ExonHit : EHT 0202 Counters Scopolamine's Detrimental Effects on Cognition in Humans

March 25, 2008 - ExonHit Therapeutics, a drug and diagnostic discovery company, announced the results of a Phase 1 study assessing the effects of its lead compound, EHT 0202, on scopolamine-induced brain impairments in humans. ExonHit's EHT 0202 is a compound, with a novel mechanism of action, which has shown preclinical benefits on memory and neuronal loss and is currently tested in a Phase 2 clinical trial on Alzheimer disease (AD) patients.

Scopolamine interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses by acetylcholine, a substance to which it is structurally similar, thus depressing nervous system activity. Cognitive impairment due to central cholinergic dysfunction, or scopolamine administration, is measurable through electroencephalography (EEG) changes under both nonstimulus and stimulus conditions. A number of studies indicate that EEG is a sensitive measure of acetylcholine's activity and of the induced alterations elicited by scopolamine. In addition, scopolamine-induced EEG changes have been considered as possible biomarkers for AD as the impairment acetylcholine's activity is one of the landmarks of this disease... ExonHit Therapeutics' Press Release -

Mauna Kea Technologies, a leader in in-vivo cellular imaging

PARIS, France – January 23, 2008 -- Mauna Kea Technologies, a leader in in-vivo cellular imaging, announced the closing of a $30 million financing round led by U.S.-based Psilos Group. Mauna Kea Technologies will use the proceeds to expand commercialization of its Cellvizio® technology in the US and Europe, as well as to advance additional clinical applications of the platform. Founded in 2000, Mauna Kea Technologies develops and markets Cellvizio, a fundamentally new imaging approach which improves patient care by eliminating the need for unnecessary biopsies and enhances the diagnosis of a broad range of diseases via in vivo cellular imaging... Mauna Kea Technologies' Press Release - version française du communiqué de presse -

IMSTAR : point mutation detection on DNA microarray

06.02.2008 - IMSTAR is co-author of an article published in the current issue of BioTechnique. This work, entitled "A highly specific microarray method for point mutation detection" has been performed in collaboration with the team of Franck Sturtz at the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics of the university of Limoges (France), the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital in Limoges, the ESPCI/INSERM in Paris and Serial Genetics company in Evry... IMSTAR 's Press Release -

Fovea Pharmaceuticals : Orphan Drug Designation from EC for RdCVF for the Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Paris, France January 7, 2008 - Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA, which, last December 2007, raised $44M in a Series B financing, announced that its product, Recombinant human rod-derived cone viability factor (rh-RdCVF), has received designation as Orphan Medicinal Product from the European Commission, following the positive opinion from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Product (COMP) for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease leading to progressive loss of vision. Fovea is currently conducting pre-clinical studies of RdCVF and has demonstrated efficacy in animal model of the disease... Fovea Pharmaceuticals' Press Release - PDF version -

Air Liquide, First anesthesia with LENOXe

13/03/2008 - LENOXe™, the first xenon-based anesthetic to be marketed in Europe, was used for the first time in France on December 18, 2007.
LENOXe™, the first xenon-based anesthetic to be marketed in Europe, was used for the first time in France on December 18, 2007 at the Nîmes University Hospital. Since that date, several other anesthesia procedures using xenon have been successfully performed at the hospital.
LENOXe™, an Air Liquide innovation, is composed of xenon, a gas present in very small quantities in the air, which offers remarkable anesthetic properties. LENOXe™ is administered in a mixture containing oxygen, thanks to the FELIX DUAL™ anesthesia workstation, another Air Liquide innovation. LENOXe™ acts on central cerebral receptors. As an inert gas, xenon is not metabolized; it is flushed, unchanged , through the lungs... Air Liquide's Press Release - Communiqué de Presse Air Liquide -

Sanofi Pasteur , FDA Licenses DAPTACEL® Vaccine for the Fifth Consecutive Dose in the Pediatric DTaP Immunization Series

March 13, 2008 - DAPTACEL vaccine is licensed for the entire immunization series to protect against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis -Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed DAPTACEL® (Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed) to be administered as a fifth consecutive diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine dose for children 4 years through 6 years of age for the prevention of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis... [PDF] Sanofi Pasteur's Press Release - version française du PDF -

TcLand Expression : creation of CIMNA, a unique integrated immunomonitoring service platform

Nantes, January 15th, 2008 - The biotechnology company TcLand Expression SA and its partners, Nantes’ University Hospital, Atlanstat, and Nantes' "GIS Ouest Genopole" transcriptomics platform, today announced the creation of CIMNA, a unique integrated immunomonitoring service platform located in Nantes.
CIMNA will be managed by TcLand Expression SA (one of the Atlantic Biotherapies Competitiveness Cluster’s leading companies).
With immune response profiling and monitoring being acknowledged key elements in the development of new biotherapies - particularly in the areas of auto-immune disorders, infectious disease, cancer, transplantation, allergies and vaccines, CIMNA’s ambition is to become a major European player in immunomonitoring by providing clinical investigators and industrial researchers with access to a high-quality, one-stop shop. By bringing together all the local stakeholders in the field of immunomonitoring, the Center will offer a critical mass of services in an environment meeting industrial standards... [PDF] TcLand's Press Release -

Polyplus-transfection, GMP-quality clinical batch of its nucleic acid transfer reagent

Strasbourg, February 1st, 2008 – Polyplus-transfection, a company specialized in the research, development and marketing of innovative reagents for transfection and RNA interference (RNAi), announced the production of the first batch of its transfection reagent in vivo-jetPEI manufactured in full compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). This GMP-compliant in vivo-jetPEI is required for clinical trials involving nucleic acids delivery (DNA and siRNA).
Polyplus-transfection carried out preliminary work to transfer production to GMP-compliance in 2007 thanks to financial support from the AFM, France’s Muscular Dystrophy Association. This has made it possible for a Phase II clinical trial to start in the field of cancer therapy this year using Polyplus’ GMP-compliant in vivo-jetPEI. Details of the clinical trial have not yet been disclosed... Polyplus-transfection's Press Release [PDF English version] - PDF Version Française-