Study Sees More Biomed R & D; Med-i-nets.com Readies Online Pharmacy
UCI College of Medicine professors Eugene Elmore and Leslie Redpath are weighing in on the debate over the role of “natural” substances in the prevention of cancer.
In laboratory tests, the two scientists have found that low doses of tea extracts and vitamin E stopped pre-cancerous growth of human cells.
In the past, such tests were conducted on animal cells, which are stronger and more stable than human cells. Those tests did not show tea extracts or vitamin E having any cancer-fighting properties.
In order to get measurable results, scientists using animal cells have had to expose them to carcinogens at levels exceeding normal human exposure.
“These tests using human cells will allow us to measure realistic levels of exposure that stop cell growth that leads to cancer,” Elmore said.
“It suggests that if you drink teas,whether it be green or black teas,that it should have some activity. The more you drink the better,” he added.
Elmore and Redpath are developing tests using human cells to investigate the role of carcinogens and other chemicals in cancer development and prevention. Their human-cell testing techniques may also have applications in the pharmaceutical industry, to determine the effects of new drugs on the human liver and other tissues, Elmore said.
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Meanwhile, two other UCI researchers were named to key national scientific committees. Hoda Anton-Culver, professor of epidemiology and director of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Genetics Network at the College of Medicine became a member of the cancer institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors. The 35-member board advises the institute on scientific programs, and proposes grants to cancer researchers.
Dr. Michael Berns, president and co-founder of the UCI Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Center, has been chosen to be a member of the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review Advisory Committee. Members make policy recommendations to the NIH regarding requests for financial support for biomedical research and training. Berns is known for his research in genetics, cell motility and laser-tissue interactions.
The California Healthcare Institute, a biomedical/biotech policy group, recently released its Millennium Report 2000 on the state’s biomedical research and development industry. It surveyed 2,500 biomedical, biotech and pharmaceutical companies statewide, and found that 81% of them plan to increase R & D; in the next two years and 90% plan to expand R & D; facilities in California.
Biomedical R & D; accounts for 212,000 jobs in California, with employees earning an average of $64,000 a year, the institute said. It expects the number of jobs to increase 30% this decade.
The institute plans to release a study in March specific to Orange County’s biomedical industry, which it said accounts for some 337 companies employing 33,143 people. Results are expected to be released at a meeting at Beckman Coulter in Fullerton, officials say.
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Bits and pieces:
Med-i-nets.com of Newport Beach, a physician portal site, and more.com, a national provider of e-commerce, announced a partnership to establish a nationwide network to fill prescriptions online. More.com has a partnership with Bergen Brunswig Drug Co., Orange, to access a network of pharmacy stores via Bergen’s PlusCare Provider Network and Good Neighbor Pharmacy Nexell Therapeutics has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan’s 1999 Marketing Strategy Award for positive contribution to the U.S. cell therapy market Bergen received a $400 million to $500 million five-year renewal of a supply contract for Good Neighbor Pharmacy stores in Pennsylvania St. Joseph Health System, Orange, and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, and its affiliated medical group dropped their Medicare HMO contracts with Aetna U.S. Healthcare Orange County Blood Services is reporting critically low supplies of blood at its blood center in Orange. The shortage of donors is being blamed on fear of Y2K problems, the holidays and many people sick with the cold or flu, officials say. The blood center is a primary supplier for many county hospitals including Irvine Medical Center, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center and Western Medical Centers. For information on donating, call (714) 569-2600.
