Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced that it has been awarded a European patent for a novel device and methods for linking biological agents to labels for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The technology, which is known as In-Line labeling, was developed for the production of radiolabeled anti-cancer antibodies, but is applicable to other agents as well. A study published today in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine confirms that In-Line labeling can dramatically reduce the complexity and cost of producing radiolabeled cancer drugs(1). In-Line labeling is already being used for the production of Peregrine"s radiolabeled antibody Cotara(R), currently in Phase II trials for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer.
An MS Society-funded study has highlighted the impact that MS has on partners" lives and demonstrates the need for support and services for partners of people with MS. A study recently published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis has concluded that partners of people in the early stages of MS report feeling isolated and helpless. The study involved conducting telephone interviews with 15 people whose partners were recently diagnosed with MS and asking them a series of
broad open-ended questions such as "Can you start by telling me all about what you thought and felt when your partner was first diagnosed with MS?" The interviews covered aspects of participants" lives that ranged from feelings when their partner was first diagnosed to the impact of MS on various aspects of their lives and also with how they cope with these challenges. 
UQ"s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) will host a workshop tomorrow Tuesday July 14 for clinicians and scientists seeking to better understand the syndromes associated with a brain development condition made famous in the movie Rain Man. The workshop will feature some of the world"s leading experts in development of the corpus callosum - the largest fibre tract in the brain, which connects neurons in the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Malformation and absence
(agenesis) of the corpus callosum are rare developmental disorders that result in a wide spectrum of symptoms, ranging from severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism to relatively mild learning problems. The Hollywood screenplay Rain Man was inspired by the very real abilities of an American man, Kim Peek, whose brain lacks a corpus callosum. 
NovImmune, an immunology-focused biotech company dedicated to the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced the successful completion of the first phase I clinical study with its fully human monoclonal antibody NI-0801 targeting the chemokine IP-10 (CXCL10) in healthy volunteers. The randomized, doubleblinded, placebo controlled, single centre, phase I study of escalating single intravenous doses of NI-0801 in healthy volunteers (study NI-0801-01) demonstrated
that NI-0801 is well tolerated at doses up to and including 20mg/kg. Chemokines are a group of low molecular weight proteins that induce the chemotaxis of different leukocytes to sites of injury or infection. IP-10 is constitutively expressed at low levels in thymic, splenic and lymph node stroma tissues, but its expression can be induced on a variety of cell types including endothelial cells, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, monocytes and neutrophils. IP-10 not only mediates leukocyte recruitment, but also drives
T-cell proliferation upon antigenic stimulation.
Studies have reported an increasing incidence of thyroid cancer since 1980. One possible explanation for this trend is increased detection through more widespread and aggressive use of screening tests. Researchers at the American Cancer Society analyzed thyroid cancer incidence between 1988 and 2005 using the National Cancer Institute"s (NCI"s) Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) dataset. They found incidence rates increased for all sizes of tumors,
suggesting that screening is not the only explanation for the rise. The highest rate of increase was for primary tumors smaller than 1.0 cm, which rose nearly 10 percent per year among men from 1997 and 2005, and nearly 9 percent/year from 1988 to 2005 among women. Incidence of tumors 4 cm or larger increased more than 3.5 percent per year from 1988 to 2005 among men and 5.7 percent per year from 1988 to 2005 among women.