There will be fireworks displays across the country and just about every little town and big city will be having festvities.

To my fellow Canadian readers:

To Canada:

Happy 141st Birthday 

For those of you that don't know where Canada is here's a map ;)

• Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE:ABT) - $52.97 -0.03 (-0.06%)
• AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) - $42.53 +0.78 (+1.87%)
• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) - $20.53 +0.23 (+1.13%)
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) - $46.16 +0.55 (+1.21%)
• GlaxoSmithKline(NYSE:GSK) - $44.22 +0.24 (+0.55)
• Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) - $37.69 +0.71 (+1.92%)
• Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) - $55.04 +1.62 (+3.03%)
• Pfizer Inc. ( NYSE:PFE) - $17.47 +0.19 (+1.10%)

It was a good day for pharma stock with all stocks listed above recouping some losses with the exception of Abbott. However it has been a rough month for these stocks. When comparing price of these stocks from 30 days ago we see that all took a bit of a hit with one exception. AZN had the least decrease with only $1.16 loss followed by MRK with a loss of $1.27. Abbott took the biggest hit with a loss of $3.39 and BMX was a close second with a loss of $2.26.

Novartis was the only stock to increase in value in the last 30 days. It had a price of $52.53 as of May 30 and closed today at a price of $55.04. The stock had a volatile month as it had a low in the $50 range in mid month

Cervarix, a vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer, one of the largest drug hopes in Glaxo's pipeline has already been approved in 67 countries but the FDA issued a "Complete Response" letter in December 2008 requiring the company answer questions.

"Study 008 is a key study that will be completing later this year, and
we expect the final results will strengthen the U.S. label for
CERVARIX(R)," said Barbara Howe, M.D., Vice President and Director, North
American Vaccine Development, GlaxoSmithKline. "We continue to have
positive and productive discussions with the FDA and remain confident in
the vaccine's safety and efficacy profile. We look forward to bringing this
important new cervical cancer vaccine to girls and women in the U.S."

[Source: PRNewsWire]

BlogWorld Expo is the world's largest blogging industry related event with a tradeshow, conferences and media events. The 2-day event will include 50 seminars, panel discussion, keynote speeches and classes.

“We were proud to sponsor Blogworld at its inaugural event in 2007, and we are thrilled to be involved as a sponsor again in 2008,” said Hal Halladay, CEO of Know More Media. “As a media partner, we are advertising and promoting the Blogworld Expo across our entire network of over 100 business-related blogs.”

Details and registration information can be found at: BlogWorldExpo.com

As a proud BlogWorldExpo sponsor, we also offer a special 20% registration discount to our readers and authors—onesimply use the code “KMVIP” when registering.

We hope to see many of you there!

• Blocking a Single Protein Proves Toxic to Myeloma Cells in Laboratory Studies (National Cancer Institute)
• Scientists Isolate a Toxic Key to Alzheimer's Disease in Human Brains (National Institute on Aging)
• New Source of Heart Stem Cells Found (HealthDay)
• Vaccine Stops Colon Cancer's Spread in Mice (HealthDay)
• New U.S. Estimates Show Diabetes Affects 24 Million (Reuters Health)
• U.S. Study Shows 150 Percent Jump in Statin Use (Reuters Health)
• New Anti-Clotting Pill Works Well in Trials (HealthDay)
• Estrogen May Protect Against Colorectal Cancer (Reuters Health)
• ADHD Gene Doesn't Predict Response to Drugs (HealthDay)
• Blood Pressure Drug Shows Promise for Marfan Syndrome (HealthDay)
• New Vaccine May Account for Less Severe Rotavirus Season (HealthDay)
• Rabies Vaccines in Short Supply in U.S. (Reuters Health)

There you have them, Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Kinrix protects children between 4 and 6 years old against diphtheria, pertussis, polio and tetanus and is approved for children who previously received GSK's Infanrix, which covers diptheria, tetanus and pertussis and who received Pediarix. Pediarix is a combination vaccine that covers DPT, hepatitis B and polio.

"Children 4 to 6 years-old can receive five or more vaccinations in a single visit, which can be stressful for parents and vaccinators," said William P. Hitchcock, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. "By reducing the number of shots given in one visit, combination vaccines like Kinrix may make it easier for kids to meet school vaccination requirements and CDC recommendations."

Combination vaccines are recommended to reduce the number of vaccine shots a child receives in a single visit.

[Source: CNNMoney]

Prasugrel received priority review status from the FDA in February based on studies that showed Prasugrel has better results than Plavix but carried a higher risk of bleeding in some patients.

"We remain confident in our prasugrel submission package," said Jennifer Stotka, vice president for global regulatory affairs at Lilly.

Daiichi and Lilly confirmed plans to start a Phase III clinical trial this month that will compare the results of prasugrel against Plavix in patients with acute coronary syndromes. The trials will consisted of 10,000 patients at over 800 hospitals.

The FDA is expected to act on the New Drug Application by Sept 26, 2008.

[Source: CNN]

Paxil, an antidepressant drug manufactured by GSK, was issued a warning letter by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006 stating that there were potential suicide risks among young adults taking the medication.

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Gardasil, a cervical cancer vaccine, was previously approved by the FDA in 2006 for women between the ages of 9 and 27 and the non-acceptance of the expanded use does not affect that approval.

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Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) is the first serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that has proven effective in the treatment of pain associated with fibromyalgia. The new approved indication becomes the fourth FDA approved use of the drug.  Cymbalta has been previously approved for management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP), the treatment of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

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The illness is more common in women than in men but it is not progressive nor life-threatening even though it is not curable. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown but current theory holds that patients may have lower thresholds of pain possibly due to repeated nerve stimulation which may have caused changes in brain chemicals. Other theories about the cause of fibromyalgia include injury, infection, changes in muscle metabolism and abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system.

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Enlarged prostate is a disease that affects 50% of men over the age of 50 and 90% of men over the age of 80. The disease causes changes in urinary habits and over time the prostate can continue to enlarge and the bladder can loses its ability to empty itself.

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New computing technologies which have developed "Virtual Man" (virtual physiological human or VPH) may be able to predict the effects of new drugs in pharmaceuticals' pipelines prior to clinical trials. It has been estimated that drug research time may be shortened by two thirds, the cost of clinical trials significantly decreased and productivity increased.

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Recent studies have found that while the new rules would make it easier for doctors to prescribe these types of medications, doctors are not adopting the electronic drug prescription system. A New England Journal study found that only 4% of doctors had adopted the fully functional system and another 13% have adopted a basic system.

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