Patients with low back pain from early disc degeneration treated with Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) MPCs during a phase II trial reported reduced back pain and required fewer pain drugs compared to controls. [ + ]

The annual AusMedtech national conference will again be held in Melbourne, from 1-2 April at the Hilton on the Park. The flagship medical technology event of the year has just confirmed Mick Farrell, CEO of ResMed, to speak on day one. [ + ]

Australian researchers and clinicians can now access locally produced medical isotopes thanks to a new collaborative arrangement. [ + ]

Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals has picked up patents in six countries for Phaxan, its anaesthesia drug candidate that entered the phase IC trial stage this month. [ + ]

Viralytics (ASX:VLA) has launched a capital raising to secure funds for clinical trials of cancer treatment candidate Cavatak in melanoma and other solid tumours. [ + ]

Qiagen plans to roll out a portfolio of assays for the QIAsymphony platform to aid in the diagnosis of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The company's first new test, the artus C. difficile QS-RGQ MDx Kit, has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [ + ]

Burnet Institute has received US$1.6 million from UNITAID to begin evaluation studies of HIV test VISITECT CD4 in India and South Africa. The point-of-care test uses a small amount of blood from a finger prick to determine when an HIV-positive patient should start lifesaving treatment. Results of the test are available after 40 min at a cost of approximately $5. [ + ]

Researchers from the University of Bath have developed a new enzymatic process intensification technology - the 'spinning cloth disc reactor' (SCDR) - which is one of only a few technologies available for accelerating the rate of an enzyme reaction. [ + ]

Researchers are recruiting nanobiology to change the way heart attacks are treated. [ + ]

Scientists at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), funded by Cancer Council Queensland, are conducting research into the deadliest form of ovarian cancer. [ + ]

Calzada (ASX:CZD) subsidiary Metabolic has secured the first of what it hopes will be a number of licensing agreements with Australian compounding pharmacies for its peptide drug AOD9604. [ + ]

IDT Australia (ASX:IDT) is evaluating acquiring Perrigo's US ANDA filing for a synthetic oestrogen product, as it seeks to expand its specialty generic drug portfolio. [ + ]

AusBiotech calls on industry leaders (CEOs and MDs) to respond to the annual Biotechnology Industry Position Survey 2014 in order to contribute to the annual snapshot and build the advocacy platform for the year to come. [ + ]

A new tool that guides catheter placement is being taken up by Australian hospitals. [ + ]

The dream of sequencing an entire human genome for $1000 has become a reality. [ + ]