ILSI-Biomed Israel

Cancer Biomarkers in the Blood- a research from Technion

Finding the hallmarks of cancer in blood is hard to do — cancer-related proteins are present only in small amounts, are difficult to sort from all of the other circulating proteins, and tend to be eliminated quickly by the body. But one group has devised a method that could turn that around. At the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Arie Admon and his team have devised a method that combines immunoaffinity purification, microcapillary chromatography, and mass spectrometry to separ...

From Haifa to Herzliya, the Fertile Ground of Israeli Innovation

What do website gadget developer LabPixies and insulin pump maker Medingo have in common? It's not only that both companies are based in Israel. They also are among the country's start-ups that have attracted the attention of international investors, with U.S. Internet giant Google recently snapping up LabPixies and Swiss pharmaceutical multinational Roche buying Medingo, a subsidiary of local medical device conglomerate Elron Electronic Industries. Israel is indeed becoming fertile ground for t...

Few patients look to pharma sites for health info, survey says

Patients taking a medication and looking online for health information tend to avoid pharmaceutical company sites, according to an online survey conducted by Accenture. Photo credit: missyredboots from morguefile.com Just over two-thirds of surveyed respondents said they go online for health information, according to the data. Of that group, nearly half (48%) said they use medical websites like WebMD most often, and just 6% said they use social media sites like Facebook or Twitter most oft...

Meet Rictor, a new molecular target for cancer therapies

The discovery that a protein called Rictor plays a key role in destroying a close cousin of the AKT oncogene could provide scientists with a new molecular target for treating certain cancers, including breast cancer. Described in the September 2010 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, the study was led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). The oncogenic cousin, known as SGK1, resembles the widely known AKT oncogene in structure, according to the study's senior...

New Research From Israel: Aposesne

In a special Jewish Week feature, three Israeli cutting edge research projects are being introduced. One of them is Aposesne, an Israeli pharmaceutical company that is targeting a process that is integral to nearly every illness — apoptosis, or cellular death. Photo credit: ardelfin from morguefile.com “Apoptosis is associated with almost every medical disorder,” said Yoram Ashery, CEO of Aposense, a clinical stage molecular imaging and drug development company that completed its Initial P...

Aiming for Near-Normal Blood Sugar Did Not Delay Combined Risk of Diabetic Damage for People With Long-standing Diabetes, NIH-Sponsored Trial Finds

In people with longstanding type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels did not delay the combined risk of diabetic damage to kidneys, eyes, or nerves, but did delay several other signs of diabetic damage, a study has found.  The intensive glucose treatment was compared with standard glucose control. These findings are from the NIH-funded Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial.  Although intensive t...

Long-Awaited Bilski Decision Expected Soon

by GERSON PANITCH, FINNEGAN   June 14, 2010 Patent professionals and U.S. Supreme Court watchers alike on high alert as a Bilski decision is expected before the Court’s 2009 term comes to an end this month.  Perhaps no case is more anticipated than the decision in Bilski v. Doll, especially for those in high-tech fields such as telecom, software, and professional services.  Over a year has passed since the Supreme Court agreed to hear Bilski’s appeal (June 1, 2009), and more than seven ...

BioMed 2010: Merck-Serono reaches out to collaborate with Israeli companies and entrepreneurs

BioMed 2010: Merck-Serono reaches out to collaborate with Israeli companies and entrepreneurs This is done through Inter-lab is the company's R&D center in Israel • Inter-Lab CEO, Regine Shevach: "The Israeli science has a special zest to it, one which we are thrilled to encounter time and time again; Together with Merck Serono, this special zest can create the next blockbuster drug…" Merck Serono, the largest biotechnology company in Europe, is calling on Israeli entrepreneurs and comp...

ILSI-BioMed 2010 Has Begun!

This morning the ILSI-BioMed Week 2010 has finally been launched, with 7,000 anticipated participants that will take part in lectures and meetings with the experts and seniors of the bio-pharma and medical equipment industry in Israel and abroad. Following the opening words of the event's organizers, ILSI and Kenes, the president of Israel Shimon Peres came up to the stage and surveyed the future of Israel, which will be based on advanced technologies and serve as an example to the entire...

A French Delegation in the Negev

A French delegation has visited today (Sunday, 13.6.2010) at Ben-Gurion University, as the guest of Bio-Negev, the international center for innovation in the biotechnology industry and life sciences in the Negev. The purpose of the visit is to examine potential collaboration between the visitors and the new initiative in the Negev, BGU being one of the partners in the project. Prof. Rivka Carmi, president of the university, places a great amount of value in the initiative, which can be direct...