US unemployment rises to its highest level since the 1930s as coronavirus devastates the economy.

Michael Rubin is applauding Chris Pratt and David Blaine for going above and beyond with the All In Challenge, and says it's beautiful to see celebs commit their time to the cause. The Philadelphia 76ers partner, and creator of the Challenge,…

As we close out 2019 and focus our attention to the forecasts of 2020, here is a sneak peek into what's IT leaders have on their roadmaps for 2020.

Keep on reading: 5 strategic priorities for CIOs in 2020

ZOLL Medical, a part of the Asahi Kasei Group, won EU clearance for its SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO2) Therapy System to be used to minimize the damage that heart attacks cause within heart muscle. Approved about a year ago in the United States, SSO2 is the only option beyond percutaneous coronary intervention (stenting) that can help […]

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many healthcare facilities around the world are inundated with critically ill patients, and resources such as equipment and staff are stretched thin. Shortages of critical equipment, such as ventilators, can mean the difference between life and death for patients, and the need to keep critically ill patients comfortable and alive […]

Exhibitors and attendees can now register for the show which is taking place in Shanghai from 14th to 16th September 2020.

May 8, 2020 (WASHINGTON) – Today, several House committee and subcommittee chairs sent a letter to the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health & Human Services (HHS) regarding recent news reports alleging that the Trump Administration is considering implementing policies that could unnecessarily delay migrant children in HHS care from being reunified with their sponsors.  The chairs again urge the Administration to rescind a Memorandum of Agreement requiring information about sponsors for migrant children be shared by HHS with DHS.  A group of House chairs previously wrote the Administration on this issue last July.  Despite current law, Congressional directives, and the current COVID-19 epidemic, the Administration continues policies that will lengthen the time migrant children spend in HHS care, thus keeping these children in congregate settings and therefore at heightened risk for exposure to COVID-19.  There have been 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among children in HHS care. The letter, led by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has also been signed by: Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee; Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the Judiciary Committee Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee; and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Link to letter Letter text: We write with deep concern over recent reporting alleging that Administration officials are considering implementing policies that could unnecessarily delay the reunification of unaccompanied minors in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with their sponsors.  These concerns are heightened by the current COVID-19 epidemic, which poses significant risks for all individuals held in congregate settings. We are particularly wary of expanded information sharing under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between your Departments. As we wrote last summer, we continue to have strong concerns that the MOA, which has been used in the past to deport a child’s family and loved ones, will have a chilling effect on reunifications by forcing migrant families to choose between sponsoring children and risking arrest. The effect of that policy undermines the best interests of children in HHS care. This is particularly dangerous given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has already resulted in 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among children in ORR care, including 38 children within just one facility in Illinois. HHS previously fingerprinted all adults in a sponsor’s household for a period of about six months in 2018. However, according to HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson, HHS found that the extra screening did not add to the protection or safety of the children.   In addition, the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the MOA resulted in children spending a significantly increased length of time in HHS care, reaching an average length of stay of 93 days in November 2018. The OIG found that the length of stay declined as HHS reduced fingerprinting requirements.  The Administration must not revisit a policy that has been found to be detrimental to the interests of the children in its care. We find it extremely troubling that both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and HHS are reportedly considering ignoring Congressional directives and reimplementing policies that are expected to delay the placement of children in HHS care with sponsors.  The law has been clear – the Administration is not to deter potential sponsors from coming forward by using information shared under the MOA for deportation purposes, except in very limited, specified circumstances.  Yet DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated the law and utilized the information collected from adults deemed ineligible for sponsorship for deportation purposes.  ICE’s continued use of data collected by HHS for the placement of children in safe homes also represents a violation of the law. In addition, Congress directed HHS in the Fiscal Year 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act not to reverse operational directives from 2018 and 2019 that reduced the length of time children spent in HHS care. Congress also directed HHS to “continue to work on efforts to reduce time in care and to consider additional policy changes that can be made to release children to suitable sponsors as safely and expeditiously as possible.”  We urge you to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children in your care and rescind the MOA. In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, this should also include taking all reasonable measures to release children in your care to sponsors as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance for your consideration of these requests. #  #  #

Kura Oncology is discontinuing development of one of its three clinical-stage cancer drug candidates amid pandemic-related impacts to its clinical trial plans. The decision to end work on the drug, KO-947, comes after San Diego-based Kura (NASDAQ: KURA) was successful in lifting a partial clinical hold placed on a Phase 1 trial of the drug […]

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies have shown remarkable efficacy in leukemia and lymphoma patients who relapsed or were refractory to several prior treatments, but many challenges remain in the cancer cell therapy field. Strategies that may improve upon first-generation therapies were presented during the American Association for Cancer Research virtual meeting with encouraging early activity, […]

Learn how digital tech is accelerating medical breakthroughs by registering your team to attend Xcelerating Life Sciences Boston: Biopharma’s Future in Digital Health. While some content focuses on the Boston ecosystem, we’re confident the forum – and virtual networking – will be valuable to a national audience. The May 13, 2020 event will explore the […]

Data science firm Genomics Plc, which lays claim to “the world’s largest genomic database”, has welcomed Mitchell Harris to the company and its senior leadership team as its Chief Strategy Officer.

Joining from his previous role as Global Head, Emerging Business Lines at Abcam, Harris’ career has given him ample experience in commercial strategy and operations. Prior to his most recent role at Abcam, he acted as the company’s Head of Proteins Portfolio Commercial and Business Development.

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Lumos Pharma, Inc. has promoted Dr John McKew to the position of Chief Operating Officer effective 1 April 2020.

McKew is already Chief Scientific Officer and he will do both roles simultaneously. With his new role, he will lead Lumos’s clinical development plan as the company looks toward adding additional assets to its pipeline.

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A discussion of administrative decisions hospitals are making during the COVID-19 pandemic, including cutting benefits for employees and furloughing staff.

The post Hospital Administration and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Part II) appeared first on Bill of Health.

The partnership will focus on generating novel small-molecule inhibitors against specific DUB targets for treatment of a range of diseases.

Led by Medable, the multi-company effort is geared toward ramping up development of treatments, diagnostics and other solutions for the pandemic-causing virus.

Antigen-based assays could be used in the home, but critics say their error rates are still an issue

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

The 100th anniversary of astronomy’s “Great Debate” prompts thoughts on the hunt for life in the universe

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has elected John Ratliff, CEO of Covance Drug...

On July 17, 2019, under cooperative agreement with the FDA, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy (Duke Margolis) held a public workshop. The event, titled Improving the Implementation of Risk-Based Monitoring Approaches of Clinical Investigations, aimed to identify opportunities to improve Risk Based Monitoring (RBM) implementation and solicit stakeholder input on the challenges, barriers, and enablers that impact the successful adoption of RBM.

Developing, executing and overseeing clinical trials is a complex process. Yet it is essential to gain reliable evidence from clinical trials to...

Big drugs companies have long favoured outsourcing clinical trials to poor countries with lax regulations to cut costs and maximise profit

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Last week, in Oxford, the first volunteers in the first European human trial were injected with a potential coronavirus vaccine. At the same time, Pakistan’s National Institute of Health received an offer from the Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm International Corp to take part in a trial of another potential coronavirus vaccine.

Related: Africa's Covid-19 research must be tailored to its realities – by its own scientists | Monique Wasunna

In India, many poor people were recruited to HIV trials without knowing that they were taking part in experiments

Firm’s recent success could have been very different had it been bought out by Pfizer in 2014

It’s perhaps not surprising that the worth of healthcare companies should emerge during a global pandemic, but we should offer thanks for the UK’s big pharma twins – AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

The former, with its share price at all-time high, is now jostling with Shell and Unilever for the title of biggest company in the FTSE 100 index. Successful research bets, especially on cancer drugs, have transformed Astra.

NICE has recommended Janssen’s Stelara (ustekinumab) for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC), a move which rows back on the Institute’s decision to reject the drug last year.

"Every professional faces challenges. As a woman in industry, particularly in leadership, it adds another dimension to those challenges in how you present yourself."

Ousted Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Dr Rick Bright, alleges the Trump administration ignored warnings about the severity of the coronavirus.

Gilead Sciences has captured worldwide attention with its COVID-19 antiviral, remdesivir, cleared late last week by the FDA—not all of it welcome. With bad actors targeting companies at the head of the spear in the pandemic response, Gilead may have found itself in their sights.

The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Mexico's best-known border city, Tijuana, has soared and the COVID-19 mortality rate is twice the national average, the health ministry says, after medical staff quickly fell ill as the outbreak rampaged through hospital wards.

Michael Haynes, a practicing minister, and David Jett, both of Las Vegas, were sentenced to 37 months in prison and five years probation, respectively, by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hunt in Las Vegas. Haynes and Jett were also ordered to pay restitution of $834,000 and $150,000, respectively, to the U.S. Treasury.

The United States has sued a Sacramento, Calif., tax preparer, Chris Elmer, his firm – Associated Tax Planners Inc. (ATP) – and several members of his family associated with ATP, seeking to bar them all permanently from the tax-preparation business. The civil injunction suit was filed in Sacramento with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

AT&T Technical Services Corp. (AT&T-TSCO) has agreed to pay $8,266,414.33 as part of a civil settlement relating to allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communication Commission's E-Rate program.

The United States has filed a complaint against Louisiana Generating alleging that the company violated the Clean Air Act by operating the Big Cajun 2 Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant in New Roads, La., without also installing and operating modern pollution control equipment after the generating units had undergone major modifications.

U. S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced the Japanese corporation Hiong Guan Navegacion Japan Co. Ltd., that operates the commercial cargo ship M/V Balsa-62, to three years probation and $1.75 million in penalties for conspiring to falsify and falsifying environmental compliance records.

The Department announced today that it has reached a settlement that, if approved by the court, will resolve a lawsuit filed by the Department against the Administrative Office of the Courts of the State of North Carolina and the Honorable Jerry Braswell, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for North Carolina Judicial District 8-B, in his official capacity.

A complaint was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against a New York pharmaceutical company for alleged False Claims Act violations arising from the company’s marketing the drugs Celexa and Lexapro for unapproved pediatric use and for paying kickbacks to induce physicians to prescribe the drugs.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint in a qui tam suit accusing EMC Corp. of failing to disclose its commercial pricing practices during negotiation of its General Services Administration (GSA) contracts and of providing improper payments and other things of value to Systems Integrators and other Alliance Partners on contracts with government agencies.

Two citizens of the United Kingdom have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in the United States for their alleged participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.

The 60th felony conviction from Operation Fastlink, a major Department of Justice initiative to combat online piracy worldwide. Bryan Thomas Black, 30, of Waterloo, Ill., pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal infringement of a copyright for his involvement in a multinational software piracy organization that was targeted by investigators as part of “Operation Fastlink,” an internationally coordinated 18-month investigation.

A securities attorney was charged in an indictment unsealed today with participating in a stock registration evasion scheme involving nine different publicly traded companies and with defrauding investors in a manipulation scheme related to three of the companies.

The United States has asked a federal court in Savannah, Ga., to permanently bar Ophelia Kelley of Vidalia, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the government complaint, Kelley operates two return preparation firms in Vidalia – Kelley Tax Service, and City and Country Girl Tax Service.

The Department is making grant funding available for public education programs concerning immigration-related employment discrimination. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), a section of the Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced the availability of funds for public education programs regarding employees’ rights and employers’ obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The United States has filed a civil complaint against BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPXA) alleging that the company violated federal clean air and water laws.

The United States has brought suit in federal court against Gayle Lemmon of Humboldt, Iowa. The lawsuit seeks to bar her and her firm from preparing federal tax returns for others. According to the government complaint in the case, Lemmon’s firm, Gayle’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service Inc., prepares federal income tax returns for customers that unlawfully understate tax liabilities by claiming improper deductions for the business use of the home and for non-deductible personal expenses.

The Department of Justice has initiated removal proceedings against a Sharon, Penn., resident who served as an armed SS guard at two Nazi concentration camps in Germany during World War II.

Consultores De Navegacion, a Spanish company that operates the M/T Nautilus, an ocean-going chemical tanker ship, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston and has agreed to pay a fine of $2.5 million for criminal violations related to the overboard discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste on the high seas.

Two former senior executives of CSK Auto Corp. (CSK), have been charged in a 31-count indictment for a scheme to manipulate the company’s reported earnings. The indictment, returned on April 7, 2009, by a federal grand jury in Phoenix, charges Martin G. Fraser, 53, of Glendale, Ariz., and Don W. Watson, 53, of Gilbert, Ariz., with conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), false books and records, and false statements to its auditor.