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Getting Closer

Jul 21, 2009

Jeremy Grushcow at The Cross-Border Biotech Blog points to the KRAS mutation genetic test to identify patients who won't respond to Erbitux or Vectibix as "exactly how personalized medicine and comparative effectiveness can interact to benefit patients, pharma companies and payors." Grushcow says payors benefit by the elimination of unnecessary prescriptions and pharma benefits as patients without the KRAS mutation are motivated to take those drugs.

Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.