> Roche has entered a $775 million deal with BioInvent International and ThromboGenics. The deal covers the anti-cancer agent TB-403, which is currently in Phase I trials. Release
> Association of Academic Health Centers says that the federal privacy rules outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act have created barriers for biomedical research in the U.S. According to the researchers, consent forms required by HIPAA, which lawmakers intended to help safeguard patient information, has made it much more difficult to enlist volunteers in new research programs. Report
> Three top DNA sequencing companies--454 Life Sciences, Illumina and Applied Biosystems--have joined forces with the 1000 Genomes project, putting their technology to work mapping the human genome with far greater precision and speed than ever witnessed before. Report
> Research at UC Berkeley is pointing the way to new therapies that can blunt or even reverse the effects of aging on muscles. Report
> Every year the annual meeting of the Biotechnology Industry Organization spurs a round of new economic development plans and big new studies on the impact of biotechnology in individual states. Report
And Finally... The newly unveiled Undiagnosed Diseases Program at the NIH is billed as a new research program that will advance genetics work as it helps provide help to people with mystery ailments--and it's already been overwhelmed by the response. Report