UXBRIDGE, England, June 25 /PRNewswire/ --

NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has announced today, in its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD), that Baraclude(R) (entecavir) is recommended as an option for treatment of eligible patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Entecavir is a potent anti-viral treatment for chronic Hepatitis B that has been shown to be more effective at suppressing the virus than the most widely used anti-viral treatment (lamivudine)(1) and is less prone to the development of treatment resistance.(2) The recommendation in this FAD is due to be published as final NICE guidance in August of this year.

GENEVA and WASHINGTON DC, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With major surgery now occurring at a rate of 234 million procedures per year - one for every 25 people - and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a new safety checklist for surgical teams to use in operating theatres, as part of a major drive to make surgery safer around the world.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/ogilvyhealthpr/33718/

"Preventable surgical injuries and deaths are now a growing concern," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "Using the Checklist is the best way to reduce surgical errors and improve patient safety."

MAIDENHEAD, England, June 25 /PRNewswire/ --

- For the Attention of UK Publications Only

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today recommended adalimumab (HUMIRA) as a treatment option for adults with severe chronic plaque psoriasis. (1) Psoriasis is a non-contagious, recurrent autoimmune disease that affects around 1.2 million people in the UK, up to 240,000 of whom suffer from the severe form of the disease.(2), (3)

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

IdenTrust, Inc today announced that Lloyds TSB has selected IdenTrust to provide trusted identity services for the bank's corporate banking customers using the BACSTEL-IP payment network.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080624/AQTU010LOGO)

Lloyds TSB has joined the IdenTrust identity scheme and will provide its corporate banking customers IdenTrust digital identities to deliver strong authentication capabilities for users accessing BACSTEL-IP systems and for the digital signing of BACS transactions. In addition to joining the IdenTrust identity scheme, Lloyds TSB has engaged IdenTrust to provide a fully managed hosting service for the bank's high assurance identity requirements.

COPENHAGEN, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Summary: Genmab Initiates a Phase I/II Study of Zalutumumab in Combination With Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Advanced Head and Neck Cancer.

Genmab A/S (OMX: GEN) announced today it has initiated a Phase I/II study of zalutumumab (HuMax-EGFr(TM)) in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of advanced head and neck cancer. The study will include a maximum of 36 patients who are ineligible for platinum based chemotherapy.

CARLSBAD, California, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Presentations at Cardiostim World Congress Focus Attention on a New Ablation Technology

Ablation Frontiers, Inc. today announced that two studies reporting positive findings about its novel atrial fibrillation catheter ablation system were presented at this year's Cardiostim World Congress, a premier meeting for physicians that treat cardiac rhythm disorders.

BASEL, Switzerland, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- The following is an op-ed by Frank Waltmann, Head Corporate Learning, Novartis

Corporate philanthropy in Africa can come in many forms. Financial funding and product donations are often heralded, but perhaps its time for other, more specialized forms of giving to take their place in the spotlight -- for instance, skills and leadership training. A recent experience with an African AIDS group provides an example.

In AIDS-ravished Africa, between 15 and 40 percent of all children in the southern countries have lost either one or both parents to this horrific disease. REPSSI is a regional African non-governmental organization that provides programming for children affected by HIV and AIDS, poverty, and conflict.

ANTONY, France, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Stallergenes has been granted with the marketing authorisation for its sublingual desensitisation tablet, Oralair(R) Grasses in adults, by PEI (Paul Ehrlich Institute), the biological branch of the German health agency.

Based on the positive results of the paediatric pivotal study (VO52), Stallergenes will immediately apply for a paediatric extension of the product's indications.

Stallergenes will launch Oralair(R) Grasses in the adult indication on the German market in the coming weeks. The company expects to extend this launch to the paediatric population this year so as to capture the forthcoming prescription period for grass pollen desensitisation in both indications.

NEW YORK, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Awards Target Researchers in Developing Countries and Academic Workplace

The Elsevier Foundation is seeking grant proposals for its Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries and New Scholars programs. Grant proposals for the two programs sponsored by Elsevier, a leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, are due by September 15, 2008. The grants will be awarded in December 2008 and provide one, two and three year awards between US$5,000 to US$50,000 per year.

LONDON, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons last week passed judgment on one veterinary surgeon, and dismissed the case against another, in an unusual double disciplinary hearing that involved two former colleagues.