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— The World Health Organization (WHO) laid out its response efforts for Haiti, which is in crisis after yesterday’s devastating 7.0 earthquake near the capital, Port-au-Prince. Among the WHO’s top priorities are preventing wound infections, providing clean water, and controlling the spread of diarrhoeal and respiratory disease.
— The weakening power of the dollar has laid victim to US funding for biomedical research, according to a new analysis. Though the $86.4 billion provided in 2007 by the US National Institutes of Health and US industry rose to $88.8 billion in 2008, that represents a 2% decrease when accounting for inflation. (Reuters)
– BGI, formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute, purchased 128 HiSeq 2000 systems – each costing $10,000 — in the largest single order yet for next-generation genomic sequencers. Most of the machines will be installed in Hong Kong, at what could become the world’s largest sequencing facility. (Business Wire)
— US Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz presents his case to Congress today, asking for an end to ‘pay-to-delay’ deals between pharmaceutical companies and their generic rivals. Yesterday, the European Commission began a related probe, sending out questionnaires to companies – including AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi-Aventis. (Pharmalot)
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