The New York Times reports that the government shutdown has crippled clinical trial activity at the National Institutes of Health. Only 12 patients have been enrolled since Oct. 1. Normally enrollment averages 200 new patients a week.

New research reveals the advantages of new, more accurate risk assessment methodologies over the basic lipid panel. Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in advanced cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, will highlight recent evidence for improved cardiovascular disease assessment and prevention at the eighth annual Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) October 2-5, at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston.    

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center has named Dr. Garret FitzGerald, professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; chair of the Department of Pharmacology and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, the recipient of the 2013 Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Prize in Cardiovascular Sciences.

An American Heart Association/American Stroke Association sponsored study comparing which stroke therapies work best has received a $2 million research award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Bayer HealthCare today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development has granted two separate orphan drug designations for its investigational, oral medication riociguat, proposed trade name Adempas®, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics that are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases and disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.

Amarin Corporation plc (Nasdaq:AMRN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health, announced today that the number of patients enrolled in the company's REDUCE-IT cardiovascular outcomes study of Vascepa(R) (icosapent ethyl) capsules has surpassed 6,000.

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2014 inductees. Their passion and innovative, visionary leadership has improved health worldwide. The six inductees announced today will join the ranks of 101 laureates who have gone before them in receiving this prestigious national honour.

Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, announces the addition of Gerard Abate, M.D., as the company’s Chief Clinical Officer.