Source: XconomyHIV has taught the pharmaceutical industry that the best way to fight an infectious virus that resists a single drug is to make a cocktail that attacks the virus in more than one way. Vertex Pharmaceuticals and its competitors are now following a similar formula with new therapies for hepatitis C.

Vertex, the Cambridge, MA-based company with operations in San Diego, offered a glimpse last week into its strategy for a two-drug combo that could significantly change hepatitis C treatment. If the company has mapped this out correctly, it could rid people of the virus while letting them ditch the detested standard therapies that force them to endure months of flu-like symptoms. I followed up last Friday to learn more from a conversation with Vertex's chief medical officer, Bob Kauffman.

The big story from the past couple years at Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX) is the development of its first-in-class protease inhibitor drug called telaprevir. This oral pill, taken two or three times a day, must be combined with the pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin. It has excited researchers because it has been able to double the cure rate while shortening the course of therapy by half. That means that many more of 170 million people worldwide with chronic hepatitis C liver infections will be likely to seek out treatment, and be able to stand up to the side effects of standard therapy over a shorter period of time. If the ongoing clinical trials to test this idea are successful this year, Vertex could bring telaprevir to the market in 2011. U.S. sales alone could amount to more than $2 billion after a couple years, researchers say. Read more here

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

For start-ups that harness the energy of the sun, 2010 looks to be a promising year.

In The Wall Street Journal's first survey of venture-backed clean technology companies, three makers of solar cells came out on top: Solyndra Inc. of Fremont, Calif.; Suniva Inc. of Norcross, Ga.; and eSolar Inc. of Pasadena, Calif. The rankings, announced Thursday at the Journal's ECO:Nomics Executive Conference in Santa Barbara, Calif., seek to identify those green companies that have the capital, executive experience and investor know-how to succeed in an increasingly crowded field. Read more here.

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Just when it seemed America was emerging from the recession, Wall Street swooned again as January segued into February. But Silicon Valley's startup economy shifted into a higher gear. Read more here. 

Source: Reuters.com

The Federal Communications Commission's plan to boost Americans' access to the Internet will propose up to $25 billion in new federal spending, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Read more here.

Source: Information WeekNovell and the Cloud Security Alliance have announced a vendor-neutral "Trusted Cloud Initiative" for developing standards and certification of cloud security, compliance, identity management and other best practices.

While cloud computing is a popular topic, it lacks a set of well-defined terms and standards that tell prospective users concrete information about the environment they're about to adopt.

Businesses considering adopting cloud computing lack assurances they will be able to continue to control their data, enforce best practices and guarantee security, said Jim Reavis, executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance Monday.

The Cloud Security Alliance is a group of consultants, vendors, and cloud users that formed a non-profit group at the end of 2008 to address the lack of standards for cloud computing.

If a prospective cloud user and a vendor talk about level three security in the cloud, one may have a completely different idea of what the other is saying. There are no defined levels of security in cloud computing, and it's difficult to get a discussion going when one party can't be sure of the terms that the other is using. The Trusted Cloud Initiative is aimed in part at creating a shared set of standards that can be verified by neutral third parties.

"By building a consensus security reference guide and certification roadmap, we are creating common ground for both enterprises and cloud providers, and expect to accelerate cloud adoption," said Alan Boehme, senior VP IT strategy and enterprise architecture at ING Americas, a branch of the Dutch insurance conglomerate, in Monday's announcement. Boehme is a member of the board of directors of the Cloud Security Alliance. Read more here

Source: UPI.comMELBOURNE, March 1 (UPI) -- Australian biomedical scientists report they have identified a new way to treat prostate cancer.

Researchers at the Monash University in Melbourne used a drug compound to selectively activate the prostate's beta estrogen receptor cells. Study co-author Gail Risbridger says this has the effect of targeting for cell death a small but important population of cells in the prostate cancer tumor that are often resistant to conventional therapy and can lead to recurrent incurable disease.

"It is a significant piece of the puzzle that will help medical research in this field -- an achievement that could eventually enhance treatment options for patients around the world with advanced prostate cancer," Risbridger said in a statement. Read more here

Source: OSA

A new JOSA B paper describes a revised theory of the four-wave-mixing process for terahertz (THz) generation from two-color laser ionized gas. The authors carefully discuss the role of various mechanisms and make suggestions that should stimulate further research efforts in the THz community. To know more, email us.

Source: Wired.com

More than a third of American adults don’t have a fast internet connection at home, leaving some 80 million adults and 13 million children at a distinct disadvantage in a wired world, according to an FCC report released Tuesday.

Source: The New York Times

A Silicon Valley company is claiming a breakthrough in a decades-old quest to develop fuel cells that can supply affordable and relatively clean electricity. Google, Bank of America, Wal-Mart and other large corporations have been testing the devices, which will be formally introduced on Wednesday.  Read more here.

Source: Wired.com/greentechmedia

Intel CEO Paul Otellini Tuesday announced an ambitious $3.5 billion plan that, ideally, will lead to more technical  jobs and start-ups in the U.S.

Read More here.