Related to H3Africa, a Refreshingly Ethical Research Endeavor in Africa

• Study Finds a Friend at NIH but Will Congress Share the Love?
  Paper in NEJM tries to make case for boosting federal research funding amid House leaders’ pursuit of spending cuts.
  
• High-Tech Companies Buy Into Biomanufacturing
  Samsung and Fujifilm believe such high-investment diversification will help business.
  
• FDA Panel Hearing Suggests Medical Professionals May Play Role in Direct-to-Consumer Testing
  Changes including more regulation may take some time, as recommendations for the agency are yet to be finalized.
  
• Translational Research Is the NCATS’ Meow for Growing NIH’s R&D Role
  Budget will determine new institute’s ability to fill gaps in early drug development and de-risk projects.
  
• NIH Updates Its Strategy to Combat Obesity
  Research spending has been on the upswing, but so has the obesity epidemic.
  
• Academic Organizations Try to Step Up Their R&D Game
  Sector has work cut out for it as ARRA has dried up and gov’t as well as industry cut budgets.
  
• Do Presidential Bioethics Committees Shape Science Policy?
  Panels help frame the debate, but topics are sometimes chosen more because of political pressure than scientific need.
  
• Europe Awaits Decision on Patents, hESCs, and Morality
  Advocate General delivered opinion siding with Greenpeace, and CJEU follows the AG’s opinion 80% of the time.
  
• Asia’s Emerging Markets Catching Up to the U.S. and Europe in Terms of Innovation
  Countries like China and Korea are growing to be more than just manufacturing hubs.
  
• India’s Biotechnology Future—As Easy as R&D, as Challenging as China
  Success depends on fortifying country’s research sector through internal programs and global collaborations.
  
• U.S. Stem Cell Companies Find Partners and Revenues Beyond the Water’s Edge
  Firms find it easier to navigate regulatory requirements in Asia as well as Europe.
  
• For Some Emerging Companies, the Road to Growth Connects the U.S. and China
  While American firms are tapping China’s size and regulatory path, Chinese biotechs are going west for money and expertise.
  
• Nagoya Protocol’s Rules for Genetic Resources Pose Challenges for U.S. Drug Developers
  Aim is to balance the need to stamp out biopiracy with the need to advance innovation.
  
• Chilly Budget Climate All but Freezes Proposed FY ’12 Spending for NIH and CDC
  Senate approved a 0.6% decrease in NIH’s budget and a 1% drop in CDC’s compared to fiscal 2011 levels.
  
• Germany Anchors Translational Medicine Efforts with New Spending Plan and Centers
  Country hopes framework will augment alliances among its institutes as well as assuage industry drug pricing concerns.
  
• NIH Funding Plagued by Potential of Continuing Resolution and Sequestration Measures
  As elections approach, likelihood of a spending bill covering institute or deficit reduction plan seems bleak.
  
• NIH Spending Barely Budges, CDC Stays Flat as Congress Finalizes FY 2012 Budget
  NIH will see a 1% increase and CDC a 0.6% increase over FY ’11 under a $1 trillion spending plan passed by the House and Senate.
  
• Review of NIH Grants in 2011 Shows Top Five Recipients Same as Last Year’s
  Johns Hopkins University came in first with $637.552 million, 4% more than last year.
  
• Presidential Panel Wrestles with Ethical Issues Linked to Clinical Use of Whole Genome Sequencing
  Final recommendations, to be presented this fall, will encompass technology delivery and informed consent.
  
• NIH Expects to Have New Policies for Research Using Chimpanzees Next Year
  A working group has been established to review IOM’s findings and make suggestions for implementation.