Highlights of the important and interesting in the world of healthcare:
Obama proud of healthcare reform. President Barack Obama, in a wide-ranging, reflective interview with Barbara Walters, staunchly defended his controversial policies — including sweeping healthcare reforms — as bold but necessary steps to help transform an economy that was at the brink of collapse into one that is “growing,” Politico reports.
ObamaCare is backwards. A fundamental precept of ObamaCare is that by controlling health insurance costs, healthcare costs can be better controlled. This is patently and (more important) demonstrably untrue. It’s healthcare costs that drive health insurance costs, writes InsureBlog.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
NanoBio gets grant for nasal vaccine. NanoBio, the developer of new vaccine formulations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has received a $6 million grant from the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the first nasal spray vaccine against a common bug that causes lung diseases in infants, according to Xconomy Detroit.
GlaxoSmithKline buys piece of biotech ‘partner.’ Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to buy $129.4 million-worth, or 19 percent, of the common stock of Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX), the South San Francisco, California, biotech company, Xconomy San Francisco reports.
‘Meaningful use’ products overpriced? A majority of hospital CIOs in an informal poll by HealthSystemCIO.com say they are preparing to meet “meaningful use” requirements, but many of them are worried vendors are using pumped-up demand for their products as an excuse to raise prices, according to FierceHealthIT.
Bio tax credits create jobs. In the latest BIO survey, leaders of U.S. biotechnology companies say the new tax credits available through the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program will help create jobs and progress research at their companies, according to BIOtechNow.
J&J to pay $130M to settle botched trial. An arbitration panel has ruled that Johnson & Johnson must pay Swiss drug maker Basilea $130 million to resolve a botched and embarrassing attempt to run clinical trials for an anti-MRSA antibiotic the smaller company has been developing, according to Pharmalot.
