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But there's another key reason Philip Morris lobbied hard for FDA regulation, aligning itself with strange bedfellows like the Campaign for Smoke-Free Kids, the American Lung Association and longtime antismoking crusaders Senator Ted Kennedy and Representative Henry Waxman. 'Philip Morris wants the public-health community to join them in finding the holy grail: the safe cigarette,' says Gregory Connolly, a tobacco expert and professor at the Harvard school of Public Health. Simply put, figuring out how to produce a less harmful tobacco product and getting an FDA seal of approval could open up a whole new, potentially huge consumer market. There is nothing in the FDA legislation that expressly favors Philip Morris when it comes to innovation and new product development, but the company has far deeper pockets, putting it at a distinct advantage over its competitors. . . . Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a champion of the new legislation, says while 'th

The Fort Myers, Fla.-based McGregor Clinic has been awarded a five-year, $1.4 million grant from the federal government to fund HIV/AIDS services, the Fort Myers News-Press reports. The McGregor Clinic serves hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS.

According to the results of a national survey conducted in 2008 and released Tuesday, HIV prevalence among South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 dropped from 'a high of 10.3 percent in 2005 to 8.7 percent last year, with the decreases most marked among teenagers,' AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.

The Automation Partnership (TAP), a world leader in the design and development of innovative advanced automation for life science applications, announced it is collaborating with world leading academics on the prestigious, Technology Strategy Board funded, RAFT (Rapid Automated Fabrication of Tissues) Project to develop and commercialise novel technology for rapid production of 3D tissues, which have the potential to transform drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

The Arizona AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has reduced the number of medications it will cover - antiretrovirals and drugs that treat opportunistic infections will not be affected, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The program relies heavily on federal funding. Judy Norton, chief of the state's Office of HIV, STD and Hepatitis C Services, said the state received $2.

The Los Angeles Times examined the effects of the proposed $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the state, as advocates are expected today to convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the cuts.

AVI BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVII), a developer of RNA-based drugs, announced that Patrick Iversen, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances, will present at the upcoming 7th Annual Biodefense Vaccines & Therapeutics conference taking place in Washington, D.C. Dr. Iversen will present on Monday, June 15, as part of a pre-conference symposium on 'Developments in Biodefense Technology Platform.

A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions has discovered a new way by which DNA repairs itself, a process that is critical to the protection of the genome, and integral to prevention of cancer development.

Hundreds of people gathered at a planned rally on Wednesday at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the proposed $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the state, which would result in an 80 percent reduction in prevention, testing and counseling programs, as well as significant cuts in programs for people living with HIV, the

The Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations are 'collectively off course in delivering on a 2005 pact to more than double aid to Africa through 2010,' according to an annual report released Thursday by the One Campaign, Reuters/Washington Post reports (Wroughton, Reuters/Washington Post, 6/11).