June 30th

Humana Announces Intent to Acquire Metcare Health Plans, Inc.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Metcare Health Plans, Inc. (“MHP”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc. (“Metropolitan”) (AMEX: MDF) – based in West Palm Beach, Florida – for an estimated $14 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

AdvantageCare, the Medicare Advantage health plan offered by MHP, provides Medicare beneficiaries with access to comprehensive health care coverage in Florida. The acquisition is expected to increase Humana’s Medicare Advantage membership by approximately 7,000 members in the following 13 Florida counties: Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Polk, Sarasota, St. Lucie and Sumter.
Read more: Metropolitan Health Networks Inc ( MDF )
June 30th

Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R)

Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDEV) today announced that it has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NEBIDO(R) related to a New Drug Application (NDA) submitted to the FDA in August 2007. The letter, received on June 27, 2008, indicated that the application may be approved if the Company is able to adequately respond to certain clinical deficiencies related to the product. The letter generally confirmed the Company\'s previously-announced indications from the FDA based on telephone discussions.

The FDA has expressed a concern about a relatively small number of patients in European post-marketing use who have experienced respiratory symptoms immediately following the intramuscular injection of NEBIDO 1000 mg, 4 cc injection volume, (versus the 750 mg, 3 cc injection volume used in the United States).
Read more: Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc ( IDEV )
Next Generation of Extensible Threat Management (XTM) Solutions take UTM to the next level

June 30, 2008 – WatchGuard® Technologies, a global provider of network security solutions, today announced its vision of taking unified threat management (UTM) to the next level of performance, scalability, high security, investment protection and end-user choice with its extensible threat management (XTM) and connectivity solutions.

“With the increase of mobility, consumer and Web 2.0 applications moving into the enterprise, security of the network perimeter is at an inflection point, and how security is viewed, architected and managed is quickly changing,” said Joe Wang, CEO, WatchGuard Technologies.
Read more: WatchGuard Unveils Vision of Extensible Network Security
Jasper Wireless Enables Arrowhead Electronic Healthcare to Deliver Wireless eDiary Solution for Clinical Drug Trial

eDiary Transmits Data from Hemophiliac Patients to a Global Database Accessible by Research Study Teams

Jasper Wireless announced today that it has enabled Arrowhead Electronic Healthcare to provide a wireless eDiary solution for patients participating in a 13-month drug trial being conducted in 20 countries around the world. The eDiary collects patient data that will be used to determine the efficacy of a new long-acting clotting factor used to treat hemophilia.
Read more: Jasper Wireless Enables Arrowhead Electronic Healthcare to Deliver Wireless...
PixAlert releases ImageGuard MailAssessor to detect inappropriate images on corporate email

Following a rise in the levels of risk it discovers when scanning enterprise email systems for inappropriate images, specialist risk-mitigation software vendor PixAlert has released ImageGuard™ MailAssessor, a free downloadable tool which allows companies to rapidly check for potential image risk in their email systems. It’s widely recognised that outbound e-mailing of inappropriate content damages company reputations and brand equity, while internal distribution can undermine employee welfare and productivity.

ImageGuard MailAssessor is designed specifically for enterprise email systems and can scan email accounts unobtrusively without the need to install any software on the email server. The software works with Microsoft Exchange®, Lotus Notes® and Novell Groupwise® and will scan embedded images, compressed files and email attachments held on email servers.
Read more: Free Image Risk scanner for enterprise email.