Specialised Therapeutics Australia has secured TGA approval for ARIAD Pharmaceuticals' Iclusig in two types of leukaemia.

Professor Katharina Pachmann, the inventor of a simple blood test which utilises circulating epithelial tumour cells (CTCs) to monitor the activity of cancer, will be presenting at a number of events in Australia and New Zealand in early December. [ + ]

Scientific instrument supplier Scientex has passed a milestone, with November 2014 marking the company's 20th anniversary of providing highly technical instruments to a range of scientific research sectors. [ + ]

Bleaching has a detrimental long-term impact on the reproductive rates of coral.

The Australian Academy of Science has announced the winners of honorific awards for scientific excellence. The awards were established to recognise distinguished research in two categories: medals and prizes for early- and mid-career scientists up to 15 years post-PhD; and career awards for scientists of lifelong achievement. [ + ]

A new report warns that Australia may be in for some biosecurity megashocks.

Calzada (ASX:CZD) plans to pursue a sale or spin-off of its Metabolic Pharmaceuticals subsidiary to hand over responsibilities for funding the development of peptide fragment AOD9604.

Melbourne's Paradigm BioPharmaceuticals will raise up to $13.5m via an ASX IPO to help raise funds for trials of legacy drug PPS as a treatment for bone marrow edema (BME).

An international research team has developed a more sustainable approach to a bond-forming reaction used in the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. The team used the solvent-free, catalytic reaction to produce high yields of a wide range of amides. [ + ]

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the Kolling Institute of Medical Research have launched SPARK Sydney - a start-up program to aid the commercialisation of health and medical research. [ + ]

Dr Claire Weekley has been awarded the Australian Synchrotron Stephen Wilkins Thesis Medal for her insights into elemental selenium, adding to our understanding of its potential for the prevention and treatment of disease. [ + ]

The Australian and New Zealand health ministries have mutually cancelled a plan to establish a joint therapeutic products regulator that would replace the TGA and Medsafe.

National science communication organisation RiAus has launched a dedicated online science television channel.

The Australian and New Zealand governments have ceased efforts to establish a joint therapeutic products regulator, the Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency (ANZTPA). [ + ]

National science communication organisation RiAus, in partnership with Hostworks, has launched riaus.tv - a dedicated online science television channel which delivers free, science-based content on demand. [ + ]