Pandemic-related collaborations between Hoth/VCU; Sorrento/Mt. Sinai Health; Audax/Northeastern U.; Alkido/U. of Maryland, Baltimore; Active Motif/Hisun BioRay/Fudan U. and more.

An alliance of Deerfield and the Broad Institute to accelerate research into high-mortality diseases identifies its first two research projects, while Janssen and UPenn look into gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

Cardiovascular investigators are now asking new questions, including how can treatment be targeted to those most likely to benefit, and when does aggressive treatment become too much? At the 2006 American Heart Association (AHA) meeting, these questions were at the top of everyone's list, and several highly anticipated studies attempted to provide some answers.

The striking results of the REMATCH trial, demonstrating the efficacy of Thoratec's ventricular assist device to extend the life of terminal heart failure patients, is heartening clinicians and patients and opening up new markets for ventricular assist device manufacturers. Thoratec still faces FDA and reimbursement hurdles before its devices become long-term therapies in large volumes of patients. Meanwhile, the competition hopes to profit from the precedent-breaking REMATCH results, and overtake Thoratec's lead with claims of technological superiority in the long-term heart assist market.