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Canada Approves Vidaza For High-Risk MDS Patients — Health Canada, the nation’s drug regulator, has approved the sale and use of Vidaza (azacitidine) in Canada as a treatment for intermediate-2 or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) unable to receive stem cell transplants.   Celgene Corp., the company that markets Vidaza, says that it plans to make Vidaza commercially available in Canada in January, 2010.   The Health Canada approval is based primarily on the results of the AZA-001 study, which showed that MDS patients receiving Vidaza had significantly higher survival rates than those receiving conventional care regimens.  For more information, please see the Celgene press release or the Health Canada Web site.

U.S. MDS Patient And Family Forum —The MDS Foundation is sponsoring a free educational forum for MDS patients and their families on December 18 in Lake Success, NY. The main speaker will be Dr. Steven Allen of the North Shore University Hospital.  The event is free, but registration is required.  For more information about registering, please see The MDS Foundation Web site.

For a more detailed listing of MDS-related events, please check the MDS Beacon Events Calendar.

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After struggling with long wait times and lack of options, eighteen-year-old Canadian myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patient Wes Laporte and his family have left the public Canadian health care system and sought assistance in the United States for Wes’ bone marrow transplant and treatment.  On Monday, the family launched the Wes Laporte Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising money for Wes’ treatment, since receiving international services means having to pay entirely out-of-pocket. 

The Canadian health care system is publicly funded and guarantees coverage for all citizens.  The majority of providers are…