Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. and Unigene Laboratories, Inc. reported preclinical data showing that calcitonin may have synergistic effects in combination with other drugs in reducing the collagen degradation associated with osteoarthritis. The data are being presented at the 2010 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress in Brussels, Belgium. Unigene produces Fortical® nasal calcitonin product for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and Tarsa’s oral calcitonin is in a Phase III trial for the treatment of osteoporosis.

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ArthroCare Corp. announced that it has received clearance from the FDA to market its Parallax® Contour® Vertebral Augmentation Device (Contour) specifically for void creation in a vertebral body followed by injection of bone cement. Vertebral body void creation followed by bone cement augmentation is commonly used to treat painful vertebral compression fractures. The newly cleared Indication Statement provides that the Contour device is indicated for use during kyphoplasty or vertebral augmentation procedures.

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HydroCision Inc has announced the purchase of the majority of the Company by new investors, led by venture capital firms Volcano Capital, Bioventures, and Omega Funds. HydroCision is the developer, manufacturer, and marketer of SpineJet®, whose innovative Fluidjet surgical technology allows discectomy and interbody fusion procedures to be performed faster, less invasively, and with a higher degree of precision than traditional surgical modalities.

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Enobia Pharma provided an update on key developments in its comprehensive effort to develop ENB-0040 (asfotase alfa), an experimental bone-targeted enzyme replacement therapy, for the treatment of hypophosphatasia (HPP). Hypophosphatasia is a rare, inherited, and sometimes fatal metabolic bone disease that affects individuals of all ages. Enobia announced today that it has been issued United States Patent No. 7,763,712 B2, providing robust intellectual property coverage for targeting alkaline phosphatase to bone.

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Wintherix, LLC announced that WX04554, a potent small molecule activator of the Wnt pathway, has been designated as a lead drug for clinical development in bone healing and repair indications. Pre-clinical studies indicate that this class of small molecules potently activates the Wnt pathway and causes bones to heal and become stronger by forcing stem cells to become bone forming cells called osteoblasts.

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Afferent Pharmaceuticals has announced preclinical in vivo results demonstrating that an investigational P2X3 receptor antagonist significantly prevented and reversed bone cancer pain behavior in comparison to vehicle controls. These data expand on earlier findings and reveal that a marked reduction in apparent bone cancer pain occurs following oral administration of the proprietary P2X3 antagonist. Results from the study were presented in a poster session at the 13th World Congress on Pain in Montreal, Canada.

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Researchers at New York University have developed an innovative way to look at the development of osteoarthritis in the knee joint – one that relies on the examination of sodium ions in cartilage. Their work, which appears in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance, may provide a non-invasive method to diagnose osteoarthritis in its very early stages. The concentration of sodium ions, which are distributed in the body, is known to reveal the location of glycosaminogycans (GAGs) in cartilage tissues.

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DSM Biomedical and its Berkeley based operation, DSM PTG, announced the company has entered into six multi-year licensing agreements with global medical device manufacturers in the Orthopedic, Cardiovascular, Vascular and Urology fields in this year alone. These medical device companies will be in a position to leverage the track record of DSM Biomedical’s advanced biomedical materials, including Bionate® PCU, CarboSil® TSPCU and ComfortCoat® medical coatings in applications such as total disk replacement and spinal stabilization.

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OXIS INTERNATIONAL, INC. is proud to announce that it will introduce the benefits of Ergothioneine to the consumer market in September 2010 via breakthrough products for joint health and healthy aging. The first products, ErgoFlex® and ErgoPlex®, will initially be marketed via a direct mail offering being developed in partnership with Creative Direct Marketing Group, the leading service provider in the direct mail sector of the direct to consumer channel.

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Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking thiazolidinediones (TZDS), including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, may be at increased risk for fractures according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Men with diabetes taking both loop diuretics and TZDs may also be at increased risk of fractures. From the study, researchers identified 786 cases of fractures and 2,657 matched controls.

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