EXTON, Pa., Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ViroPharma Incorporated (VPHM) announced today that the company will provide a live audio and slide webcast of its analyst and investor seminar, focusing on the company's commercial product projections and future growth opportunities on Friday, September 21, 2012. Lectures will be provided by a number of ViroPharma representatives. The seminar, entitled "Broadening Horizons," will be held from 9:00 A.M. until 12:45 P.M. Eastern Time on Friday, September 21, 2012. Among the topics ViroPharma will discuss are: plans and opportunities for furthering Cinryze (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) growth in North America; updates on launch progress and projections for Cinryze, Buccolam (midazolam, oromucosal solution), and Plenadren (hydrocortisone, modified release tablet) in the European Union; development pipeline updates including interim data from select clinical studies; and a financial overview, including longer term financial guidance. "We are excited to be in position to not only provide continued growth with our cornerstone product, Cinryze, here in North America and in Europe, but also to be moving ahead on numerous other commercial products and development opportunities to deliver sustained growth well into the back half of the decade and beyond," commented Vincent Milano, ViroPharma's president and chief executive officer. … Continue reading →

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online A recent study, conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and their partners at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and the Novartis Institutes for Bio Medical Research, has managed to identify a specific genetic mechanism connected to mutations in the WFS1 gene that affects insulin-secreting beta cells. It is believed that this discovery will be paramount in increasing the understanding of the rare genetic disorder Wolfram Syndrome (WS) and may also be an important development in the treatment of milder forms of diabetes and related disorders. The full study has been published online in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Wolfram Syndrome is a rare genetic condition that is caused by mutations in a single gene. This minute mutation, however, has far reaching effects on the body leading to conditions such as diabetes, hearing and vision loss and nerve cell damage that can cause motor difficulties and, ultimately, early death. WS was first observed in 1938 as a combination of familial juvenile-onset diabetes and optic atrophy. It was understood even then that for most of the patients with this progressive disorder, premature death and widespread atrophic changes … Continue reading →

When a Swiss-based researcher announced this month he had achieved some improvement in profoundly paralyzed spinal-cord-injury patients with an injection of stem cells, he generated headlines worldwide. Dr. Armin Curts findings were the first evidence from actual humans though far from conclusive that the much-hyped stem-cell concept might work in paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. What went unsaid was that the breakthrough could have taken place in Canada. Dr. Curt, then working in Vancouver, and Dr. Michael Fehlings, a Toronto-based leader in the field, had earlier proposed that the clinical trial be conducted here. Federal regulators, however, are essentially standing in the way of studying stem-cell treatments on spinal-cord patients, insisting that promising results achieved in rats and mice be first replicated in monkeys or apes, the two researchers say. Such non-human primate studies would be extraordinarily costly, highly time-consuming and ethically challenging, said Dr. Fehlings, medical director of the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. And he said little would be gained by conducting them. It probably would have delayed the field by another 10 years, said the neurosurgeon. When you think about a condition as serious and life-threatening and damaging as spinal cord injury is that a reasonable … Continue reading →

The Department of Tourism plans to add another reason for more visitors to come to the country through a soon-to-be drafted medical tourism plan, which highlights the relatively cheap yet world-class health services some of the countrys hospitals have to offer. In this proposed plan, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez aims to get the countrys medical sector to put its best foot forward by highlighting stem cell therapy as well as other areas of specialization. Medical tourism focuses on some very serious, important areas of healthcare that the world will travel for, Jimenez said during a forum on stem cell science conducted at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City on Tuesday evening. Through promoting world-class medical services in the country, such as some of Philippine hospitals stem cell programs, Jimenez said the DOT aims to draw foreigners into the country who, in his words, yung sasakay sila ng eroplano, tatawid sila ng dagat. (Foreigners) would obviously spend less if they sought care in their own country like the United States or (places in) Europe. So you really have to have a value that will mitigate the cost of that travel. Your service has to be superior, greater value for their … Continue reading →