2009 Octubre

According to a new study now available online, and to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Critical Care, bedside testing for a blood biomarker called neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin (NGAL) in patients being admitted to the intensive care unit can help to identify patients at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI). The study tested blood samples collected during the first 2 hours of ICU admission using the Triage® NGAL Test, a product trustedtablets currently sold by Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (NYSE IMA) outside of the United States.

Many patients admitted to the ICU will suffer from acute kidney injury, some of whom will ultimately lose kidney function entirely and develop the need for renal replacement therapy (dialysis). When this occurs mortality rates are extremely high. Today, by the time that AKI has been detected by standard clinical measures, a substantial portion of renal function may already have been lost and interventions may not have much effect on the patients outcome.

However the study suggests that a rapid test for NGAL could allow clinicians to rapidly assess if a critically ill patient is suffering from AKI perhaps in time to make meaningful interventions.

In this study, researchers at the University Hospital of ClermontFerrand, France, found that critically ill patients being admitted to the ICU with an elevated blood NGAL level were very likely to suffer from AKI. Using a cutoff level of 150ng/mL for blood NGAL, the sensitivity and specificity to predict AKI were 82% and 97%, respectively.

Measuring blood NGAL with a simple beside test allows for immediate results and early identification of AKI which was only realized by traditional clinical markers of AKI 48 hours after the NGAL increase, according to this study.

“A bedside blood test like this could be tremendously important for critically ill patients. So far therapeutic interventions for patients with AKI have been relatively unsuccessful. This is likely because they are applied late once kidney function is already lost. Knowing which patients are in trouble in advance may allow clinicians to choose therapies that will minimize further harm to the kidneys and may allow for the study of new therapeutic interventions. If further studies confirm our hypothesis, this bedside blood test could become the corner stone of a new therapeutic age,” said Dr. JeanMichel Constantin of the University Hospital of ClermontFerrand.

Considering the US, EU and Australia/New Zealand alone, Inverness estimates that in 2008 approximately 2.4 million patients at high risk of AKI were admitted to ICUs. Subject to confirmation through future trials, Inverness also expects the Triage NGAL Test to offer similar diagnostic benefits in hospital emergency rooms.

Inverness supplied the Triage NGAL Tests used in the study at no charge, but did not otherwise fund or sponsor the study.

About Inverness Medical Innovations

By developing new capabilities in nearpatient diagnosis, monitoring and health management, Inverness Medical Innovations enables individuals to take charge of improving their health and quality of life. Inverness global leading products and services, as well as its new product development efforts, focus on infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, drugs of abuse and womens health. Inverness is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Cautionary Note Regarding ForwardLooking Statements

This press release contains forwardlooking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the expected benefits, and the potential market for, the Triage NGAL Test. These statements reflect Inverness current views with respect to future events and are based on managements current assumptions and information currently available. Actual results may differ materially due to numerous factors, including without limitation, the potential market acceptance of the Triage NGAL Test or other NGAL tests; the ability of Inverness to successfully develop and commercialize such products; the impact of regulatory changes or developments; the development and commercialization by others of competing products or alternative technologies; the ability of Inverness to supply sufficient quantities of the product; conditions in the financial markets; the intensely competitive environment in Inverness markets it products, and the risks and uncertainties described in Inverness annual report on Form 10K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2008, and other factors identified from time to time in its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Inverness undertakes no obligation to update any forwardlooking statements contained herein.

Googles venture capital group is investing millions into Adimab, a biotech company that will construct a massive library of antibodies, some of which may yield powerful new drugs, the New York Times blog Bits reports. A Google Ventures executive said the company invests in “a variety of fields that dont necessarily directly correlate with Google products or services,” but acknowledged that because “heavyduty computation” is now a key part of biotech development, Google may collaborate with Adimab (Pollack, 10/1).

The executive also told Dow Jones VentureWire/Wall Street Journal, “Google Ventures has a pretty broad mandate.” VentureWire reports “The firm, which invests for financial return, is considering opportunities in biotech, genomics, diagnostics and health careIT, including the field of electronic medical records” (Gormley, 10/1).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

For men with type 2 diabetes, a cell type linked to allergic inflammation is closely linked to a key indicator of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), suggests a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). “Allergy is a common disease that is increasing worldwide, so our findings may have important implications for diabetic nephropathy,” comments Michiaki Fukui, MD (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan).

The researchers compared the eosinophil count with albumin excretion rate in nearly 800 patients with type 2 diabetes. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that contributes to inflammation in allergic diseases. The albumin excretion rate is a key indicator of kidney disease, one of the major complications of diabetes.

In men, a higher number of eosinophils in the blood correlates with higher urinealbumin a critical early sign of diabetic kidney disease. Surprisingly, the link between eosinophil count and albumin excretion rate was even stronger than for known risk factors like high blood pressure and poor diabetes control. The eosinophil count was unrelated to albumin excretion in diabetic women.

Previous studies have suggested that patients with asthma and other allergic diseases are at increased risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the main cause of death in diabetics, and nephropathy is a major risk factor for heart disease. If the results are confirmed by future studies, then the eosinophil count might help in estimating the risk of diabetesrelated kidney and heart disease in men.

Some of the antiinflammatory treatments used by patients with allergies can lower the eosinophil count, and its possible that these treatments could also benefit male patients with diabetes, Fukui believes. He adds, “The intriguing concept of a role for eosinophils in diabetic nephropathy holds great promise for the development of new preventive measures involving antiallergic agents.”

The study cant prove any causeandeffect relationship between eosinophil count and albumin excretion rate. More research will be needed to determine why the relationship was found only in men, and whether a similar link is also present in patients without diabetes.

The authors reported no financial disclosures. Other authors were Muhei Tanaka, Masahide Hamaguchi, Takafumi Senmaru, Kazumi Sakabe, Emi Shiraishi, Ichiko Harusato, Masahiro Yamazaki, Goji Hasegawa, all of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

The study entitled, “Eosinophil Count Is Positively Correlated with Albumin Excretion Rate in Men with Type 2 Diabetes,” appeared online at cjasn.asnjournals.org/ on Thursday, October 1, 2009, doi 10.2215/CJN.03330509.

Source
Shari Leventhal

U.S. Food Aid Declines, Despite TwoYear 53% Funding Increase

Although U.S. food aid funding has increased by 53 percent over the last two years, a Government Accountability Office report on Wednesday said that during the same time period, the “amount of food delivered to address emergencies abroad fell 5 percent,” the Washington Independent reports. “GAO is citing as a culprit a U.S. law requiring that almost all international food aid be grown domestically a boon to American agribusiness rather than purchased closer to the disaster, an approach known as local and regional procurement,” according to the publication (Lillis, 9/30).

World Bank Grants Zimbabwe $74M For Agriculture; Farmers Union Warns Of Grain Deficit

The World Bank on Wednesday said it plans to give Zimbabwe a $74 million grant to revive the countrys agriculture sector, Agence FrancePresse reports. David Rohrbach, a senior agricultural economist at the World Bank, said, “We are dealing directly with NGOs. We are following suit with what other donors have done to help Zimbabwe. We are not yet at a stage to deal with government directly but we consult them” (9/30).

In related news, “Zimbabwes farmers unions on Wednesday warned the country could face another grain deficit in the next season due to poor preparations and lack of funding, despite government projections of the biggest harvest yet,” Reuters reports. The article examines the countrys challenges in agriculture (Banya, 9/30).

Washington Times Examines U.S.Backed ITN Network

The Washington Times examines Netmark, a U.S.backed project, which “over the past decade … has sold 50 million insecticidetreated mosquito nets in African countries plagued by malaria” (Franchineau, 10/1).

Guardian Examines How To Decrease Maternal Mortality

The Guardian examines a recent Lancet study, which found that the “lives of a third of the women who die in childbirth could be saved if a cheap and common drug to prevent haemorrhage, together with antibiotics, were readily available in their villages” (Boseley, 10/1).

Japanese Drug Co. Joins Effort To Fight Chagas Disease

The Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Inc. on Tuesday announced it would partner with the nonprofit organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative in an effort to develop new treatments for Chagas disease, “a tropical parasitic disease that threatens 100 m[illion] people in the Caribbean and Latin America,” the Financial Times reports. “European and increasingly US companies have become involved in partnerships with nonprofit groups for an increasing range of drugs and vaccines, including for malaria and tuberculosis,” the newspaper writes, adding, Eisai represents one of the first Japanese groups to join this effort (Jack, 9/29).

Vancouver Sun Examines Work Of NGO In Congo

The Vancouver Sun examines the success of a small nongovernmental organization (NGO) called HEAL Africa that delivers holistic care to the people of Congo “with Congolese staff drawn from every local tribe.” Though the “$7millionayear NGO” run by a Congolese doctor and his wife “is small by world standards,” it has gained attention for its work with local doctors and outreach to victims of rape, the newspaper writes. The NGO is supported, in part, by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Clinton Foundation (Cayo, 9/30).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Academy wants to hear from managed care pharmacy organizations that provide student pharmacists with experiential education. New accreditation standards for colleges and schools of pharmacy include requirements to provide Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE). To assist experiential education directors at schools and colleges place student pharmacists, the AMCP Schools of Pharmacy Relations Committee is compiling a directory of managed care pharmacy APPE and IPPE sites.

The final year of the professional program is comprised of APPEs. These are the traditional rotations that AMCP members may recall from pharmacy school. IPPEs came about when the schools and colleges of pharmacy accreditation standards were last revised. IPPEs begin early in the curriculum and prepare student pharmacists for the APPEs. The new accreditation standard requires 300 hours of IPPEs with the majority of the hours in patient care settings (primarily hospitals and community pharmacies). However, there is an option for a small amount of elective IPPE hours that would include managed care pharmacy.