develop and implement a strategic investor relations campaign. Through a network of investor-oriented online websites and full suite of investor awareness services, MissionIR broadens the influence of publicly traded companies and enhances their ability to attract growth capital and improve shareholder value. "VistaGen's work with human stem cell technology is groundbreaking," said Sherri Snyder, Director of Marketing at MissionIR. "The company's versatile platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™, provides clinically relevant predictions of potential heart toxicity of new drug candidates long before they are ever tested on humans. Guided by a management team with decades of experience, VistaGen's stem cell technology can potentially save billions of dollars in the healthcare industry while recapturing prior R&D investment in once-promising new drug candidates." "We are pleased to bring MissionIR on board as our external investor relations partner," said Shawn Singh, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "The crucial work our company is doing can fundamentally change the way medicine is developed. Paired with MissionIR's global … Continue reading →

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Editor’s move sparks backlash

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

Bioethicist Glenn McGee’s new job raised questions of conflict of interest at the journal he founded. J. WILSON/KRT/NEWSCOM The field of bioethics is embroiled in a period of soul-searching, sparked by a startling career move by one of its biggest names. Glenn McGee is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB), the most cited bioethics journal, which he founded in 1999. Since December 2011, he has also been president for ethics and strategic initiatives at CellTex Therapeutics in Houston, Texas, a controversial company involved in providing customers with unproven stem-cell therapies. A CellTex press release says that “Dr McGee’s responsibilities will include ensuring that all of the firm’s work, centered on adult stem cells, will meet the highest ethical standards of the medical and scientific communities.” Although McGee has said he will leave the journal on 1 March, many bioethicists have criticized him, the journal’s editorial board and its publisher, London-based Taylor and Francis. They argue that in holding both posts, McGee has a conflict of interest between his responsibilities to the journal and his new employer’s desire to promote the clinical application of stem-cell treatments that are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. “Imagine … Continue reading →

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InVivo Therapeutics Prices 8.2M Shares Offering

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

More Topics: Choose a Sector Accounting Firms Advertising/Media/Communications Capital CEO/Board General Business Health/Biotech Internet/Technology Investment Firms Law Firms Mergers & Acquisitions Money Managers People Private Companies Public Companies Venture Capital Posted February 21, 2012 CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (OTC/BB: NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 8,281,574 shares of its common stock, offered at a price to the public of $2.10 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $17.4 million. Net proceeds to InVivo, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $15.7 million. InVivo anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including the research, development and pre-clinical and clinical trials for its product candidates, capital expenditures, repayment of debt and possibly acquisitions of other businesses, products or technologies. In addition, InVivo has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1,242,236 shares of its common stock to cover overallotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on or about February 23, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions. Aegis Capital Corp. and … Continue reading →

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InVivo Therapeutics Announces Net $18.1M In Offering

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

More Topics: Choose a Sector Accounting Firms Advertising/Media/Communications Capital CEO/Board General Business Health/Biotech Internet/Technology Investment Firms Law Firms Mergers & Acquisitions Money Managers People Private Companies Public Companies Venture Capital Posted February 21, 2012 CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (OTC/BB: NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries, today announced the full exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters to purchase 1,242,236 additional shares, at a public offering price of $2.10 per share, in connection with its previously announced underwritten public offering of 8,281,574 shares, bringing aggregate gross proceeds from the offering to $20 million dollars. Net proceeds to InVivo, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $18.1 million. The offering is expected to close on or about February 23, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions. Aegis Capital Corp. and Summer Street Research Partners are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. About InVivo Therapeutics InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is focused on utilizing polymers as a platform technology to develop treatments to improve function in individuals paralyzed as a result of traumatic spinal cord injury. The company was founded in 2005 on the … Continue reading →

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InVivo Therapeutics Announces Full Exercise of Over-Allotment Option

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (OTC/BB: NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries, today announced the full exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters to purchase 1,242,236 additional shares, at a public offering price of $2.10 per share, in connection with its previously announced underwritten public offering of 8,281,574 shares, bringing aggregate gross proceeds from the offering to $20 million dollars. Net proceeds to InVivo, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $18.1 million. The offering is expected to close on or about February 23, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions. Aegis Capital Corp. and Summer Street Research Partners are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. The securities described above are being offered by InVivo pursuant to a shelf registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which the SEC declared effective on January 19, 2012. A final prospectus supplement related to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering, when … Continue reading →

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Experimental Drug Helps Reduce Brain Injury

Posted: Published on February 22nd, 2012

Experimental Drug Helps Reduce Brain Injury A drug that targets blood vessels in the brain shows promise in animal tests. Wednesday, February 22, 2012 By Courtney Humphries It's estimated that five million people in the U.S. suffer from the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI)—which can range from coma to loss of movement to cognitive and behavioral problems. A large percentage of soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan have sustained some form of TBI. Scientists have been searching for years for drugs that could ameliorate the effects of these injuries, but so far, none have been shown to prevent damage or speed healing. Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit are investigating a drug that they hope could prevent the damage of TBI by improving blood flow to the brain. So far, the drug, called clazosentan, has shown promise in animal tests in improving recovery after a blow to the head. Christian Kreipke, the lead author of a study describing the tests, says that most experimental TBI treatments have targeted two problems in the injured brain: dangerous swelling of the brain, and structural damage to neurons. In contrast, his team is trying to prevent a third side effect of … Continue reading →

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