Bayer HealthCare today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development has granted two separate orphan drug designations for its investigational, oral medication riociguat, proposed trade name Adempas®, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics that are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases and disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.

Amarin Corporation plc (Nasdaq:AMRN), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health, announced today that the number of patients enrolled in the company's REDUCE-IT cardiovascular outcomes study of Vascepa(R) (icosapent ethyl) capsules has surpassed 6,000.

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2014 inductees. Their passion and innovative, visionary leadership has improved health worldwide. The six inductees announced today will join the ranks of 101 laureates who have gone before them in receiving this prestigious national honour.

Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, announces the addition of Gerard Abate, M.D., as the company’s Chief Clinical Officer.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced a five-year, $20.3 million grant awarded to UNLV from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead a health research network of 13 universities across the Mountain West. The University of Nevada School of Medicine will partner on the grant.

Dr. R. Clinton Webb, Chairman of the Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, is the 2013 recipient of the American Heart Association Council on High Blood Pressure Research's Irvine Page-Alva Bradley Lifetime Achievement Award.

GoDanRiver.com of Danville, Va., reported that a cardiovascular surgeon at Danville Regional Medical Center died in a plane crash Aug. 29.

Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (CHL), a rapidly growing specialty clinical laboratory and cardiovascular disease management company, today announced that its fourth annual symposium, Where Inflammation Meets Lipids®, will focus on unique models and strategies for assessing, treating and preventing chronic disease.