AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN), the biopharmaceutical company said it has begun a preclinical development program to evaluate the ability of its MEDI2452 investigational antibody to rapidly and specifically reverse the antiplatelet effects of ticagrelor in rare emergency situations such as urgent surgery, or in the event of major bleeding. MEDI2452 is being developed by MedImmune, AstraZeneca's biologics research-and-development arm. Ticagrelor, also known as BRILINTA, is an oral antiplatelet treatment for acute coronary syndrome."In certain emergencies, doctors need to have the option to swiftly reverse the effects of oral antiplatelet agents, in order to enable emergency surgery or a quick response to a major bleeding event without having to wait for the effects of the medicine to wear off," said Marc Ditmarsch, global development lead for BRILINTA. "Currently there are no FDA approved medications to counteract the antiplatelet effect in these situations. If the circumstances demand it, we believe MEDI2452 has the potential to help address this need for patients treated with BRILINTA." AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) have a 52-week range of $52.09 to $82.68.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis ReportCepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD), a molecular-diagnostics company, said Thursday it has been awarded a grant of up to $3.3 million co-financed by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop Xpert Ebola, a rapid Ebola test that could be run on Cepheid's more than 3,500 GeneXpert Systems installed in developing countries, including more than 1,000 in Africa. The test is expected to be offered on an emergency-use-only basis, the company noted."Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) is well positioned to respond quickly to this urgent imperative," said David Persing, Cepheid's chief medical and technology officer. "We are leveraging our significant investments in development of ultrasensitive HIV and TB detection technologies, and are borrowing on previous experience with an Ebola project to expedite delivery of the initial prototype and emergency use only product. We expect this technology to facilitate high throughput testing requirements of Ebola Treatment Units, as well as deployment of mobile laboratories for field surveillance."The company also said it and the Gates Foundation are evaluating deployment of Cepheid's RemoteXpert cloud-based monitoring software, currently implemented for TB testing on a pilot basis in South Africa and India. In the pilot phase, RemoteXpert has collected real-time data streams from nearly 2.5 million cases being evaluated for tuberculosis and drug resistance. "RemoteXpert could enable authorized agencies, for the first time, to access real-time testing activity and geopositioned Ebola test results in order to track the spread of the virus and the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to contain it," the company added.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis ReportCoverage of food production company Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) has been initiated by analysts at RBC Capital Markets with an outperform rating. The firm set its price target on the stock at $48 a share, which represents a potential upside of 20% from its closing price. Shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) have a 52-week trading range of $27.71 - $44.24.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis Report
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