Arizona Bioscience News: NAU receives $21M NIH grant; UA doctor develops snake-bite therapy; TGen to lead pancreatic-cancer trial

October 19, 2017

By Matt Ellsworth

Low-dose arsenic could be used to treat brain cancer / R&D

A team including Translational Genomics Research Institute has turned to ultra-low dosages of arsenic as a potential treatment against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)—the most common and aggressive type of deadly brain tumor.

Two local companies cited for inventions aiding military / Arizona Daily Star

Biotech drug startup NuvOx Pharma, makers of a developmental drug that it says can provide critical tissue oxygenation in traumatic-brain-injury patients, was among more than 100 companies awarded the 2017 TechConnect Defense Innovation Award.

When short-term memory fades, researchers try tapping into procedural memory / KJZZ

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are realizing that learning a new procedure or habit could have long-term benefits for patients as their dementia progresses.

$15M grant will help UA lead center focusing on biofuels and bioproduct / AZ Big Media

The University of Arizona has received a five-year grant of up to $15 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a new center focusing on the mass production of biofuels and bioproducts in the southwestern United States, including the research of guayule and guar.

Transplant shortage means more living with implanted heart pumps / KGUN

Sophisticated medical machines are giving people with weak hearts longer lives and more and more often are taking the place of heart transplants.

TGen gets $2.5 million grant for pancreatic cancer drug trial / KJZZ

The Translational Genomics Research Institute has been awarded a $2.5 million grant to test an immunotherapy drug with a Vitamin D receptor in an effort to combat pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal diseases.

University of Arizona doctor’s research could buy time for snake bite victims / Arizona Daily Star

A University of Arizona anesthesiologist has taken the next step in the development of a therapy—to be administered like an EpiPen—that could delay the toxic effects of venomous snakebites. Read more: UA researcher develops snake bite treatment

NAU gets $21M to study why some are sicker / Arizona Daily Sun

A new Northern Arizona University research collaborative focused on addressing health disparities in the southwest received a $21.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health—among the largest grants ever awarded to NAU.

TGen working to reduce drug-resistant tuberculosis / KJZZ

New research from TGen suggests there’s promise in preventing patients from developing a resistance to tuberculosis drugs.

UA’s Cancer Center Bringing Awareness To Stage 4 Breast Cancer / KJZZ

The Phoenix Friends of the Arizona Cancer Center has partnered with Dignity Health to raise awareness about metastatic breast cancer.

PwC: Arizona startups raise more than $40 million this quarter / Phoenix Business Journal

Arizona companies received $40.6 million in venture capital investments during the third quarter of 2017 from six investments, according to a new report, including $18.3 million for Phoenix-based health-care services company Solera Health.