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Advaxis Receives FDA Response To Orphan Drug Filing
Advaxis, Inc. (OTCBB:ADXS) received the FDA letter late on June 1 denying the company"s request for Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for the use of ADXS11-001 in invasive cervix cancer. The FDA stated their market definition for invasive cervical cancer prevalence (including all those who had been cured) is over the 200,000 person cutoff. Further, the applicability of ADXS11-01 for a precursor condition, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) was considered by the ODD as an early manifestation of the disease. No prevalence estimate for CIN was provided in our original application. There was no issue raised about efficacy.

University of Queensland Study Discovers Why Some Older Adults Develop Gambling Problems
University of Queensland research is uncovering why a flutter on the pokies can lead to bigger problems for some older adults.
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Centrist Dems Say Abortion Issues Must Not Delay Health Reform; Conservatives Step Up Criticism
Five centrist House Democrats, led by antiabortion-rights Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), on Tuesday issued a proposal that would neither require nor ban private insurers from covering abortion services as long as federal dollars are not used, the Washington Post"s "Capitol Briefing" reports. In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Ryan and Reps. Dale Kildee (Mich.), James Langevin (R.I.), Artur Davis (Ala.) and Kendrick Meek (Fla.) said that their proposal "maintains the current status quo in the private market" and would not "preempt constitutionally permissible" state restrictions related to abortion, such as parental notification laws. The representatives called their proposal a "common ground solution." Current federal law prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services in nearly all circumstances. The lawmakers said that they are "increasingly concerned about potential roadblocks around the issue of abortion" in the health reform debate in Congress. According to "Capitol Briefing," antiabortion-rights Democrats are concerned that health reform legislation could lead to indirect federal funding of abortion services through private insurers participating in a proposed health insurance exchange (Eggen, "Capitol Briefing," Washington Post, 7/21). In the letter, the representatives said that they would like to include language in the final health reform bill "that makes clear that no insurance company will be required to pay for an abortion except in extraordinary circumstances." In addition, insurance providers would not be prohibited from paying for abortion services "so long as health insurance plans offered in the exchange that choose to provide abortion coverage pay for those services with funds that are separate and distinct from any federal subsidies," the letter said. Ryan said he hopes the proposal will be introduced in committee on Wednesday as an amendment (Smith, Politico, 7/21).House Members Step Up Efforts To Exclude Abortion CoverageMeanwhile, antiabortion-rights House members are intensifying their efforts to exclude abortion coverage from the chamber"s health reform bill (HR 3200), which they said includes a "hidden mandate" that would allow federal money to cover the procedure, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said that he plans to join other antiabortion-rights House members at a news conference on Wednesday to criticize the legislation. Stupak helped draft a June 25 letter to Pelosi saying that he and 19 other Democrats would not support any health reform bill "unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." The bill does not mention abortion, which supporters say means that the legislation is neutral on the issue (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/22).Antiabortion-Rights Coalition Launches CampaignA coalition of antiabortion-rights groups this week is launching a three-week campaign aimed at excluding abortion coverage from health reform legislation, Politico reports. The coalition includes James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention; David Bereit of 40 Days for Life; and Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life. Yoest said AUL intends to send a letter to President Obama on Thursday citing its "belief that the bills are intended to include abortion."Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that abortion is "not mandated any more than any other service or procedure in health reform." She added that excluding abortion coverage could result in women losing the coverage they currently have under private plans. The abortion-rights opponents" demand to exclude abortion coverage "violates the first principle of health care reform, which is: Don"t make people worse off under health care reform than they are today," Rubiner said (Smith, Politico, 7/22).
Public Health

Diarrhea Spreads In Parts Of Bangladesh In Cyclone Aila's Aftermath

Health officials on Sunday said that a diarrhea outbreak has spread across Bangladesh"s southwest due to the effects of Cyclone Aila, which hit parts of Bangladesh and India on May 25, AFP/Google.com reports. Diarrhea broke out at an "alarming rate" because inundation and water logging have destroyed large amounts of land and supplies of drinking water near Sundarbans, the world"s largest mangrove forest, according to health workers. "The situation is alarming. So far we have more than 5,000 people who are sick with diarrhea in this region. Another 3,000 have been treated for water borne diseases like dysentery," Lutfur Rahman Khan, the regional medic chief, said (AFP/Google.com, 5/31). On Friday, Reuters published an article describing relief agencies" fears about the emergence of disease in the aftermath of the cyclone. According to Reuters, aid workers and authorities were scrambling "to distribute relief to people in West Bengal and Bangladesh"s coastal belt," while fears were "growing for thousands of marooned families who are in more remote and inaccessible locations" (Bhalla, Reuters, 5/29). Bangladesh Requests Foreign Aid for Emergency Response On Sunday, Ruhal Haque, Bangaldesh"s health minister, said, "I am quite confident that the health situation will remain under control." He said that 891 medical teams were working in affected coastal areas and that health officials have been told to give maximum support to people who have been affected by the cyclone (Xinhua/CriEnglish.com, 6/1). However Abdur Razzak, Bangladesh"s food and disaster management minister, said that half a million people remain stranded because of the cyclone. "We are struggling to ensure supply of drinking water to the worst affected areas," he said, adding that shelter is also a problem. "We don"t need any food or relief, but we are going to seek foreign aid to build embankments and cyclone shelters. We have to build the embankments immediately to protect people from salty water," Razzak said ( AFP/Google.com, 6/1). U.S. Provides $295,000 in Assistance U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty on Monday issued a disaster declaration to provide emergency assistance worth about $295,000. According to the U.S. embassy, the emergency survival packs include plastic sheeting, eating utensils, candles, rope, soap, matches and mosquito netting to be distributed to victims in the southern districts (DPA/Monstersandcritics.com, 6/1). AFP/Google.com reports that almost 300 people have died as a result of Cyclone Aila. Indian officials said 125 people had died as a result of the cyclone (AFP/Google.com, 6/1). On Sunday, the Bangladeshi government said in a statement that 167 people had died and 7,108 people were injured (Government of Bangladesh release/ReliefWeb, 5/31). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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