Narrow Results

Health Research at Monash University Boosted by Grants.

New Laser Research Facility in Australia.

Analysis of the Insulin Market in China.

GM Seed Piracy Widespread in Gujarat.

Tamil Nadu Decides to Build Bio-Fertilizers Bank.

Korean Shares of China’s Medical Industry.

Biotech Corn to Meet Domestic Demand.

China Takes Lead in Export of Traditional Medicines in the World.

Novo Nordisk’s Strategic Capture of China’s Insulin Market.

Intellectual Property Strategies in Security and Privacy.

Aspect Medical Systems and Brain Resource Company Partners in MCI Study.

Mesoblast and Cordis Collaborate on Adult Stem Cell Heart Trial.

Apollo Life Sciences Begins Sale of Human Cell-Expressed Proteins Globally.

Workhardt Introduces Hepatitis A Vaccine into Indian Market.

Transgene Biotek Develops Oral Delivery of Insulin and Hepatitis B Vaacine.

Japan's Bioventures Today - Peruseus Proteomics Inc.

AUSTRALIA – Mosquito Parasite Could Control Dengue

CHINA – China has Twice the Global Average of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

CHINA – 80 000 Antibiotics Abuse-related Deaths Annually

CHINA – Bird Flu Found in Chicken from China

CHINA – China on Alert following Bird Flu Death

CHINA – Chinese Dairies to Compensate Tainted Milk Victims' Families

CHINA – New Insulin Resistance Tricks Found

CHINA – World's First Plant Chromosome Atlas

CHINA – Project Launched to Study Structure of Proteins

CHINA – Fake Diabetes Drug Linked to Two Deaths

CHINA – Birth Defects Rising in Polluted China

INDIA – India Culls Poultry in Darjeeling After Bird Flu

INDIA – India Introduces Second-Line Anti-retroviral Treatment in Eight States

INDIA – Indian Medical Tourism to Reach US$1.9 billion by 2015

INDIA – Canadian and Indian Ministers Sign Pact on Agriculture Cooperation

INDIA – 6000 year-old Rice Species Discovered in Meghalaya

INDIA – Genetics to Help Conserve Rare Bird Species

JAPAN – Coating the Protein Enhances Disease-fighting Capability

JAPAN – Scientists Isolate Genes that Made 1918 Flu Lethal

JAPAN – Researchers in Japan Develop All-round Flu Vaccine

PHILIPPINES – Ebola Reston Virus Found in Filipino Farm Worker

SINGAPORE – New Method to Create iPS Cells

SINGAPORE – Ray of Hope for Liver Cancer Sufferers

SINGAPORE – Bacteria Improve Energy and Cost Efficiency in Water Treatment

TAIWAN – Secrets of “Speciation” Gene Unravelled

TAIWAN – Initial Breakthrough in Poultry Vaccine Development

TAIWAN – Taiwan Gains Direct Access to WHO

VIETNAM – Doctors Report First Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome

VIETNAM – Public Advised Serious Caution Against Bird Flu

NORTH AMERICA – Kids of Pregnant Drinking Mums will Like Booze

NORTH AMERICA – High Functional Diversity in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Driven By Genetic Drift And Human Demography

NORTH AMERICA – Newly Discovered Tuberculosis Protein May Help Explain Bacterium's Resilience

NORTH AMERICA – U.S. Patent For Diagnostic Technology Awarded To URMC, Lighthouse Biosciences

EUROPE – Structure Mediating Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Discovered

EUROPE – New EU Pesticide Regulations Could Undermine Battle against Malaria

EUROPE – iPill – The Smart Drug Delivery that can “Call” the Doctor

EUROPE – What Drives Locusts to Swarm

Novation, Cancer Therapeutics to Jointly Develop Cancer Therapies.

Mesoblast Announces Positive Results in Bone Marrow Transplant Trial.

Mingyuan Medicare Announces Collaboration on Major Infectious Diseases Detecting Platform.

DHL Launches first Life Science & Healthcare Competence Centre in Shanghai.

Abraxis Bioscience Launches ABRAXANE for Metastatic Breast Cancer.

GSK Enters Flu-Vax JV in China.

Biocon Launches Long Lasting Basal Insulin for Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetics.

Kemwell to build Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility in India in Collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany.

Hemispherx, Biken Expands Production Capacity for Swine Flu Vaccines.

D-SIMLAB Awarded S$500,000 Grant under SPRING Singapore's Technology.

GlaxoSmithKline Opens $600million Vaccine Plant.

Agilent Technologies Opens New Life Sciences Manufacturing Facility in Singapore.

Six Doctors Receive Clinician Scientist Awards.

AUSTRALIA – Silk Microchip for Rapid Medical Testing.

AUSTRALIA – New Insulin that Won't Need Cooling -a Boon for Diabetics.

AUSTRALIA – Scientists Developing Synthetic Skin.

AUSTRALIA – Australian Scientists' Lung Breakthrough.

AUSTRALIA – Aussie Scientists Find the 'Lazy' Eye Gene.

AUSTRALIA – Researchers Probe New Malaria Treatment.

AUSTRALIA – Cancer Treatment Pioneered in Melbourne being Hailed as a Global Lifesaver.

CHINA – Plastic Surgery Increasingly Popular Among Seniors.

CHINA – Scientists Develop New Nanotech Approach.

INDIA – India to Promote Biotech R&D Activities in NE States.

INDIA – India to Set Up Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research.

INDIA – Rare Ear Surgery Performed on Dubai Boy.

INDIA – Global Biotech Firms Seek Partnerships in India for Bigger Gains.

SINGAPORE – GSK, EDB to Fund S$50 mn to Support Manufacturing in Singapore.

SINGAPORE – A*STAR, UK Unite to Fight Infectious Disease.

SINGAPORE – New Treatment Option for Women Who Suffer from Incontinence.

THAILAND – Thailand Builds Capabilities in Nanotech Research.

OTHER REGIONS — NORTH AMERICA – Scientists Predict Lifespan.

OTHER REGIONS — NEW ZEALAND – Orthopedic Implants Made from Shell.

Phylogica Commences Antimicrobial Peptide Discovery under Agreement with MedImmune.

Leadtec Systems Australia to Acquire Mimotopes.

Sirnaomics Seals Deal for Development of RNAi Therapeutics in China.

Simcere and Bristol-Myers Squibb Enter Innovative Partnership to Develop Early-Stage Oncology Compound.

Pfizer, Biocon in $350 Million Insulin Pact.

Bharat Biotech Announces Launch of 'HNVAC™' India's First Cell-Culture H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine.

Cipla Launches the World's First Generic Pirfenidone in India, Giving Hope to Sufferers of IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis).

Eisai and FORMA Therapeutics Enter into Broad Drug Discovery Collaboration.

Philips and Atom Medical Corporation Announce Strategic Alliance to Provide a Complete Neonatal and Perinatal Offering.

CiRA and France-based Cellectis Enter Collaboration.

Immunovaccine Signs Research Agreement with OncoTherapy Science to Advance Potential Cancer Vaccine.

Glycos Biotechnologies Enters Definitive Agreement with Malaysian Bio-XCell.

Biocon Plans to Invest $161m in Malaysia to Set Up R&D Unit.

Coin-sized Micro-needles Patch to deliver Insulin: An innovation by Shanghai University Scientists

Stem Cells Help Researchers Study The Effects of Pollution on Human Health

A Novel and Robust Muscle Activity Onset Detection Technique by Using an Unsupervised Electromyogram Learning Framework

Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals were close bedfellows

FANCD2 and REV1 Cooperate in the Protection of Nascent DNA Strands in Response to Replication Stress

Spiders' Foraging Strategies Have Cascading Effects on Litter Decomposition Rates

Yingli Announces Sale of 18.8 MW Solar Power Plant in the UK to NextEnergy Solar Fund

China's Award Winning Desertification Control in Kubiqi Desert

Earthquake Early Warning System for Nepal

Mechanical Coupling Mechanism of a Mechanical Force-sensing Channel Protein Discovered by IBP Scientists

Jiahui International Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital to Co-Develop Women's Health Center of Excellence in Shanghai

Big Grain1: The ‘Mr. BIG’ for Crops to Grow Bigger by Regulating Auxin Transport in Rice

When there is no Queen in the house, Asian Hive Bees Avoid Risky Foraging for Reproduction

UNICEF HK joins hands with Government to help Mothers sustain Breastfeeding

Fresenius Medical Care Springs into Action after Deadly Tianjin Explosion

SINGAPORE – A*STAR Scientists Reveal How Stem Cells Defend Against Viruses: New Insights to the Mechanisms bring Broad Implications to Stem Cell Therapy and Disease Diagnosis

SINGAPORE – Singtel - Singapore Cancer Society Race against Cancer 2015

SINGAPORE – NCCS and IMCB to Collaborate on Research for New Treatments to Benefit Cancer Patients

SINGAPORE – MerLion’s Finafloxacin Shown to be More Efficacious than Ciprofloxacin in the Treatment of Complicated Urinary Tract Infections

TAIWAN AND UNITED STATES – Professor Yuk-ling Yung Receives Gerard P. Kuiper Prize

SWEDEN – New Data Confirm Tresiba^® U200 Delivers Significantly Lower Rates of Confirmed Hypoglycaemia versus Insulin Glargine U100

UNITED KINGDOM – Using Ultrasound to Clean Medical Instruments

THE NETHERLANDS & UNITED STATES – Philips and Dutch Radboud University Medical Centre Introduce First Diabetes Prototype App with Integrated Online Community to Empower Patients and Enhance Continuity of Care

UNITED STATES – New Clinical Architecture Content Cloud Establishes Reliable Single Source for Terminology Updates, Makes It Easier to Keep Healthcare Systems Up-to-Date

UNITED STATES – Genomic Analysis for All Cancer Patients

UNITED STATES – Birds That Eat at Feeders Are More Likely to Get Sick, Spread Disease, International Research Team Says

Understanding Diabetes

Prediabetes: The Gap between the Onset of Disease and Initiation of Treatment.

Diabetes: A Dietitian’s Perspective.

Use of Modelling for Better Diabetes Care.

No More Highs and Lows with Toujeo®: A New and Improved Insulin Injection.

ATOZET® a New Combination Treatment Option for High-Risk Patients to Lower LDL Cholesterol, is Now Approved in Singapore.

ASEAN+ Rare Disease Network Established.

Luye Medical Joins Forces with OncoCare To Expand Its Integrated Healthcare Services Platform for Their Patients.

NUS Pharmacy Team Develops Online “Calculator” to Predict Risk of Early Hospital Readmission.

The Bare Essentials: Ensuring Affordable Access to Insulin.

AstraZeneca’s CVD-REAL Study Shows SGLT-2 Inhibitors Significantly Reduced Death and Hospitalisations for Heart Failure Versus Other Type-2 Diabetes Medicines.

SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences English Edition Publishes Domestic Type 2 Diabetes Research Findings.

Omega-3 Therapy May Help Reverse Type 1 Diabetes.

New Plastic-Eating Fungus May Solve Garbage Problem.

Chinese Researchers Reveal How Cells Prevent Viral Invasion.

Scientists Unlock TCM Drug’s Role in Weight Loss.

Medical Reforms in Beijing.

East China’s Anhui Province Innovates Advanced Technology.

DeltaHealth and Harvard Global Health Institute Hold Symposium.

HONG KONG News – HKSTP Welcomes Maz World to Hong Kong’s Vibrant Ecosystem to Commercialise Revolutionary Ostrich Antibody Technology from Japan

Mab-Venture Biopharma & Thermo Fisher Establish Asia Pacific’s First “SmartFactory” for Antibody Drugs.

Venus Medtech’s TAVR Device Is Approved By CFDA, Creating A New Era of Interventional Cardiology in China.

Key Diabetes Receptor Structure Determined by International Collaboration.

China Sets Up National Lab Developing Brain-Like AI Technology.

Chinese Scientists Realize On-site Drug Detection.

Scientists Map Single-Copy HIV-1 Provirus Loci in Human Chromosomes in Live Host Cells.

Gene Variant Explains Differences in Blood Fatty Acid Levels.

Scientists Illustrate How Host Cell Responds to Zika Virus Infection.

Hong Kong News – Uni-Bio Science Launches Best-in-Class Oral Anti-Diabetic Drug Mitiglinide Branded “博康泰^®”(Bokangtai).

Keep the weight off, keep diabetes at bay

Tackling obesity in ASEAN

Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome characterized by hyperglycemia and long-term specific complications: retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and cardiomyopathy. Automatic neuropathy leads to visceral denervation producing a variety of clinical abnormalities: cardiac and respiratory dysrythaemias, gastrointestinal motility disorders, urinary bladder dysfunction and impotence. Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of blindness; renal failure and limb amputation all over the world. The need to detect diabetic risk factors and treat organ disorders and complications associated with diabetes provides the impetus for us to develop the technology for assessment of diabetes, its etiology and severity, as well as for assessing the efficacy of pharmacological therapy.

This paper concerns:

(i) modelling of blood-glucose regulation and tolerance-testing,

(ii) demonstrating patient-simulation of the blood-glucose regulatory models, by means of which the model parameters can be evaluated and related to physiological parameters, and

(iii) elucidating how the glucose-regulatory system model's pole-zero representation and the blood glucose-insulin transfer-function can explain the blood glucose response data in intravenous and oral glucose tolerance tests.

An easy-to-implement simple clinical-application method is developed to simulate the response of the blood-glucose regulatory model in diabetic patients during intravenous glucose tolerance test and to estimate the model parameters, which can then enable differential diagnosis of diabetes and its severity as well as in early detection of risk-to-diabetes.

In the oral glucose-tolerance test, the role of the gut is to facilitate transport of glucose across the intestinal wall. The Michaelis-Menten equation, describing this enzyme-catalyzed reaction rate, can be employed to conclude that the intestinal glucose absorption rate into the blood-compartment from the gut during the oral glucose-tolerance test is constant, almost resembling a rectangular pulse Nevertheless, we have formulated a new rate-control model to simulate the oral glucose-tolerance test data, by means of the response-function of a second-order system of a single-compartment (consisting of the gut and the blood-glucose pool), with the oral glucose-bolus as the impulse-input.

We have also demonstrated application of this rate-control model to patients undergoing oral glucose-tolerance test, to evaluate the model parameters. By categorizing the ranges of these parameters for normals and diabetics (varying from mild to severe), we can reliably apply this model and procedure clinically.

Soluble microneedles (MNs) have recently become an efficient and minimally invasive tool in transdermal drug delivery because of their excellent biocompatibility and rapid dissolution. However, direct monitoring of structural and functional changes of MNs in vivo to estimate the efficiency of insulin delivery is difficult. We monitored the dissolution of MNs to obtain structural imaging of MNs’ changes by using optical coherence tomography (OCT). We also observed the effect of MNs on microvascular conditions with laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and measured the blood perfusion of skin to obtain functional imaging of MNs. We determined the performance of two soluble MN arrays made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylpyrolidone (PVA/PVP) by calculating the cross-sectional areas of the microchannels in mouse skin as a function of time. Moreover, the change in blood glucose before and after using MNs loaded with insulin was evaluated as an auxiliary means to demonstrate the ability of the soluble MNs to deliver insulin. Results showed that the structural imaging of these MNs could be observed in vivo via OCT in real time and the functional imaging of MNs could be showed using LSCI. OCT and LSCI are potential tools in monitoring MNs structural and functional changes.

This study investigates in vitro the protein drug delivery characteristics of new thermal sensitive gels, poloxamer (P)–chitosan (CS)/hyaluronic acid (HA) gels (P–CS/HA), in which a CS solution is interacting with various concentrations of HA that interpenetrates P gels. The polyion complexation occurs between CS and HA that can protect drugs from proteolysis. The results indicate that the swelling ratios of all P–CS/HA gels are markedly superior to those of nonswelling P and P–CS gels. For example, P–CS/HA (0.5% (w/w)) gels have swelling ratios of 48.3 ± 2.7% (w/w), which are maintained for approximately 0.5 h in water at 37°C. In vitro releases of insulin from P–CS/HA (0.5% (w/w)) gels had significantly lowered initial burst release (P < 0.01) and lasted much longer than those from gels without a CS network. The duration of insulin release was in a significantly sustained manner for up to 3.5 h, which was about two times or longer than the period of delivery using P or P–CS gels.

In vivo evaluation of drug properties becomes a crucial in the drug development. Near infrared techniques contributed considerably to the development of protein polypeptide drugs by performing non-invasive in vivo real time measurements on experimental subjects. In this study, a NIR monitoring system comprised of NIR spectroscopy and imaging system for in vivo real time monitoring of the dynamic of protein polypeptide drugs on mouse models was designed. Insulin acted as polypeptide drug model was covalently labeled with NIR fluorescence probe cypate (Ex = 780nm, Em = 830nm). The labeling route was optimized with different factors to obtain the maximum labeling efficiency, which was evaluated by RP-HPLC. The labeling result show that the labeling efficiency was approximated to 95%. Pharmacodynamics study showed that insulin labeled with cypate did not affect its function of hypoglycemic. The half-time of insulin — cypate complex at arteria cruralis blood was 17min, and the dynamic distribution in mouse model indicated that the labeled insulin firstly accumulated in liver and clearance from the enteron system. The NIR monitoring system combined with NIR probe showed a promising way for in vivo monitoring the dynamics of protein polypeptide drugs in small animals.