NEW YORK, June 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of treatments for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that its Board of Directors has engaged Evli Corporate Finance to assist the company with the exploration of strategic alternatives. The Board of Directors is undergoing a strategic review of the feasibility and relative merits of various financial strategies for the company, which may include partnerships, strategic business model alternatives, a sale or other transaction. Evli Corporate Finance is part of Evli Bank Plc, which is an independent investment and wealth management bank whose clients are institutions, companies and high net worth individuals. The Evli Group, with headquarters in Finland, has through its corporate finance operations significant experience in working with development companies in the pharma and medtech industries. Elliot Maza, a director of the company, commented, "We have selected Evli Corporate Finance for this strategic review because of Evli's extensive international relationships in the pharmaceutical industry. Several of our potential partners are based in Europe where Evli has deep and widespread relationships. Evli shares the Board of Directors' belief that the company's asset portfolio, which includes … Continue reading →

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CollabRx, Inc. (CLRX), a data analytics company focused on informing clinical decision making in molecular medicine, today announced a collaboration with the thoracic oncology program at the University of Chicago Medical Center, one of the nation's leading cancer treatment centers with innovative clinical and translational research programs in cancer genetics and therapeutics. The joint initiative will combine CollabRx content and technology resources with the results of genetic sequencing-based tests conducted at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The tests are designed to enable physicians to consider a tumor's unique genetic profile in cancer treatment planning. The collaboration will be led at the University of Chicago Medical Center by Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine and vice chair of translational research at the University of Chicago. "Our program is committed to identifying optimal treatments for cancer patients using a holistic approach," said Dr. Salgia. "This commitment includes consideration of drugs and other therapies that target genetic abnormalities in tumors. These genetic abnormalities can now be efficiently identified using cancer mutation panels based on next generation sequencing technologies. CollabRx's expert systems add substantial value to these panels by infusing interpretation and insight … Continue reading →

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that merely isolating a DNA sequence does not make it eligible to patent, the question arises, What will happen to the crucially important data accumulated by an overly broad monopoly? The answer to this question has implications for people who may have an inherited risk for breast and ovarian cancer and to the scientists who hope to use that data for life-saving decisions about cancer surgery. For the past 15 years, Myriad Genetics of Salt Lake City, Utah, has performed more than a million diagnostic tests for mutations in two genes -- BRCA1 and BRCA2 -- that are associated with inherited risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The Supreme Court ruling means Myriad has enjoyed a 15-year monopoly far broader than it should have been. The company now faces a fateful decision about what to do with that data it collected as a monopolist. Will Myriads data be kept as proprietary assets to give Myriad a leg up on the competition that has already arisen, with four companies announcing after the Courts decision they will introduce BRCA genetic testing? Or will Myriad share the data so others outside Myriad can know the basis … Continue reading →

Public release date: 18-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Aaron Lohr alohr@endocrine.org 240-482-1380 The Endocrine Society Similar genetic variations occur in both overweight newborns and obese adults, a large study finds. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Our data suggest that adult obesity and newborn adiposity share, in part, a common genetic background," said study lead author Reeti Chawla, MD, fellow in pediatric endocrinology at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, IL. "Allowing earlier identification of high-risk newborns may allow for earlier interventions to take place to possibly prevent obesity later in life. " Obesity has become an epidemic worldwide. In the United States alone, more than one-third of adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excess weight and obesity are related to numerous health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and some cancers. Since being obese in childhood increases the risk of adult obesity, medical researchers are interested in identifying early risk factors, or genetic markers, to help predict who is at greater risk for weight gain. … Continue reading →