KIWI Shoe Care says a survey reports Americans like to come to work with their shoes clean and polished, with 86 percent saying the appearance of their shoes matters in maintaining a professional and presentable look at work.

88 percent of Americans feel that looking professional and presentable at all times is important to getting ahead and maintaining a positive image. These numbers were consistent across the board – regardless of age, income or geography.

With the economy in the tank, it seems people are discovering frugality works for them, preferring to clean an polish their shoes rather than going out to buy new ones. This is good for companies like Exton’s Kiwi shoe care, but not so good for show manufacturers or shoe retailers.

KIWI recommends workers take the following steps to ensure they are always putting their best foot forward in the workplace:

• Dress for Success. Always look your best – even on business casual days.You never know who you are going to meet in the course of a business dayand you should always aim to look presentable and professional.

• Polish your shoes. Shine and polish them up to remove scuffs and scratches and help them last longer and look like you just bought them.

• Shield from the elements. Rain, snow, mud, etc. can quickly spoil the appearance of your leather shoes. Waterproof and protect your shoes against water and stains to make sure your shoes are always in tip-top shape.

• Travel smart. Are you a frequent business traveler? If traveling, pack smart with wrinkle-free clothing so you won’t look rumpled and unkempt. Also, place your shoes inside a shoe bag or wrap them in a soft material before putting them in your suitcase for additional protection.

Popularity: unranked [?]

EXTON – BioTrends has released the final report of LaunchTrendsZ, about a rheumatoid arthritis inhibitor drug.  The report comes from on-line survey responses from 75 rheumatologists and qualitative interviews with some survey respondents.

ACTEMRA. Actemra (tocilizumab), marketed by Roche-Genentech, is the first humanized IL-6 receptor inhibitor agent approved for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis patients with an inadequate response to one or more TNF-alpha inhibitors.

The rheumatologists report successfully using Actemra with patients who failed one or more TNF-alpha inhibitors despite the need for more frequent blood monitoring of liver function, lipid profile, and neutrophil and platelet counts. Each of these side effect issues has had varying degrees of impact on physicians’ treatment patterns.

Actemra competes with Centocor Ortho Biotech’s Remicade and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Orencia.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Ryan & Maniskas, LLP (www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/scln) have a class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of SciClone Pharmaceuticals securities between May 11, 2009 and August 10, 2010.

SciClone develops therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases in China and internationally. The Complaint alleges the defendants were engaged in illegal and improper sales and marketing activities in China and abroad regarding its products.

The activities eventually caused SciClone to become the focus of a joint investigation by the SEC and the Department of Justice for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Investors didn’t learn about the Company’s operations until it was reported the SEC and DOJ were investigating the Company for violations of the Act, and then Company shares declined almost 40% in one day, on abnormally large trading volume.

For more information about the case or to participate online, visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/scln,
or contact Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire toll-free at (877) 316-3218, or
by e-mail at rmaniskas@rmclasslaw.com.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Acne Scar Treatment Study Sent To FDA

Fibrocell Science, a biotechnology company based in Exton PA, working on the development of autologous cell therapies submitted a clinical study report to the FDA, on it’s acne scar treatment.

The company says thorough analysis of study data contained in the report demonstrates that the study was statistically significant, and a significant regulatory milestone for the Company.

The Phase II/III, placebo-controlled study investigating the efficacy and safety of azficel-T for the treatment of moderate to severe acne scars evaluated a total of 109 individuals at seven U.S. clinical sites. In the study, both the Patient and Evaluator assessments met the co-primary endpoints four months after the final study treatment, and were statistically significant, achieving p-values of <0.0001 and 0.0109, respectively (p-values less than or equal to 0.05 are considered statistically significant).

“This is an important step towards another potential indication for our azficel-T lead therapy, which is currently under review by the FDA for use in the treatment of nasolabial fold wrinkles. Our therapy would be the first product of its kind available to address the large unmet need in treatment of acne scars, if approved by FDA.”

Chairman and CEO David Pernock

Acne Scars

The company says 43 percent of patients reported a response to the side of the face treated with azficel-T four months after the final study treatment, while 18 percent of patients reported a response on the placebo-treated side of the face. With respect to the Evaluator assessments, evaluators reported that 59 percent of patients responded on the side of the face treated with azficel-T, and that 42 percent of patients responded on the placebo-treated side of the face. Notably, significant improvement was also observed as soon as one month after the final azficel-T treatment.

Acne Scar Treatment Side Effects

No serious adverse events related to azficel-T were reported during the course of the Acne Scar Treatment study. Similar to the results from previous studies with azficel-T, the occurrence of local adverse event in this study was low, and the events reported were mostly mild in nature and of short duration.

“This is a unique product and may be life changing for patients with acne scarring,” said Girish Munavalli, M.D., MHS, Medical Director, Dermatology, Laser and Vein Specialists of the Carolinas, Charlotte, North Carolina. “I remain extremely excited about the study results and the activity seen with the use of azficel-T to treat acne scars. Since the study concluded, some of the study patients have returned to my clinic. During these visits, I have noticed sustained improvement in the appearance of their scarring, which I believe is the result of the azficel-T treatment administered during the clinical trial. Based on these observations and my overall experience with azficel-T, I am very positive about the use of Fibrocell’s product for this indication.”

Information for this Acne Scar Treatment story came from a Fibrocell Science, Inc press release.

Popularity: 1% [?]

ViroPharma Incorporated, based in Exton, reported its second quarter financial results were a record. Net product sales were $109 million, buoyed by a 58% increase in sales of their Cinryze product, that brought in $40 million.

This has a positive effect on the company’s cashflow and working capital.

The company also reported working on other new products and studies of new applications for existing products.

“Overall, this was a period of substantial progress and we look forward to continued execution throughout the rest of 2010 and in the years ahead.”
Vincent Milano, ViroPharma’s CEO

The company says they do not believe that health care reform will materially impact their net sales of Vancocin or Cinryze in the near term.

Efficiencies lowered cost of sales, due to the effect of the step up in inventory recorded, partially offset from increased Cinryze volume. Cost of sales increased for the six months ended June 30, 2010 by $9.5 million as compared to the same period in the prior year due to the increase in Cinryze units sold, partially offset by the impact of the step-up on 2009 cost of sales related to the acquisition of Lev ($6.2 million).

ViroPharma tax expense for the past two quarters was $18.4 million and $5.6 million

Popularity: 1% [?]

Fibrocell Science, a biotechnology company, develops cell therapies for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications. They enrolled participants in their histology study of azficel-T, an autologous cell therapy.

Azficel-T is under review by the FDA for the treatment of moderate to severe nasolabial fold wrinkles. The histology study, requested by the FDA evaluates tissue treated with azficel-T compared to tissue treated with sterile saline placebo.

The company says there are 29 participants in the study. The study will also provide information about the skin after treatment, including evaluation of collagen and elastin fibrils, and cellular structure of the sampled tissues.

“The study enrollment progressed well and we are on track to complete the study and submit data to the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2010.”
- David Pernock, Chairman and CEO, Fibrocell Science Inc.

The FDA has six months to review the data submission once they deem Fibrocell’s response to their letter complete.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bentley Systems, based in Exton, creates comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world. Last week, Bentley Systems acquired a minority interest in BLUERIDGE Analytics, provider of the breakthrough site design optimization technology called SITEOPS, that uses cloud computing to save time and cost and improves land development.

The SITEOPS application has many customers, including Lowes and Target. The web-based application, is used by civil engineers, real estate developers, and land planners to quickly perform site configuration simulations, produce preliminary cost estimates, optimize site designs, and reduce overall costs.

“We are extremely pleased to have Bentley Systems, a recognized global leader in software for sustaining infrastructure, as our largest shareholder. Bentley’s decision to make a significant investment in our company and help support our ongoing development work validates the tremendous potential of our cloud-based land development technology.”
Mike Detwiler, president and CEO, BLUERIDGE Analytics

Bentley Systems CEO, Greg Bentley, say “Though SITEOPS is still in the early adoption stage, the resourceful team at BLUERIDGE Analytics has more than proven its potential in just a few short years. Already, evolutionary computing applied to land development now sets the new standard for preliminary site design performance. Equally important, the company’s management team has demonstrated a viable cloud computing business model that many of us can learn from and perhaps help extend.”

Bentley plans to add a SITEOPS user community to its Be Communities professional networking site at communities.bentley.com, to facilitate information sharing among SITEOPS and Bentley users.

Founded in 1984, Bentley has almost 3,000 colleagues in more than 45 countries, $500 million in annual revenues, and has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions, since 1999.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Exton company, KIWI Shoe Care is to hold a shoe donation drive at Grand Central Terminal, New York City, tomorrow. The event will be on the west side of Vanderbilt Hall, all day, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kiwi is teaming up with celebrity ballroom dancer, Cheryl Burke.

Donations benefit Soles4Souls, a non-profit that distributes shoes in the U.S. and more than 125 countries.

Commuters are encouraged to donate a pair of new or gently worn shoes or make a financial contribution to provide children and adults with what may be their first pair of shoes.

The first 500 donors receive gift bags containing products and coupons

KIWI Shoe Care has an ongoing shoe donation initiative. 5,000 pairs of shoes were collected in a previous drive in Philadelphia, for the benefit of Soles4Souls.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Exton company, WPCS International is helping itself and the local economy, gaining over $7 million in new contracts. WPCS designs and builds engineering services for communications infrastructure.

The company says the new contracts are both US and International. Projects include work for New London Police Department, Central Connecticut State University, Camden City Police Department, Eagle Research, Duquesne Light, National Grid, Florida Department of Transportation, Clearwire, AT&T, Qwest, Boeing, DNV Global Energy Concepts and Infinity Wind Power.

The new international projects are in China and Australia. The Chinese projects are for Jiaxing Gas Pipeline and Shenzhen Gas Pipeline. In Australia, the project are for Stanthorpe Police, Nambour General Hospital, Clontarf Beach State High School, Oakey Hospital, Yeronga State High School, Wynnum State High School and Bremer State High School.

Jim Heinz, WCPS Executive VP says although economic conditions in general are not good, the company is seeing increased activity, an indication their market strategy and services capability gives them a competitive advantage.

The focus of WPCS is communications infrastructure, including wireless communication, specialty construction and electrical power, for their customers in public services, healthcare, energy and corporate enterprise markets worldwide.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Local Exton company, iPipeline, recently won the 2010 FSOkx Excellence Award for Technology Innovation in Financial Services Transformation.

The win was announced at the 4^th Annual Financial Services Industry Transformation and Outsourcing Strategies Forum held last month, at the Princeton Club of New York in New York. iPipeline beat four other finalists in the Technology Innovation category for this financial services industry award.

“iPipeline’s vision is to be the leader in transforming ideas into products that revolution the life insurance industry. Winning the FSOkx Excellence Award for Technology Innovation highlights our progress in pursuing this goal.”

- Tim Wallace, iPipeline CEO

iPipeline sales distribution software is “clean technology” for insurance and financial services markets.

Popularity: 2% [?]