ALSO NOTED: MN Gov. withdraws healthcare promise; Cancer patients take front line in early-stage trials; and much more...

> Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty withdrew promised support for a bill designed to cut healthcare spending by nearly 20 percent by 2015, citing a lack of support from Republican House members. Article [1]

> Frustrated by the long years of research needed to prove the effectiveness of a new cancer therapy, British officials have designated a network of 19 hospital units that will be allowed to administer early-stage experimental cancer drugs to terminal patients. Report [2]

> Big Pharma companies often are quick to turn their backs on a drug that doesn't deliver strong data. But a series of these failed development programs have been resurrected by scientists who decided to search for the kind of genetic biomarkers that would define a group of patients who would respond positively. Report [3]

And Finally... Babies born prematurely may suffer the health consequences all the way through to adulthood. Report [4]