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Cepheid Receives FDA Clearance For First On-Demand Molecular Diagnostic Test For Clostridium Difficile Infection
Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) announced it has received clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Xpert(R) C. difficile test, an on-demand molecular diagnostic test designed for 45-minute detection of the bacterium that causes Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The Xpert C. difficile test is the first test for CDI to deliver both rapid turnaround and a high degree of accuracy.
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Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Examines Recent Health Reform Developments
Summaries of several developments related to health care reform appear below.
News of the day
Former President Clinton, U.N. Advisor Douste-Blazy Announce Voluntary Airline Ticket Donation
Former President Clinton has joined efforts to raise money for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria from travelers purchasing electronic airline tickets, the New York Times reports. At a press conference in Paris with United Nations special advisor Philippe Douste-Blazy, Clinton said, "If you provide a user-friendly, efficient way of giving, the contributors will use this system."The U.N. is behind the effort, which will enable travelers to voluntarily add a $2 donation for projects to fight malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS when buying an airline ticket, the Times reports. Both Clinton and Douste-Blazy are working with a newly formed group - Leading Innovative Financing for Equity, or LIFE. LIFE is comprised of eight different groups working to raising money for health aid. According to Douste-Blazy, efforts targeting small donors will begin in January 2010. He added that "the idea is that the citizens of the world are connected by the Internet and credit cards and can show their solidarity."The groups also hope to reach people renting cars, booking hotels or buying train tickets, the Times reports (Carvajal, New York Times, 5/21). Clinton said U.S. air passengers will be able to voluntarily participate in the program, adding, "There is no question that huge numbers of people will participate in this. They understand that it doesn"t cost much and that 100% will go to save lives." (AFP/Google.com, 5/20).
Endocrinology

Bio Manufacturers Poised To Follow Senate Victory With House Win

"A veteran California lawmaker with ties to the biotechnology industry said she thinks her proposal to protect brand-name biologic makers has enough support to carry in the House Energy and Commerce Committee," Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports. The proposal, by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., would protect brand-name biologic products from competition for 12 years. A similar proposal cleared the Senate health committee earlier this week. Opponents of the proposal include the White House, the Federal Trade Commission and consumer groups like the AARP, "the influential lobby for the elderly," which "said it was disappointed with the Senate committee"s vote and "has great difficulty supporting legislation that would delay the availability of safe, affordable generic biologic drugs and impede consumer access to these life-saving drugs."" Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has proposed protecting trademark products for only five to seven years. "Any legislation will likely affect the bottom lines of biologic makers such as Amgen Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Genentech Inc., and the wallets of consumers," Dow Jones reports. The sweeping health reform plan released yesterday did not include language on biologics, but Eshoo plans to introduce an amendment this week (Favole, 7/14). 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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