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Alexion's Soliris(R) Receives 2009 Prix Galien France For Most Innovative Drug For Rare Disease
Alexion Pharma France and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) today received the 2009 Prix Galien France for Soliris® (eculizumab) in the category of medicines for rare diseases. The award recognizes the scientific innovation represented by the complement-inhibition technology of Soliris, and the impact the drug is having on the lives of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), an ultra-rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder.

Largest Ever Study Of Suicide In The Military
Four of the nation"s leading experts in suicide research, including Dr. John Mann of Columbia University Medical Center, will carry out the largest study of suicide and mental health among military personnel ever undertaken, with $50 million in funding from the U.S. Army. The announcement came today from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which signed a memorandum of agreement with the Army in October 2008 authorizing the NIMH to undertake the investigation with Army funding. Study investigators aim to move quickly to identify risk and protective factors for suicide among soldiers and provide a science base for effective and practical interventions to reduce suicide rates and address associated mental health problems.
News of the day
National Marrow Donor Program Increasing Efforts To Attract Minority Donors
The National Marrow Donor Program, a not-for-profit group that manages a national registry for potential bone marrow donors, is using social networking sites to attract donors from minority communities, the Wall Street Journal reports. The process of finding a genetic match for a bone marrow transplant is often more difficult for minorities or people who identify themselves as multiracial because patients and donors must be genetically compatible. According to the Journal, a white patient has an 88% chance of finding a match, while the odds of most minorities finding a match can be as low as 60%. The odds of some minorities actually receiving a transplant can be as low as 20% because of other factors such as access to care in their communities, the Journal reports. About seven million U.S. residents already have signed up for the national registry -- recently renamed Be the Match -- and the program also has increased outreach to younger potential donors through social networking Web sites, such as Facebook and MySpace (Landro, Wall Street Journal, 5/27).
Diagnostics

New Hampshire Officials: Need For Mental Health Services Increasing

In New Hampshire, Foster"s Daily Democrat reports: "As unemployment statistics increase and the economic climate deteriorates, a large group of people who would otherwise likely not need mental health services are finding themselves at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviors and substance abuse, according (to) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." Fosters reports: "The circumstances are exacerbated when considering that many of those people are unable to pay for basic mental health services, either through insurance or otherwise. At the same time, community-based programs, designed to be the "safety net" for the uninsured, are facing across-the-board funding cuts both public and private contributors." Foster"s examines Community Partners in Strafford County to show how the crisis is affecting care including strains put on basic mental health services, like non-emergency counseling, as funding falls short (Modica, 7/27). 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.


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