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NACDS Supports Delaying The Implementation Of The GS1 DataBar Technology
National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) expressed its support for postponing the removal of the Universal Product Code (UPC-A) barcode system - scheduled for January 1, 2010. NACDS compliments and supports the Grocery Manufacturers Association"s (GMA) recommendation that the GS1 DataBar system implementation be delayed until January 1, 2011.
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Advocates Eager To Learn More About Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor's Abortion-Rights Views
Abortion-rights groups on Wednesday offered their support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor but said that they were eager to learn more about her views on abortion rights, an issue on which she has made few major rulings in her time as a judge, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, groups on both sides of the abortion-rights debate tend to believe that Sotomayor would uphold Roe v. Wade because she was nominated by President Obama, who supports abortion rights. However, when asked on Tuesday if Obama questioned Sotomayor about her views on abortion rights before the nomination, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the president "did not ask that specifically." In addition, none of her rulings has directly dealt with the underlying issues of constitutional privacy that are the foundation for the Roe decision, according to the Times. The abortion-related cases Sotomayor has handled in the past have "turned on other legal issues," rather than privacy, and they have resulted in rulings in favor of abortion-right opponents, the Times reports. For example, in 2002, she wrote an opinion upholding the Bush administration"s "global gag rule" policy banning federal funding of international groups that offer abortion information or services. "The Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the antiabortion position over the pro-choice position and can do so with public funds," Sotomayor wrote in the opinion. In 2004, she said that antiabortion-rights protesters were permitted to sue police who they claimed used excessive force in stopping a demonstration at a clinic. Sotomayor also has ruled on several immigration cases related to people fighting deportation orders to China over its family planning policies, the Times reports. Because of the limited information on Sotomayor"s abortion-rights views, advocates have stressed that senators ask questions about her views during her confirmation hearing. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan in a letter to supporters urged them to press senators to ask Sotomayor about privacy rights. Keenan wrote, "Discussion about [Roe] will -- and must -- be part of this nomination process. As you know, choice hangs in the balance on the Supreme Court as the last two major choice-related cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that she would be surprised if an Obama nominee did not support abortion rights but added that "other presidents have been surprised before" when their nominees" views did not align with their assumptions. Northup said that "no one has been able to give us an assurance" of Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights, adding that she would be "very concerned if the question is not asked and answered during the Senate hearings." Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal said, "What we know about [Sotomayor] we like, but I don"t know that answer on abortion rights" (Savage/Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 5/28). The New York Times reports that more about Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights could come to light if a past writing on the subject surfaces, as was the case during Justice Samuel Alito"s confirmation process. Steven Waldman, editor in chief of beliefnet.com, said, "Everyone is just assuming that because Obama appointed her, she must be a die-hard pro-choice activist, but it"s really quite amazing how little we know about her views on abortion" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Thomas Goldstein, a leading appellate attorney and founder of scotusblog.com, said that the "fact that she hasn"t gone off on these sorts of questions" on contentious topics like abortion rights and gay marriage, "I think shows that honestly she"s not a dyed in the wool liberal." He added that there are issues on which Sotomayor could prove to be more conservative than retiring Justice David Souter (Lerer, Politico, 5/27).According to the Washington Post, many antiabortion-rights supporters are critic
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Sanofi Pasteur Ready To Support Public Health Efforts In Response To WHO Phase 6 Influenza Pandemic Alert
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announces it is ready to support public health efforts to respond to the emergence of the new A(H1N1) influenza strain following the decision made by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise the pandemic alert level from Phase 5 to Phase 6, the highest level of alert in the WHO global influenza preparedness plan.
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MiCardia® Announces First U.S. Implant

MiCardia® (MiCardia Corporation, Irvine, California) announced the completion of the first U.S. implant of its Dynaplasty® mitral valve repair technology. The surgery was performed last week at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan. Francis L. Shannon, M.D., who is a partner in SEMCVS and Director of CV Surgical Research and Quality Outcomes at Beaumont, commented, "The MiCardia® device implanted easily and conformed well to the patient"s mitral annulus. The complete D-shaped ring was used to reinforce a complex repair of a flail leaflet segment using minimally invasive techniques. We are excited to be participating in the DYANA Study and believe Dynaplasty® technology will address a major weakness of current devices, namely their inability to deal with changes in valve shape and function after the initial repair procedure." Commenting on the first U.S. site to enter the study, MiCardia® Chief Executive Officer Paul Molloy said, "This is a major milestone for MiCardia® and we are grateful for Dr. Shannon"s expertise in helping develop this technology. The Dynamic Annuloplasty Activation study involves patients from Europe who receive a device capable of activation post-implant and patients from the U.S. who receive a shape memory device that is not capable of activation. MiCardia® received a 510(k) clearance on the non-active version of its Dynaplasty® System in September 2008. Patient data from both the U.S. and Europe will be submitted toward CE Mark of the Company"s Dynaplasty® devices this year. We expect to complete enrollment and submit six month follow up data from the DYANA Study in Q4 of 2009 as a prelude to European commercialization of the world"s first minimally invasive, beating heart valve repair system." MiCardia® is developing Dynaplasty® technology for the treatment of structural heart disease, focusing initially on mitral and tricuspid valve disorders and as a method of interrupting a major element in the onset and progression of Heart Failure. More than 15m people in Europe and the U.S. are in Heart Failure, of which more than 7m suffer from mitral regurgitation. MiCardia® is a privately held company, founded in 2004 and is developing a completely unique treatment technology that will allow minimally invasive late stage adjustment of cardiac anatomy. Surgical, transcutaneous and entirely non-invasive activation platforms are in advanced development. MiCardia


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