Health News

Common Parasite Linked To Suicide Risk

Date: Aug-20-2012
Testing positive for a common parasite that lives in the bodies of 10 - 20% of Americans is linked to a sevenfold higher risk of attempted suicide according to new research. This was the main finding of a study appearing in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry that supports growing evidence linking infection by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite to suicide attempts. A Common Parasite T. gondii is a common protozoa (parasite) that once ingested travels to the brain, where it can cause subtle changes over time...

Brain Growth Can Determine Depression Factors

Date: Aug-20-2012
Depression can considerably affect brain health and studies have shown that several connections in the brain are reduced in people suffering from depression. These reductions impair functional connections between vital centers in the brain involved in mood regulation. Glial cells, which support the growth and function of nerve cells and their connections, seem to be particularly reduced when examining post-mortem brain tissue from individuals who had suffered from depression...

Facilitating Success For Follow On Biologics, 24-25 September 2012, London, UK

Date: Aug-20-2012
As biopharmaceutical patents are beginning to expire, biosimilar products are starting to enter the marketplace. To date the EMEA has approved 14 biosimilars for use in the EU and has issued an established regulatory pathway for biosimilar approval. The financial incentives are high, strong opportunities are predicted for successful biosimilar developers with the added benefit of increasing access to life- saving medicines. Although the potential rewards are high, unlike generics, biosimilar development costs are high with some industry leaders claiming estimates of $100-150 million...

Next-Generation Sequencing Conference, 3-4 October 2011, London, UK

Date: Aug-20-2012
SMi are delighted to confirm Elia Stupka, Co-Director and Head of Unit, Center for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, as a speaker at their forthcoming Next-Generation Sequencing conference. Dr. Stupka's pioneering work emphasises the genome as a comprehensive entity in health and disease, rather than specific fields such as genetics and gene expression per se. Through rigorous data analysis and interpretation, the role of genetics, epigenetics, gene expression and genome conformation is being elucidated to aid clinicians...

European Pharmaceutical Pricing And Reimbursement Conference, 29-30 October 2012, London, UK

Date: Aug-20-2012
SMi's 18th annual European Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement conference on 29th & 30th October 2012, will bring together industry experts from a range of industry and international perspectives; each providing a different viewpoint on the subject. This leading event will present attendees with solutions and strategies within key issues such as market access strategies, recent developments in the healthcare landscape and challenges in VBP and the effects of the AMNOG. This event will act as a unique forum for attendees to learn, make connections and explore new ideas...

Cold Chain Distribution Conference, 3-4 December 2012, London, UK

Date: Aug-20-2012
Don't miss the chance to attend SMi's Cold Chain Distribution conference on 3rd & 4th December 2012 in London. This year's event will feature talks from Frank Reale, Associate Director, Global Regulatory Operations, Global Regulatory Strategy, Policy & Safety of Merck & Co. USA on the logistics of providing cold chain investigational clinical supplies in a global environment. The presentation will focus on the not-so-apparent, and the country-specific regulations, and how to understand these to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of the pharmaceutical products...

Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases Conference, 8-9 October 2012, London, UK

Date: Aug-20-2012
SMi is delighted to welcome: Carlos Camozzi, Vice President & Chief Medical Officer at uniQure, to their inaugural Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases conference on 8th & 9th October 2012 in London. Dr. Camozzi will be joining leading leaders in gene therapy and rare diseases. As recently reported in Nature, UniQure have won recommendation to market the western world's first gene therapy, Glybera. The company's success is a huge step towards a long-cherished goal of gene therapy: delivering, in a single treatment, a life-long, functional copy of a missing gene to patients...

4th Annual DigiPharm Europe And Pharma Marketing Show, 24-27 September 2012, London

Date: Aug-20-2012
Can mobile and social media be successfully integrated into a multichannel communication marketing strategy? This question is one that seems to be constantly queried within the pharma industry with a lot of marketing teams questioning how they are going to use new mobile technology effectively...

Stress May Cause Illness By Changing Genes

Date: Aug-20-2012
A new study suggests that acute psychological stress, which is known to increase the risk of physical and mental illness, may do so by altering the control of genes. A report on the study, thought to be the first to show that stress alters the methylation of DNA and thus the activity of certain genes, appeared online in the journal Translational Psychiatry on 14 August. Researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), together with colleagues from Basel, Trier and London, looked at gene segments that are known to be involved with the control of biological stress...

Binge Drinking Culture, College And Happiness

Date: Aug-20-2012
Why do some colleges have persistently high levels of binge drinking? It may be because, at these schools, binge drinking is associated with high status and binge drinkers are happier with their college social experience than their non-binge drinking peers, suggests new research to be presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. "Binge drinking is a symbolic proxy for high status in college," said Carolyn L. Hsu, co-author of the study and an associate professor of sociology at Colgate University...