Burd, who is president of Burd Ford, a mother of four, and a fixture on television commercials for the dealership, has become
an advocate for mental health following her husband’s suicide.
Indiana will soon get its first comprehensive review of the state's criminal code and sentencing policies since 1976,
and officials hope the project will save taxpayer money and reduce how frequently released inmates return to prison
Locally, the long-running FLIP program, or Fund for Landmark Indianapolis Properties, has seen a marked downturn in the
resale of historic buildings.
Roche Holding AG’s decision to postpone its experimental diabetes drug is helping boost shares in Amylin Pharmaceuticals
Inc. and drug partner Eli Lilly and Co.
One day last spring, I put on a helmet, climbed on my bike, and rode to work with a
co-worker. For a guy who had only recently gotten on a bike
after more than 15 years away from two-wheelers, it was monumental.
Health care, plastics, other fundamental consumer needs kept some companies on upswings.
The Indiana University School of Medicine ranked below average for its output of primary-care physicians,
according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Roughly one-third, or 34.1 percent, of
physicians minted by the IU med school go into primary care, ranking IU No. 79 out of 141 schools on the list. Some of the
nation's most prestigious medical schools—including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, New York University and the Mayo Clinic—ranked
among the bottom 15 for turning out primary-care docs. To see the full ranking, click here.
Eli Lilly and Co.’s experimental drug Bydureon helped diabetics lower their blood sugar and their
weight—but not any more than the cheap, old diabetes pill metformin. That’s the upshot of clinical trial data
released Tuesday by Indianapolis-based Lilly and its development partners on Bydureon. The once-a-week version of Byetta helped
patients reduce their blood sugar, measured by hemoglobin A1c, by 1.5 percentage points. So did metformin. Patients on Bydureon
lost an average of 4.5 pounds a piece. Patients on metformin lost 4.4 pounds on average. Bydureon did reduce blood sugar more
than Januvia, a medicine made by New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc., and roughly the same as Actos, a drug made by Japan-based
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. However, patients lost less weight on Januvia, and actually gained weight on Actos. Lilly is
waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve Bydureon for market.
WellPoint Inc. got some recognition for practicing what it preaches. The National Business Group, a not-for-profit
organization of large employers, named WellPoint one of 66 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles because the company encourages
its workers and families to adopt long-term, healthy habits. Meanwhile, Indianapolis-based WellPoint is developing online
care options to give patients a quicker way to converse with a physician—using online video and chat or using a phone.
In a partnership with Boston-based American Well, WellPoint will launch its online care option in the fall with a network
of primary-care and specialist physicians committed to conducting virtual visits with patients. The online care option will
begin in a few markets and then expand throughout WellPoint’s territories across the country.
Purdue University's Healthcare Technical Assistance Program is hiring 50 professionals to help 2,200
Indiana primary-care doctors adopt electronic records that meet federal standards. Purdue's center, armed with $12 million
in federal stimulus funds, will aid small Indiana practices of 10 or fewer health care providers, community health centers,
federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
Eight programs at Riley Hospital for Children ranked among the top 30 children's hospitals in the nation
in U.S. News' annual America's Best Children's Hospitals list. The rankings will be released in the August
issue of U.S. News & World Report. Riley ranked third in urology, 14th in pulmonology, 15th in diabetes, 20th
in neonatal care, 22nd in digestive disorders, 29th in cardiology and neurology and 30th in cancer. No other hospitals in
Indiana were named in the rankings. U.S. News based the rankings on each hospital's reputation, outcomes, and
such measures as nursing care, advanced technology, and credentialing.
The Indianapolis-based Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation is contributing $20 million to support IUPUI’s effort to open
a school of public health.
The federal government is currently doling out $1.1 billion in stimulus funds to pay for research that compares multiple medical
treatments against one another to determine which is most effective. Drug companies like Eli Lilly and Co. are wary that comparative-effectiveness
research could threaten their sales.
Led by Sky Schelle, east-side residents have formed The Friends of Pleasant Run.
We’re all quick to say we want lower taxes, but we’re slow to sacrifice services that affect us.
IUPUI took two steps closer to creating a School of Public Health as it gave Lilly Scholars awards to help
two professors start up public health research projects. The awards are funded by a $1 million gift from the Eli Lilly
and Co. Foundation. Jennifer Wessel, who was hired from personalized genetics company SRI International, will focus
her research on developing interventions based on individuals' genetic profiles that can promote healthy lifestyles to
prevent or delay coronary artery disease. Silvia M. Bigatti, who has been a professor of psychology at the Indiana
University School of Medicine since 2000, will study factors related to stress and coping in cancer patients and
their partners and also community-based preventive health behaviors among Latinos.
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has approved a Stop Diabetes specialty license plate. Like Indiana's
other special group-recognition license plates, the Stop Diabetes plate will cost $40, with $25 of that cost directly benefiting
the American Diabetes Association. The funds raised will support education and research about diabetes. According to the American
Diabets Association, more than 714,000 Hoosiers have diabetes and at least 1.6 million, roughly a fourth of the state's
population, are at high risk for it.
Endocyte Inc.'s experimental cancer drug doubled survival times for women with difficult cases of ovarian
cancer. In a clinical trial of 91 women, Endocyte’s drug EC145, when combined with another chemotherapy drug, Doxil,
held off ovarian cancer for six months, compared with 3 months for patients given Doxil alone. The data are interim results
from a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 150 women. Endocyte, based in West Lafayette, plans to move its drug into a large
Phase 3 trial later this year.
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. and Merck KGaA’s Erbitux failed to slow early-stage colon cancer,
in a clinical trial that left scientists mystified. Erbitux is already approved to treat colon cancer in advanced stages,
and scientists presumed it would also work in earlier stages, according to Bloomberg News. The finding is the latest of at
least three studies that have narrowed the scope of Erbitux. It recorded sales last year of $1.4 billion, according to IMS
Health.
Dr. George W. Sledge Jr., a breast cancer specialist at the Indiana University School of Medicine, began
serving this month as president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He will remain president for the next year.
Harlan Laboratories has named Dr. Hilton Klein global vice president, science and new product introduction,
for the company’s research models and services operating group, and Steve Jennings global vice president,
marketing and sales for the research models and services operating group. Indianapolis-based Harlan tests experimental medicines
on animals on a contract basis.
SynCare LLC promoted Rachelle Davis, its executive vice president of medical management, to president of
the Indianapolis-based disease-management company. Davis will report directly to SynCare CEO Stephanie DeKemper and have chief
responsibility for day-to-day operations.
Indianapolis-based Benefit Associates/Benefit Consultants hired Spencer Milus, a registered nurse, as an
adviser for wellness and on-site strategies. Milus previously worked at Community Health Network/Infinity Employer Health
Solutions and WellPoint Inc.
Community Health Network appointed three of its physicians as vice presidents of medical affairs, all newly created positions,
at its three Indianapolis hospitals. Dr. Don Ziperman has the title at Community Hospital East, Dr.
Bob Lindeman at Community North and Dr. Randy Lee at Community South.
Clarian Health named Linda K. Chase, a registered nurse, chief nursing officer of Methodist Hospital, where
she will oversee 1,800 nurses. Chase will come to Methodist in July, leaving her current position as chief nurse at The Ohio
State Medical Center’s University Hospital and Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
A sweeping proposal calls for schools to provide recruits a written summary of their schools’ policies on everything from
medical-insurance limits to athlete-transfer rates and scholarship renewals, all within a week of contact.
Our waiter forgot to ring in our order. Mistakes happen, but how such problems are fixed says a lot about a restaurant’s culture.
One hurdle is that too few people understand what constitutes hazing.
