There is no shortage of companies targeting the cholesterol-lowering universe with drug candidates and several novel approaches are being tested in the clinic designed to lower the levels of LDL cholesterol in patients. In less than a month the FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) will meet over the course of two days to render an opinion on two of these drugs. Both target the same indication – homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a rare and generally fatal disease, but each has a different mechanism of action. Read More
Visterra Inc. made a splash at this year's Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The company has developed an antibody, VIS410, that neutralizes a broad spectrum of influenza A strains in a preclinical animal model. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 12, 2012.) Read More
Most American consumers are optimistic about the potential benefits from advances in genetic testing, according to a national survey of U.S. adults conducted by UnitedHealth Group and Harris Interactive, the results of which are included in a report published by UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform & Modernization. About three-quarters of survey respondents agree that genetic tests help doctors diagnose preventable conditions and offer more personalized treatment options. Most consumers expect that five years from now the use of testing will have increased. Read More
