Archive by date | April 2012

Innovation chief proposed to open clogged drug pipeline

Innovation chief proposed to open clogged drug pipeline

At a 23 April meeting on modernizing clinical trials hosted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a major player in the drug discovery world argued that the agency should do more than encourage innovation. What is needed is a person to oversee those innovation efforts,  says Doug Peddicord, executive director of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations  (ACRO) based in Washington, DC.  Read more

Stem-cell arguments heard in US appeals court

Stem-cell arguments heard in US appeals court

A US appeals court today heard arguments from lawyers supporting and opposing the US government’s funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, marking another step in what some believe is a slow but steady path to the US Supreme Court.  Read more

Document implies US child study strategy a done deal

Leaders of a multi-billion-dollar study that aims to track the health f 100,0000 American children told US senators unequivocally this week that their abandonment of a nationally representative sampling strategy is a done deal, a leaked document shows.  Read more

‘Unwarranted’ hype surrounds new blood test for depression

‘Unwarranted’ hype surrounds new blood test for depression

A paper published this Tuesday in Molecular Psychiatry prompted media claims about the development of the “first blood test to diagnose depression in teenagers.” But psychiatrists say much more data is needed about the reproducibility and accuracy of the test before it ends up in the clinic.  Read more

US moves towards export-control reform

US moves towards export-control reform

After years of waiting, university space science researchers hoping for promised reforms to US government export controls got a bit of good news: a report by the Defense Department and State Department recommends that many space systems be moved to the Commerce Department.  Read more