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Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries
"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.Bloggers are tentatively reacting to a report and blog post released by the Congressional Budget Office that summarizes the agency"s approach to estimating the cost of any health overhaul bills. At issue is how CBO will count different stipulations of legislation -- like an individual mandate or a public plan -- and whether their conclusions will result in a heftier price tag. Douglas Elmendorf explained on the Director"s Blog: "In CBO"s view, the key consideration is whether a proposal would be making health insurance an essentially governmental program, tightly controlled by the federal government with little choice available to those who offer and buy health insurance -- or whether the system would provide significant flexibility in terms of the types, prices, and number of private-sector sellers of insurance available to people. The former -- a governmental program -- belongs in the federal budget (including all premiums paid by individuals and firms to private insurers), but the latter -- a largely private-sector system -- does not." Janet Adamy of the Wall Street Journal"s Washington Wire notes that the report doesn"t address the cost estimates of the scenarios. Alan Katz on his Health Care Reform Blog concludes, "the message is clear: the looser government"s hand grips the new health care system the smaller its budgetary impact." Liberal bloggers had a variety of reactions -- some found the report too vague, while others saw it as good news. The New Republic"s Jonathan Cohn says, "you may need a Talmudic scholar to figure out what those implications are." Cohn continues, "Other passages in the briefing are [similarly] vexing and, for what it"s worth, the reactions I"ve gotten from insiders familiar with the report have ranged from sighs of relief to statements not suitable for a family blog." Ezra Klein agrees the report lacks specificity, but says, "Even so, I"m cheered by the simple existence of this ruling. The fact that CBO is explaining its thinking before legislation arrives [is] yet more evidence that CBO appears, insofar as it can, to be trying to help out on health reform. ... That"s an important change from past years." Interesting Elsewhere:
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Provectus Pharmaceuticals Completes Patient Accrual In Initial Phase 2 Study Of PH-10 For Atopic Dermatitis
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB: PVCT), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has completed patient accrual for its Phase 2 study of PH-10 for atopic dermatitis. PH-10 is the Company"s topical drug for the treatment of dermatologic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, a chronic skin condition that includes some forms of eczema. The Phase 2 study was designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of PH-10 in at least twenty subjects with mild to severe forms of the disease.
News of the day
Tenet Nurses, Healthcare Workers Take Action To Protest Sick Leave Cuts, California And Florida
Registered nurses and hospital workers who provide care at hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare Corporation organized an unprecedented national protest against attempts to cut their access to sick leave.
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BioCis Pharma Reports Positive Phase IIa Clinical Results In Atopic Dermatitis

BioCis Pharma Ltd., a privately held drug development company with its headquarters in Turku, Finland, announced positive results from its Phase IIa clinical trial of ProtoCure(TM) emulsion cream, the company"s novel topical drug for dermatology. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted in Finland, included 13 patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis who applied the ProtoCure emulsion cream to the affected skin areas twice daily for up to four weeks. The objectives were to evaluate the tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of the topical treatment. Study results showed excellent safety profile, and no serious adverse events were reported during the study. No patient dropped out due to adverse side effects of the treatment. Pharmacokinetic analyses showed no systemic exposure to the active ingredient of the product. Efficacy was assessed by performing instrumental measurements of skin lesion redness (erythema) and skin barrier function by trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) during the 28-day period. Physician assessments, such as Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) were also evaluated. ProtoCure emulsion cream was superior to placebo in decreasing skin redness and improving skin barrier function. Statistically significant improvement was observed as early as day 10 after begining treatment. There was also a significant improvement in EASI score over the whole treatment period for ProtoCure emulsion cream as a sign of positive treatment effect. The EASI score difference did not reach statistical significance when compared to placebo, mainly due to the small number of patients studied. "We are very pleased with the promising results of this study," says Lasse Leino, CEO of BioCis Pharma. "Skin barrier dysfunction is now recognized as a hallmark feature of atopic dermatitis. Any drug showing capacity for restoring this disturbance has significant potential in atopic dermatitis therapy. Based on our results, ProtoCure(TM) emulsion cream holds great promises in the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders." Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin with an onset typically already in infancy. It affects up to 20 per cent of the general population in the Western countries, and the prevalence rate is rising. Atopic dermatitis may significantly impair the quality of life of those affected. Existing treatments often have undesirable side effects and do not always meet the needs of patients. BioCis Pharma Ltd. is a Karolinska Development portfolio company. BioCis Pharma Ltd is an innovative drug development company developing drug therapies based on a novel, patented therapeutic principles that target unmet medical needs in substantial therapeutic markets including inflammation, allergy, and cancer. The company"s main investors are Karolinska Development AB (publ.), Finnish Industry Investment Ltd., and Etra Invest Ltd. BioCis Pharma Ltd


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