Alcon's Peter Richardson Will Keynote the Upcoming SoCalBio Investor Conference

SoCalBio is pleased to announce that Mr Richardson, who heads Alcon's clinical and regulatory affairs, will serve as a keynote speaker during the 14th Annual SocalBio Investor and Partnership Conference to be held on November 7 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Richardson will talk about partnering for innovation and provide an overview of Alcon's expanding presrence in Southern California. Mr. Richardson previously served as Chief Scientific Office for MannKind Corporation in Valencia and Sr. Vice President at Novartis. The SoCalBio Investor Conference is a showcase for emerging biotech and device companies. It will feature, among other things, over 40 presentations by bioscience companies seeking funding or partners ... RSVP to attend

Exact Staff, Inc. (Woodland Hills)

Exact Staff is a healthcare and medical device staffing service provider. The company will be represented in SoCalBio by its CEO Ms. Karen Goodwin kgoodwin@exactstaff.com  ... Learn more

Researchers at UCI and Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center Explore Brain Computer Interface That May Help Paralyzed People Walk Again 

The researchers reported in journal arXiv that they developed a walking gait orthosis that uses an EEG cap as the interface for controlling its motions. They hope that the technology will allow for a cheap, easy, and non-invasive option to getting paraplegics walking again. The system was tested with an able-bodied subject that had a few hours of training using a virtual avatar, and after 10 minutes training using the real orthosis, was able to achieve perfect activation so that the device never moved when not wanted by the user .... Access the study

NeuroSigma's Monarch eTNS System for Epilepsy, Depression Cleared in Europe

The Los Angeles-based NeuroSigma obtained European approval for its Monarch external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) system. The Monarch is indicated as an adjunctive treatment of epilepsy and major depressive disorder for patients over 9 years of age. Daily disposable patches are applied to the forehead and connect to a belt-worn pulse generator that delivers electric signals to stimulate the trigeminal nerve ... Read more

Promising Interim Data From Peregrine's Phase II Trial of a Monoclonal  Antibody Targeting Non-Small 

Cell Lung Cancer

The Tustin-based biotech company recently announced that interim results were presented from its 121 patient randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IIb trial in patients with refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The blinded study evaluated two dose levels of bavituximab (bavituximab-containing arms) given with docetaxel versus docetaxel plus placebo (control arm). The interim data showed a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (Hazard Ratio 0.524, p-value .0154) and a doubling of median overall survival (OS) in the bavituximab-containing arms compared to the control arm ... Read more

GlaxoSmithKlein Raises Its Stakes in the Los Angeles-Based Response Genetics 

GlaxoSmithKline bought 5 million newly issued shares in diagnostics firm Response Genetics, giving it a stake of 15.2 percent and sending shares in the U.S. company sharply higher. The investment follows a deal between the two firms in 2010 that gave British-based GSK rights to Response's gene mutation testing technology, an area of growing importance to drugmakers as they target treatments according to patients' genetic profiles ... Read more

STAAR Surgical Appoints Charles Slacik to 

its Board of Directors

Mr. Slacik has over 30 years of executive level experience in the health care industry, serving most recently as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Beckman Coulter Inc. His appointment brings the number of directors on the STAAR Surgical Board to seven. Mr. Slacik will join the Board's Audit Committee ... Read more

Spectrum Pharma hires ex-Amgen 

executive Ken Keller as COO 

Spectrum said Keller, 49, will be in charge of its pharmaceutical, medical and clinical, and commercial operations. The company said Keller worked at Amgen Inc. for 21 years, most recently as the general manager of its bone health division ... Read more