LONDON (Reuters) - British pharmaceutical company BTG announced two deals on Thursday that it said could create an interventional medicine business with potential sales of $1 billion.
Chief Executive Louise Makin told Reuters the deals would more than double BTG's revenues in the fast-growing ...
A non-Saudi, whose nationality and age were not given, died on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said on its website late on Wednesday. It said he had been admitted to a hospital in al-Qassim several days ago with an "acute respiratory syndrome".
"Most cases recorded so far are among ...
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas came a step closer to requiring some applicants for unemployment benefits to first undergo drug testing, when lawmakers gave final approval to a Republican-backed bill mandating such checks on Wednesday.
The measure, which passed the state House 104-42, had already ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation that would increase federal oversight for companies that compound and sell sterile drugs across state lines.
The proposed legislation was introduced in response to a meningitis outbreak last fall that killed ...
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - U.S. and state health authorities are investigating an unidentified respiratory illness that has killed two of 10 people hospitalized with it in Alabama since last week.
Preliminary tests do not indicate the bird flu, nor a new mutation of any known influenza virus, ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merck & Co's experimental insomnia drug moved a step closer to U.S. approval on Wednesday after a panel of medical experts said it is effective and safe at lower doses.
The advisory panel was convened to help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decide whether to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study, people with high blood pressure who could communicate with their pharmacists online had better blood pressure control a year after that service ended.
Previously researchers had found that patients randomly assigned to the web-based pharmacy care did ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Daily vitamin C supplements don't lower uric acid as much as drugs used to treat high levels of the acid that's responsible for gout, says a new study from New Zealand.
"It's not that the vitamin C didn't reduce the uric acid level at all, it's just so small that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adults who drink at least one sugar-sweetened drink a day are slightly more likely to develop kidney stones than people who rarely imbibe them, according to a new study.
While the recommendation for kidney stone prevention has been to drink a lot of fluids, the study ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than one quarter of people being treated for non-melanoma skin cancer in their doctor's office reported some type of complication after surgery, in a new study.
About half of those complications were medical problems related to the cancer-removing procedure, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Little known biotechnology company Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc has quietly built a large pipeline of experimental cancer treatments that it aims to deliver at a fraction of the cost spent by larger rivals.
That could translate into lower-cost treatments for large unmet ...
The advisory, posted on the city's website on Wednesday, covers much of the south and east of the city of 1.65 million.
The order followed reports of brown-tinged water in parts of the city, and Montreal Fire Department division chief Gordon Routley told CTV News that the advisory was likely to be ...
SAP has asked start-up Danish recruitment company Specialisterne to help it find, train and manage employees diagnosed with the disability.
"They bring a special set of skills to the table, which fits with SAP," said a spokesman for the company, which has already hired people with autism ...
Shares of the Calgary-based company rose as much as 11 percent to C$3.14 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Its Nasdaq-listed shares were up 10 percent.
Reolysin was administered intravenously along with chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel to patients who either failed to ...
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has bought back the Geneva headquarters of his former biotech firm Serono, hoping to establish a biotech research campus.
After selling the family business to German drugmaker Merck KGaA for $13.3 billion in 2006, the Harvard Business School ...
LONDON (Reuters) - For a pathogen with such a short history, the mysterious new virus killing people in the Middle East and Europe has already had an amazing array of names.
It first surfaced last year as "human betacoronavirus 2c EMC", but the suffixes "2c England-Qatar, "2C ...
Pfizer, the largest U.S. drugmaker, sold Zoetis shares in an initial public offering in February that raised $2.2 billion. Pfizer retained an 80 percent stake in Zoetis after the IPO and now plans to unwind that, starting with this offer.
The move comes as Pfizer continues to unload its ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has signed an antibiotics development deal worth up to $200 million with GlaxoSmithKline to tackle the dual threats of drug resistance and bioterrorism.
The collaboration, the first of its kind between Washington and a drug company, will allow funding to move ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles, which has more storefront medical marijuana shops than any other U.S. city, will close hundreds of the dispensaries and hike taxes on those that will be allowed to remain under a ballot measure approved by a wide margin of voters.
Nearly 63 percent of voters ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A new wave of medicines that tap the power of the immune system to fight cancer could become the biggest drug class in history, with potential sales of $35 billion a year.
That bullish sales forecast by analysts at U.S. bank Citigroup highlights the growing excitement ...
Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR), Merck has agreed to repurchase about 99.5 million shares from Goldman Sachs based on current market prices.
"We don't have consensus share count post-Q1 earnings to quantify the impact of the accelerated repurchase, but we believe this ...
Amag shares were down about 5 percent at $23.75 in after-market trading on Tuesday.
"The batch was only distributed to and sold in Switzerland and the recall is limited to the specific batch and specifically Switzerland," Lexington, Massachusetts-based Amag said in a regulatory filing on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young adult drivers who usually get less than six hours of sleep per night are more likely to crash than those who sleep in, according to a new study from Australia.
"Anything we can do to reduce the risk of becoming involved in a car crash is worth doing - sleep ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People will choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being "healthier," even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study.
"People think (healthier food) is lower in calories," said Pierre Chandon, a marketing ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study has confirmed that removing the tonsils and adenoids of children with obstructive sleep apnea can reduce sleepiness and improve the quality of life, but putting off the surgery might not hurt either.
The study is the first controlled test to compare the ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday.
Health authorities worldwide must be on the lookout to detect the virus, the ...
The man, a diabetic, died in hospital in the city of Monastir, ministry spokesman Ibrahim Labassi said. It was the first death in Tunisia from the virus.
"Tests showed that his two sons were infected by the same virus and they are under medical observation," Labassi said.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens who have a classmate die of suicide are more likely to consider taking, or attempt to take, their own lives, according to a new study.
The idea that suicide might be "contagious" has been around for centuries, senior author Dr. Ian Colman, who studies ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The importance of health literacy hit home for Lisa Gualtieri when a Cambodian refugee diagnosed with cancer asked her to act as a patient advocate.
She played the role of a "salty tongue," a Cambodian expression that paints outspokenness in a positive light. ...
(Reuters) - A new type of asthma drug meant to attack the underlying causes of the respiratory disease slashed episodes by 87 percent in a mid-stage trial, making it a potential game changer for patients with moderate to severe disease, researchers said on Tuesday.
"Overall, these are the ...
AcelRX said its Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System showed a decrease in pain intensity, compared with a placebo, as measured on a clinical scale 48 hours after surgery.
In the last of three late-stage trials, the drug-device combination also significantly reduced pain compared with a placebo 24 hours ...
"For the first time in nearly two years, a licensed vaccine will now be available to vaccinate traveling children and children of forward-deployed military personal in Asia as well against JE," Chief Executive Thomas Lingelbach said in a statement, calling the step a key growth element ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the White House already reeling from three major controversies, some Republican lawmakers are zeroing in on what they perceive is another possible scandal tied to President Barack Obama's landmark health reform law just as it nears implementation.
On top of the troubles ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nearly 13,000 healthcare employees at five University of California medical centers plan to strike on Tuesday in a move that threatens to back up emergency rooms and already has forced the postponement of elective surgeries.
Vocational nurses, respiratory therapists and ...
Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday that MSD Animal Health, a unit of Merck & Co, had been issued a license for the new vaccine after an accelerated assessment to make it available this summer.
As a result, farmers will be able to vaccinate sheep and ...
Pfizer said it would continue to study the experimental drug, inotuzumab ozogamicin, in other hematologic cancers.
"Hematologic cancers are a complex group of diseases, with more than 70 different types of lymphomas, leukemias or myelomas that require unique treatment options," Mace ...
(Reuters) - Farms in two of the nation's leading pork producing states have tested positive for the potentially fatal porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), U.S. pork industry veterinarian official said Monday.
Three farms in Iowa and one Indiana operation have confirmed cases of the virus, said ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men with other illnesses may not live long enough to benefit from aggressive prostate cancer treatments, such as prostate removal or radiation, and they'd have to live with their side effects, says a new study.
"If you're going to die of a heart attack in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who get an older and less costly form of radiation after their cancerous prostates are removed fare just as well as men who get a new and expensive type of radiation, according to a new study.
"What we demonstrate is that both (therapies) are very safe and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The importance of health literacy hit home for Lisa Gualtieri when a Cambodian refugee diagnosed with cancer asked her to act as a patient advocate.
She played the role of a "salty tongue," a Cambodian expression that paints outspokenness in a positive light. ...
In the extension of a late-stage trial, the drug was shown to help people suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a progressively worsening condition that can overburden the heart, to better tolerate physical exercise.
It said that side effects, including headache, dizziness, ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain launched a research program on Monday that should eventually allow all cancer patients to have access to the kind of genetic analysis that led Hollywood star Angelina Jolie to decide to undergo a double mastectomy.
The project, involving the Institute of Cancer Research ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is closing in on a site for its new $500 million home in Cambridge, with a biomedical park just south of the English city the most likely site, property industry sources said.
Moving research and global headquarters to Cambridge, with minimal disruption, is a key ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a patent dispute concerning Medtronic Inc over medical devices it manufactures that give the heart electrical jolts when it fails to pump blood properly.
Medtronic wants the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court finding ...
The late-stage trial will compare a combination of chemotherapy and the drug, bavituximab, with chemotherapy alone.
The main goal of the trial would be to show an improvement in overall survival of patients.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merck & Co's experimental insomnia drug suvorexant appears generally effective, according to reviewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but they questioned the company's proposed dosing levels.
The reviewers posted their comments on the FDA's website on Monday, ...
(Reuters) - XenoPort Inc said it would stop development of an experimental multiple sclerosis treatment it planned to launch in 2015 after a late-stage trial failed to show significant improvement over a placebo.
Shares of the company fell 26 percent to $5.03 in morning trade on the Nasdaq.
(Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, itself a recent takeover target, said on Monday it would buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc for $5 billion in stock to expand its branded drug portfolio, lower taxes and increase profits.
The Warner Chilcott acquisition brings two ...
DUBLIN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Royalty Pharma raised its hostile bid for Elan to $12.50 per share and threatened to withdraw the bid if Elan shareholders approve a series of defensive transactions announced by the Irish drug firm.
Royalty Pharma, which buys royalty streams of patented drugs, said ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fitness experts are shining a new light on group classes from Zumba to yoga because they believe the right lighting can transform the four walls of a fitness studio from a dance party to a meditation space, and back again.
"Because of the theatrical nature of group ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Boys who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in elementary school are more likely to grow up to be obese adults than those who don't have the condition, a new study suggests.
Researchers surveyed two groups of 41-year-old men and found ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A newer version of the whooping cough vaccine doesn't protect kids as well as the original, which was phased out in the 1990s because of safety concerns, according to a new study.
During a 2010-2011 outbreak of whooping cough in California, researchers found that youth ...
JAKARTA (Reuters) - When a sick Indonesian baby died after 10 hospitals in Jakarta turned her family away in February, critics blamed a pilot health insurance scheme that had overwhelmed the city's public hospitals.
The program, introduced in November, gave health insurance to around 5 million ...
In a disease outbreak update issued from its Geneva headquarters, the WHO said the latest patient is an 81-year-old woman with multiple medical conditions. She became ill on April 28 and is in a critical but stable condition.
Worldwide, there have now been 41 laboratory-confirmed infections, ...
Lundbeck said in a statement that the trial showed safety levels consistent with previously completed studies at lower doses.
Lundbeck and Takeda submitted vortioxetine, also known as Brintellix, for regulatory approval in the United States and Europe at the end of last year.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A review of past research finds that fever-reducing drugs have no effect on the speed of children's recovery from an infection, contrary to the fears of some doctors and parents.
Researchers have debated for decades whether lowering a sick child's fever helps the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A potentially fatal hog virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea, has been found in the United States for the first time, government and private industry officials said on Friday, posing a new threat for the country's struggling pork producers.
PEDV, an incurable condition that ...
The United Nations health agency said the four deaths were from cases that had already been identified in laboratories. Since May 8, there have been no new cases of infection with H7N9, it added.
The WHO reiterated that there is no evidence that the new strain of bird flu, which was first detected ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most surgeons-in-training dislike new rules that limit how many hours they can work, according to a new study that also found the majority said they skirt the restrictions.
Researchers surveyed 1,013 surgical residents - who train for years alongside more senior ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Soccer matches played at a high level of competition are more likely to result in injuries - and in more serious ones - compared to less important games, according to a new study.
The finding makes sense, according to Håkan Bengtsson, who led the research, because ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heavy women are less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than their slimmer peers, according to a new study.
Researchers following more than 116,000 women found that morbidly obese study participants were 39 percent less likely than normal-weight women to develop ...
Novo Nordisk said in a statement that in patients given the drug, 99 percent of bleeding episodes were treated with only one infusion and two-thirds of the patients had experienced complete resolution of bleeding.
Patients had also reported an improvement in quality of life during the trial and ...
Following a formal safety review, conducted at the request of French authorities, the agency concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks - provided measures were taken to minimize the chance of blood clots forming in veins and arteries.
The medicines should be used solely in the treatment of ...
Sanofi has been regrouping its research operations around the world into regional hubs and closing some laboratories to cut costs as it grapples with the impact on revenues of patent loss on several top-selling drugs.
Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher plans to move research facilities in France to ...
Nearly 1.5 million people in China need transplants every year, but only 10,000 can get organs, according to the Health Ministry.
Many of those organs are taken from executed criminals and rights groups say it is often done without their consent - something the government denies, even as it tries ...
Myelofibrosis is a rare, life-threatening condition that involves abnormal blood cell production and scarring in the bone marrow.
"Patients with myelofibrosis in advanced stages are desperately ill and in need of treatments that will improve their outcomes," Debasish Roychowdhury, head ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The long-awaited, controversial new edition of the bible of psychiatry can be characterized by many numbers: its 947 pages, its $199 price tag, its more than 300 maladies (from "dependent personality disorder" and "voyeuristic disorder" to "delayed ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British fertility experts have devised a new IVF technique that takes thousands of snapshots of a developing embryo that they say can help doctors pick those most likely to implant successfully and develop into healthy babies.
At a briefing in London before publishing their ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law on Thursday in a symbolic move aimed as much at healing internal Republican rifts as demonstrating dogged party opposition to "Obamacare."
The ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who've sustained multiple brain injuries throughout their life were more likely to report suicidal thoughts than people with one or no concussions, according to a new study of deployed U.S. military personnel.
"Personnel who had sustained more than one ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Being under stress at work is tied to a higher risk of heart problems, new research confirms - but putting down the beer bottle and going for a walk may help.
Researchers found that job strain - defined as having a lot of demands at work, but little control - was tied ...
(Reuters) - An experimental leukemia treatment that Roche Holding AG hopes will improve upon its best-selling cancer drug Rituxan delayed disease progression twice as long as chemotherapy, according to preliminary trial data released on Wednesday.
Switzerland-based Roche aims to fend off cheaper ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Up to 20 percent of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number of kids diagnosed with one has been rising for more than a decade, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the agency's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who die of a sudden cardiac event are less likely to do so on the first day of mountain activities if they sleep at higher elevations the night before, according to a new study.
"The recommendations now are if you're an active, healthy person above about 8,000 ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding a plant-derived compound called a sterol to the cholesterol-lowering agent red yeast rice doesn't make it work any better, according to a new study.
"I expected to see a synergistic effect with red yeast rice, and I was shocked to see no effects ...
Northern Mpumalanga province's police department has opened 22 murder cases but no arrests have been made so far, spokesman Colonel Leonard Hlathi said.
Every year in South Africa, boys aged 10 to 15 years from several of the country's tribal groups are circumcised in traditional "initiation ...
The source said a part-sale or a listing were equally likely. If a listing were the preferred outcome, it would happen in the second half of 2013.
Recipharm, which is a contract manufacturer and developer of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry, has around 1,500 employees and made earnings before ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite a strong warning from U.S. regulators in 2007, for-profit dialysis centers still gave their kidney failure patients more of a certain anemia drug than non-profit centers in 2008, says a new study.
The researchers write in JAMA Internal Medicine that their ...
"We have no intention to pursue them," spokesman Eric Althoff said in response to inquiries.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Novartis - which operates a large generics business called Sandoz - was considering whether to enter the fray, after Actavis rebuffed separate ...
Bayer said on Thursday that Steigerwald, based in Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of 61.3 million euros ($78.8 million) in 2012 with 180 staff. It did not disclose financial terms of the takeover.
($1 = 0.7775 euros)
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has enrolled the first patient into a final-stage clinical trial of a new drug for a rare type of leukemia as the group's new CEO delivers on a promise to accelerate its oncology programs.
Britain's second-biggest drugmaker said on Thursday the Phase III clinical ...
It said the State Council, China's cabinet, recently ordered local government departments to step up checks on meat and processed meat products, and carry out detailed inspections of rural factories, workshops and warehouses as well as private slaughterhouses.
"The current water-injected ...
OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Key officials helping to create Washington state's potentially lucrative recreational pot market say its success may hinge on preventing consumers from choosing to get high on readily available medical cannabis because of low and sometimes nonexistent taxes on ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Bereaved parents who do not want to see their dead babies go through a conventional autopsy could in future be offered a less invasive option which uses magnetic resonance imaging and blood tests to establish the cause of death.
Scientists who investigated using a combination of ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Updated federal advice on mercury levels in fish appears to have stalled within the U.S. department of health, frustrating scientists and advocacy groups who argue that exposure to mercury may be dangerous at lower levels than previously thought.
The government last revised ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After decades of using one-size-fits-all therapies to combat cancer, doctors are using new tools to help decide when their patients can skip chemotherapy or other harsh treatments.
An approach to oncology that has been in place for decades is beginning to yield to an ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Two health workers in Saudi Arabia have become infected with a potentially fatal new SARS-like virus after catching it from patients in their care - the first evidence of such transmission within a hospital, the World Health Organization said.
The new virus, known as novel ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Melanoma patients treated with two Bristol-Myers Squibb drugs fared much better than those who received either of the medications individually, a new advance for treatments that harness the body's immune system to fight cancer.
Bristol released preliminary data from the ...
(Reuters) - An experimental drug from Gilead Sciences Inc shrank tumors in half of leukemia patients whose cancer had returned, according to an early-stage trial that represents a new foray into oncology by the world's biggest seller of HIV medications.
The pill, idelalisib, is part of a new class ...
(Reuters) - An experimental leukemia treatment that Roche Holding AG hopes will improve upon its best-selling cancer drug Rituxan delayed disease progression twice as long as chemotherapy, according to preliminary trial data released on Wednesday.
Switzerland-based Roche aims to fend off cheaper ...
Simponi is already approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Like RA, ulcerative colitis is an auto-immune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own organs.
In the case of ulcerative colitis, inflammation can lead to open sores or ulcers in the lining of the colon, causing stomach ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Marilyn Tavenner, a former nurse and hospital company executive, as the first full-fledged administrator for the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs since 2006.
In a rare show of bipartisanship on a healthcare issue, senators ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - People are living longer than ever and "dramatic" gains in life expectancy show no sign of slowing down, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
"The global life expectancy has increased from 64 years in 1990 to 70 years in 2011. That's dramatic," ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Before Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc even put itself up for sale earlier this year, Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc offered to buy the antibiotic maker for $20 per share, or nearly $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Cubist offer, which was ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG is exploring a sale of its blood glucose meters business, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, as the industry grapples with increased competition and reimbursement pressure.
The discussions about a potential sale of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite a strong warning from U.S. regulators in 2007, for-profit dialysis centers still gave their kidney failure patients more of a certain anemia drug than non-profit centers in 2008, says a new study.
The researchers write in JAMA Internal Medicine that their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Music, art and dance therapy may relieve anxiety and similar symptoms among people with cancer, according to a new analysis of past studies.
Researchers who analyzed results from trials conducted between 1989 and 2011 said the benefits tied to creative arts therapies ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with even slightly elevated blood lead levels are less likely to be ready to read when starting kindergarten, according to a new study.
Lead has been shown to affect school performance, but what's important in this study is "looking at even fairly low ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ovarian cancer rates in the U.S. began to decline faster in 2002 around the time many older women went off hormone replacement therapy, according to a new study.
That year, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) found that estrogen or estrogen plus progestin hormone ...
The Food and Drug Administration, which has reviewed Xofigo under its priority program, said on Wednesday the injection is cleared for treatment of bone metastases in men whose cancer has spread after receiving medical or surgical therapy to lower testosterone.
Bayer licensed Xofigo, also called ...
The Department of Health and Human Services said the money will be used to award and evaluate projects that test new payment and delivery models for federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
The announcement marks the second round of innovation ...
The drug, also known as Stivarga, will be tested in the third and last phase of trials required for marketing approval on patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that has worsened despite prior treatment with Bayer's Nexavar drug.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger)
The drug is seen as one of several promising treatments in the pipeline for Regeneron, a biotech company based in the New York suburb of Tarrytown that is being backed by the deeper pockets of Sanofi.
The sarilumab Phase III trial aims to recruit 2,600 patients suffering from moderate-to-severe ...
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche hopes data published this week will show it has a viable follow-on product to help fend off cheaper competition for its best-selling cancer drug, which loses patent protection in Europe later this year.
Roche is set to present full results early on Thursday ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans at high risk for heart problems who have been told for years to sharply cut salt from their diet may not actually benefit from ultra-low sodium diets and could even face some harm, an independent panel of health experts said on Tuesday.
The influential Institute of ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare reform law will extend coverage to 2 million fewer uninsured Americans than expected only a few months ago, congressional researchers said on Tuesday.
A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said 25 million ...
This marks the first companion diagnostic that detects epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency said. The diagnostic is called the Cobas EGFR Mutation Test.
"Companion diagnostics play an important role in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of U.S. children who were exposed to violence, crime and abuse in 2011 was essentially unchanged from 2008, according to a new government survey.
Researchers who interviewed 4,503 children and teenagers in 2011 found that two in five children reported being ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite evidence suggesting that women whose uterus has been removed may be more likely to experience heart troubles, a new study finds that the usual signs of heart disease risk are not more severe in middle-aged women after hysterectomy.
After following more than ...
It reported four new cases late on Monday and a further two late on Tuesday. One of the new cases has been treated and the patient was released from hospital, while the other new cases were still being treated, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said it had had a total of 24 ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottling up emotions is thought to harm both mind and body, but a new study suggests that the opposite extreme may be no better.
In a study of thousands of heart attack patients, those who recalled having flown into a rage during the previous year were more than twice ...
The government's sixth national crackdown on healthcare fraud since 2010 involved $223 million in fraudulent claims in jurisdictions including Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York, the Justice Department said.
But Holder said efforts to expand the battle against fraud is being ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a short cervix increases a pregnant woman's chance of delivering prematurely, and a new study suggests going on bed rest does nothing to allay that risk.
Researchers found that women were more than twice as likely to give birth before 37 weeks when doctors told ...
The regulator approved changes to the labels of Sanofi SA's Ambien, Ambien CR and Meda AB's Edluar on Tuesday.
The agency said patients who take zolpidem extended-release drugs, such as Ambien CR, should not drive or take part in activities that require complete mental alertness the next day.
At a meeting in Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called on state authorities to reduce the legal limit by nearly 40 percent to 0.05 percent. All 50 U.S. states now have a blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of 0.08 percent for drivers aged 21 and over, and younger drivers ...
Derya Sert, 22, who was born without a womb, had been receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment after the transplant in August 2011. Her pregnancy was announced in April.
"Derya Sert's pregnancy was terminated after her end-of-8-weeks examination showed no embryo heartbeat," ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Vermont is poised to become the third U.S. state to allow doctor-assisted suicide, after its legislature passed a bill allowing physicians to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients.
The bill passed late on Monday, and the governor has pledged to sign it into law.
"Dr. Lechleiter is recovering and will be closely monitored by the medical staff over the next several days," following his surgery on Monday, the Indianapolis company said in a statement.
Lilly Chief Financial Officer Derica Rice, 48, has taken on the additional role of acting CEO ...
The approval were given by the four international cardiac surgery centers in Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Slovenia, where the tests will be carried out, but not in France, where Carmat's artificial heart is still to gain approval from the drug safety agency, ANSM.
Shares of Carmat rose 24.56 ...
Though it once afflicted around 3.5 million people annually across Asia and Africa, according to the U.S.-based Carter Center, Guinea worm disease is now on the verge of being eradicated worldwide.
Niger had been due to join the list of countries free from the disease last year before an influx of ...
Sambolin, who anchors CNN's "Early Start" morning show, discussed her condition on the show while talking about Jolie's preventive double mastectomy.
"I struggled for weeks trying to figure out how tell you that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was leaving to have ...
The decision follows a complaint filed by Teva Sante, a unit of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, against communication practices by Sanofi towards health professionals to limit the use of generic versions of Plavix and support its own products, Plavix Princeps and Plavix Clopidogrel ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oscar-winning film star Angelina Jolie revealed on Tuesday that she underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer and said she hoped her story would inspire other women fighting the life-threatening disease.
Jolie, an actress who ...
The health ministry said one of the four new cases had been treated and the patient had been released from hospital, while the three other new cases were still being treated, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said it had had a total of 24 confirmed cases since the disease ...
The settlement is its largest-ever with a generic drugmaker over drug safety, according to the U.S. government.
Trading will open at 11.45pm EDT.
(Reuters) - A House of Representatives panel is investigating the circumstances surrounding the resignation from the Food and Drug Administration of its acting deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco.
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Monday, Republicans on the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Obama administration effort to raise private donations to help implement President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law came under fire on Monday from congressional Republicans who claim the action could violate the law.
As the Republican-controlled House of ...
The illegal payments allegedly took the form of grants, rebates, conference fees, marketing assistance and free medical equipment that Bard provided between 1998 and 2006 to customers who used its brachytherapy seeds to treat prostate cancer, DOJ said Monday.
Hospitals submitted bills for the ...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates annual reductions in Medicaid payments to hospitals through fiscal 2020 in exchange for increased insurance coverage options that are expected to reduce levels of uncompensated care. The payment cuts increase each year.
Analysts said the size ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite public health progress in cutting calories, as well as salt and fat from fast foods and supermarket products, neighborhood restaurants are still packing big helpings of each into their meals, a trio of studies suggests.
Small independent eateries are not ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Primary care doctors should ask adults how much and how often they drink alcohol and counsel those with risky and dangerous drinking habits, a government-backed panel said today.
Based on a review of studies conducted since 1985, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force ...
The settlement is its largest-ever with a generic drugmaker over drug safety, according to the U.S. government. It includes $150 million in payments for a criminal fine and forfeiture and $350 million in payments for civil claims.
The settlement has been in the works for some time. In December ...
CAIRO (Reuters) - The doctor who discovered a new SARS-like virus says it will probably trigger an epidemic at some point, but not necessarily in its current virulent form.
The new strain of coronavirus (nCoV) that Ali Mohamed Zaki found last year, related to one that caused the outbreak of Severe ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Two Paralyzed British men who want to die but cannot kill themselves went to court on Monday seeking protection from prosecution for those who could help them end their lives.
The case is one of the most high-profile attempts to change the law on the right to die in Britain, ...
ROME (Reuters) - The thought of eating beetles, caterpillars and ants may give you the creeps, but the authors of a U.N. report published on Monday said the health benefits of consuming nutritious insects could help fight obesity.
More than 1,900 species of insects are eaten around the world, ...
Without giving details of the deaths, Xinhua news agency said a new case of the H7N9, described by the World Health Organization as one of the most lethal flu viruses around, was found in China's east Jiangxi province.
There has so far been no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus, ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan Corporation has agreed a $1 billion royalties deal that could soothe concerns about its potentially risky acquisition strategy and fend off a takeover bid from Royalty Pharma.
Elan, battling to keep its independence after rejecting Royalty's $5.7 billion bid ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baby boomers, the generation that vowed to stay forever young, are getting older, designing senior-friendly gyms and becoming their own personal trainers.
In exercise havens for the over-50 set, the cardio machines are typically low impact, the resistance training is mainly ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found.
What's more, those who served where the herbicide was used were diagnosed with cancer ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who text while driving are also more likely to engage in other risky activities, such as riding with an intoxicated driver or not wearing a seatbelt, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found four in ...
HOFUF, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - On the third day after his father's death from a respiratory infection, Hussein al-Sheikh began to feel feverish.
Shortly afterwards, says the 27-year-old Saudi, "I was almost dead".
RIYADH (Reuters) - World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Sunday it seemed likely a new coronavirus that has killed at least 18 people in the Middle East and Europe could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged contact.
A virus from the same family triggered the outbreak of ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking companies for financial donations to help implement President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, months before it is due to take effect.
In telephone calls that began around March 23, officials say, Obama's top ...
The new infection was found in a 50-year-old man who had shared a hospital room with France's only other known sufferer, the ministry said in a statement.
Health experts are concerned about clusters of the new coronavirus strain, nCoV, which was first spotted in the Gulf and has spread to France, ...
Chief Scientific Officer John M. Leonard, served in the Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development department for Abbott Laboratories before the branded pharmaceuticals business was spun off as AbbVie in November 2012. (http://r.reuters.com/zuj97t)
Leonard who joined Abbott in 1992, was also the ...
(Reuters) - Some simple safety techniques for food handling and preparation could help delicatessens and other food stores cut the risk of customers developing the potentially deadly foodborne illness of listeriosis, according to a U.S. government report released on Friday.
The report by the ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday denied Endo Health Solutions' petition to block generic forms of its widely abused prescription pain drug Opana ER, a surprise decision by an agency that has recently come down hard on pain drugs to prevent their abuse.
Prescription drug ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children born after being exposed to the flu during pregnancy may have a nearly four-fold higher risk of later developing bipolar disorder, according to a small new study.
The senior researcher said the results can't prove that a mother's bout of flu while pregnant ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Publicly reported statistics about how patients fare after a common heart procedure often are inaccurate, says a new study that suggests publishing the poor quality numbers may do more harm than good.
The proportion of patients who die within 30 days of a medical ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama launched a campaign to promote his signature 2010 healthcare overhaul on Friday in the face of harsh criticism from congressional Republicans who say the program will raise costs and hurt hiring.
"If you're one of the tens of millions who don't ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The world's biggest drug makers have for years enjoyed rich premiums for their medicines in the U.S. market. Those days may be coming to an end.
Companies like Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca have grown dependent on higher U.S. prices to generate profits as generic rivals to ...
(Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals, said on Friday that it was in early stage discussions to buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc.
Actavis said no agreement had been reached and that it would have no further comment on the talks.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge in New York on Friday declined to temporarily halt a court order directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make emergency contraception available over the counter to girls of all ages.
However, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn said he ...
(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition often associated with smoking that can include emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or both.
The drug, Breo, is an inhaled treatment made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women can be reassured that cleaning with a bidet after using the toilet will not throw off their vaginal bacteria balance or increase the risk their baby will be born early, a new study suggests.
One cause of premature birth is inflammation around the fetus, ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The world's biggest drug makers have for years enjoyed rich premiums for their medicines in the U.S. market. Those days may be coming to an end.
Companies like Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca have grown dependent on higher U.S. prices to generate profits as generic rivals to ...
The drug, enzastaurin, was being tested in lymphoma patients who were at high risk of relapse following chemotherapy treatment. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system.
The decision to stop the drug's development will result in a second-quarter charge of about $30 million, but the company's ...
Shares of Pain Therapeutics fell 46 percent before the bell. Shares of Durect Corp, which provided the technology used in Remoxy, fell about 38 percent.
In a regulatory filing Pfizer -- which has marketing rights to the drug -- said that the FDA required additional clinical studies to be conducted ...
Ilaris inhibits interleukin-1 beta, excessive production of which plays a prominent role in certain inflammatory diseases, the company said.
The drug is the only approved treatment specifically for the condition that can be given as a monthly subcutaneous injection, Novartis said.
(Reuters) - Kentucky Democratic Governor Steve Beshear said on Thursday he will expand Medicaid coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, a move that will cut the state's uninsured population almost in half.
The expansion will extend coverage to adults earning up to 133 ...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the number of cases confirmed worldwide to 33 after Saudi Arabia said that two people who were admitted to hospital there in April had been determined by laboratory analysis to be infected.
There is no evidence so far of sustained human-to-human ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of some cancers related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) increased throughout the U.S. before vaccines against the sexually transmitted infection were available, says to a new study.
Researchers found an increase in many early-stage cancers and anal and head ...
The American Heart Association (AHA) issued a scientific statement on Thursday saying owning a pet may help to decrease a person's risk of suffering from heart disease and is linked with lower levels of obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol.
"Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A group representing U.S. pediatricians said this week that its members should pay special attention to the healthcare needs of immigrant children and support health insurance for all - regardless of legal status.
"It doesn't make sense to have a policy that cares ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Herbal supplements aimed at improving men's sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study.
Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal remedies contained more ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking additional antioxidant supplements on top of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene does little to ward off macular degeneration among older adults, new research suggests.
Researchers found a combination of lutein and zeaxanthin only provided extra protection for ...
(Reuters) - Sales of Dendreon Corp's prostate cancer vaccine Provenge declined in the first quarter despite efforts by the biotechnology drugs maker to shore up flagging volumes.
The company's shares fell 14 percent to $4.06 in morning trade on the Nasdaq. They touched a low of $3.95.
A 56-year-old man died in the central province of Henan, two weeks after his infection was confirmed, Xinhua cited a statement from the local health bureau.
The man had no direct contact with birds, but there were birdcages hanging in the corridor of the building he lived in, the report said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Drugmakers Merck and GlaxoSmithKline have cut the price of cervical cancer shots in a deal that will deliver them to poor countries for less than $5 a dose.
The new record low price for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines should mean millions of girls in developing countries can ...
(Reuters) - Patent expirations on big-name drugs such as Lipitor and Plavix has resulted in modestly less spending on medicines in the United States for the first time in at least 55 years, according to a report released on Thursday.
Overall U.S. spending on medicines totaled $325.8 billion in ...
The company said it had paused the production, sale and marketing of Alert to give the FDA time to develop a new regulatory framework for the addition of caffeine to food and drinks.
The recently launched gum has about 40 milligrams of caffeine, as much as a half a cup of coffee, in each piece.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fish oil supplements did not prevent heart problems in people who hadn't had a heart attack yet, in a large long-term study from Italy.
The study - a gold-standard randomized, controlled trial - tested the effect of omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in oily fish such ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Very premature babies have fewer breathing problems when they're born through vaginal delivery compared to cesarean section, a new study of more than 20,000 newborns suggests.
Based on those cases, researchers found that regardless of why a C-section was performed - ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a head-to-head comparison with a traditional diet, people who stuck to a diet of portion-controlled packaged foods lost almost twice as much weight as those who only got advice on how to trim calories, according to a new study.
Dr. Michael Dansinger, a nutrition ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration revealed what over 3,000 hospitals charge for common medical procedures in an early effort to challenge healthcare costs by showing consumers how prices for the same service can vary by tens of thousands of dollars.
The most extensive release of ...
GENEVA/DUBAI (Reuters) - World Health Organization (WHO) experts and local officials will visit a Saudi hospital where the SARS-like coronavirus has spread, killing seven people, the U.N. agency said on Wednesday.
France reported its first case on Wednesday in a 65-year-old Frenchman who had ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a test of services geared toward making sure patients took their prescribed medications after leaving the emergency room, none made a difference, a large new study suggests.
Based on the experiment involving nearly 4,000 ER patients, researchers found that ...
Israel-based Teva will be responsible for all U.S. commercial and clinical activities for Adasuve and has gained rights to conduct additional clinical trials for potential new indications in neurological disorders.
Alexza will be responsible for manufacturing and supplying Adasuve to Teva for ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco city leaders, after losing a key round in court against the cell phone industry, have agreed to revoke an ordinance that would have been the first in the United States to require retailers to warn consumers about potentially dangerous radiation levels.
In a ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco city leaders, after losing a key round in court against the cell phone industry, have agreed to revoke an ordinance that would have been the first in the United States to require retailers to warn consumers about potentially dangerous radiation levels.
In a ...
Saudi Arabia has reported 23 confirmed cases in total, Qatar two, Jordan two, Britain two and the United Arab Emirates one, the WHO said. Although there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human spread, there are concerns about clusters of cases.
France reported its first case on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had opened an investigation into what it said was the first and only confirmed case of the virus in France and would hold a news conference later in the day.
"The person has been placed in isolation in an intensive care ward," the ministry said in a statement.
Actelion said in a statement the Independent Data Monitoring Committee had told the company it had unanimously recommended the continuation of a late-stage study in selexipag with no modifications, adding final results should come next year.
Selexipag is the third drug from Actelion to treat ...
(Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's choice of gastric banding has prompted questions about why he opted for a weight-loss procedure less favored by bariatric surgeons and patients.
Lap-Band stirred excitement a decade ago when the anti-obesity device was introduced in the United ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Professional medical societies don't often consider costs when they're developing their treatment guidelines for specific conditions, according to a new study.
Researchers found that just over half of the top medical societies with at least 10,000 members considered ...
(Reuters) - WebMD Health Corp said Chief Executive Cavan Redmond will be leaving the health information provider, less than a year after the former Pfizer Inc executive was appointed to turn around the company's fortunes.
Shares of the company, which reported a smaller first-quarter loss, were up ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge criticized the Food and Drug Administration over its refusal to make emergency contraception available to girls of all ages without a prescription, saying the agency's move to restrict distribution to consumers aged 15 and older was not realistic.
District ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only half of people in the United States who have ever been infected with hepatitis C get proper testing for the liver-destroying disease, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.
Proper testing is a two-step process in which people who have antibodies get referred for a second ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Injuries from gasoline, lamp oil and similar chemicals have dropped considerably among small children in the last decade, according to a new study.
"It seems to decline right around 2000, 2001. That's when the Consumer Products Safety Commission mandated products ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Everyone knows that getting enough fiber is a secret to staying "regular," but a large new study finds that people who got plenty of fluids were the least likely to suffer constipation.
The results highlight the importance of hydration, but shouldn't discount ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with advanced cancer tend to get more aggressive care at the end of life and spend more time in the intensive care unit if they receive spiritual support from their religious communities, according to a new study.
The report's lead researcher said that finding ...
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is working on a long-term nationwide health insurance plan, but the $28 billion scheme will not be in place until 2025.
Until then, the ANC wants to reduce the cost of healthcare for the millions of South Africans who cannot afford to go private, Patel ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a blow for Alzheimer's patients, Baxter International Inc said it will scrap late-stage trials of its antibody treatment for the disease after the drug failed to improve cognitive decline and functional ability in patients.
Baxter's treatment, known as Gammagard, did show a ...
Six other people are infected, one of them critically ill, in an outbreak centered on a health care facility in Al Ahsa governorate in Eastern Province, WHO spokesman Glenn Thomas said in Geneva.
Worldwide, there have been 30 laboratory-confirmed infections with the new virus, including 18 deaths, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stepping into the debate over who should be screened for lung cancer, a leading medical specialty group issued new guidelines on Tuesday recommending that doctors offer annual low-dose CT (computed tomography) scanning to people whose age and smoking history puts them at ...
Among the deaths, two occurred in the eastern province of Jiangsu; one was from eastern Zhejiang; while another was from central Anhui, based on a Reuters analysis of the data provided by Chinese health authorities on Monday.
The government did not provide more details of the victims.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The sons and daughters of people who live very long lives tend to get the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease later than others, but they're not immune from the memory-robbing disease, according to a new study.
Based on comparisons of people in their 90s, their spouses, ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California Supreme Court dealt a blow to the state's faltering medical-marijuana industry on Monday by ruling that local governments may outlaw dispensaries that sell the federally banned drug.
The unanimous opinion, which comes as elected officials across the nation ...
Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said on Monday negotiations were under way involving the Washington-based Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to allow the Cuban doctors to practice in Brazil.
Brazilian medical associations have opposed Cuban-trained doctors practicing in their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For years doctors have assumed black people are less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) than whites, but a new study suggests the opposite may be true.
Researchers found black women were more likely than white women to be diagnosed with MS, in which the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study offers evidence to support what many people have learned for themselves: never go grocery shopping when you're hungry.
Researchers found that people who hadn't eaten all afternoon chose more high-calorie foods in a simulated supermarket than those who were ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Slower growth in the pace of healthcare spending reflects a fundamental change in the use of medical services that could save the country nearly $800 billion in the next decade, according to two new studies released on Monday.
The research, published in the journal Health ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have worked out the way in which stress hormones reduce the number of new brain cells - a process linked to depression - and say their work should help researchers develop more effective antidepressants.
The scientists identified a protein largely responsible for the ...
Washington (Reuters) - Tanning beds and sunlamps will be required to carry stronger warning labels under new regulations proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is also recommending the machines not be used by people under the age of 18.
The FDA said on Monday that it plans to ...
The FDA said the results of a recent study showed that children exposed to valproate products in the womb had lower IQ at the age of six than children who were exposed to other antiepileptics.
Drugs containing valproate are used to prevent migraine headaches, treat epileptic seizures and manic ...
The FDA issued a warning on its website saying that some third-party publications, health information systems and websites were incorrectly using a truncated version of Kadcyla's generic name.
Kadcyla, generically known as ado-trastuzumab emtansine, was being referred to as "trastuzumab ...
If approved by EU governments and lawmakers, the new rules would force member states to impose fines equal to the financial gains from proven cases of food fraud, officials said.
Unidentified criminal gangs blamed for Europe's horsemeat scandal are believed to have made huge profits by ...
The findings, part of a larger study focused on how people are feeling about and preparing for retirement, were based on a survey of more than 6,300 individuals aged 45 and older across the United States.
When asked what their biggest worry was about living a long life, 72 percent of retirees ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Toddlers are less likely to have asthma and itchy rashes if their parents "cleaned" their pacifiers by sucking on them when the kids were infants, a small new study suggests.
The findings don't prove that technique protects kids against asthma, eczema or other ...
The comments from Yum came shortly after Shanghai authorities said they were testing mislabeled mutton from a wholesaler a government website said supplied Little Sheep and other restaurants.
"There is no evidence, none whatsoever, of any adulterated product anywhere in our system," Yum ...
The new funds would help about 1,200 health centers hire and train staff, conduct community outreach efforts and assist consumers in applying for benefits under the law, which provides coverage through subsidized insurance markets and an expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor, the U.S. ...
The device injects the patients who have different types of colonoscopy procedures with propofol, a minimal-to-moderate sedation agent widely used in colonoscopy procedures.
The system reduces the risks of oversedation when compared to other traditional methods, Johnson & Johnson said in a ...
J&J said in a statement on Friday that it is in "ongoing discussions" with Indian regulators.
"We understand their concerns and are diligently working with them to resolve the issue," Peggy Ballman, a J&J spokeswoman, said in a statement, adding that there were no ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Creatine, a supplement favored by bodybuilders, modestly boosted muscle strength in patients with fibromyalgia, Brazilian researchers report.
Apart from helping with muscle weakness, though, the treatment had little effect on other symptoms of the mysterious disorder, ...
The new combination drug will be sold under the brand name Liptruzet and will begin shipping to wholesalers next week, the company said.
Merck already sells a two-drug cholesterol fighter called Vytorin that combines Zetia, known chemically as ezetimibe, with Merck's older LDL lowering medicine ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers who are mildly iodine deficient are more likely to have children who perform poorly in spelling, grammar and literacy, according to a new study from Australia.
Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy is known to cause serious mental disabilities in children, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many more breast cancer patients had breast reconstruction following a 1998 federal law mandating insurance coverage for the procedure, according to a new study.
"I think it's the first large-scale study that shows that, slowly, legislation like the Women's Health ...
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) said it arranged the Aesthetic Surgery Commitment policy through the Lloyds of London insurance market in response to recommendations made in a government backed report.
The report published in April, led by National Health Service ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Urologists fell in line with other doctor groups on Friday in recommending careful consideration and discussion when it comes to screening for prostate cancer, rather than a gung-ho approach.
At its annual meeting in San Diego, California, the American Urological ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Is nanomedicine the next big thing? A growing number of top drug companies seem to think so.
The ability to encapsulate potent drugs in tiny particles measuring billionths of a meter in diameter is opening up new options for super-accurate drug delivery, increasing precision ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nevada health officials acknowledged on Thursday that a state-run hospital improperly bused 10 newly discharged psychiatric patients out of the state with deficient plans for their care, while Los Angeles launched a criminal probe into the alleged "patient ...
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is comfortable with a U.S. government agency's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.
Some critics have complained girls that young should not be allowed to purchase the pills ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of individuals and businesses filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration's healthcare overhaul on Thursday, hoping to stop the law in states that have not set up new insurance exchanges.
The complaint filed in the Washington federal court challenges federal ...
(Reuters) - Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc withdrew an application to market its anti-obesity drug in the European Union, sending its shares down 15 percent in after-hours trading.
The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) said certain "major ...
Concerns that the treatment may not win U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval have driven New York-based Delcath's shares down by three-quarters from a year high of $2.94 in May.
The shares fell heavily on Tuesday when FDA staff documents were released that showed serious concerns ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Programs that attempt to encourage or force hospital doctors to cut back on prescribing antibiotics achieve that goal and help reduce the number of dangerous drug-resistant bacteria, says a review of past research.
According to the review's lead author, the fear is that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Emergency helicopter transport is expensive, but could become cost effective if it's used mainly for cases where it will make a measurable difference in trauma patients' survival or long-term disabilities, according to a new analysis.
"For the routine use of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Practicing with lighter baseballs may help teen pitchers improve their throwing speeds while also reducing the risk of overuse injuries, a small study from Taiwan suggests.
After 10 weeks of training, young players who had worked with a lighter-than-average ball were ...
(Reuters) - An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the agency reject a kidney cancer drug made by Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc, saying data from the clinical trial were inconsistent.
In a 13-1 vote on Thursday, the panel said Aveo had not shown ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The nation's largest health insurers are far from leaping at the chance to join new state health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, making it likely that some markets will have little or no competition next year.
These new insurance marketplaces are ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Close to two-thirds of women favor making contraceptive pills available over the counter, according to a new nationally-representative survey.
In addition, about 30 percent of women using either no birth control or a less effective method - such as condoms - said they ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Human cases of a deadly new strain of bird flu that has killed 27 people in China are likely to crop up in Europe and around the world but that should not cause undue alarm, Europe's leading flu expert said on Thursday.
In his first media interview since returning from an ...
(Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday said almost all patients taking a fixed-dose combination of two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs appeared to have eliminated the liver virus after either eight weeks or 12 weeks of treatment in a small mid-stage study.
The data should strengthen the ...
The seven cases were discovered in al-Ahsa governorate in the Eastern Province, the Saudi news agency SPA quoted the Saudi Health Ministry as saying in a statement late on Wednesday.
A Saudi man died in March from the virus.
The H7N9 virus, which has infected 127 people in China, is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday.
The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses but said there is as yet no evidence ...
PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi reported lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Thursday as the effects of last year's patent losses and foreign exchange headwinds crimped growth from diabetes drugs, vaccines and rare disease unit Genzyme.
But the French drugmaker said it expected to return to ...
LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2013 - As many as 3,000 prison inmates in central California deemed to be at risk from a potentially lethal lung disease may need to be moved to other regions under an order from a court-appointed federal overseer.
The directive, issued on Monday, marks the latest effort to ...
(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make "morning-after" emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age.
Lawyers with the Justice Department filed the appeal with the 2nd ...
The Internal Revenue Service released on Tuesday proposed rules for Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act that handed a victory to labor unions and consumer groups, tax lawyers said on Wednesday.
Under the law, a large employer must pay an excise tax penalty if it fails to provide minimum coverage for ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday.
The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected more than 125, according to the Geneva-based World Health ...
The drugs, known as leukocyte growth factors, will be the subject of a Friday meeting of an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Treatment with Amgen's Neupogen and Neulasta, Teva's Tbo-filgrastim and Sanofi's Leukine, may decrease death rates from radiation exposure, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Evening primrose oil doesn't reduce the symptoms of the itchy skin problem eczema, according to a new review of studies.
Herbal supplement makers market primrose oil as helpful in treating eczema, but "I don't think you'll get a specific benefit" from the ...
(Reuters) - Allergan Inc said approval of its Darpin eye drug could be delayed up to two years, providing a new boost to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc whose successful treatment, Eylea, stands to gain from a lack of new competition.
Shares of Allergan, which makes wrinkle treatment Botox, fell ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reproductive-rights groups that sued the Food and Drug Administration over access to the "morning-after" pill will ask a judge to hold the agency in contempt if it fails to comply with a court order directing it to make emergency contraception available to women of ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The first-ever drug designed to treat social impairments associated with autism failed to show a benefit in a midstage trial, representing a blow to families and to privately held drugmaker Seaside Therapeutics.
Results of the study, presented on Wednesday at the International ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A change to a U.S. program that provides food and medical visits to many infants, children and pregnant women succeeded in reducing the amount of juice bought overall, according to a new study.
Researchers examined the impact of an October 2009 change in the Special ...
(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators rejected an experimental drug to treat opioid addiction made by Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc and asked for additional data showing it works, the company said.
The drug, Probuphine, is a long-acting version of buprenorphine, a drug sold by British rival ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -Though long-term hormone replacement therapy has serious health risks, going off the medication may lead to a return of menopausal symptoms and increased risk for high blood pressure, according to a new study.
Taking estrogen or estrogen and progesterone hormones can ...
The two companies, which were reported to be discussing a possible merger, said if Actavis chooses to launch an authorized generic for the product, Metronidazole 1.3 percent Vaginal Gel, it would share the gross profits of the generic with Valeant.
The gel is a topical antibiotic for the treatment ...
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's Novo Nordisk could see the U.S. launch of its biggest drug hope, a new long-acting insulin, delayed until 2018 while it conducts more tests to satisfy regulators, it said on Wednesday.
The world's biggest insulin producer was dealt a major blow in February when the ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish government ministers agreed draft legislation on Tuesday to allow for limited access to abortion where a woman's life is in danger, including the threat of suicide, a proposal that has already divided the country's ruling coalition.
Ireland's two-decade-old debate over how ...
The announcement partially reverses a December 2011 decision that prevented the sale of the emergency contraceptive to all females of reproductive age, which was also overturned by a U.S. district judge in New York on April 5. The FDA said its approval was not related to the judge's ...
(Reuters) - A trade group representing makers of artificial limbs on Tuesday promised to provide prosthetics free of cost to the estimated 20 to 25 victims of the Boston Marathon bombings who underwent amputations.
The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association offered initial services and ...
(Reuters) - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc on Tuesday increased by $20 million the 2013 forecast for sales of its cystic fibrosis drug Kalydeco, and said it anticipates seeking approval in 2014 of a CF combination therapy that has become a focus for investors.
The new cystic fibrosis drug Kalydeco had ...
Questcor shares fell 12 percent to $27.00 soon after markets closed but recovered to be down 2 percent at 1800 ET.
The company said shipments of Acthar, which is approved to treat multiple disorders including infantile spasms, were 4,830 vials in the first quarter, down about 24 percent from the ...
(Reuters) - CVS Caremark Corp is set to provide pharmacy benefit and other services for 1.1 million CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield members starting next year, a deal that could represent about $1 billion in annual spending on medications and boost CVS' profit by a penny per share, an industry ...
KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found in ground turkey on U.S. grocery shelves across a variety of brands and stores located in 21 states, according to a report by a consumer watchdog organization.
Of the 257 samples of ground turkey tested, more than half ...
John M. Taylor, III, Counselor to the Commissioner, will take Autor's place at the FDA in an acting capacity as it looks for a replacement, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in an email to staff.
Autor has worked at the FDA for 11 years, most recently as head of the office of regulatory ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Funding from drug companies and other potential conflicts of interest did not influence the conclusions reached by researchers testing new cancer treatments over the past few years, according to a new analysis.
But Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, who has looked into that issue at ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Certain school-based programs that aim to keep kids from smoking cigarettes seem to work, according to a fresh look at some past research.
After examining over a hundred "gold standard" studies, researchers found that school-based programs that teach children ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) interventions for babies born very small and early have drastically reduced infant deaths in the United States, but in doing so they've contributed to more intellectual disabilities, according to a new study.
Past research has shown ...
"Health insurance issuers have asked us to provide them with more time to submit their applications to offer Qualified Health Plans and we are accommodating that request," Alicia Hartinger, a spokeswoman at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in an emailed ...
Raptor's shares rose as much as 15.6 percent on Tuesday.
The drug, Procysbi, is designed to treat nephropathic cystinosis, the most common form of a disease known as cystinosis, in which toxic levels of cystine, a naturally occurring amino acid, build up in the body's cells and organs. The ...
LONDON (Reuters) - More women are going under the knife to achieve the kind of toned upper arms earned by the stars' vigorous gym workouts but plastic surgeons warn the operation comes at a cost - scarring.
Statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) this week showed ...
Patients treated with the experimental drug experienced statistically significant reductions in mean fasting blood glucose and mean body weight in the three highest dose groups, the company said.
"These data support a clear development path forward to a larger Phase 2 efficacy study of ...
The FDA said on Monday it was taking a "fresh look" at the issue in response to the launch of a caffeinated gum, "and if necessary, will take appropriate action."
While the FDA did not name the gum in its statement, Wrigley launched the product this month. One piece of the gum ...
(Reuters) - Staff reviewers for the Food and Drug Administration have asked a panel of outside medical experts whether another clinical trial is needed before an experimental kidney cancer drug made by Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc can be approved.
The question, posed in ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The head of Europe's medicines regulator is digging in for a fight over data transparency after being stopped from releasing information on drugs from two U.S. companies by a court ruling.
Defeat for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at the hands of AbbVie and InterMune ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists are stepping up clinical tests of gene therapy in a bid to help people with advanced heart failure pump blood more efficiently.
Researchers said on Tuesday they planned to enroll patients into two new clinical trials using Mydicar, a gene therapy treatment ...
Closing the gap may require drastic action.
If state and local governments were to end the shortfalls over the next 50 years solely through spending cuts, they would have to reduce their expenditures 14.2 percent each year, GAO found. If they relied only on tax increases, they would need to raise ...
(Reuters) - Medical device maker HeartWare International Inc reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss after sales of its heart pump soared 62 percent, sending its shares up 8 percent in after-market trading.
During the quarter, the company sold 482 of its flagship HVAD pumps, which won ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An influential U.S. panel is calling for HIV screening for all Americans aged 15 to 65, regardless of whether they are considered to be at high risk, a change that may help lift some of the stigma associated with HIV testing.
The new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services ...
(Reuters) - Hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc reported slightly higher first-quarter net income on Monday, but trimmed the top of its projected range for full-year earnings, citing a more challenging operating environment for healthcare providers.
Community Health, the second-largest ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Parents whose children are struggling with math often view intense tutoring as the best way to help them master crucial skills, but a new study released on Monday suggests that for some kids even that is a lost cause.
According to the research, the size of one key brain ...
(Reuters) - Herbalife Ltd posted surprisingly strong quarterly earnings and raised its full-year profit forecast on Monday, putting pressure on high-profile investor Bill Ackman, who is betting against the nutritional products company.
Ackman's Pershing Square Capital has a $1 billion bet against ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids and teens who are born abroad and immigrate to the United States are about half as likely to have asthma and allergies as those who are born in the U.S., according to a new study.
Researchers surveyed the parents of 80,000 children in one of six languages and found ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than two-thirds of people with non-melanoma skin cancer underwent surgery to treat the condition, according to a new study - including patients who were at least 85 years old or had multiple other chronic diseases.
Researchers found 43 percent of those patients ...
MIAMI (Reuters) - The Navy sent extra medical personnel to the Guantanamo detention camp because of a growing hunger strike, and the American Medical Association questioned whether doctors were being asked to violate their ethics by force-feeding prisoners.
The reinforcements arrived at the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While doctors and nurses can make mistakes with medications in hospitals, a new study says drug errors often happen at home and can lead to harm.
Researchers observed 72 medication mistakes at homes where 92 children with cancer were being cared for between November ...
Shares of Auxilium closed regular trading on Monday down 12.7 percent at $14, after falling as much as 13.5 percent to $13.87, a year-and-a-half low.
Revenue fell 10 percent in the first quarter to $66.2 million, below analysts' average estimate of $81.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - For people who are too bored or busy to spend an hour on a treadmill an exercise regime that was developed for athletes but is being taught in gyms may help to build fitness in less time.
The Tabata Protocol is a four-minute regime that measures fitness in seconds - 20 seconds ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc said on Monday that U.S. health rejected two of its HIV drugs as standalone therapies, citing deficiencies in documentation and validation of certain quality testing procedures.
Gilead said it is working with U.S. Food and Drug Administration to address ...
Impax shares fell 2 percent to $17.32 in premarket trade after closing at $17.62 on Friday on the Nasdaq.
Under a deal, GlaxoSmithKline had the right to develop and market the drug, IPX066, outside the United States and Taiwan.
(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc said they will co-develop Pfizer's experimental type 2 diabetes drug ertugliflozin, both as a standalone product and in combination with other drugs, including Merck's blockbuster Januvia.
The Pfizer medicine belongs to a new class of diabetes ...
Tetrazepam belong to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines and is used in several European Union countries to treat conditions such as back and neck pain and spasticity.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Ben Hirschler)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although hospitals and birthing centers are the safest places to have a baby, pediatricians said today that women who choose to give birth at home should be supported and that setting made as safe as possible, as well.
Planned home birthing, they said, may be an option ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday.
Detailing a decade of research, Oxford University political economist David ...
Actavis spokesman David Belian and Valeant spokeswoman Laurie Little both declined to comment.
Canada's Valeant was seeking to buy smaller U.S. rival Actavis for more than $13 billion before the discussions started to unravel late this week because of disagreements on the proposed terms, the ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Federal authorities have taken disciplinary action against a Las Vegas hospital cited for improperly sending newly released psychiatric patients by bus to neighboring California and other states in a practice called "patient dumping."
The Rawson-Neal Psychiatric ...
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Latin America's growing prosperity is fueling a cancer epidemic that threatens to overwhelm the region unless governments take urgent preventive action, a study published on Friday warned.
A multinational team of researchers found the current state of cancer care and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People can safely add a few nuts to their diet - or replace other foods with the high-unsaturated fat, high-fiber snacks - without gaining weight, a new review of past studies suggests.
Researchers combined data from 31 trials conducted across the globe and found that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday announced its second civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis AG in four days, accusing a unit of the Swiss drugmaker of paying multimillion-dollar kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing its drugs.
Authorities said the Basel-based company ...
(Reuters) - Fraudulent versions of the wrinkle treatment Botox, which is made by Allergan Inc and also used to treat headaches, underarm sweating and overactive bladder, are being sold in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
The FDA said in an alert posted on its ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite dietary supplements being popular among prostate cancer patients, a new review of past research says they are not effective treatments for the disease.
Pulling together data from eight randomized controlled trials - considered the gold standard of medical ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration would gain greater authority over pharmacies that compound sterile drugs and ship them across state lines under proposed legislation announced on Friday.
The proposal from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators comes in the wake of a meningitis ...
Under the agreement, Actavis will be licensed to market a specified number of bottles of its generic OxyContin beginning January 1, 2014.
Actavis expects the agreement to represent more than $100 million in combined gross profit in 2014 and 2015, but the other terms of the settlement were not ...
Erivedge is the first medicine for people with advanced forms of basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer, and was approved in the United States in January. Curis, Roche's partner, is entitled to certain payments on the drug.
Xtandi, which Astellas has been working on with Medivation, is ...
Thalidomide, invented by the German firm Gruenenthal, was marketed internationally to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a treatment for morning sickness. About 10,000 babies were born around the world with defects caused by the drug, mostly malformed limbs or missing arms or ...
The split plan comes after weeks of speculation that the company could be bought by Glaxo, Theravance's largest shareholder with a stake of about 27 percent.
Theravance shares were up about 10 percent at $33.50 in after-hours trading on Thursday.
New York (Reuters Health) - Restricting the number of hours doctors-in-training are allowed to work without rest hasn't led to more patient deaths, according to a new study.
Researchers found no increase in deaths over the three years following a rules change that restricted resident doctors to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Thanks to commercials for erectile dysfunction drugs, men know to seek medical attention for "erections lasting more than four hours," but a new study suggests a blood disorder is the cause of many prolonged erections.
While the condition - formally known as ...
Pfizer said it plans to appeal and "immediately seek a re-examination of the opinion" by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).
Shares of Pfizer, which rose 1 percent to close at $30.26 on the New York Stock Exchange, were down 2.7 percent ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Terminally ill cancer patients who watched either of two videos about the option to forego resuscitation overwhelmingly elected that route for the patient in the video, if not for themselves, according to a new study.
But the vignettes - whose only difference was ...
(Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The National Institutes of Health on Thursday halted a study testing an experimental HIV vaccine after an independent review board found the vaccine did not prevent HIV infection and did not reduce the amount of HIV in the blood.
The trial, started in 2009, is the latest in a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The proportion of women undergoing screening for breast cancer every year did not change after a government-backed panel said women in their 40s shouldn't have routine mammograms, according to a new study.
In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) ...
The settlement gives Actavis the license to make and sell its version of Intuniv in the United States from December 1, 2014.
Actavis will get a 180-day period to exclusively market Intuniv, during which it will have to pay Shire a royalty of 25 percent of gross profits from the sale of the drug.
LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens.
In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Health groups said on Thursday they could rid the world of polio by 2018 with a $5.5 billion vaccination and monitoring plan to stop the disease taking hold once more now there are only a handful of cases worldwide.
Experts say the plan offers the best chance yet to eradicate a ...
Britain's second biggest drugmaker said the approach was made on March 28 and the company was coordinating its response and intended to cooperate with the inquiry.
Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth declined to go into further details about the case during a conference call with reporters ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's sales fell by a bigger-than-expected 13 percent in the first quarter as patent expiries took a heavy toll, underscoring the turnaround challenge facing Britain's second-largest drugmaker.
Much of the damage was caused by loss of exclusivity on antipsychotic ...
First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) edged 0.4 percent higher to 2.45 billion euros ($3.18 billion), which was slightly below the average estimate in a Reuters poll of 2.59 billion.
The shares were 1.6 percent lower in pre-market ...
The House cleared the way to debate the bill, which was designed to help Americans with pre-existing medical conditions while preventing the administration from using an alternate source of funding to implement its healthcare law.
But the "Helping Sick Americans Now" bill was pulled from ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Drinking just one can of sugar-laced soda drink a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by more than a fifth, according to a large European study published on Wednesday.
Using data from 350,000 people in eight European countries, researchers found that every extra 12 ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of heart attack victims every year have none of the notorious risk factors before their crisis - not high cholesterol, not unhealthy triglycerides. Now the search for the mystery culprits has turned up some surprising suspects: the trillions of bacteria and other ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among young women diagnosed with breast cancer, black and Hispanic patients were more likely to wait weeks for treatment, in a new study from California.
Researchers found treatment delays were also more common among poor women and those without private insurance - and ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The costs linked to heart failure in the United States are expected to more than double within the next two decades as the population ages and treatments help patients with the disease live longer, a study released on Wednesday found.
The American Heart Association predicted ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has developed a hand-held device capable of identifying counterfeit or substandard malaria drugs and has signed a letter of intent with Corning Inc to manufacture the product.
The device, known as CD-3, is a battery-operated tool that uses ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who eat diets high in fruit, certain vegetables, pasta and red wine are less likely to have hot flashes and night sweats during menopause, a new study from Australia suggests.
Researchers found that of about 6,000 women followed over nine years, those who ate a ...
MARSEILLE (Reuters) - The head of a French company accused of selling sub-standard breast implants apologized for the first time on Wednesday, just days after denying that the homemade gel used to fill them posed any danger to women.
The breast implant scandal triggered a global health scare and ...
The medicine, whose chemical name is lambrolizumab, is also being tested against other forms of cancer. It belongs to a promising class of therapies that harness the body's immune system to find and attack cancer cells. It targets a protein called PD-1, or Programmed Death receptor.
The FDA ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - At the end of life, black kidney disease patients are more likely than white patients to continue intensive dialysis instead of choosing hospice care, according to a new study.
Researchers also found that racial differences in kidney disease treatments became more ...
Research published in the Food and Public Health journal by University of Coventry scientists said on Wednesday that recipes of celebrity chefs were "exacerbating" health problems such as obesity in Britain by encouraging people to eat fatty dishes.
Television shows and top-selling books ...
Shares of the company fell 4 percent to $5.92 on Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq. However, analysts said they viewed the trial data as positive.
"The whole point of a dose-finding trial is to find the lowest efficacious dose, and they have done that at the higher dose of 30 mcg. So, I don't ...
The man was hospitalized after becoming ill three days after returning from Suzhou on April 9, Health Department Minister Wen-Ta Chiu told a news conference. Chiu said the patient was diagnosed with the H7N9 virus and was in serious condition.
Chiu said Taiwan will take appropriate measures, ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan Corp said it is teeing up a number of deals under a plan to reshape the company through acquisitions and stave off a bid from investment firm Royalty Pharma.
Elan, involved in a convoluted takeover saga with Royalty for the past two months, had on Monday ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval on Tuesday defended his state against a report that a Las Vegas psychiatric hospital improperly sent hundreds of discharged patients by bus to California and other states, a practice known as patient dumping.
The Republican governor ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Arkansas's Democratic governor signed into law on Tuesday a plan to extend health insurance to more of the state's low-income residents in a move that could offer a model for other states wrestling with opposition to the federal government's Medicaid expansion ...
An independent panel, commissioned by the government in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal last year, said on Wednesday that dermal fillers should always need a prescription and only qualified people be allowed to use them.
Bruce Keogh, the National Health Service medical director who led ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. government filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis AG on Tuesday, accusing a unit of the Swiss drug maker of causing the Medicare and Medicaid programs to pay tens of millions of dollars in reimbursements based on fraudulent, kickback-tainted claims.
U.S. Attorney Preet ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who take the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder, suggests new research based on close to 700,000 babies born in Denmark.
Previous studies have found more birth defects and lower ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who have had bacterial meningitis are less likely to finish high school and to be economically self-sufficient as adults, a new study suggests.
The findings are consistent with past research showing that meningitis - inflammation around the brain and spinal cord - ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors spend about 40 minutes getting approvals from insurance companies to get a psychiatric patient from the emergency room to a hospital bed, according to a new study.
In some cases, the researchers found the approval process took more than an hour, which the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - After angioplasty to improve blood flow to the heart, some patients may be able to go home from the hospital the same day without raising their risk of complications, according to a new review.
Based on data from 37 previous studies, researchers found no differences in ...
The company raised its full-year forecast for premium and service revenue to $10.1 billion to $10.4 billion, and reiterated its profit forecast of $2.60 to $2.90 per share.
"We believe we are well positioned for profitable growth in 2014 and beyond," CEO Michael Neidorff said in a ...
(Reuters) - A combination of five oral drugs being tested by AbbVie Inc cured at least 88 percent of new patients with hepatitis C after only eight weeks of treatment, without raising significant safety issues, researchers said on Tuesday.
The latest findings from an ongoing trial sponsored by ...
(Reuters) - A combination of three experimental Bristol-Myers Squibb hepatitis C drugs appeared to be highly effective, according to data from a mid-stage clinical trial, keeping the company in the race for developing an all-oral treatment regimen for the serious liver disease.
The combination ...
GSK will provide financing and technical support to startups established by Avalon Ventures and will have first rights on buying each new company, GSK spokeswoman Melinda Stubbee said.
Avalon will contribute up to $30 million to the collaboration, and Glaxo will provide as much as $465 million in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is not enough evidence to recommend universal screening to find people at risk of suicide, according to a government-backed panel.
As it did in 2004, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued draft guidelines on Monday that conclude "there is ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The average person with multiple diseased arteries in the heart does slightly better following coronary artery bypass surgery than after having stents inserted, a new study suggests, but the optimal procedure varies by patient.
Researchers found slightly more heart ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using a magnet to generate an electrical current in areas of the brain that control hearing does not seem to improve ringing in the ears, a new study suggests.
Researchers found people reported just as much bothersome ringing after a month of so-called repetitive ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices appeared divided on Monday as they considered a challenge to a law requiring non-profit organizations to adopt an anti-prostitution policy in order to obtain federal funding for HIV/AIDS programs abroad.
Several justices voiced concerns that the law ...
The H5N1 virus, last found in Germany in late March, differs from the H7N9 type which has killed 20 people and infected 105 in China this month, the Paris-based OIE said on its website.
German authorities reported to the OIE that 10 infected turkeys were found last week in Badbergen, Lower Saxony, ...
Large pension funding demands will likely "be a drag on the sector for several years," it added.
"Low discount rates have hampered the improvement in funding levels despite a rebound in asset values during the past two years," said S&P credit analyst Liz Sweeney said in a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City took the first step on Monday in outlawing sales of cigarettes to anyone under age 21, in an effort to reduce smoking among the age group in which most smokers take up the habit.
The bill, which was introduced by the City Council and has the backing of Mayor ...
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa plans to overhaul its intellectual property laws to improve access to cheaper medicines by making it harder for pharmaceutical firms to register and roll-over patents for drugs, a senior official said on Monday.
Central to the reforms is closing a loophole known ...
The 89-year-old died after 12 days of medical treatment, state news agency Xinhua said, citing Shanghai health authorities.
Cases of the virus, confirmed in well over 100 people, have spread to several new provinces in recent days, including Fujian and Hunan.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Philips forecast a slow first half of the year due to the weak European economy and a tough outlook for healthcare spending in the United States, sending its shares to a four-month low.
The Dutch electronics company reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, but weak ...
The molecular diagnostic company, which develops tests for cancer, said two presentations would be made supporting its ConfirmMDx test at the American Urology Association annual meeting on May 4-8.
ConfirmMDx, MDxHealth's first commercial product, aims to distinguish patients with a true-negative ...
The company, which has a series of alliances for its pipeline of drug candidates, said in a statement that GLPG1790 had shown high activity against breast tumors that were 'triple-negative' - lacking oestrogen, progesterone or HER2 receptors.
Galapagos said the triple-negative breast cancer ...
The vaccine protects infants against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Hepatitis B, poliomyelitis and invasive infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B.
The new vaccine will be commercialized by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, under the brand name Hexyon ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the clock ticks down to the start of a U.S. healthcare overhaul, companies from device makers to hospital chains have been surprised to see Americans make even fewer trips to the doctor's office.
Use of non-emergency medical services has been weak for several years in the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pediatricians today cautioned young people against participating in a popular dare known as the cinnamon challenge, which involves trying to swallow a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in a minute without drinking water.
Health risks tied to the game - such as breathing ...
The H7N9 virus has been found in 95 people, mostly in eastern China. The latest victim is a 69-year old man surnamed Xu from Zhejiang province who passed away Friday night after emergency treatment failed, Xinhua said.
Zhejiang province reported three new infection cases with all three patients in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who get more fiber in their diet are less likely to have a stroke than those who skimp on the nutrient, according to a new review of existing research.
"A few people in the past have looked at the relationship between fiber and cardiovascular disease, which ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Delays that are outside a hospital's control often prevent doctors from unblocking a heart attack patient's arteries right away, according to a new study that also found the delayed patients are more likely to die in the hospital.
So-called non-system delays occurred in ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Problems with the toxic residue of a mold that attacked the 2012 drought-hit U.S. corn crop may worsen this summer and autumn as Midwest farmers blend off tainted supplies held in storage, grain experts say.
The substance, aflatoxin, is a chronic problem in dry, hot southern ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a review of data covering 13 years and millions of patients, researchers found no evidence of a link between being vaccinated against tetanus, hepatitis, pneumonia or flu, and developing the nerve-degenerating disorder Guillain-Barré.
"The take home message is ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The new strain of bird flu that has killed 17 people in China has been circulating widely "under the radar" and has acquired significant genetic diversity that makes it more of a threat, scientists said on Friday.
Dutch and Chinese researchers who analyzed genetic data ...
"The commission has reviewed the question about the sale to U.S. company Abbott of Petrovax Pharm. As a result of very lengthy discussion the U.S. company was denied to make this deal," Igor Artemyev, head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS), told reporters.
Abbott Laboratories ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's Astellas Pharma and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline are competing to develop a new kind of medicine that boosts production of red blood cells by making the body think it is at high altitude.
Their experimental drugs - both given as pills - could create a major new market in ...
BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) - Health officials raised further questions on Friday about the source of a new strain of bird flu infecting humans in China after data indicated that more than half of patients had had no contact with poultry.
The H7N9 virus has been found in 87 people, mostly in eastern ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's competition body accused GlaxoSmithKline of market abuse for striking deals with three generic drugmakers that paid them to delay launching cheap copies of its antidepressant Seroxat.
GSK, Britain's biggest drugmaker, said it believed it had acted lawfully. If it is ...
News of the government's change in how it would reimburse insurers leaked into the market that day ahead of the announcement and Humana's shares rose sharply.
Humana spokesman Ton Noland confirmed that the company has started the probe and fired the law firm of the lobbyist who was working for ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers-to-be who believe infants dirty their diapers to bother their parents or purposefully ignore their mothers may be more likely to abuse or neglect their young children, a new study suggests.
U.S. researchers found that 8 percent of about 500 babies born in a ...
The company said on Thursday the favorable results were seen in patients who took the drug, known as VX-661, in combination with its already approved treatment for cystic fibrosis, Kalydeco (ivacaftor) in a short 28-day study.
The Phase II study involved 128 people with cystic fibrosis who had two ...
New York (Reuters Health) - Large cigarette companies can keep their products affordable for young people and the poor by shifting the burden of rising excise taxes from cheaper brands to more expensive cigarettes, according to a new study from the UK.
The analysis of cigarette makers' behavior ...
(Reuters) - An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was sharply divided on Thursday over whether a drug made by Endo Health Solutions Inc can safely be prescribed for men with low testosterone.
A panel of outside medical experts split 9-9, with some members saying the drug, ...
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Blood tests conducted on patients treated at an Oklahoma oral surgery practice that has been closed over health concerns show that 57 have hepatitis C, three have hepatitis B and as many as three have HIV, the virus than can lead to AIDS, officials said on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Losing weight through exercise and healthier eating may have long-term benefits for people with mild sleep apnea, a new study suggests.
Researchers found obese study participants who went through a one-year lifestyle intervention were about half as likely to see their ...
The scandal, which has damaged confidence in parts of the industry and hit sales of processed ready-meals, erupted in January when inspectors found beef burgers produced by Irish company ABP Foods on the shelves of Tesco contained 29 percent horse meat.
ABP Foods, which lost contracts with Burger ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A review of the best evidence for interventions to prevent declining brain power finds that only one - mental exercise - consistently makes a difference.
The analysis of clinical trial results for assorted drugs, supplements and activities still can't say, however, ...
The Federal Joint Committee, or G-BA, said on Thursday it would review the cost-effectiveness of a range of drugs in different treatment areas.
The list includes Novo's diabetes drug Victoza, Bayer's blood-thinner Xarelto, Amgen's osteoporosis medicine Prolia, Johnson & Johnson's painkiller ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked Congress for more money on Thursday to improve food safety, police imports and develop countermeasures against chemical and biological threats.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told a Senate appropriations subcommittee ...
(Reuters) - Exact Sciences Corp said its molecular screening test for colorectal cancer met its goals in a large late-stage study, detecting the disease in more than 90 percent of patients, but its shares plummeted as much as 30 percent on Thursday as the results were not as robust as some were ...
Exact's test, which identifies abnormal DNA in cells shed in a patient's stool, detected 92 percent of colorectal cancers and 42 percent of pre-cancerous polyps in a large late-stage study.
"Pre-cancerous sensitivity, which was the key metric investors were looking at, was well below ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Only seven new drugs are in development for the treatment of infections caused by an especially nasty class of superbugs that include E. coli and CRE, the so-called "nightmare bacteria" that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised alarms about last ...
The agreement between Biological E and the GAVI Alliance, which funds bulk-buy vaccination programs for poor nations, highlights the growing role of India's low-cost drugs sector in supplying products around the world.
India's staunch support for its generics sector has led to clashes with Western ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors order fewer laboratory tests during a patient's hospital stay if they know how much the tests cost, according to a new study.
Researchers found that doctors at one U.S. hospital ordered about 9 percent fewer lab tests - such as blood work - when their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using a computer tool to help doctors analyze mammography images increases the number of early, non-invasive breast cancers that are caught, but also means more women without cancer have to undergo follow-up ultrasounds and biopsies, according to a new ...
(Reuters) - An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the agency approve an experimental treatment for smoking-related lung damage made by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Theravance Inc.
Glaxo's U.S.-traded shares rose 1.9 percent to $50.34 following the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A quality improvement program at a single children's hospital succeeded in cutting back inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, in a new study.
Researchers found within six months of introducing new electronic and educational tools, doctors were meeting national ...
The No. 1 U.S. laboratory testing company has been implementing a $500 million restructuring program to restore growth and improve operational efficiency as hospital operators buy up physician practices, cutting into its customer base.
The company announced on Wednesday its second deal this year ...
(Reuters) - Medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc said on Wednesday first-quarter profit rose as lower expenses outweighed a decline in sales but warned that full-year revenue will be hurt by foreign exchange effects.
Shares dropped 1.2 percent to $41.65 in mid-day trading.
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Five French executives went on trial on Wednesday to jeers from victims for supplying women with hundreds of thousands of substandard breast implants and triggering a global health scare.
More than 300,000 women around the world were fitted over a decade with implants ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a move to shore up its lead in Alzheimer's diagnostics, Eli Lilly and Co on Wednesday said it will acquire two imaging agents from Siemens designed to light up brain deposits of tau, an Alzheimer's protein linked with cell death.
The two agents are radiopharmaceutical ...
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is investigating the possibility of human-to-human transmission of a new strain of bird flu that has killed 17 people and is examining "family clusters" of people infected with the virus, a top health official was quoted as saying.
Authorities have slaughtered ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conceded on Tuesday that the agency could have been more aggressive in its oversight of the compounding pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak.
Testifying at a contentious congressional hearing, FDA ...
(Reuters) - An Illinois jury on Tuesday found in favor of Johnson & Johnson's DePuy orthopedics unit in a second product liability trial of nearly 11,000 lawsuits over the company's recalled ASR metal hip implant.
The outcome contrasts with an earlier separate trial in which a Los Angeles jury ...
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration also approved new labeling for a reformulated OxyContin, which was introduced by privately held manufacturer Purdue Pharma L.P. in 2010. The label will indicate that the tablets' physical and chemical properties make them more difficult to crush, ...
The DOJ charged that the world's largest biotechnology company violated the False Claims Act through kickbacks paid to Omnicare Inc, Kindred Healthcare Inc and PharMerica Corp in exchange for switching Medicare and Medicaid patients to Aranesp to treat their anemia.
"We will continue to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients tend to do better when their doctors pay attention to their individual needs and circumstances, according to a new study.
"In a sense that sounds sort of obvious, but no one has ever showed that before," said Dr. Saul Weiner, the study's lead ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Groups supporting the right to abortion filed suit on Tuesday challenging an Arkansas law that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks, seeking to block one of the nation's most restrictive abortion measures before it takes effect in July.
The ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most older men with prostate cancer found by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and biopsies opted for treatment in a new study - even if signs pointed to their disease being slow-growing and not immediately life-threatening.
Still, among men with high PSA levels, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. hospitals may have a financial incentive not to implement strategies and techniques that are known to reduce surgery-related complications, according to a new study.
The findings do not mean that "any hospital out there is saying, ‘we can make more money if ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who were colicky as infants are more likely to suffer from migraines as they get older, a new European study hints.
Researchers found over 70 percent of kids and teens who came to French and Italian emergency rooms with migraines had cried excessively as ...
(Reuters) - Vivus Inc President Peter Tam said U.S. health regulators' approval to sell its diet pill Qsymia through retail pharmacies removed "a major barrier" to the drug's adoption and paved the way for a direct-to-consumer campaign to be launched later this year.
Vivus shares rose as ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Tuesday that a U.S. District Court in Nevada erred last March in finding the patent to be valid. It reversed the ruling.
Actavis had launched its generic competitor in January 2012, but took it off pharmacists' shelves after the ruling in ...
Italy launched an inspection of the sector in response to the scandal of horse meat in products labeled as beef that has spread across Europe since January, prompting product withdrawals and worrying consumers.
Italian police inspected 361 samples of products advertised as beef without any mention ...
No deaths were reported from the post-injection reactions, but resuscitations and hospitalizations were required in some cases, the reviewers said in documents posted on the FDA's website on Tuesday. (http://link.reuters.com/dem47t)
"There are no known approaches to predict or prevent the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have declined to approve an inhaled migraine drug from Allergan Inc, citing manufacturing concerns related to the canisters used to dispense it.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had previously expressed concerns related to Exemplar Pharma LLC, a ...
Along with positive results from three other late-stage trials announced in October, the data will support a marketing application for dulaglutide, Lilly said in a statement.
In the study named AWARD 2, the company said a 1.5 mg dose of its drug proved superior to Sanofi's Lantus, at 52 weeks in ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France found more cases of illegal horsemeat in beef products than any other European Union country, results of official DNA tests ordered in the wake of the scandal showed, with more than 1 in every 8 samples testing positive.
Announcing the results on Tuesday, the European ...
PARIS (Reuters) - Too many laboratories still have samples of the devastating cattle disease rinderpest two years after it was eradicated, only the second disease after smallpox to be wiped out, the World Organisation for Animal Health said.
Member countries of the organisation, known as the OIE, ...
(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates on sharply lower taxes, strong sales of prescription drugs and a revival of over-the-counter medicines that had been recalled over quality control problems.
Newer prescription medicines, including prostate cancer drug ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - An international team of flu experts will go to China this week to help with investigations into the deadly H7N9 virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Chinese authorities said eight more people were infected with the new strain of avian flu that has killed ...
Results of a second phase III trial for the inhaler, which delivers fixed dose combinations of alclidinium bromide and formoterol fumarate to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are expected in the coming weeks.
"In addition to the improved efficacy shown in this study, the ...
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A city medical examiner described fetal body parts stored in pet food containers during his testimony on Monday at a murder trial that has drawn a national spotlight after anti-abortion groups complained that it was being ignored.
The graphic testimony came in the fifth ...
(Reuters) - Sarepta Therapeutics Inc said U.S. health regulators have asked for additional information on its experimental drug to treat a rare degenerative disease in boys.
Sarepta shares fell 12 percent in extended trading after closing at $39.24 on the Nasdaq on Monday.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Arkansas lawmakers rejected on Monday a compromise measure that would have extended health insurance to more of its low-income citizens, turning back what some saw as a possible model for other states also wrestling with opposition to U.S. government expansion ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors should talk about breast cancer-reducing drugs with women and offer tamoxifen or raloxifene to those that have a high risk of cancer and aren't likely to suffer side effects, a government-backed panel said on Monday.
The drugs work by blocking the effects of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors can use a patient's abdominal CT scans to also check for signs of the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis, according to a new study.
The researchers, who published their findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, compared patients' CT scans to their ...
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A city medical examiner described fetal body parts stored in pet food containers during his testimony on Monday at a murder trial that has drawn a national spotlight after anti-abortion groups complained that it was being ignored.
The graphic testimony came in the fifth ...
Italy launched an inspection of the sector in response to the scandal of horse meat in products labeled as beef that has spread across Europe since January, prompting product withdrawals and worrying consumers.
Italian police inspected 454 samples of products advertised as beef without any mention ...
A 77-year-old woman, who was earlier tested positive for the virus, died on Sunday in eastern Jiangsu province, Xinhua cited local health officials as saying.
China confirmed on Saturday a seven-year-old child had been infected by the H7N9 bird flu virus in the capital Beijing, the first case ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An experimental treatment for smoking-related lung damage received a better-than-expected initial review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, potentially paving the way for a recommendation in favor of approval when an outside panel of experts meets to review the drug ...
DUBLIN/ NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma launched a cash offer on Monday for Elan worth up to $7.3 billion, improving on its initial proposal to take over the Irish drugmaker and the lucrative royalty rights on its main drug.
Royalty made an indicative approach worth $11 ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A new bird flu virus that has killed 13 people in China is still evolving, making it hard for scientists to predict how dangerous it might become.
Influenza experts say the H7N9 strain is probably still swapping genes with other strains, seeking to select ones that might make it ...
Under the terms of the agreement, Ascletis will fund and be responsible for regulatory affairs and developing and manufacturing danoprevir in greater China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Ascletis will receive payments upon reaching certain development and commercial milestones from Roche.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The people and information sources parents surround themselves with may influence their choice to vaccinate their children or not, according to a survey from one county in Washington state.
Of almost 200 parents who took the survey, almost all said they had groups of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Singing or playing womb-like sounds in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may help slow the heart rate and improve sleep and eating patterns of premature babies, a new study suggests.
Researchers found infants who had respiratory distress or sepsis tended to do ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc on Monday agreed to buy Life Technologies Corp for $13.6 billion in a deal that would make it one of the top two companies in the hot field of genetic testing.
The pact values Life Tech at $76 per share, a 12 percent premium, and is one of the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled reluctance to issue too broad a ruling about patents on human genes, and some indicated they might seek a compromise distinguishing between types of genetic material.
The biotechnology industry has warned that an expansive ruling ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered yet another way to make a kidney - at least for a rat - that does everything a natural one does, researchers reported on Sunday, a step toward savings thousands of lives and making organ donations obsolete.
The latest lab-made kidney sets up a horse ...
Derya Sert, 22, who was born without a womb, had been receiving in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment after the transplant in August 2011.
"Early test results are consistent with pregnancy. The patient is in good health at the moment. We will continue to update on developments in the coming ...
The seven-year-old girl was in stable condition in a Beijing hospital, the report said.
Two people who have had close contact with the child had shown no signs of being infected, Xinhua added. The girl's parents worked in the live poultry trade, it said.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even as U.S. officials this week awaited the arrival of a sample of the new bird flu virus from China - typically the first step in making a flu vaccine - government-backed researchers had already begun testing a "seed" strain of the virus made from the genetic code ...
(Reuters) - A federal health advisory panel in June will reconsider safety data on GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia diabetes drug, although the British drugmaker on Friday said it has not sought permission to make the nearly discontinued drug widely available again in the United States.
The U.S. Food ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have had a bone marrow transplant may be at increased risk for suicides and accidental deaths, according to a new study suggesting these patients may need extra attention to the mental and physical after-effects of their battles with disease.
In a group of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who did a high-intensity aquatic workout for six months increased their strength and suffered fewer falls, in a new study that suggests bone- and muscle-building resistance can be achieved with the right kinds of water exercises.
"What we did was to test the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black women were the most likely to gain weight while using a long-acting form of contraception, such as a hormone implant or intrauterine device (IUD), in a small new study.
Researchers found that during a year of using progestin-based long-term contraceptives, black ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People are less likely to trust and follow the advice of an overweight doctor, according to a new online survey that suggests "weight bias" may go both ways in the doctor-patient relationship.
"There's lots of work which shows there's a lot of bias from ...
RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Virginia on Friday required abortion clinics to meet stricter hospital-style standards that could force some go out of business, making it the latest state to tighten rules on the procedure.
The rules, passed overwhelmingly by the Virginia Board of Health, could ...
One of the Henan victims, a 34-year old man in the city of Kaifeng, is now critically ill in hospital, while the other, a 65-year old farmer from Zhoukou, is stable. The two cases do not appear to be connected.
A total of 19 people in close contact with the two new victims were under observation ...
The buyback, priced between $11.25 and $13.00 per share, was supported by 99.2 percent of shareholders on Friday. The company was returning cash to investors after the $3.2 billion sale of its interest in multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.
Royalty may sweeten its $11 per share proposal by paying ...
The specialty pharmaceutical company is relying on the injectable, foam-based treatment to consolidate its transformation from a company that buys up patents and licenses them out into one marketing its own products.
BTG, which said on Friday that standard FDA review timelines suggested a decision ...
The cuts include both full-time and contract sales employees. Lilly has 38,000 employees worldwide and about 17,000 in the United States.
At the same time, the company plans to add 300 people to its diabetes sales force, the source said.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Child deaths from pneumonia and severe diarrhea, mainly among the poor in Africa and South Asia, could be virtually eliminated by 2025 under an "integrated" strategy that includes better sanitation and newer vaccines, U.N. agencies said on Friday.
The 10-year action ...
(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration is stepping up pressure on firms that make drugs for specific individuals, known as compounding pharmacies, as it seeks greater regulatory authority following a deadly meningitis outbreak traced to one such pharmacy.
On Thursday, the agency posted ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even as U.S. officials this week awaited the arrival of a sample of the new bird flu virus from China - typically the first step in making a flu vaccine - government-backed researchers had already begun testing a "seed" strain of the virus made from the genetic code ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Depending on their age, women diagnosed with uterine cancer may have a higher risk of developing colon cancer later on, according to a new study from Canada.
"As the survival has increased among cancer survivors, it's important to know what the other problems ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat more raw fruits or drink juice do not necessarily have lower blood pressure, according to a new study that goes against previous evidence.
Larger, more rigorous studies have found that eating more fruits and vegetables does lower blood pressure over time, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The aches and pains people suffer after working out more than usual can be relieved just as well by exercise as by massage, according to a new study.
"It's a common belief that massage is better, but it isn't better. Massage and exercise had the same ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investment firm Royalty Pharma is considering sweetening its $6.6 billion offer for Irish drugmaker Elan by paying Elan shareholders more if the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri hits certain sales milestones, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Royalty made ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with breast cancer who had a few alcoholic drinks per week before their diagnosis were slightly less likely to die from their cancer, according to a study that followed newly-diagnosed patients for 11 years, on average.
Moderate drinking before and after a breast ...
The company said the expansion will introduce biologics development and clinical trial manufacturing capabilities to the site and add about 350 employees to the Devens workforce over time.
Work on the expansion, which will include the construction of two new buildings, is expected to begin in late ...
Shares of the company jumped 47 percent to $11.74 in early trade on Thursday. The stock was the biggest percentage gainer on the Nasdaq and more than four million shares had changed hands within the first 10 minutes of trading.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed with the company that ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are placing big new bets on the future of brain science, just as much of the pharmaceutical industry retreats from the field.
Brain disorders ranging from depression to Alzheimer's are extracting an ever greater social and economic cost ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A spike in U.S. demand for flu drug Tamiflu and strong sales of mainstay cancer medicines lifted first-quarter sales at Roche Holding AG by a bigger-than-expected 5 percent.
The healthy performance in its main pharmaceuticals unit - which was also bolstered by approval of two ...
The company's Sanofi Pasteur vaccine unit currently produces the three-strain Vaxigrip flu vaccine at a facility in Val de Rueil, in France.
The marketing authorization application for the quadrivalent version of Vaxigrip is intended to be presented in all countries of the world where Vaxigrip is ...
(Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc, the biggest foreign fast-food chain operator in China, is in danger of breaking its 11-year streak of double-digit profit growth as it scrambles to deal with food scares and bird flu in its most lucrative market.
The U.S.-listed firm, the world's largest restaurant ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite lingering concerns that using fertility drugs might raise a woman's chances for later developing ovarian cancer, new research suggests the drugs don't contribute any added risk.
"One important message is women who need to use fertility drugs to get pregnant ...
The proposed budget represents an increase over the $4.03 billion included in the 2013 budget after automatic spending cuts mandated by Congress, known as the sequester.
The FDA is financed in part with funds authorized by Congress and in part by fees charged to industry to cover the cost of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If Dr Karl Deisseroth were an architect, he might be replacing stone or brick walls with floor-to-ceiling glass to build transparent houses. But since he is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, he has done the biological equivalent: invented a technique to make brains ...
LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline, Britain's biggest drugmaker, is placing a small but important bet on a new way of treating diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body.
The company said on Wednesday it would offer a $1 million prize to stimulate innovation in the field, as well as ...
China said the H7N9 avian influenza virus was found on Wednesday in three live bird markets in Jiangsu province, one in Anhui province and one in Zhejiang province, the report said. It did not specify in what kind of birds the virus was found.
The three previous outbreaks reported last week were ...
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators have granted a "breakthrough therapy" designation to an experimental Pfizer Inc treatment for breast cancer, lifting the company's shares and putting a spotlight on its growing cancer-drug portfolio.
Analysts from JPMorgan and Leerink Swann forecast the oral ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obesity is already linked to a higher risk of colon or rectal cancer, but a new study suggests this risk is even greater for obese people who have undergone weight-loss surgery.
Based on a study of more than 77,000 obese patients, Swedish and English researchers found ...
The nearly $4 billion, an increase over the amount approved for the 2012 budget, is part of the $80.1 billion budget proposed for the Department of Health and Human Services. Congress has not enacted a budget for 2013.
The budget is designed to support the implementation of the 2010 Affordable ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans tend to eat more calories and fat on the days they also have alcoholic drinks, a new study suggests.
"Food choices changed on the days that people drank... and changed in an unhealthier direction for both men and women," said Rosalind Breslow, a ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Robert Edwards, the scientist known as the father of IVF for pioneering the development of "test tube babies" for couples unable to conceive naturally, died on Wednesday aged 87.
The Briton, who won the Nobel medicine prize for his achievement in 2010, started ...
The maker of heart pacemakers, valves and other medical devices said European regulators approved its Brio, Libra and LibraXP deep brain stimulation systems for managing symptoms of primary and secondary Dystonia.
Dystonia causes a person's muscles to involuntarily contract and spasm. For those ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Supreme Court case that challenges a law requiring anti-prostitution policies for HIV/AIDS programs seeking federal money has generated a split among nonprofit groups that counsel sex workers overseas.
The case involves a 2003 law that bars funding for groups that work on ...
The case involves two patients who claimed they became infected with hepatitis C, a disease that attacks the liver, because their gastroenterologist used allegedly unsafe injection practices for an endoscopy.
The plaintiffs argued that UnitedHealth should be held responsible because the accused ...
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police detained at least 10 people for spreading rumors about the H7N9 bird flu virus, state media said on Wednesday, as the death toll from the new strain rose to nine.
Authorities detained the people in six provinces - Shaanxi, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regularly eating cereal for breakfast is tied to healthy weight for kids, according to a new study that endorses making breakfast cereal accessible to low-income kids to help fight childhood obesity.
One in every four American children lives in a food insecure household ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An inexpensive drug that can prevent some life-threatening heart rhythm problems is unavailable in most places, according to a new survey of doctors in 131 countries.
Quinidine prevents arrhythmias among people with Brugada syndrome, an inherited condition in which the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most major medical journals don't spell out how they handle the omission from a published study's author list of a person who substantially contributed to the work, according to a new study from Spain.
So called ghostwriting raises concerns about the validity of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Intrauterine devices are safe for teenagers, according to a new analysis of more than 90,000 women who used the long-term contraceptives.
Researchers found less than 1 percent of all women developed serious complications from the devices, such as pelvic inflammatory ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The largest study to date looking for genetic causes of Alzheimer's in African Americans may offer new clues about why blacks in the United States are twice as likely as whites to develop the deadly, brain-wasting disease.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American ...
Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the level of the drug, which is banned from entering the human food chain, posed a low risk to human health, as results showed it contained 4 parts per billion.
Asda, the British arm of the U.S. retailing giant Wal-Mart, said the drug had been found in ...
(Reuters) - An experimental drug that spurs the immune system to fight cancer appeared to be safe and demonstrated anti-tumor activity against a variety of cancers in a small early stage study, researchers said on Tuesday.
The drug, called MPDL3280A, was discovered and is being developed by ...
The outbreak has prompted restrictions on the movement of the big birds and their products in the Western Cape province, the Western Cape ministry of agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday.
Tests samples from an ostrich farm near Oudtshoorn, the centre of South Africa's ostrich export ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nominee to lead a key healthcare agency said on Tuesday that the agency was investigating events surrounding a decision on Medicare Advantage payment rates that sent shares of insurance companies soaring.
Marilyn Tavenner was asked about the April 1 rate decision at a ...
BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) - China has earned praise from international scientists for its handling of an outbreak of a deadly new bird flu in humans, but a history of public health cover-ups means the Chinese public is harder to win over.
Even as global authorities have said the new H7N9 bird flu ...
(Reuters) - Insurers and doctors are testing a way to pay for healthcare that has been more common in the corporate suite than the emergency room - paying for better performance, betting it is the key to controlling runaway costs.
Both private insurance plans and Medicare plans in hundreds of ...
The 83-year-old victim, from the eastern province of Jiangsu, was admitted to hospital with a fever on March 20 and confirmed as having H7N9 on April 2, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The H7N9 strain has infected 24 people, all of them in eastern China, of whom eight have died.
The Ophthalmic Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee voted 10-to-none that the company's Trulign Toric Accommodating Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens was safe.
The lens — designed to move inside the eye — allows patient to focus on near, intermediate and distant objects ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have approved a drug to treat morning sickness that was withdrawn from the market 30 years ago amid claims, since debunked, that it caused birth defects.
The drug, Diclegis, made by Duchesnay Inc, a private Canadian company, is a generic version of a ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A party drug available over the Internet and often taken by young people in Britain and the United States may harbor unknown risks because it has both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects, scientists said on Tuesday.
Researchers who analyzed the effect of the drug called ...
Sequestration called for slicing 2 percent from reimbursements paid by the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly, beginning on April 1. That will likely lower the revenues of hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers by $11 billion in 2013, the rating agency said in a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is not enough evidence to recommend for or against screening for oral cancer, a government-backed panel said today, due to a lack of data on possible benefits and harms tied to screening.
The most common causes of oral cancer are cigarette smoking and alcohol as ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The American College of Physicians (ACP) became the latest group to ask doctors to be clear about the limited benefits and "substantial harms" of prostate cancer screening before offering their male patients a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
The ACP's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Strict school lunch standards that are similar to new regulations from the U.S. government may be tied to healthier body weights among students, according to a new study.
"I think it's evidence that healthier school lunches have a positive effect but it's ...
The Democratic-controlled state Senate passed the bill by a 42-4 vote. The House of Delegates had approved it last month.
The measure allows seriously ill residents to obtain medical marijuana via state-regulated programs administered by academic medical centers.
Roche will pay Isis $30 million upfront and up to $362 million in licensing and milestone payments. Isis will also receive tiered royalties on sales of any commercial drugs that result from the partnership.
Development will initially focus on Isis's lead drug candidate that blocks the production ...
Resverlogix shares touched a more than two-year high of C$3.49 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shareholders will receive one share in the new company for every share held in Resverlogix, the company said.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - America's ageing population is posing special challenges, fitness experts say, because it is difficult to design effective workout routines for people with such a wide range of abilities.
For one 70-year-old, the goal may be to run a marathon, for another it's getting out of a ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Denmark's Lundbeck got a fresh boost for its experimental antidepressant Brintellix on Monday when a clinical trial showed benefits over another medicine called agomelatine that some doctors use when cheap generic pills fail.
Lundbeck and its Japanese partner Takeda submitted ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Shrinking the size of kids' plates and bowls and encouraging them to eat more frequently throughout the day might help them eat less and keep off extra weight, new research suggests.
In one study, researchers found first graders served themselves smaller portions when ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Around 390 million people are infected each year with dengue fever - the world's fastest-spreading tropical disease - more than triple the current estimate by the World Health Organization, experts said on Sunday.
The new finding, based on several years of analysis, underscores ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To crack the code of the human brain, Cori Bargmann figures it's best to keep an open mind.
As one of two leaders of a scientific "dream team" in the initial phase of President Barack Obama's ambitious $100 million project to map the brain, Bargmann said the first ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first clinical trial designed to explore using a hallucinogen from magic mushrooms to treat people with depression has stalled because of British and European rules on the use of illegal drugs in research.
David Nutt, president of the British Neuroscience Association ...
BEIJING (Reuters) - A strain of bird flu that has been found in humans for the first time in eastern China is no cause for panic, the World Health Organization said on Monday, as the number of people infected rose to 24, with seven deaths.
WHO praised China for mobilising resources nationwide to ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has gone to court to try to block a subpoena from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York seeking White House documents about the government's requirement of insurance coverage for birth control.
The subpoena requesting documents from President ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Each year in the U.S. an average of a dozen high school and college football players die during practices and games, according to a new study that finds heart conditions, heat and other non-traumatic causes of death are twice as common as injury-related ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One in 10 people who have a stroke caused by a clot blocking blood to the brain go on to develop chronic pain, according to a new study.
Researchers found that just over 10 percent of about 16,000 study participants developed chronic pain after their strokes, and that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting plenty of calcium from foods has been shown to lower the likelihood of kidney stones in those most at risk, but a new study makes clear the benefit isn't just linked to milk products.
In a large new analysis, men and women who consumed the most dietary calcium ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make "morning-after" emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age and criticized the Obama administration for interfering with the process ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's experimental rheumatoid arthritis pill fostamatinib met only one of two goals in a late-stage clinical trial, leaving the future of one of the group's few advanced pipeline products uncertain.
Fostamatinib is a potential competitor to injectable drugs like AbbVie's ...
Tamiflu has been approved by regulators worldwide and stockpiled by many governments in case of a pandemic, but some scientists claim there is little evidence it works and have lobbied since 2009 for Roche to release all its trial data.
Sales of the drug hit close to $3 billion in 2009 due to the ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday it was monitoring a new strain of bird flu and has started work on a vaccine just in case it is needed.
So far, the strain known as avian influenza A (H7N9) has only been found in China and does not ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although the long-term health effects of electronic cigarettes are unknown, a new survey finds people who use the devices think of them as a safer alternative to tobacco and a means to break the smoking habit.
Researchers from the UK surveyed about 1,400 e-cigarette ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men who use testosterone gel may see small improvements in their muscle-to-fat ratio but are unlikely to glean any benefits in flexibility, endurance and general ability to get around, new research suggests.
Men participating in the study had low to normal ...
The survey showed 52 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, which the federal government deems an illegal drug even as many states have loosened restrictions on "pot" use.
Support for legalizing pot has risen by 11 points since 2010 and was up from just 12 percent backing in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Declines in thinking and memory skills that sometimes follow coronary artery bypass surgery may be short-lived, a new small study suggests.
Earlier reports found cognitive problems in up to two-thirds of people being discharged from the hospital after bypass surgery, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tuberculosis patients who swallow their anti-tuberculosis pills under the watchful gaze of doctors fare just as well as patients trusted to self-medicate, according to a new analysis.
"Do we still need to observe patients taking their pills? Our findings are that's ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in the Dutch city of Rotterdam know precisely what it takes for a bird flu to mutate into a potential human pandemic strain - because they've created just such mutant viruses in the laboratory.
So as they watch with some trepidation the emergence in China of a strain ...
The company said it would launch its own generic of the ointment, Zovirax, on Thursday.
Mylan, a generic drugmaker, said on Wednesday it received final approval for the first generic version of Zovirax from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The company's shares fell 7 percent in premarket trade.
The group was administered the drug, MM-121, in combination with erlotinib, an approved cancer treatment, for non-small cell lung cancer.
The company said a safety monitoring committee recommended that the trial be stopped early due to the positive results.
The diagnostic agent, Lymphoseek, correctly identified cancer in 38 of the 39 patients determined to have cancer in their lymph nodes, the company said, citing an interim ...
(Reuters) - A federal appeals court said Pfizer Inc should pay about $142 million to cover costs for the marketing and prescribing of epilepsy drug Neurontin for unapproved uses, a practice that has also earned it a hefty criminal fine.
A panel of appellate judges in Boston on Wednesday refused to ...
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A lawyer for an Oklahoma oral surgeon accused of using improper sterilization procedures and rusty surgical tools that may have exposed patients to HIV and hepatitis said on Wednesday his client had an impeccable record and provided dedicated care.
The attorney for Dr. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smokers are less likely to be alive and cancer-free three years after having surgery for colon cancer than people who have never smoked, according to a new study.
Out of about 2,000 people who had part of their colon surgically removed, researchers found 74 percent of ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study in rats and monkeys suggests an experimental Merck & Co sleep drug may help induce sleep without causing the memory loss and attention problems sometimes seen in the commonly used drugs Ambien and Lunesta, company researchers said on Wednesday.
Experiments in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Supporting recommendations that people eat a couple of servings of fish per week, a new study suggests adults with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood are less likely to die from a range of causes than those with the lowest levels.
Out of about ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents of preschoolers at risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may first want to try behavior training before they put their children on medications, suggests a new analysis of past studies.
Researchers found medications improved young children's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens and preteens with a parent deployed in the military may be more likely to binge drink or misuse prescription drugs, according to a new study.
Previous studies have found that with a parent's multiple deployments come higher levels of depression and more thoughts ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Genetic sequence data on a deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people show the virus has already acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic, scientists say.
But there is no evidence so far that the H7N9 flu - now known to have ...
Obagi shares were up 9 percent at $25.03 in early trading as investors geared up for a takeover fight over a company that makes specialized skin care products to fight signs of aging, sun damage and acne.
Obagi's products are sold only through prescription and are considered to be more potent than ...
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese authorities slaughtered over 20,000 birds at a poultry market in Shanghai on Friday as the death toll from a new strain of bird flu mounted to six, spreading concern overseas and sparking a sell-off in airline shares in Europe and Hong Kong.
The local ...
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - About 1,200 patients have been screened for exposure to HIV and hepatitis in Oklahoma after authorities found a Tulsa dentist using improper sterilization procedures and rusty surgical tools, a public health official said on Tuesday.
More than 6,000 patients have yet to ...
The company's shares were up 8.5 percent at $2.35 in extended trading.
The vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) could induce immune responses at levels that can protect infants through a transfer of antibodies from the mother, Novavax said citing trial data.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents of preschoolers at risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may first want to try behavior training before they put their children on medications, suggests a new analysis of past studies.
Researchers found medications improved young children's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although fewer people are dying shortly after treatment for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia at most U.S. hospitals than a decade ago, the same trend doesn't apply to certain small, rural facilities, a new study suggests.
So-called critical access hospitals - ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors should screen women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer to see if the cancers might be due to certain mutations - and if so, women should be counseled about their personal risks before getting tested, a government-backed panel said this week.
One ...
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - At least three of the world's top drugmakers are bidding for Brazil's Ache Laboratorios Farmaceuticos in an auction that may value the group at more than $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Pfizer Inc, Novartis AG and Abbott Laboratories are all weighing ...
(Reuters) - After three decades without bringing a drug to market, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc stands on the verge of a breakthrough with its treatment for a crippling genetic disorder that affects one in every 3,500 newborn boys.
If U.S. regulators fast-track approval of its treatment for Duchenne ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced after the market closed on Monday that it would raise the reimbursement rate by 3.3 percent next year instead of cutting it by 2.3 percent, as it had proposed in February.
Humana Inc said on Tuesday that the government's move is an ...
The action comes a day after Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG lost a landmark court ruling over patent protection for its cancer treatment Glivec, a decision widely seen as boosting India's generic pharmaceuticals business.
Merck's Indian unit, MSD, holds an Indian patent on sitagliptin, a chemical ...
LONDON/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Stung by a landmark patent defeat, Western drugmakers will be wary about launching new products in India, but they cannot afford to quit a country tipped to be the world's eighth largest market for medicines by 2016.
Makers of patented drugs will in future have to get ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cut fruit and vegetable prices in half and people will load up on them, according to a new study that suggests price regulation may play an important role in future public policy.
"Many people argue that we should educate the population better about healthy eating ...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday there was no evidence that the H7N9 strain could be transmitted between people, but that it was investigating the outbreak.
The four new patients in China's eastern Jiangsu province were all in critical condition and receiving emergency treatment, ...
WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The White House unveiled a sweeping new initiative on Tuesday to map the individual cells and circuits that make up the human brain, a project that will give scientists a better understanding of how a healthy brain works and how to devise better treatments for ...
The ruling comes as AstraZeneca is already facing a big fall in sales due to patent expiries on other medicines, prompting a $2.3 billion restructuring plan and further job losses announced by new CEO Pascal Soriot last month.
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it strongly disagreed with the court's ...
NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill into law on Monday banning children under 17 from using commercial tanning beds, a move stemming from the case of a local woman accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth.
Christie said that while ...
Medicare Advantage plans provide care for seniors who select to receive their Medicare benefits through private insurance plans. On February 15, the government proposed a Medicare Advantage payment reduction of 2.3 percent.
The program has ensured industry participation by paying more than the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Employees offered financial incentives to lose weight may drop more pounds when they're competing as part of a group of colleagues, a new study suggests.
Researchers compared two incentive scenarios. Under one, employees got $100 for each month they met the goal of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most people who stop taking cholesterol-lowering statins - because of side effects or for another reason - are able to restart the same drug or a similar one without lasting problems, a new study suggests.
That's important because for people who need statins, quitting ...
CONWAY, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A chemist who worked at a Massachusetts state drug lab was indicted on Monday on state charges of tampering with evidence and stealing cocaine held in evidence, in the second case against a state chemist in recent months.
Sonja Farak, who has been suspended with ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although many older patients in Canada have thought about end-of-life care and discussed it with family members, a new study suggests fewer have spoken with doctors and had their wishes noted accurately in their medical record.
Many elderly people prefer to die at home ...
FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - North Dakota's only clinic that offers abortion services is vowing to challenge the state's adoption of new restrictions that its backers say imperil its ability to operate.
The Red River Women's Clinic, which is tucked inside a downtown Fargo building that once ...
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry on Monday firmly reiterated that the state will not expand its Medicaid program, saying it is a broken system that needs to be reformed by allowing states more flexibility.
Perry, who notified the Obama administration last summer that his state ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion.
The Center for Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the ...
Currently, consumers are instructed to stop smoking when they begin using a nicotine replacement product and to stop using it after 12 weeks.
The FDA said on Monday it plans to remove both these restrictions in response to claims by critics that they may cause some smokers to abandon attempts to ...
Two men in Shanghai, aged 87 and 27, fell sick in late February. A woman in Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in critical condition.
"At this point, these three are isolated cases with no evidence of human-to-human transmission", the WHO representative in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Zeus the pit bull helps his owner slog through interval training and military crawls, Goldie and her master enjoy Tai Chi together and Izzie the three-legged shih tzu can't hike up the mountain but she acts as a hand weight for her owner's bicep curl.
Experts say a dog may be ...
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's top court dismissed Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec, a blow to Western pharmaceutical firms targeting India to drive sales and a victory for local makers of cheap generics.
The decision sets a benchmark ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Telling the parents of babies who spit up and cry frequently that their child has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, makes them more likely to want medicine - even if they're also told it isn't likely to help much, a new study suggests.
Most babies who spit up ...
The two men, aged 87 and 27, became sick late February and died in early March. Another woman in nearby Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in a critical condition, Xinhua said, quoting the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).
The strain of the bird ...
The expiry of patents on expensive biotech medicines to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases is opening up a new market for lower-cost copies known as "biosimilars" because they are not identical matches of branded medicines.
But uncertainty over the regulatory framework for such drugs ...
The outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli O121, or STEC O121, has been reported in 15 states, the CDC said in a statement.
New York state health officials found the strain in an open package of Farm Rich brand frozen chicken quesadillas from an ill person's home, the CDC said.
The Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it is seeking comment from other agencies and health experts on whether it should update its standards limiting exposure to phones' electromagnetic fields, as they apply to children in particular.
The FCC last reviewed those standards in 1996, ...
In a study slated to appear in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers said there is no association between receiving "too many vaccines too soon" and autism, despite some fears among parents around the number of vaccines given both on a single day and over the first 2 years of life.
As ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of Americans diagnosed with celiac disease continued to rise over the past decade but leveled off in 2004, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed data on a small but representative sample of people living in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and found that ...
(Reuters) - FDA has approved a new diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson, making it the first in its class to be approved in the United States.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, Invokana, after data showed it was effective in lowering blood sugar in patients with Type 2 ...
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A Tulsa, Oklahoma, health center on Saturday began drawing blood samples from patients who may have been exposed to viruses at an oral surgery dental clinic that is under investigation.
As many as 7,000 of Dr. W. Scott Harrington's patients are being notified by letter ...
The company has priced the drug at a discount to key competitors such as Novartis AG's MS pill Gilenya, which costs roughly $60,000 a year, in a bid to maximize its market share.
"We think this represents solid value to the MS community and demonstrates our commitment to patient access," ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One in 15 people undergoing robot-assisted prostate, kidney or bladder surgery develops a nerve injury related to pressure from positioning on the operating table, a new study suggests.
Patients on the table getting those types of robotic surgery need to be tilted ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women taking a Chinese herbal formula experienced less than half the number of menopausal hot flashes they had before the treatment, according to a new study from Hong Kong.
Among women taking an herbal mix called Er-xian decoction (EXD), the frequency of daily hot ...
(Reuters) - Some of the most popular prescription drugs that recently became available in generic form are sold at the lowest prices at Costco and at the highest prices at CVS Caremark, according to an analysis by Consumer Reports.
Failing to comparison shop for drugs - such as generic Lipitor to ...
(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc has failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit accusing the company of fraudulently misrepresenting the safety of its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving drugs.
While dismissing some of the claims, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan ...
The lawsuit comes more than seven years after animal rights groups started petitioning the federal government to take action, with no success. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California, alleges that claims made in unregulated egg labeling falsely portray a higher standard of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Graphic warning labels on packs of cigarettes may convince some people that smoking ups the risk of bladder cancer, says a new study from Canada.
A survey of 291 people at doctors' offices in Toronto found less than half knew that smoking cigarettes is tied to an ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's some evidence to suggest that putting prebiotics in baby formula protects children against the skin condition eczema, according to a fresh look at past research.
The theory is that babies who can't breastfeed can drink formula fortified with prebiotics, which ...
ROME (Reuters) - Scientists have criticized an Italian government decree allowing a group of terminally-ill patients to continue using an unproven stem cell treatment, saying such therapies may cause harm and risk exploiting desperate people.
The treatment, created by the privately-owned Stamina ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Computer and mobile phone programs that provide tailored advice and support to people with diabetes may not do much to improve their health and quality of life, a new report suggests.
The findings are based on a review of 16 past studies, each looking at a different ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Text message reminders don't increase flu vaccinations in pregnant women, according to a small pilot study.
"Text messaging may be effective in some contexts and not in others," lead study author Dr. Michelle Moniz, of the University of Pittsburgh School of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For those who are able, exercising once or twice more weekly may alleviate some symptoms of a chronic pain condition without making joints feel worse, according to a new study.
Previous studies have found short-term benefits of exercise for fibromyalgia, a poorly ...
Shares of the Calgary-based biotechnology company rose to a high of C$3.32 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The main goal was to see if nine or more patients had a partial or better response to the treatment in the second stage trial, which studied 36 patients.
The company's shares fell 12 percent in premarket trading.
In a complete response letter to the company, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also asked for a study that can test the usability of the drug's syringe system and pointed out certain deficiencies identified during inspections of its ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The menus offered to children by most U.S. restaurant chains have too many calories, too much salt or fat, and often not a hint of vegetables or fruit, according to a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The group, which has agitated for everything from ...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Thursday the new treatment was not a cost-effective use of National Health Service resources.
The decision follows a similar rebuff for Pfizer's lung cancer drug Xalkori on Wednesday.
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have developed a new vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease that is safer and easier to manufacture, an advance they believe should greatly increase production capacity and reduce costs.
The technology behind the livestock product might also be applied to make ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved a new multiple sclerosis drug made by Biogen Idec Inc that is widely expected to become the No. 1 oral treatment for the disease, with annual sales topping $3 billion.
The drug, Tecfidera, activates a chemical pathway in the body known ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More women may get screened for breast and cervical cancers if they don't have to pay for the tests, according to a new study from Japan.
A year after the Japanese government started picking up the tab for Pap smears and mammograms for certain groups of women, the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Depending on their genes, some Parkinson's patients may be able to slow their deterioration by taking vitamin D supplements, according to a small study from Japan.
Researchers randomly assigned 114 people with Parkinson's disease to take either vitamin D or a placebo ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Only about half of people who have a knee or hip replaced see meaningful improvements in pain and disability in the months after surgery, a new study from Canada suggests.
Researchers found people who had worse knee or hip pain to begin with, fewer general health ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The logic behind weight-loss surgery seems simple: rearrange the digestive tract so the stomach can hold less food and the food bypasses part of the small intestine, allowing fewer of a meal's calories to be absorbed. Bye-bye, obesity.
A study of lab mice, published on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Chewing gum after surgery for colon cancer may not help kick the intestines back into gear - but it also probably won't hurt, a new study suggests.
The surgery, which involves removing part of the colon, typically keeps patients in the hospital for a week or more while ...
The latest casualty of the so-called "novel Coronavirus" (nCoV) was flown to hospital in Munich last week and died on Tuesday, the United Nations' agency said.
Seventeen cases have been announced since the WHO issued an alert in September last year, most of them with links to the Middle ...
LONDON (Reuters) - New research has nearly doubled the number of genetic variations implicated in breast, prostate and ovarian cancer, offering fresh avenues for screening at-risk patients and, potentially, developing better drugs.
The bumper haul of 74 gene changes that can increase risks for the ...
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Global drugmakers, battered by recent intellectual property decisions in India, are girding for a landmark court ruling next week with broad consequences for their ability to sell lucrative patented medicines in the country.
India's Supreme Court is due to decide on April 1 ...
(Reuters) - A government watchdog has issued a warning about the risk for fraud when doctors buy an ownership interest in a medical device distributor and then share in its profits from sales to hospitals.
In a report on Tuesday, the Office of Inspector General said its longstanding guidance ...
(Reuters) - Aastrom Biosciences Inc said it would end the late-stage trial of its drug to treat critical limb ischemia (CLI), a form of peripheral arterial disease, and cut about half of its workforce, driving its shares to an all-time low.
The stock was down 34 percent at 75 cents in morning ...
ARNHEM, The Netherlands (Reuters) - Digital doctors like Nicholas Haining and Frank Bosch are changing the face of medicine and the way publishers such as Wolters Kluwer make money in the stagnant or low-growth North American and European markets.
Tablet computers and smartphones are almost as ...
BEIJING (Reuters) - A one-room shack with a single, bare light bulb on a non-descript Beijing side street is 29-year-old Chinese migrant worker Zhang Xuefang's best recourse to medical care.
Not recognized as a Beijing resident, she does not qualify for cheaper healthcare at government hospitals, ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's financial crisis is costing lives, with suicides and infectious diseases on the rise, yet politicians are not addressing the problem, health experts said on Wednesday.
Deep budget cuts and growing unemployment are tipping more people into depression, and falling incomes ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's top healthcare adviser acknowledged on Tuesday that costs could rise in the individual health insurance market, particularly for men and younger people, because of the landmark 2010 healthcare restructuring due to take effect next year.
U.S. Health ...
MIAMI (Reuters) - Millions of Americans will be priced out of health insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul because of a glitch in the law that adversely affects people with modest incomes who cannot afford family coverage offered by their employers, a leading healthcare ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite concerns that antidepressant use during pregnancy could affect infants' growth and development, a small new study finds no size differences in the first year of life between babies exposed and not exposed to the drugs.
The medications, known as selective ...
LANSING, Mich (Reuters) - Michigan's attorney general on Tuesday asked state courts to authorize a grand jury to investigate whether a company linked to a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections broke any state laws.
The outbreak, linked to tainted steroids shipped in 2012 by the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Removing metals from the body through a controversial treatment has little effect on the long-term health of people who've previously suffered a heart attack, according to the results of a government-funded trial released Tuesday.
Researchers found no difference in how ...
A spokesman for the Danish veterinary and food administration said pork traces were found in beef sold by supplier Anadolu Kod.
"They told us meat was from some of their counterparts in Poland," said Erik Jepsen, a spokesman for the Danish veterinary and food administration.
New York (Reuters Health) - Women with lung cancer who ate the most soy before their diagnosis might live a little longer than those who ate the least, according to a new study.
Of 444 Chinese women with lung cancer, researchers found those who consumed the most soy milk, tofu and similar products ...
BISMARCK, North Dakota (Reuters) - North Dakota on Tuesday adopted the most restrictive abortion law in the United States, as the governor signed a bill that bans the procedure in most cases once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks.
Supporters of abortion rights said they ...
(Reuters) - Ziopharm Oncology Inc said it will stop developing its drug to treat soft tissue sarcoma after it failed to improve patient survival by keeping the cancer from worsening, wiping out nearly two-thirds of the company's market value.
The drug, palifosfamide, was being tested in a ...
A month after the medicine, Cogane, failed in a clinical trial, Phytopharm said it would not commit any more money to further research and development and would cut staff.
The company said it had held exploratory merger talks with a number of parties.
The agreement covers its Lu AE58054 treatment for the United States, Canada, East Asia including Japan, major European countries and Nordic countries, Lundbeck said in a statement.
It expands existing collaboration between the companies and Lundbeck will receive an initial payment of $150 million ...
(Reuters) - Scientists plan to check toenail clippings from hundreds of people in Garfield, New Jersey, to determine if residents were exposed to a toxic metal linked to lung cancer.
Chromium, the metal made infamous in California by environmental activist Erin Brockovich, has leaked from the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often needed for patients plagued by headaches, but the scans are overused when back pain is the chief complaint, according to a new study from Canada.
An expert panel that reviewed 1,000 requests for lower back MRI at Canadian ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Restrictions on work hours for doctors-in-training may end up inadvertently limiting their educational opportunities and increasing errors, new research suggests.
Long shifts and lack of sleep among medical residents have long been a concern, leading the Accreditation ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Four in ten new parents start feeding their babies solid foods before their four-month birthday, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Physician groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently ...
Pallimed Solutions Pharmacy, which specializes in treating erectile dysfunction, said it issued a voluntary recall of 16 sterile compound products, including injectable testosterone. Pallimed of Woburn, Massachusetts, also said it agreed to stop all sterile compounding activities.
"The ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled uncertainty over how they would rule on whether brand-name drug companies can settle patent litigation with generic rivals by making deals to keep cheaper products off the market.
Eight justices, lacking the recused Justice Samuel ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The high-security laboratories that study such deadly diseases as anthrax and plague lack national standards and strategy, putting the country at risk, a congressional watchdog reported on Monday.
The United States has made no overall assessment of its need for the labs, ...
The FDA noted in a post on its website on Monday that the injectible antibiotic will be in short supply until the end of June. The cause of the shortage is a manufacturing delay, it said.
Rifampin is one of the most potent and widely used TB drugs, and its shortage comes amid an increased ...
In the United States, about 90,000 OneTouch Verio IQ meters are affected out of some 1.2 million units of that model being recalled worldwide, the company said.
At extremely high glucose readings of 1024 mg/dl and above, the units have failed to provide a warning of dangerously high blood sugar ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Osteopathic manipulation may modestly reduce symptoms for some people with chronic low back pain, a new study suggests.
The treatment involves moving out-of-line joints back into place, relaxing overused muscles and massaging soft tissue, said Dr. John Licciardone, a ...
A spokesman for Britain's biggest drugmaker said the delay was not related to recent controversy over links between a similar flu vaccine made by the company and narcolepsy.
Rather, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided it needed more time to assess the product "due to an ...
ZURICH (Reuters) - Delays in developing copies of Roche's top-selling biotech drug are justifying the Swiss company's decision to stay out of biotech generics to focus on improved, patented versions of its medicines.
Roche faces its first big test at the end of this year when it loses exclusivity ...
(Reuters) - Biotechnology company United Therapeutics Corp said the oral version of its drug to treat hypertension was rejected for the second time by health regulators, sending its shares down as much as 7 percent in morning trade on the Nasdaq.
The drugmaker had resubmitted its marketing ...
The French drugmaker won an approval recommendation on Friday for the medicine from the European Medicines Agency, but the regulator refused to give it a "new active substance" (NAS) designation because it is very similar to a much older drug.
Without this designation, Tim Anderson of ...
Japanese regulators have approved a subcutaneous formulation of Actemra which shortens the delivery time of the drug compared to an intravenous formulation and can be administered at home.
Actemra was first launched with intravenous formulation in Japan for Castleman's disease and was later ...
BISMARCK, North Dakota (Reuters) - North Dakota lawmakers on Friday approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that could make the state the first to define life as beginning at conception, which would effectively outlaw all abortions.
If approved by voters, North Dakota would be the ...
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in an official blog post on Friday that serious problems continue to take place at compounding pharmacies and she is hopeful that the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the issue "will yield strong legislation for patients across the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of people in the U.S. with anal cancer has tripled since the 1970s, according to a new study that suggests rates of detection in high-risk groups may partly explain the rise in cases.
A U.S. cancer database search found that the rate of anal cancers went from ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Celebrities who endorse specific foods in TV commercials are a powerful influence on children, and that effect may extend beyond the advertisement itself, according to a new study from the UK.
Based on observations of 181 children, researchers found the kids ate more ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Less may be more when it comes to blood pressure checks, according to a new study.
After analyzing five years' worth of data for more than 400 patients, researchers conclude that the current practice of screening at every visit to the doctor's office - up to several ...
The genetic material of the ASF pathogen was identified in samples from pigs supplied this month to a meat processing plant in the Penza region, the VPSS said.
The suppliers were Tambovmyasoprom and Resurs, both of which are part of Cherkizovo.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though it's been common practice during hysterectomy to remove a woman's ovaries, a new study suggests there may be benefits in leaving them intact.
Researchers found that women's risk of ovarian cancer diminished when their ovaries were removed, but their risks of ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing new rules aimed at improving the reliability of emergency defibrillators following some 45,000 reports of device failures over the past seven years.
The defibrillators, found in hundreds of airports, shopping malls and restaurants ...
A Berne court found the man guilty of causing bodily harm and spreading the virus which can cause Aids, court secretary Rene Graf told Reuters. He did not give any further details.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 15 years in jail, according to media reports.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An appeals court ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration acted correctly when it denied fast-track approval of two stem cell-related medical devices made by Cytori Therapeutics Inc.
The FDA had reasonable evidence to find that the devices were not substantially ...
LONDON (Reuters) - European regulators have recommended approval of two new multiple sclerosis pills from Biogen Idec and Sanofi, both of which are expected to become major sellers.
Friday's decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was particularly significant for Biogen, since the U.S. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson may soon cause frown lines at Allergan Inc, maker of Botox.
J&J expects to seek U.S. approval next year for an anti-wrinkle drug that could break Botox's near monopoly, an 85 percent market share. The J&J product could be available in the United ...
A review of evidence found the drug's modest benefit was only greater than its risk of damaging the heart or causing serious bleeding in a limited number of patients.
Cilostazol, also sold as Ekistol, is used for treatment of intermittent claudication, or limping, usually as a result of arterial ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday over whether big drug companies can settle patent litigation with generic rivals by making deals to keep cheaper products off the market.
U.S. and state regulators say the practice costs consumers, insurers and government ...
(Reuters) - Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc treatment for opioid addiction be approved, but were unconvinced that the company's marketing plan was safe enough, given the potential for abuse of such drugs.
The panel of advisers, who met ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Monitoring patients at home using modern technology, so-called 'telehealth', is tipped as the next big thing in healthcare, but a new study by British researchers suggests it may not be worth the extra expense.
The findings will fuel controversy over the economic case for ...
Until further notice, health care providers should stop using all sterile products distributed by Clinical Specialties Compounding and return them to the company, the FDA said.
The FDA had previously reported the five cases of serious eye infection from injections of the cancer drug Avastin, which ...
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Furniture retailer IKEA's trademark meatballs are returning to the menu after last month's horsemeat scare, with new supply chain controls "from farm to fork", the company's head of foods said on Thursday.
IKEA in February stopped selling meatballs from its main ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors need to give antibiotics to more than 12,000 people with acute respiratory infections to prevent just one of them from being hospitalized with pneumonia, according to a new study.
And that small benefit is outweighed by the very real risks that go along with ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said its plans for regulating certain healthcare apps used on smartphones and tablets will not impose undue burdens on developers or stifle the growing mobile health industry.
Christy Foreman, director of the FDA's device evaluation division, told ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People infected with chronic hepatitis C are less likely to develop liver cancer if they are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, new research from Taiwan suggests.
The report doesn't prove statins ward off cancer, and one researcher not involved in the study says it's ...
The move, which had been expected, will allow the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to build on its current drug evaluation processes by giving it broader scope to assess a medicine's benefits and costs.
Britain's current drug pricing arrangements cap the return on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Long-term constipation doesn't raise risk for colon and rectal cancers according to a new analysis of the existing evidence.
Past studies had suggested a possible connection, but researchers said those results may have been skewed by poor study designs.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tuberculosis rates in the United States reached an all-time low in 2012, with fewer than 10,000 cases reported even as the global threat of drug-resistant TB rises, but U.S. officials fear progress in beating back the disease could be fleeting.
About a third of the world's ...
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gay and lesbian couples should be able to get married for the health and well-being of their children and families, the nation's leading group for pediatricians said on Thursday in a policy statement that also backs adoption rights.
The American Academy of ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's new chief executive announced another 2,300 job cuts in sales and administration on Thursday as he set out his stall for turning round the struggling drugmaker and returning it to growth.
The latest cutbacks mean the group will shed around a tenth of its workforce, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walk-in clinics are popping up in shopping malls and main streets across the United States and private equity is helping fund the expansion.
At least a dozen private equity firms have in the last few years plowed millions of dollars into urgent care clinics, which have become ...
LONDON (Reuters) - When Ireland's Katie Taylor was taking hits and striking blows for boxing's Olympic debut in an east London ring last year, John Hardy did not want to look.
To this leading neuroscientist and molecular biologist, a boxing bout is little more than a session of mutual brain ...
The eight members of the advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend the device's safety. However, in a tie-breaker vote it voted 5-4 against the question of whether there was a reasonable assurance MitraClip would be effective for its intended use.
Overall, the members voted 5-3 to agree that ...
(Reuters) - As many as one in 50 U.S. school age children have a diagnosis of autism, up 72 percent since 2007, but much of the increase involves milder cases, suggesting the rise is linked to better recognition of autism symptoms and not more cases, government researchers said on ...
Novartis said it was "extremely disappointed" by Thursday's draft decision from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
Afinitor, or everolimus, is the first in a class known as mTOR inhibitors to be approved for post-menopausal women with advanced hormone-receptor ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge certified on Wednesday a class of investors who have filed a lawsuit accusing Sanofi of misleading them about the status of regulatory approval for a failed anti-obesity pill.
U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said investors in Sanofi's American ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An experimental therapy that tweaks cancer patients' own immune cells to recognize an often-deadly form of leukemia has shrunk tumors and sent the cancer into remission in adults, according to a U.S. study published on Wednesday.
Although a similar immune-system approach has ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although differences in cultural preferences, wealth or access to top hospitals are blamed for many healthcare disparities, a new study concludes those are not the main reasons that blacks with poor leg circulation are almost twice as likely to be amputated as whites ...
(Reuters) - A clinical trial evaluating St. Jude Medical Inc's implantable device used to prevent stroke in patients who have a common congenital heart defect failed to achieve its main goal.
St. Jude, which paid for the 980-patient study, said it used the trial data to file for U.S. regulatory ...
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The effectiveness of an experimental malaria vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline wanes over time, with the shot protecting only 16.8 percent of children over four years, according to trial data.
The disappointing results for RTS,S - the world's first potential malaria ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Minimally-invasive forms of heart surgery and fibroid removal may be less expensive - and cause patients to take fewer days off from work - than standard versions of the same procedures, a new study suggests.
Researchers looking at six common surgeries found that if ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If it's streaming sunshine outdoors and the sunscreen isn't handy, grab an umbrella, researchers say.
That little device could help shield skin from ultraviolet (UV) rays, according to a new study by dermatologists at Emory University in Atlanta.
LONDON (Reuters) - Men who have children when they are older are more likely to have grandchildren with autism, according to a study which shows for the first time that risk factors for autism may build up over generations.
Men who had a daughter when they were 50 or older were 1.79 times more ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two thirds of women in a new U.S. study reported regularly using cleansers, lubricants or petroleum jelly intravaginally - and some of the products were linked to a higher chance of common vaginal infections.
Those mundane yeast and bacterial infections, and the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday said its experiments at controlling healthcare costs could need up to a year to produce results, frustrating congressional lawmakers eager to know if new innovations in care delivery can actually work.
Dr. Richard Gilfillan, who is ...
In line with previous estimates, boys in the study were four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls, according to the study, which is based on American parent reports of autism diagnoses in 2011-12 compared with 2007.
Autism can range from highly functioning individuals to those ...
The analysis showed that the drug BL-1020 - BioLineRx's most advanced product - had no efficacy compared to Risperidone, an approved treatment for schizophrenia symptoms.
Aegis Capital analyst Raghuram Selvaraju said people had ascribed too much value to the drug and that the news was by no means ...
The offer price of $19.75 per share represents a 28 percent premium to Obagi's Tuesday closing price.
Obagi's board has unanimously approved the deal, Valeant said in a statement on Wednesday.
The company, which presented its results at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, said the drug reduced the proportion of patients who relapsed by 39 percent compared with patients who took a placebo.
Peginterferon beta-1a, which will be marketed, if approved, under the brand name ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aging is a concern for many Americans, particularly its impact on health, but men seem to have an easier time dealing with the hallmarks of passing years than women, according to a new survey.
The national poll of 2,000 U.S. adults found that nearly 90 percent of people think ...
The drug known as talimogene laherparepvec induced a durable response rate (DRR) - defined as a complete or partial tumor shrinkage lasting for at least six months - in 16 percent of patients, according to preliminary results.
While that is a relatively small percentage, that was considered to be ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government has dropped its push for cigarette labels to carry images of diseased lungs and other graphic health warnings, and will craft new anti-smoking ads that do not run afoul of free speech rights.
In a letter to Republican House Speaker John Boehner last Friday, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some hospitals insert filters into the blood vessels of more than one-third of their patients with clots that may travel to the lungs, despite a lack of evidence they save lives, according to a new study.
The filters, made of metal wires, are recommended based on ...
JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - Mississippi, the state with the highest rate of obesity, has banned its cities and counties from trying to stop restaurants from selling super-sized soft drinks or requiring them to post nutritional information about meals.
The move came a week after a judge ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Over a quarter of babies brought to one Wisconsin hospital after severe physical abuse had a history of minor injuries, according to a new study whose authors suggest early detection may prevent later harm.
"In that group of definitely abused infants, 27.5 percent ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has named Dr Kathleen Uhl acting director of its generic drugs division as it implements the biggest revamp of the department in more than a decade.
Uhl replaces Dr Gregory Geba, who resigned abruptly last week after just eight months on the job, ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices weighed on Tuesday whether makers of generic drugs already approved by the Food and Drug Administration can be held liable under state law for claims of design defects.
During a one-hour oral argument justices questioned whether federal law, in this ...
The new patent covers the dosing regimen for Tecfidera of 480 milligrams a day.
Tecfidera is expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of March and many analysts expect it to become the leading treatment for multiple sclerosis.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The symptoms people come to the emergency room with may not predict the actual diagnosis they're given when they're released from the hospital, according to a new study.
Researchers found about 6 percent of 35,000 patients who visited ERs in 2009 did not need immediate ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly nursing home residents are often prescribed courses of antibiotics that last 10 days or more, a new Canadian study shows, which may needlessly raise the risk of drug resistance and secondary infections.
A week or less of antibiotic use effectively kills most ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG and a buyout group comprising KKR & Co LP and Hellman & Friedman LLC have joined the bidding for Life Technologies Corp, a genetic testing company coveted for its advanced diagnostics and steady cash flow, according to people familiar with the ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican state senators from Arkansas may soon accomplish what seasoned Washington politicians couldn't: make the main provisions of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul palatable to hard-core conservatives.
Jonathan Dismang and David Sanders, with two ...
The announcement was made on Tuesday in a note to staff from Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Dr. Uhl most recently served as Geba's senior adviser.
(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deaths and the risk of dying from Alzheimer's disease have risen significantly in the United States during the last decade, according to two reports released on Tuesday.
The trend comes as scientists and drugmakers are increasingly focused on patients with few or no symptoms ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Moderate drinking has been linked to several benefits, but it's too soon to pour a glass in pursuit of physical wellness.
That was the response of several doctors and alcohol researchers to an editorial based on a critical analysis of recent studies in the journal ...
GW - which developed the under-the-tongue spray as a treatment for spasticity in multiple sclerosis - said on Tuesday the German authorities had determined a price that was significantly lower than in other European countries.
"Our partners, Almirall, consider the German price to be ...
The commentary was published on the FDA's website ahead of an advisory panel meeting to be held on Thursday and sent the company's stock down 42 percent to $1.19 in over-the counter trading.
The reviewers said they would ask the advisory panel whether Titan should explore dosing further before the ...
The study published by pharmaceutical intelligence firm IMS Health said the slowdown in France contrasts with slight increases seen in other mature markets, such as the United States, Japan and Germany, and with growth of over 10 percent expected in China and Brazil.
But it is less steep a decline ...
(Reuters) - Walgreen Co and partner Alliance Boots said on Tuesday they signed a 10-year deal with AmerisourceBergen that will include daily drug distribution, enabling Walgreen to increase its sales of pricey specialty drugs.
Walgreen, the nation's largest drugstore, distributes more than 80 ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A presidential ethics panel has opened the door to testing an anthrax vaccine on children as young as infants, bringing an angry response from critics who say the children would be guinea pigs in a study that would never help them and might harm them.
The report, however, ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - A cost analysis released on Monday shows that a state plan to move Medicaid-eligible low-income citizens into a "private option" under upcoming federal healthcare exchanges would result in little additional federal costs.
"These estimates find that ...
According to a UK study, improving buildings to enhance "thermal comfort" - with central heating or insulation, for instance - pays off in both physical and mental wellbeing.
"I think the main message is that housing improvement can improve health, especially if it's warmth and ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - In the latest installment in the mammogram debate, a new study finds that getting a mammogram every other year instead of annually did not increase the risk of advanced breast cancer in women aged 50 to 74, even in women who use hormone therapy or have dense breasts, factors ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rachel Markley often feels uncomfortable when she goes to the doctor.
A 22-year-old student at The Ohio State University in Columbus, she uses an electric wheelchair and finds waiting rooms and examination rooms are often hard to maneuver.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of Americans taking the narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder drug modafinil has increased almost 10-fold over the past decade, according to a new study.
What's more, the majority of those prescriptions were written for so-called off-label conditions, such ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black children who saw doctors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were less likely to be prescribed antibiotics for respiratory infections than their non-black peers, according to a new study.
Researchers, who looked at the health records of more than 200,000 children, ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty years ago, when the world faced the terrifying prospect of an untreatable disease known as AIDS, big drugmakers scented an opportunity and raced to develop new medicines.
Today, as the world confronts another crisis, this time one of antibiotic resistance, the industry is ...
FDA reviewers said in briefing documents, posted on the regulator's website on Monday, that approval of the device would not be appropriate at the time as major questions of safety, efficacy and overall benefit-risk profile remained unanswered.
The device is being tested to treat mitral valve ...
LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) - Deadly strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs are spreading around the world, and authorities urgently need another $1.6 billion a year to tackle them, global health officials said on Monday.
Donors should step up with "significant funding" ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is to cut around 1,600 jobs as it overhauls research operations and consolidates drug development work in three major centers in Britain, the United States and Sweden.
The move will see the end of drug development at AstraZeneca's Alderley Park facility in northwest ...
MUMBAI (Reuters) - BDR Pharmaceuticals said on Monday it has applied to India's patent office for a compulsory license to sell a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's cancer drug dasatinib, after unsuccessfully seeking a voluntary license from Bristol-Myers.
Under a global Trade-Related ...
The Danish group, the world's biggest insulin producer, said on Monday it was pleased with the results. But investors worried about where it left Novo's strategy for a premium-priced high-dose obesity treatment and shares in the company fell 4 percent.
Novo Nordisk said subjects with Type 2 ...
(Reuters) - The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that could decide whether generic drugmakers can be held liable for alleged flaws in the designs of their medications, even though federal law requires generic manufacturers to copy the brand drugmaker's design.
The case, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More parents of teen girls not fully vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) are intending to forgo the shots altogether - a trend driven by vaccine safety concerns, new research suggests.
That's despite multiple studies showing the vaccine isn't tied to any ...
Jetrea is the first eye drug to treat vitreomacular traction (VMT) associated with macular hole that can cause progressive sight-threatening symptoms and irreversible vision loss, Novartis said in a statement on Monday.
Novartis has acquired the rights to sell Jetrea outside the United States from ...
The new label for the medicine that was first approved in the European Union over 10 years ago includes children five years and older who have not received treatment and have tested positive for HCV, Roche said in a statement.
Pegasys, in combination with the antiviral ribavirin, is the foundation ...
The Mayo Clinic is the third leading U.S. clinical site to sign a letter of understanding, following the University of Massachusetts and Massachusetts General, BrainStorm said on Monday.
Israel-based BrainStorm is developing NurOwn for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a review of existing evidence on the health value of fixes to housing, researchers say that improving buildings to enhance "thermal comfort" - with central heating or insulation, for instance - pays off in both physical and mental wellbeing.
"I think ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people with the chronic liver infection hepatitis C, heavy drinking is an obvious no-no, but a new study links even modest alcohol consumption with an increased risk of death - and not just from liver disease.
"What this study shows is... truly, even what might ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A significant number of U.S. patients with irregular heart rhythms do not receive adequate therapy, according to a new study of treatment practices for atrial fibrillation.
"Many patients out there that aren't treated probably should be treated," said lead ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat meals or snacks while watching TV, playing games or reading tend to consume more calories in a sitting, and especially later in the day, according to a review of two dozen past studies.
"Some studies have individually shown this before, but the ...
BISMARCK, North Dakota (Reuters) - The North Dakota Senate approved what would be the most restrictive abortion law in the United States on Friday, a measure banning the procedure in most cases once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks.
Senators also approved a second bill on ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Union's plans for tough new anti-smoking rules would break international trade rules, Malawi has told the World Trade Organization, signaling a potential legal challenge from the developing world.
Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, is concerned that EU ...
Swiss police said on Friday that they stormed the home of the 54-year-old man, who had barricaded himself inside, was armed with a knife and had issued repeated threats. An unidentified woman with him was also arrested.
The man had been free on bail since August. His trial began on March 6, but he ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A donated human liver has been kept alive, warm and functioning outside a human being on a newly-developed machine and then successfully transplanted into patients in a medical world first.
A British team of doctors, engineers and surgeons announcing the achievement on Friday ...
(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration will not complete its review of Merck & Co's experimental medicine to reverse the effects of anesthesia until the second half of 2013, representing a three-month delay, the drugmaker said.
Merck acquired the product, called sugammadex, through its ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Treating people with HIV rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes AIDS may be enough to achieve a "functional cure" in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early, according to new research.
Scientists in France who followed 14 patients who ...
Nearly one percent of U.S. adults have rheumatoid arthritis, an incurable joint-eroding disease that deforms patients' bodies, triples their risk of heart attack and raises their chances for certain cancers.
"Overall, we did not observe any evidence that increases in pollution levels were ...
LONDON (Reuters) - British soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan - particularly young men and those who have seen active combat - are more likely to commit violent crimes than their civilian counterparts, according to research published on Friday.
The study of almost 14,000 British ...
The Obama administration has given 17 of the 50 states conditional approval to set up online exchanges where working families would purchase private plans at subsidized rates. The remaining 33 states will all have federally run markets, at least in the early years of the coming reform era.
But ...
The data showed 69 percent of Americans aged 18 to 64 reported they had talked on their cell phone while driving in the previous 30 days, more than in any European country surveyed. In Europe, rates ranged from 59 percent in Portugal to 21 percent in the United Kingdom.
Additionally, nearly a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Women who have ever had breast cancer might want to walk away from the brie, the butter and the black cherry (and every other flavor) ice cream.
According to a study of 1,893 women, breast cancer survivors who average as little as one serving per day of high-fat dairy foods ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Selective reporting of positive results from drug clinical trials is a well-documented problem, but a new study finds that trials of surgical treatments have an even worse track record.
Researchers who looked at hundreds of surgery clinical trials found that many set ...
Voters in the states of Colorado and Washington approved measures in November that allow personal possession of cannabis for people 21 and older, who will be able to buy the drug at special stores under rules to be finalized this year.
No other states have legalized pot, the country's most widely ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women who regularly took aspirin - but not similar anti-inflammatory drugs - had a lower-than-average risk of developing the most dangerous form of skin cancer in a new study.
The findings are based on 12 years of data from the large, long-term Women's Health ...
(Reuters) - Roughly 2 percent of 8,500 poor heterosexuals living in U.S. cities with high rates of HIV infection tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, and nearly half of those who were infected said they had never been tested before the study, health officials said on Thursday.
The ...
(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration is studying unconfirmed reports that a widely used class of diabetes drugs, which includes Merck & Co's Januvia, may cause inflammation of the pancreas and pre-cancerous changes to the pancreas.
The agency, in a notice on its website on Thursday, ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The pharmaceutical industry should be able to charge less for new drugs in future by passing on efficiencies in research and development to its customers, according to the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
"It's not unrealistic to expect that new innovations ought to ...
(Reuters) - About 80 million Americans suffer from heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer, and most are on multiple drugs.
Some cardiologists think prescribing has gotten out of hand.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although previous research has suggested a connection between exposure to air pollution and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a large new study of nurses finds no link.
"Overall, we did not observe any evidence that increases in pollution levels were ...
(Reuters) - China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd said a late-stage trial of its experimental vaccine for hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) met the main study goal of preventing the infection in infants between the ages of 6 months and 35 months.
The Sinovac stock jumped as much as 60 percent in early ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time mapped the genomes of tapeworms, shedding light on the evolution of one of humankind's oldest parasites and revealing new possibilities for drug treatments.
DNA analysis of the tapeworms suggests that a number of existing medicines for cancer, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The legal battle over New York City's ban of large sugary drinks is set to continue in early June, after a New York appellate court agreed on Wednesday to hear the city's appeal of a ruling that struck down the new law.
Hours after state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The radiation that might cure a breast cancer may also raise a woman's risk of having a heart attack or heart disease later in life, according a new study that looked back at the cases of 2,168 women in Sweden and Denmark.
The risk "begins within a few years after ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When family members were allowed to watch emergency personnel try but fail to resuscitate a loved one, the relatives were less likely to have post traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety or depression months later, in a new French study.
The researchers, who published their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For efforts to promote breastfeeding, making sure that a hospital follows so-called baby-friendly practices is more important than whether it is formally accredited by a breastfeeding initiative, according to a new study.
Australian researchers found that new mothers ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors warn about the ethical and medical implications of prescribing attention-boosting and mood-altering medications to healthy kids and teens, in a new statement from the American Academy of Neurology.
Focusing on stimulants typically used to treat attention deficit ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have worked out how a deadly new virus which was unknown in humans until last year is able to infect human cells and cause severe, potentially fatal damage to the lungs.
In one of the first detailed studies of the virus - which emerged in the Middle East and has so ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. industry groups on Wednesday called for the United States to increase pressure on India to reform high-tech, agricultural and pharmaceutical policies they said block U.S. exports and damage patent rights.
"India has essentially created a protectionist regime that ...
(Reuters) - About 80 million Americans suffer from heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer, and most are on multiple drugs.
Some cardiologists think prescribing has gotten out of hand.
The Nevada company's shares fell more than 36 percent to $7.90 after the bell.
A supply shortage of levoleucovorin, the generic name of Fusilev, has steadily lifted sales of Spectrum's higher-priced drug in recent years. But Tuesday's forecast suggests that trend may be nearing its end.
LONDON (Reuters) - A Saudi man infected with a deadly new virus from the same family as SARS has died, becoming the ninth patient in the world to be killed the disease which has so far infected 15, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
The 39-year-old developed symptoms of the novel ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - With some basic training, primary care doctors and nurses could treat uncomplicated sleep apnea cases, according to a new study from Australia that highlights the potential cost savings compared to treatment at specialty sleep medicine centers.
The researchers, who ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Breastfeeding does not seem to protect babies against becoming overweight or obese kids, a large, new study says.
"It's just a reality check that in itself, promoting breastfeeding, while a good thing and will have other health benefits, is unlikely to have any ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have quit smoking have a lower chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke than current smokers - even if they put on a few extra pounds in the process, according to a new study.
Although the long-term cardiovascular benefits of kicking the habit have been ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For pregnant women, supplements of an omega-3 fatty acid called Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may help to reduce the likelihood of giving birth very prematurely, according to a new study.
The results add to evidence that omega-3 fatty acid supplements make pregnancy last a ...
The agency said the move follows its review of a study by medical researchers as well as a company study assessing the drug's potential for causing abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart.
Last May, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine compared the risk of cardiovascular ...
The letter, which followed an inspection of the facility in November, also noted that Stryker failed to notify the regulator of a product recall and had been marketing devices without required approvals.
The FDA acknowledged that Stryker has submitted corrective action plans for the quality and ...
Britain's third biggest drugmaker did not reveal how much it was paying for the Uppsala-based business but said it would pay a sum upfront followed by contingent payments based on clinical development and commercial success.
The acquisition takes Shire into the new area of neonatology - the ...
(Reuters) - An independent monitoring board said a large trial of Merck & Co's Vytorin cholesterol drug can continue, suggesting no major safety issues have yet been seen with the pill.
The news eased investor concerns that a safety issue could arise and further hurt sales of already ...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a booster shot at age 11 or 12. The usual practice is to give five doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) shots, the last at age four to six.
"This evaluation reports steady increase in risk of pertussis in the ...
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Grapefruit fans who gave up the fruit to avoid potentially dangerous interactions with their prescription medications may soon be able to indulge in the tangy fruit without risk.
Tests on a new hybrid grapefruit developed in Florida found very low levels of the organic ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Close to one-quarter of colonoscopies performed on older adults in the U.S. may be uncalled for based on screening guidelines, a new study from Texas suggests.
Researchers found rates of inappropriate testing varied widely by doctor. Some did more than 40 percent of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many doctors prescribe statins to people who have little chance of benefiting from the cholesterol-lowering drugs, a new study suggests.
In a survey of 202 primary care doctors and cardiologists, more than 70 percent said they would prescribe a statin to patients who ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed on Monday to appeal a judge's ruling that struck down his pioneering ban on large sugary drinks sold by the city's restaurants, movie theaters and other food service businesses just a day before it was to take effect.
The judge ...
Shares of the company fell as much as 29 percent to C$1.89 on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The committee recommended that patient enrollment be stopped and the study discontinued for perifosine, the company said in a statement.
(Reuters) - Walgreen Co has been sued by a California woman who accused the largest U.S. drugstore chain of deceiving customers into believing its Vitamin E dietary supplement contributes to cardiovascular health.
The complaint, filed on Friday in federal court in Chicago, challenges a label on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Football League and General Electric Co are teaming up to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain injuries amid growing concerns about sports-related concussions in youth and professional sports.
On Monday they announced a $60 million effort with leading ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - From spinning birthday celebrations to pole dancing bachelorette bashes, U.S. gyms are offering fitness parties as new way to mark life's milestones - with a few friends and a good sweat.
Gyms and fitness studios are often eager to host the festivities, which light up darkened ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Protection against whooping cough starts to weaken a few years after preschool children get their final diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) shot, a new study confirms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a booster shot at age 11 or 12. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Small water frogs marketed and sold as pets are linked to an outbreak of Salmonella infections from 2008 to 2011, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report published in Pediatrics on Monday found the infection ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - CT scans of 137 mummies spanning four geographies and 4,000 years of history show that hardening of the arteries was commonplace, especially in older individuals, suggesting this key sign of heart disease may be a part of aging rather than the byproduct of eating too many Big ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Antibiotic resistance poses a catastrophic threat to medicine and could mean patients having minor surgery risk dying from infections that can no longer be treated, Britain's top health official said on Monday.
Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, said global ...
Based on samples from more than 6,000 men treated for infertility, researchers writing in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found sperm in greater numbers, with faster swimming speeds and fewer abnormalities in semen made during the winter, with a steady decline in quality from ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc's angina drug Ranexa reduced incidents of chest pain in patients with diabetes, and the effect appeared to be more pronounced in those with poor blood sugar control, according to data from a clinical trial.
Ranexa, known chemically as ranolazine, is ...
Stents are small wire-mesh structures inserted into narrowed coronary arteries to restore proper blood flow. Many models are coated with a polymer that slowly releases a drug designed to prevent another blockage and repeat procedure.
New drug-coated stents with dissolving polymers are being ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A single dose of an experimental Roche biotech drug that blocks inflammation reduced damage to the heart during artery clearing angioplasty procedures, according to data from a midstage trial presented on Sunday.
The drug, inclacumab, was significantly better than a ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Medicines Co's experimental intravenous blood clot preventer Cangrelor, which is intended for use during angioplasty procedures, solidly outperformed commonly used Plavix in a pivotal late stage study, likely resurrecting the drug's prospects.
The aptly named ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Patients who received the original version of Edwards Lifesciences Corp's non-invasive heart valve replacement system had a nearly identical death rate after three years as those who had open-heart surgery, with no increased risk of stroke, according to results from a ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Unexpected serious side effects arose in a huge study of a Merck & Co long-acting niacin drug aimed at raising good HDL cholesterol, according to data released on Saturday, possibly adding another nail to the coffin of niacin therapy for heart patients.
Merck has ...
SAN FRANCISCO/CHICAGO, March 9 - A tiny upside down umbrella-shaped device implanted on the heart to prevent stroke in patients with a dangerous irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation appeared to be safe in a highly anticipated clinical trial, providing an alternative to ...
PARIS (Reuters) - Stentys said on Saturday that a study has shown its self-expanding stents for keeping blood vessels open have lower mortality rates than other conventional devices.
The French medical technology firm said the study paves the way to new markets for its tiny mesh tubes - which ...
New York (Reuters Health) - Possessing one or another version of a gene key to metabolizing the B vitamin folate may make a big difference in who responds to vitamin supplements intended to treat negative symptoms of schizophrenia, according to a new study.
Researchers tracked 140 people with ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Autumn is the time of year most associated with bumper crops of new babies, and that may be because human sperm are generally at their healthiest in winter and early spring, according to a new study from Israel.
Based on samples from more than 6,000 men treated for ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Double-jointed teens are more likely than their less flexible peers to develop shoulder, knee or ankle pain, suggests a large, new study from the UK.
Apart from the findings for those particular joints, researchers found no link between double-jointedness - also known ...
The San Diego, California, company said loose seals or seams could lead to spoilage that could cause illness if the tuna is consumed, though there had been no reports of illness to date.
Bumble Bee initially announced the recall on Wednesday after identifying an issue on a manufacturing line, ...
(Reuters) - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said on Friday that 108 people fell sick with a gastrointestinal illness believed to be a norovirus on its Vision of the Seas ship, which docked in Port Everglades, Florida, at the end of an 11-day trip.
The outbreak was the latest black eye for the cruise ...
(Reuters) - A Los Angeles jury ordered Johnson & Johnson's DePuy orthopedic unit to pay more than $8 million in damages in the first trial of nearly 11,000 lawsuits filed over the company's recalled artificial metal hips.
In a mixed verdict, the Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Friday found ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite some women's worry that seat belts or air bags could harm a baby in utero in the case of an accident, expectant mothers who are not wearing a seatbelt during a car crash are more likely to lose the pregnancy than restrained mothers, according to a new study.
The ...
The French drugmaker said it had became aware of the probe in June 2012 and was cooperating with the DoJ.
Plavix, once the world's second-best selling drug, was co-marketed by Sanofi and U.S. drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb before it lost patent protection in May 2012.
The German company, which is developing the pill with U.S. peer Johnson & Johnson, said it would start a Phase III clinical trial to test Xarelto in patients with chronic heart failure and significant coronary artery disease.
In another trial, also in the third and last phase of testing ...
BANGKOK (Reuters) - When Mallika told her parents she was pregnant at 17, they pulled her out of school and ordered her to marry the baby's father. But the marriage didn't happen and the one-time aspiring singer now cares for her baby girl alone.
"I love her, but at the time I hid in ...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - Abortion rights groups say they plan to challenge a new Arkansas law adopted on Wednesday that will prohibit most abortions after about 12 weeks of pregnancy and is the most restrictive abortion law in the United States.
The measure, which lawmakers approved over ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. companies and other groups that have made attempts to reverse the nation's rising childhood obesity rate are starting to see results as more American kids exercise and have better access to healthy foods, they said on Thursday.
More than 1,700 U.S. cities have promoted ...
Most of the infections have occurred in the Middle East, but a new analysis of three confirmed infections in Britain suggests the virus can pass from person to person rather than from animal to humans, the CDC said in its Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report on Thursday.
The virus is a ...
(Reuters) - Growing evidence of a link between GlaxoSmithKline Plc's pandemic flu vaccine and an increase in narcolepsy cases among children who received it in Europe, is giving pause to health regulators weighing approval of a similar vaccine in the United States.
Data published recently in the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Certain types of cervical abnormalities that can lead to cancer may be missed when young women go years between Pap smears, a new study suggests.
Last year, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said women under 21 don't need to be screened for ...
(Reuters) - Merck & Co will bring back one of its veterans to head research and development, replacing retiring Peter Kim, who leaves behind a mixed record over the past decade at the drugmaker's highly respected laboratories.
Merck, after recent setbacks for some of its most important ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children whose families are on food stamps are just as likely to be overweight and obese as other low-income youth, a new study suggests.
Researchers found poor children tend to have diets high in processed meats, saturated fat and sugary drinks and low in whole grains ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poorer people have a harder time getting a doctor's appointment in Canada, a new study suggests - even though the country's universal health insurance pays doctors the same amount regardless of the type of patient they see.
Researchers who called primary care practices ...
(Reuters) - Most large employers don't expect to send their full-time employees to government health exchanges for insurance during the next five years, but some retirees and part-time workers will end up there, a new survey has found.
The outlook for corporate insurance in the long term is less ...
Albiglutide, used to treat type 2 diabetes, belongs to the same class of injectable GLP-1 medicines as Victoza, from Novo Nordisk, and Byetta and Bydureon, from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca's Amylin unit.
The drug has not yet been approved anywhere in the world, GSK said.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A dentist's office may not be everyone's idea of a perfect holiday destination.
But a growing number of Europeans are travelling abroad for medical treatment to save money, or maybe to combine a visit to the doctor with some sightseeing, creating a fast-growing market that is ...
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a 2011 Idaho law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, in a decision believed to mark the first time a court has ruled that such a measure was unconstitutional.
Idaho is one of at least eight states that have ...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said on Thursday it had reversed a November decision in the light of extra analyses and a move by Novartis to offer a so-called patient access scheme to discount Xolair's list price.
Xolair works by blocking immunoglobulin E (IgE) ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time reported successful use of a brain-stimulating implant to help patients with severe anorexia whose condition had not improved with other treatments.
Doctors implanted a device similar to a pacemaker in the brains of six severe anorexics and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results from the average clinical trial take almost two years to be published, according to a new study, despite U.S. regulations calling for a 12-month maximum lag time on the release of most research findings.
That's concerning, researchers said, because publication ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though fewer American adults were hospitalized with heart failure during the last decade, hospitalization rates among heart failure patients under age 55 saw the least change, according to a new study.
Based on billing data for almost 1.7 million U.S. heart failure ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nursing home residents taking sleep aids such as Ambien are more likely to fall and fracture a hip than residents not being treated for insomnia, new research suggests.
According to the study's lead author, the known dangers of older benzodiazepine sedatives, such as ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Increased salt consumption may be a key culprit behind rising rates of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, researchers reported on Wednesday in a trio of papers looking at the role of a specific class of cells linked with inflammation.
Reporting in the journal ...
Experts reporting from a meeting of cancer organizations across the world said smoking and other forms of tobacco use are the main drivers of a growing global burden of cancer.
They urged governments to put citizens' health above the financial gains they reap from the tobacco business.
America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a leading Washington-based trade group, said a 30-second commercial titled "Too Much" would be shown in a dozen states and the Washington, D.C., area in hopes of dissuading the Obama administration from imposing a 2.3 percent cut in government ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. adults have been eating steadily fewer calories for almost a decade, despite the continued increase in obesity rates, according to survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"It's hard to reconcile what these data show, and what is ...
JACKSON, Mississippi/CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) - The doctor who cured an HIV infected baby for the first time is happier talking to children than to adults and is finding all the attention since the news came out a little overwhelming.
Dr. Hannah Gay and colleagues Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga of the ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co will maintain its dividend despite the erosion of its earnings by generic copies of blockbuster drugs and should be well placed by the end of 2013 to assess the potential of its future medicines, its chief executive said.
The U.S. drugmaker suffered a 7 ...
(Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma on Wednesday stood by its offer to acquire Irish drugmaker Elan, which has rejected the approach, and said it was ready to move quickly and could complete due diligence within 20 days.
The firm is scheduling meetings with 10 to 15 of Elan's largest ...
HealthSouth shares fell more than 11 percent to $22.00 on Tuesday after the bell.
HealthSouth said in a regulatory filing that the subpoenas were issued by the Miami Lakes, Florida office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and concerned alleged improper or fraudulent claims ...
The agency did not officially give a reason for the postponement but it comes as a major snowstorm bears down on the Northeastern United States, including Washington D.C., where the panelists were due to meet.
The agency said it would post briefing materials related to the drug, to be called Breo ...
The panel voted 12-9 that the benefit of calcitonin salmon products in treating bone-thinning associated with osteoporosis is outweighed by a potential increase in the risk of cancer.
Calcitonin salmon is a man-made version of the hormone calcitonin that is found in salmon.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Electronic alerts and other technology-based aids may help prevent costly missed or delayed diagnoses, according to a new review of past evidence.
"I think there's a general feeling that we're probably going to need multiple strategies," said Dr. David ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Lab results sent directly to doctors' computer screens sometimes get lost in a flood of other alerts, according to a new study.
Researchers, who surveyed over 2,500 doctors at U.S. veterans hospitals, found that doctors received several dozen electronic alerts every ...
(Reuters) - Par Pharmaceutical Cos, a generic drugmaker, has pleaded guilty to improperly marketing a medication intended to address appetite loss in AIDS patients, and agreed to pay $45 million to resolve a federal criminal probe and related civil litigation.
The company pleaded guilty to a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with HIV are almost 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who aren't infected with the virus - even after taking into account their other health risks, according to a new study.
Researchers aren't sure what explains the higher heart attack rate ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. researchers found better levels of "good cholesterol" and other markers of heart health in the blood of middle-aged study subjects with a sunny outlook on life.
At least some of the connection between optimism and blood lipids in the new study appeared to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Nightmare bacteria" that have become increasingly resistant to even the strongest antibiotics infected patients in 3.9 percent of all U.S. hospitals in the first half of 2012, including 17.8 percent of specialty hospitals, public health officials said on ...
The generic drug company is expected to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge at a Tuesday hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark, New Jersey, the spokesman said. Par's payment will be divided equally between a fine and a forfeiture, the spokesman said.
Par, ...
That will give Pfizer an additional 1 1/2 years of selling a drug that had U.S. sales of more than $1.7 billion in 2012, before cheaper generic versions begin to hit the market at the end of 2015. Branded drugs can quickly lose upwards of 80 percent of sales once multiple generic versions become ...
Roche's AGM in Basel is the first gathering of shareholders since Swiss citizens voted on Sunday to impose some of the world's strictest limits on executive pay.
Opponents have warned the measures would scare away international talent and damage the country's competitiveness.
The much-awaited outcome of the FDA re-inspection of the plant did not provide significant additional clarity for the stock, Morgan Stanley analyst Marshall Urist wrote in a note.
"This outcome appears to fall somewhere in the middle between clearly positive and a material setback."
LONDON (Reuters) - Years of universal healthcare, rising health spending, cancer screening, immunization and anti-smoking laws have failed to stop Britain falling behind its peers in reducing early death and disease, a study showed on Tuesday.
Researchers who compared Britain's health performance ...
Shares in the company rose as much as 20 percent on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The trials will test Silence's ATU027 compound, which prevents the spread of cancer from one organ to another, in combination with Gemcitabine, an anti-tumor drug.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche's influential Chairman Franz Humer said on Tuesday he will not stand for re-election next year when he will have served 16 years at the helm, potentially accelerating a shift of emphasis towards the Swiss drugmaker's U.S. operations.
"Roche is in excellent shape and ...
UCB said it would to submit the data as part of a supplementary new drug application for lacosamide, marketed as Vimpat, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The application is planned in the second half of 2013.
Vimpat is approved as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial-onset ...
Roche aims to combine Perjeta with its older drug Herceptin, the company's second-biggest seller, for women with a form of cancer known as HER2-positive, which makes up about a quarter of all breast cancers and has no cure.
U.S. health regulators approved the drug last June and Perjeta won initial ...
(Reuters) - Cheaper generic drugs in 2012 brought down spending on treatments for common diseases like high cholesterol for the first time in 20 years, according to a report from the largest manager of U.S. pharmacy benefits.
A rise in spending on specialty drug treatments offset that decline, ...
(Reuters) - Monster Beverage Corp, defending its Monster Energy drinks from mounting criticism about potential health risks, said on Monday its medical investigators found no evidence that the drinks caused the death of a 14-year-old girl.
The family of Maryland teenager Anais Fournier sued the ...
The company's hopes of securing an approval for its Parkinson's drug Rytari are tied to its ability to resolve issues at the plant, where the drug is partly manufactured.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its re-inspection of the Hayward facility and in a report outlined 12 ...
The drug, which J&J has developed in partnership with German drugmaker Bayer AG, was earlier denied approval in June for the same use, as a panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about missing trial data and bleeding risks.
In response to this, J&J submitted to the ...
The researchers, whose findings appeared in Pediatrics, also found that these people were more likely to develop other mental disorders, such as anxiety or depression, and commit suicide.
Lead by William Barbaresi from Boston Children's Hospital, they found that about 29 percent of participants in ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Years of universal healthcare, rising health spending, cancer screening, immunization and anti-smoking laws have failed to stop Britain falling behind in reducing early death and disease, a study showed on Tuesday.
Researchers who compared Britain's health performance since 1990 ...
The Redwood City, California company's shares jumped 10 percent to $5.49 after the bell on Monday.
The top-line results, reported from a 178-patient study of AcelRx's Sufentanil NanoTab patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system, showed that the drug-device combination helped reduce pain ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Mike Beebe on Monday vetoed legislation that would ban most abortions in Arkansas after 12 weeks of pregnancy, a restriction that would be the most severe in the nation.
The bill's supporters say they plan to seek a vote on Tuesday to override ...
The panel voted 10-4 against approval, with the majority saying the drug's benefit was not sufficient to offset its risks. The panel was evenly divided over whether the drug was in any way effective.
(Reporting By Toni Clarke. Editing by Andre Grenon)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have had a colonoscopy in the past decade are less likely to be diagnosed with advanced colon cancer than those who haven't been screened recently, according to a new study.
Researchers found less-invasive tests, known as sigmoidoscopies, were also tied to a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Only about a third of patients surveyed at one U.S. medical center said their doctors told them about the possible risks of a CT scan, such as radiation exposure, a new study finds.
Researchers, who published their findings in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, also ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The proportion of patients who have blocked arteries show up during a stress test has dropped "enormously" over the past two decades, according to a new study.
However, researchers disagreed about why that might be the case - whether the tests are getting ...
(Reuters) - Monster Beverage Corp, defending its Monster Energy drinks from mounting criticism about potential health risks, said on Monday its medical investigators found no evidence that the drinks caused the death of a 14-year-old girl.
The family of Maryland teenager Anais Fournier sued the ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The remarkable case of a baby being cured of HIV infection in the United States using readily available drugs has raised new hope for eradicating the infection in infants worldwide, but scientists say it will take a lot more research and much more sensitive diagnostics before ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Trying to prevent HIV infection through vaginal gels or daily tablets has proven ineffective in the southern African region ravaged by the disease because people did not use the medicines properly, a study released on Monday said.
A ground-breaking study issued in 2010 ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Monday voted against approval of two drugs designed to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes associated with menopause, concluding that neither conferred enough benefit to offset their risk.
The panel voted 12-2 ...
DUBLIN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan has sweetened the terms on offer to shareholders under a $3.25 billion disposal plan to try to stave off an approach for the company from U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma.
Elan said on Monday it would give shareholders 20 percent of future ...
CHENNAI (Reuters) - An Indian patent appeals board upheld on Monday a decision to allow a domestic company to sell a generic version of Bayer AG's cancer drug Nexavar, in a blow for global drugmakers' efforts to hold on to monopolies on high-price medicines.
The ruling paves the way for the issue ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Can crunches create six-pack abdominal muscles? Do weight-lifting women risk bulging biceps? Is stretching always a good idea?
Experts say disentangling folklore from fact is not easy in fitness, where misconceptions are as pervasive as push-ups and as stubborn as love handles.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insomniacs looking for a good night's sleep may want to hit the treadmill, take a walk or play a game of golf or tennis because a new report released on Monday shows exercise promotes good sleep and the more vigorous the workout the better.
Just 10 minutes of exercise a day ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nearly a third of people diagnosed as children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) still have the condition in adulthood, according to a large new study that also found they're more likely to develop other mental disorders and to commit suicide.
U.S. ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A baby girl in Mississippi who was born with HIV has been cured after very early treatment with standard HIV drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday, in a potentially ground-breaking case that could offer insights on how to eradicate HIV infection in its youngest ...
(Reuters) - Celgene Corp's experimental drug apremilast proved to be more effective than a dummy pill for psoriasis patients in a late-stage study, clearing the way for the company to file for U.S. regulatory approval in the second half of 2013.
Celgene said 59 percent of patients in the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children will meet activity goals to earn rewards, but the extra effort doesn't necessarily affect their weight and health, according to a new study.
The findings reinforce earlier research showing that incentives work to get kids more physically active, but the goal ...
Researchers writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology followed about 3,000 women over 10 years and found that those who consumed more than 20 milligrams (mg) per day of iron sources were 30 to 40 percent less likely to develop PMS than women who got less of the mineral.
"Most previous ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite encouraging results in the past, melatonin pills did nothing to help advanced cancer patients eat more or stave off weight loss in a new clinical trial.
"We had great enthusiasm for it also based on these other trials, and were quite disappointed when it ...
The discovery of aflatoxin in the shipment coincided with increased concerns over food industry safety amid Europe's horse meat scandal and this week's news that Germany is investigating possible large-scale fraud by organic egg producers.
Authorities in the northern German state of Lower Saxony, ...
Aflatoxin was more prevalent than usual in the 2012 corn harvest, which was hit by the biggest drought in the grain belt in 50 years. The worst outbreak appeared to have occurred just south of Iowa, the top corn producer.
Mandatory milk testing in Iowa began on August 31 amid fears that cows ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most packaged food labels don't list the amount of potassium the foods contain, according to a new study by New York City health workers.
That's concerning, researchers said, both because many health-conscious people want to make sure they're getting plenty of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Long after completing an 18-month program designed to teach about contraception and healthy relationships, teenage girls at high risk for unwanted pregnancy were using contraceptives more often and maintaining other safer sexual practices, according to a new ...
Taco Bell said the horsemeat issue is isolated to its UK market, where the Mexican-inspired chain has just three restaurants, and that it will step up testing of its beef.
On Monday, Yum said it would stop using more than 1,000 poultry slaughterhouses in China as it moves to tighten food safety ...
(Reuters) - Staff reviewers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that a potential increased risk of cancer with drugs containing calcitonin salmon appears plausible.
In briefing documents released on Friday, the reviewers said the risk raises concerns about the overall risk versus ...
Novartis said the EU had approved the drug also known as ACZ885 for patients with acute gouty arthritis who could not tolerate other treatment options.
Ilaris, which blocks a protein called interleukin-1 beta that is thought to increase inflammation, is already sold for treating ...
"Shooting health workers who are protecting kids from this crippling disease is against the Koran and everything Islam stands for," WHO's Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward told Reuters in Canberra said on Friday.
Gunmen in Pakistan and Nigeria have killed more than 20 health ...
The lawsuit filed by the retired Montana prison guard is the first to reach court out of more than 10,000 filed against J&J in the wake of its 2010 recall of the ASR artificial hips.
Kransky attorney Brian Panish told Los Angeles Superior Court jurors that J&J should be ordered to pay ...
In July 2012, the Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the medicine, Abilify Maintena, citing deficiencies from an inspection of a third-party supplier of sterile water. Otsuka and Lundbeck resubmitted their marketing application soon afterward, after working with an alternative ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists from a British cancer charity are teaming up with technology gurus from the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Google to design and develop a mobile game aimed at speeding the search for new cancer drugs.
The project, led by the charity Cancer Research UK, should mean that ...
The bill, passed by a 24-9 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, would exclude weekends and holidays from the calculation of a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion.
The bill was passed by the state House last week. It will go to Governor Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, next week, his ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Arkansas joined seven other U.S. states on Thursday in banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy as the Republican-controlled state Senate voted to override a veto of the legislation by Democratic Governor Mike Beebe.
Arkansas senators also gave final ...
(Reuters) - Some medical device manufacturers are trying to pass on the cost of the new federal tax on medical devices to hospitals, and a trade group on Thursday said it has launched a website to identify those companies publicly.
Congress imposed the 2.3 percent tax on the manufacturers as part ...
(Reuters) - A New Jersey jury Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary to pay $7.76 million in punitive damages to a South Dakota nurse who claimed she was harmed by the company's vaginal mesh.
Together with earlier compensatory damages, the decision means J&J and its Ethicon ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration kicked off a series of public meetings on Thursday to explain its proposed new rules for improving the safety of the nation's food supply - and gain feedback on the potential regulations.
The rules offer a framework for implementing the Food ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who take a certain type of diabetes drug to lower blood sugar levels may be at an increased risk of developing an inflamed pancreas, according to a new study.
Glucagonlike peptide 1(GLP-1) therapies that include exenatide - marketed as Byetta by an alliance ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with certain cancers enrolled in clinical trials survive longer, not necessarily from the treatment itself but potentially because those enrolled are better off to begin with, according to new research.
"The survival benefits for an individual to be on a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's no evidence that checking kids' and teens' blood pressure - and treating them if it's high - can reduce their heart risks in adulthood, according to a new analysis.
What's more, researchers found blood pressure tests may not always be accurate among young ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Preschool teachers scored low on a nutrition knowledge quiz and seemed to have unhealthy eating habits themselves, researchers found in a small study.
"Kids are with these teachers 6 to 8 hours a day, five days a week," lead author Shreela Sharma told Reuters ...
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada expects to be able to make enough medical isotopes through non-nuclear methods by 2016 to replace those now produced by an aging reactor and better assure an uninterrupted supply for medical imaging, a government minister said on Thursday.
To that end, the federal ...
Depomed's shares rose 8 percent on optimism that its drug, which failed to meet pre-defined efficacy goals in studies, may still be approved to address an estimated $1.5 billion market.
Depomed's Sefelsa was effective in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes related to menopause after ...
The diversified healthcare company said in a statement that it would "vigorously" appeal the award from the jury. On Monday, the panel of six women and three men awarded the same woman $3.35 million in other compensation, saying J&J failed to adequately warn her doctors of potential ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - People in the area worst affected by Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident two years ago have a slightly higher risk of developing certain cancers, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
A magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, killed nearly 19,000 people ...
Poland's General Veterinary Inspectorate said in a statement late on Wednesday it found three tainted samples from 121 tested, with 80 more to be examined.
On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Polish arm of furniture giant IKEA said the company stopped buying meatballs from its Polish supplier on ...
* Plans to delist Cipla Medpro when sale complete
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd on Thursday sweetened its offer by 17 percent to take over South Africa's third-largest drugmaker, Cipla Medpro South Africa Ltd, ending the uncertainty of an earlier offer that had been put on hold by ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Arkansas joined seven other U.S. states on Thursday in banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy as the Republican-controlled state Senate voted to override a veto of the legislation by Democratic Governor Mike Beebe.
Senators voted 19 to 14 on party ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People make more educated decisions about screening tests when they're given a personalized assessment of their own risk, rather than one-size-fits-all information, according to a new review of past studies.
Those personalized evaluations take into account factors such ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Long after completing an 18-month program designed to teach about contraception and healthy relationships, teenage girls at high risk for unwanted pregnancy were using contraceptives more often and maintaining other safer sexual practices, according to a new ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One-quarter of people taking niacin and statins as part of a four-year-long heart study dropped out early, often for medical reasons tied to niacin's side effects, a new study suggests.
Previous research hinted that niacin could boost HDL ("good") cholesterol ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gay and lesbian couples living together report poorer health than straight married couples, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, speculating that legalizing same-sex marriage could reduce the disparities.
Studies have shown that married couples enjoy better health than people ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A calculation based on results from a large lung cancer screening trial projects that 12,000 deaths a year among the highest-risk smokers and ex-smokers in the U.S. could be avoided with a national screening program.
The National Lung Screening Trial, published in 2010, ...
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court made it easier on Wednesday for shareholders to bring class-action lawsuits, breaking a recent line of decisions that had made it harder to sue corporate defendants collectively and perhaps obtain greater recoveries.
By a 6-3 vote, the court ...
ViiV Healthcare, majority-owned by GSK, is the second research-based pharmaceutical business to sign up to the new Medicines Patent Pool, following a lead set in 2011 by Gilead Sciences.
Although more than half of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS now get ...
Nearly 21,000 new cases had been diagnosed in 2011, with more than a third of cases in gay men and more than a third in people who have had gonorrhoea before, the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) said in a statement.
Effective treatment with antibiotics has been compromised by growing resistance, ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The emergence of a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has already killed half those known to be infected requires speedy scientific detective work to figure out its potential.
Experts in virology and infectious diseases say that while they already have unprecedented ...
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - A medical implant developed by Premia Spine offers patients with certain spinal disorders an alternative to traditional fusion surgeries, enabling a quicker recovery and greatly reducing the risk of reoperation, the Israeli company said.
The device called TOPS is fixed to the ...
LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix swine flu vaccine has been linked to cases of the rare sleep disorder narcolepsy in children in a scientific study in England that confirms similar findings elsewhere in Europe.
The vaccine, more than 30 million doses of which were given during the ...
Mistakes in surgery and medication prescribing have been at the center of patient safety efforts, but researchers whose findings appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine said less attention has been paid to missed diagnoses in the doctor's office.
Because of how common they are, those errors may lead to ...
LITTLE ROCK, AR (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Mike Beebe on Tuesday vetoed a bill to ban most abortions in Arkansas at 20 weeks into pregnancy, though state lawmakers can override his decision with a simple majority vote.
The measure, which had been approved by an 80 to 10 vote in the state ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More young women are being diagnosed with advanced, metastatic breast cancer than were three decades ago, a new study suggests - although the overall rate of cancers in that group is still small.
One in 173 women will develop breast cancer before she turns 40, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A Medicare policy limiting where people can undergo weight-loss surgery to so-called "centers of excellence" was not responsible for reducing complications from the procedures, according to a new study.
In 2006, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one in six sudden infant deaths may be linked to their mothers' heavy alcohol use during or soon after pregnancy, according to a new study from Australia.
Researchers found those deaths may result from babies being exposed to alcohol in the womb and from ...
New York (Reuters Health) - Patients with facial paralysis saw greater improvements in function after a more intensive form of acupuncture in a new study from China that compared the treatment to standard acupuncture.
Researchers found that wiggling the acupuncture needles to produce a sensation ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, Osphena, for a type of pain known as dyspareunia, which is a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy due to menopause.
Dyspareunia is associated with declining levels of estrogen hormones during menopause. Osphena, known chemically as ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For heavy drinkers in treatment for domestic violence problems, an extra therapy session targeting alcohol abuse may help to speed overall improvement in violent behavior, according to a new study.
Alcohol can lower inhibitions and impair judgment, according to lead ...
The company's move follows a decision this month by British rival GlaxoSmithKline to publish detailed clinical study reports as well as the results of all drug trials.
Roche has also come under pressure from critics, including non-profit organization The Cochrane Collaboration, to hand over data ...
Sensipar, which is approved for adults, is used to lower dangerously high calcium levels in the blood.
The agency said it was collecting information on the circumstances of the teenager's death. It said it does not know if the Amgen drug had any role in the death.
An estimated 26 million people, many of them now uninsured, are expected to obtain coverage through health insurance exchanges being set up under the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Tenet, the No. 3 for-profit U.S. hospital chain, said it has traditionally served a larger number ...
Nestle Health Science, which was set up in 2011 as the Swiss-based firm seeks to profit from growing demand for medical foods from an ageing population, said it was not disclosing terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval.
Pamlab, which was founded in 1987 and employs over 300 ...
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Idaho, a state known more for growing potatoes than marijuana, is bracing for a battle to legalize medical marijuana, as a growing number of U.S. states permit pot for both health and recreational use.
The Idaho Senate on Monday made its position clear with a 29-5 vote ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women shouldn't take vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent broken bones, and there's not enough evidence to say whether it would help anyone else either, says a U.S. government-backed panel.
Based on two reviews of past research, the U.S. Preventive ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A group representing pediatricians says disciplining students with out-of-school suspension or expulsion is counterproductive to school goals and should only be used on case by case basis.
The policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Missed or wrong diagnoses are common in primary care and may put some patients at risk of serious complications, a new study suggests.
Although mistakes during surgery and in medication prescribing have been at the center of patient safety efforts, researchers said less ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carestream Health Inc, which provides medical imaging systems and other healthcare technology solutions, is looking for a buyer in a deal that could fetch as much as $3.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Carestream, which was acquired by private equity ...
Stivarga is already approved to treat colon cancer that has progressed after prior treatment or that has spread to other parts of the body. Bayer will now also be able to market the drug as a treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).
Stivarga, known chemically as regorafenib, was ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, nuts, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables may help prevent heart disease and strokes, according to a new large study from Spain.
Past research suggested people who eat a Mediterranean-like diet have healthier hearts, but those ...
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A jury on Monday said Johnson & Johnson should pay a South Dakota woman $3.35 million for failing to adequately warn her doctor of the potential dangers of a vaginal mesh implant made by the company's Ethicon subsidiary, and for misrepresenting the product ...
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will ban smoking in many public places from June under a law central to President Vladimir Putin's plans to make citizens healthier, raise life expectancy and help the economy.
Under the law, signed by Putin on Saturday and passed by parliament last week, smoking will ...
PRAGUE/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's IKEA stopped nearly all sales of meatballs at its furniture store cafeterias across Europe after tests in the Czech Republic on Monday showed some contained horsemeat.
The world's No. 1 furniture retailer, known also for the signature restaurants at its huge ...
The company said it would take the $100 million charge to make changes to its balance sheet to reflect the 32 percent cut in the bolivar's value. It does not expect that cut to change its earnings-per-share forecast for 2013.
In January, the company forecast 2013 earnings in a range of $5.35 per ...
(Reuters) - Dynavax Technologies Inc may need to repitch its hepatitis B vaccine for a smaller patient population, after U.S. health regulators declined to approve the vaccine for adults - an estimated $700 million global market.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the safety data provided ...
The northern state of Lower Saxony, a major agricultural hub, has launched probes of some 150 farms suspected of wrongly selling eggs produced by hens kept in overcrowded conditions under the organic label.
Two other states are investigating a further 50 farms.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma has made a $6.6 billion approach to Irish drugmaker Elan, targeting royalty rights for multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Elan said earlier this month it was to sell its 50 percent interest in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - From sightseeing city runs and nature hikes down country trails to surfing sessions, hotels are luring leisure and business clients outside their climate-controlled rooms for outdoor activities to keep fit while traveling for business or pleasure.
Morning runs, afternoon power ...
Merck said on Monday patients in a Phase III trial did not live significantly longer when treated with Cilengitide plus chemoradiotherapy.
Dr. Annalisa Jenkins, Head of Global Drug Development and Medical for the Merck Serono division, said the trial results were "disappointing, especially ...
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators approved two generic versions of Reckitt Benckiser's heroin addiction drug and rejected its bid to block rival products on the grounds that stricter packaging rules were needed to protect children.
The British consumer health goods company's pharmaceuticals ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Michael Weitz was out of options. The Californian had endured chemotherapy, radiation and surgery but his lung cancer still spread to his bones and brain.
With time running out, the emergency room physician entered a Phase I study - the earliest stage of human testing for a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A group representing pediatricians says disciplining students with out-of-school suspension or expulsion is counterproductive to school goals and should only be used on case by case basis.
The policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tanning facilities often given inconsistent or incorrect information about the risks associated with indoor tanning and may let kids as young as 10 or 12 tan, according to a new study from Missouri.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some ...
The study, which appeared in JAMA Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, included 42 studies that compared hearing, speech and quality of life in eligible adults before and after they received a cochlear implant or compared having one versus two functioning implants.
According to the U.S. ...
That means the great majority of Americans stay within the advised limit of two drinks a day for men and one for women, according to the study that appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
"And in fact, most adults don't drink at all on any given day," said lead ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new bipartisan deficit-reduction plan to slash a massive $600 billion from U.S. healthcare spending over two decades has policy experts scratching their heads over how such an ambitious target can be reached.
Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson have yet to ...
As of Sunday, fatal reactions to the injection have been reported in about 0.02 percent of 25,000 patients after receiving their initial injection of the treatment, Affymax said in a statement.
The drug is used to treat anemia in adult dialysis patients, and has resulted in reports of serious ...
The company said in a statement that people with severe allergies to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume products containing milk proteins.
Herbalife said there had been no reports to date of any illnesses or adverse health effects associated with the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cochlear implants can improve speech and quality of life in adults with severe hearing loss, according to a new analysis of past studies - and two implants seem to work better than one.
The implants, which are surgically placed into and behind the ear, transmit sound ...
New York (Reuters Health) - On any given day in the U.S., 18 percent of men and 11 percent of women drink more alcohol than federal dietary guidelines recommend, according to a new study that also finds 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women are full-fledged "heavy" drinkers.
That still ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday finalized new consumer safeguards for health insurance that impose tighter restrictions on what insurers can charge older customers, despite industry warnings that the young may be forced to pay more as a result.
The Department of Health ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite past clinical trials demonstrating that exposure to pure oxygen can help stubborn wounds heal, a large new study of diabetes patients with severe foot ulcers finds no benefit from oxygen treatments and possibly some harm.
Researchers following more than 6,000 ...
Los Angeles County Health Department spokeswoman Mabel Aragon said the agency is still in the process of confirming the number and type of TB cases in the county.
"The CDC is helping us with surveillance and statistic gathering," she said.
The Gallup survey said employer-sponsored insurance, long a pillar of the $2.8-trillion U.S. healthcare system, covered just under 45 percent of U.S. adults last year, down from about 49 percent in 2008, when the economy was engulfed by recession.
The biggest losses occurred among people earning ...
Ranbaxy in November recalled its atorvastatin from the U.S. market and stopped manufacturing the widely used cholesterol lowering medicine after the company discovered contamination with tiny glass particles in certain lots of 10 milligram, 20 mg and 40 mg doses of the drug. Atorvastatin is the ...
The device, called LPS Diaphyseal Sleeve, is used in reconstructive knee surgery. It was recalled because of the potential for fractures, the FDA said.
The agency said it has received 10 reports of incidents in which the device has malfunctioned.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators approved a new drug made by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG for some patients with late-stage metastatic breast cancer who fail to respond to other therapies.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it had approved Kadcyla, also known as ...
The new vaccine protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, poliomyelitis and invasive infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b.
Recommendations for marketing approval by the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) are normally ...
"Regrettably, we have found one product, chilli con carne, produced for us by Frigilunch N.V. and sold in Belgium, that has tested positive for horse DNA at 2 percent," Birds Eye said in a statement.
"As a precautionary measure in the UK and Ireland we will withdraw all other ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan will return $1 billion to shareholders, giving them an immediate boost from the sale of its stake in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tysabri to partner Biogen Idec.
Elan shares climbed over 4 percent following the announcement on Friday, which also ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Arkansas House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to ban abortions at 20 weeks into a pregnancy and a separate measure that, if it becomes law, would be the stiffest abortion restriction in the country.
Lawmakers voted 80-10 ...
The drug, sold in the United States as Qsymia, was approved by U.S. regulators last year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also approved another diet pill, Belviq, sold by Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc, making them the first new obesity drugs approved in the United States in more than a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Now there are 135.
That's how many medical tests, treatments and other procedures - many used for decades - physicians have now identified as almost always unnecessary and often harmful, and which doctors and patients should therefore avoid or at least seriously question.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men are more likely to strain a hamstring playing college soccer than women, according to a new analysis of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) injury records.
The findings also suggest that games - as compared to practices - and preseason training are the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new survey, most women had inaccurate perceptions about the safety and effectiveness of intrauterine devices (IUDs) in preventing pregnancy, say U.S. researchers, who urge doctors to talk more about the benefits of the devices.
In particular, many of the study ...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday the patient died on February 10, two weeks after entering hospital. The cause of death was confirmed by a laboratory test three days ago.
The virus, called novel coronavirus, or NCoV, was unknown in humans until it emerged in the Middle East ...
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it would not pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation claimed by cholera victims in impoverished Haiti, where an epidemic has killed thousands of people and been blamed on U.N. peacekeepers.
Cholera - an infection causing ...
The first states to receive State Innovation Model awards are Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Vermont, which will implement plans to transform their healthcare delivery system under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, which sets aside $300 million for the overall ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Groups representing pediatricians and geneticists issued new recommendations on Thursday to provide doctors with guidance about when to test a child's DNA for genetic conditions.
The recommendations are the first collaboration between the American Academy of Pediatrics ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. government analysis of this season's flu vaccine suggests it was effective in only 56 percent of people who got the shot, and it largely failed to protect the elderly against an especially deadly strain circulating during flu season.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - There will be good and bad news next year for seniors using Medicare's prescription drug program.
Overall, enrollees can expect a year of flat or decreasing Medicare prescription drug costs, according to data released last week by the federal government. The government said ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who were bullied and acted as bullies themselves were at higher risk for depression, anxiety and panic disorder years down the line, in a new study.
Researchers have known that bullying can take a psychological toll on both bullies and victims, but it's been ...
The drug, ibrutinib, which is being developed by J&J and Pharmacyclics Inc for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), recently became one of the first five drugs to receive the new "breakthrough" designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The designation is being awarded to ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four years after a salmonella outbreak linked to tainted peanut butter sickened hundreds in the United States and killed nine, authorities have charged the former owner of the company and several employees with fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Federal ...
BERLIN (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church in Germany said on Thursday it would permit certain types of "morning-after pill" for raped women, after two hospitals provoked an outcry for refusing to treat a rape victim.
The German Bishops' Conference said church-run hospitals would now ...
The company last month pushed back the expected date to report data from the first of two late-stage studies on its drug Androxal after it found that the patient population at a site where the drug was being tested was markedly different from 16 other sites.
Repros said at the time that it ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Now there are 135.
That's how many medical tests, treatments and other procedures - many used for decades - physicians have now identified as almost always unnecessary and often harmful, and which doctors and patients should therefore avoid or at least seriously question.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American adults have made a little progress in recent years in cutting back on calories from fast food, but children are still consuming too much fat, U.S. health researchers say.
French fries, pizza and similar items accounted for about 11 percent of U.S. adults' caloric ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is expected to get the top safety rating for mad cow disease in spring, under a recommendation from international livestock health experts that was greeted on Wednesday as a sure-fire boost to U.S. beef exports.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Allergan's Natrelle 410 implants to increase breast size in women 22 years and older and to rebuild breast tissue in women of any age.
The silicone gel in the Natrelle 410 implant is designed to be firmer than that in Allergan's previous ...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott backed a limited expansion of healthcare coverage for the poor on Wednesday, joining six other Republican governors who have agreed to the measure under President Barack Obama's landmark reform law.
Scott, a wealthy former healthcare ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A litigation onslaught facing the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its 38 member health plans over alleged antitrust violations has snowballed ahead of a legal status conference scheduled for Thursday.
Three more lawsuits were filed last week alleging a conspiracy ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults who eat diets high in antioxidants may not have a lower risk of dementia or stroke, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that people who ate or drank lots of coffee, tea, oranges and red wine were just as likely to develop neurological problems over the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weight loss surgery does not lower health costs over the long run for people who are obese, according to a new study.
Some researchers had suggested that the initial costs of surgery may pay off down the road, when people who've dropped the extra weight need fewer ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A man's ability to produce sperm may depend on his ability to handle stress, according to a new study from Italy.
Researchers found that men with higher levels of both short- and long-term stress and anxiety ejaculated less semen and had lower sperm concentration and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. aluminum can sales are set to slow in 2013 for a third straight year as more consumers ditch sodas for healthier options such as water and iced teas, traditionally bottled in plastic or glass.
The loss of market share in the fizzy drinks capital of the world, also due to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cardiac arrests are more likely when levels of air pollution - especially soot-like particles and ozone - have been high in recent days or even hours, according to a large study from Texas.
Evidence already links airborne particles with heart disease and lung problems ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday issued its long-awaited final rule on what states and insurers must do to provide the essential health benefits required in the individual and small-group market beginning in 2014 under the healthcare reform law.
A cornerstone of ...
Some researchers have proposed that drinks sweetened with artificial sugar might disrupt hormones involved in hunger and satiety cures, causing people to eat more. Others hypothesized that diet beverages could boost the drinker's preference for sweet tastes, translating to more munching on ...
Shares of Chelsea were up 93 percent at $1.48 in heavy volume trading on Wednesday on the Nasdaq. The stock traded around the $4 levels before the FDA rejection.
"(Wednesday's news) was surprisingly positive given what the FDA reviewers earlier said," Liana Moussatos of Wedbush ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a posting on its website that deaths have occurred after surgery in children with obstructive sleep apnea who received codeine for pain relief following such surgeries. Codeine is converted to morphine by the liver.
"These children had evidence of ...
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are likely to approve Novo Nordisk's long-acting insulin drug in three years after a surprise rejection earlier this month, analysts forecast in a poll.
The delay, however, is expected to be costly, with analysts trimming their earnings forecasts for 2017 by ...
LONDON (Reuters) - One year on from a breast implant scandal that shook confidence in Europe's light-touch system for regulating medical devices, lawmakers and manufacturers are at loggerheads on ways to protect patients from shoddy products.
Companies that make implantable devices such as new ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - China wants a third party to verify beginning March 1 that U.S. pork shipped to the country is free of a feed additive used to promote lean muscle growth, a U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesman told Reuters.
The reasons for China's timing and motives for additional ...
MOBILE, Alabama (Reuters) - The Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday that would tighten regulations for abortion clinics in a move critics say could force many in the state to close.
The Republican-controlled House approved the bill in a 73-23 vote. The bill now moves to ...
As per the agreement, Gilead said Teva will be allowed to launch a generic version of Viread on December 15, 2017.
"This settlement removes some uncertainty and minimizes further distraction and investment of human and financial resources associated with this litigation," Gilead's chief ...
LONDON (Reuters) - In an unlikely tie-up, astronomers and cancer researchers have joined forces to study breast tumors using image analysis software originally developed to explore the distant stars.
The automated system offers a speedy way to test if tumors are aggressive and may mean ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one-third of chemotherapies are used to fight cancers that drug regulators never approved them to treat, says a new study.
Chemotherapies - drugs that kill rapidly dividing cells - are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight specific cancers, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The proportion of women having their uterus removed using robotic-assisted surgery increased from one in 200 procedures in 2007 to almost one in 10 in 2010, according to a new study.
However, the tool didn't reduce complications linked to hysterectomy or otherwise ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that a total of 24 states, including six with Republican governors, plus the District of Columbia, are on track to run their own marketplaces, known as healthcare exchanges, or to do so in partnership with the federal government.
The new ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Take another sip of that Diet Coke - a new study suggests diet soda drinkers don't eat any more sugary or fatty foods than people who stick with water instead.
Some researchers have proposed drinks sweetened with fake sugar might disrupt hormones involved in hunger and ...
(Reuters) - A unit of Express Scripts Holding Co has sued Ernst & Young and one of the accounting firm's former partners for stealing trade secrets and corporate data to boost Ernst & Young's own healthcare business.
The lawsuit, filed on February 14 in state court in Clayton, Missouri, ...
(Reuters) - Managed care provider Wellcare Health Plans Inc's fourth-quarter profit edged past analysts' estimates on growth in its Kentucky Medicaid health plan that previously dragged on the results of several insurers.
The company's shares jumped 12 percent to a four-month high of $16.64 in ...
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons said 14.6 million procedures were done in 2012, an increase of 5 percent from 2011.
"For the third consecutive year, the overall growth in cosmetic surgery continues to be driven by a significant rise in minimally invasive procedures, while surgical ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A British man infected with a new virus from the same family as SARS has died, health officials said on Tuesday, bringing the worldwide death toll from the previously unknown disease to six.
The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, was unknown in humans until it emerged in ...
The cure rate for those with genotype 2 and 3 of the serious liver disease was significantly higher for patients who received 16 weeks of treatment: 73 percent versus 50 percent for those treated for 12 weeks, according to study results released on Tuesday.
Both rates were far higher than the ...
(Reuters) - Proposed reductions in government payments for Medicare Advantage insurance plans - estimated at $11 billion by an insurance industry trade group - sent health insurer shares lower on Tuesday.
Humana Inc said that the planned cuts would affect its growth in 2014, and its shares fell as ...
The company's shares, which were up in premarket trade on Tuesday, fell as much as 10 percent on open on the Nasdaq. They later recouped their losses to trade flat around midday.
"I think what may be contributing to the (share fall) is that the difference in overall survival is not ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - Man-made chemicals in everyday products are likely to be at least the partial cause of a global surge in birth deformities, hormonal cancers and psychiatric diseases, a U.N.-sponsored research team reported on Tuesday.
These substances, dubbed EDCs, could also be linked to a ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - Typhoid has broken out in an opposition-held region of Syria due to people drinking contaminated water from the Euphrates River, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
An estimated 2,500 people in northeastern Deir al-Zor province are infected with the contagious ...
The U.S. brand name for the drug, known as Lyxumia in Europe, is under consideration, Sanofi said in a statement.
Sanofi is set to launch the treatment in the European Union at the end of the first quarter of 2013 after receiving approval on February 4.
LONDON (Reuters) - A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday.
The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, is from the ...
The drug, the first discovery in the fight against malaria in two decades, holds out fresh hope for conquering the disease, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives a year and is known for its evolving drug resistance.
The malaria parasite, carried to humans by mosquitoes, lives in red blood ...
The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act passed the Senate, 25-7, with amendments that allowed for the exemptions in the case of rape or incest. An earlier version of the bill that passed the Republican-controlled House allowed exemptions only for pregnancies that threatened the mother's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Acupuncture may help improve seasonal allergy symptoms in some people with runny noses and watery eyes, according to a new study - but the effect seems to be small.
Researchers found 71 percent of people reported an improvement in their allergies after eight weeks of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Upping the educational value of what young kids watch on television may help improve their behavior, a new study suggests.
It can be hard to encourage families of preschoolers to turn off the TV, but there are plenty of high-quality shows that promote learning and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Educating pediatricians about scoliosis seems to cut down on the number of children who are unnecessarily sent to specialists for curves of the spine, according to a new study.
Researchers found the number of referrals to orthopedic surgeons in one group of ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The discovery of horsemeat in products sold as beef has shocked many British consumers into buying less meat, a survey showed on Monday.
The furor, which erupted in Ireland last month and then spread quickly across Europe, has led to ready meals being pulled from supermarket ...
Shares in Phytopharm fell more than 80 percent on Monday after it said its drug, Cogane, showed no benefit over placebo in the treatment of more than 400 patients with early-stage Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disease.
Chief Executive Tim Sharpington said he was disappointed.
"The findings were fairly reassuring. Nothing was significantly elevated," said lead author Louise Brinton, chief of the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland.
Ovulation-stimulating drugs or puncturing of the ovaries to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Showing diners how many calories are in restaurant food items may influence how much they eat - especially among the least health-conscious people, a new study suggests.
"It's encouraging because the information may help the people who will need it the most," ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Favorable results from a huge heart study could help redeem investors' faith in Merck & Co and its two biggest cholesterol drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, and potentially add billions of dollars in annual revenue.
Investors have soured on the No. 2 U.S. drugmaker since late ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A daily dose of ospemifene, an estrogen-like drug, helped lessen pain during intercourse caused by vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women, in a new study.
"This appears to be a good alternative for women who can't or choose not to use estrogen therapy," Dr. ...
(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have sent letters to nine Internet distributors of dietary supplements warning them against making false claims about their products' ability to fight the flu.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted the letters on its website late Thursday in an effort to ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A fourth person in Britain has contracted a potentially fatal SARS-like virus which was unknown in humans until a few months ago, but health officials said on Friday the risk to the population remained very low.
Confirming the third British case this week of infection the new ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women getting fertility treatments can be reassured that in vitro fertilization (IVF) does not increase their risk of breast and gynecological cancers, according to a new study of Israeli women.
"The findings were fairly reassuring. Nothing was significantly ...
Eliglustat tartrate could become the first oral treatment for Gaucher disease - a rare genetic disorder affecting some 10,000 patients - and shake up the market for therapies that currently have to be injected bi-weekly.
Eliglustat could generate annual sales of $360 million by 2017, according to ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration awards certain drugs priority status when they have the potential to offer significant improvement over existing treatments.
The agency is due to give its verdict on whether to approve dolutegravir by August 17, Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Friday.
The case was discovered in a duck farm, which was carrying out its own tests, the Brandenburg state agriculture ministry said on Friday.
The H5N1 virus mainly affects birds but occasionally jumps to people. Experts fear it may mutate into a form that could spread easily among humans, who have no ...
Novo is in the process of negotiating prices of the new insulin in Europe, and recently agreed with authorities in the United Kingdom to price the insulin 60-70 percent above competing products in the market, as it is believed to hold some advantages over its rivals.
"The prices in Europe ...
The Aorfix stent, a tube that is inserted into a swollen artery to prevent rupture, has been approved for patients with angulations at the neck of the aneurysm up to 90 degrees, the British company said on Friday.
Chief Executive Simon Hubbert said the endovascular repair sector in the United ...
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that found the formulation patent for AstraZeneca's anti-psychotic drug Seroquel XR was valid and had been infringed by Mylan Inc and other companies seeking to sell generic versions of the medicine.
Without explanation, the ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Wild perch living in water tainted with a commonly prescribed human anti-anxiety drug aggressively feed, shun other fish and become careless, according to the results of a study presented at a meeting of scientists on Thursday.
"We knew there was a pharmaceutical that was ...
J&J's DePuy unit told doctors in January that the Adept modular heads, a component used with its Adept metal-on-metal hip replacement device, should not be used after data showed that the devices were failing at a higher than expected rate, according to an emailed statement.
The email said ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Banning smoking in enclosed public places can lead to lower rates of preterm birth, according to Belgian researchers who say the findings point to health benefits of smoke-free laws even in very early life.
It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can stunt the growth of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A more thorough dialysis technique may help prevent deaths due to heart conditions and infections in people with advanced kidney disease, according to a new study.
Known as hemodiafiltration, that method is better able to clean the kidneys of larger toxins than standard ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday assured U.S. lawmakers that it is on track to enroll millions of people in new state health insurance markets, but it quickly came under fire from Republicans and Democrats about how costly the coverage may be.
Gary Cohen, the Department ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men circumcised either as children or adults report less intense sexual pleasure and orgasm than their uncircumcised counterparts, according to a new study from Belgium.
"We're not saying less sexual activity or satisfaction, but sensitivity," said the study's ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first artificial retina, an implanted device that replicates some of the function of the retina, helping to restore vision to people blinded with a rare genetic disorder, the agency said Thursday.
The device, made by privately held ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The United States could prevent up to half a million deaths over the next decade if Americans cut their salt intake to within national guidelines, according to a new study.
That finding - which comes the week New York City announced success toward its goals of cutting ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday said two Cephalon Inc patents related to the cancer drug Fentora are valid, overturning part of a lower court order against the unit of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat a lot of low-fiber and processed foods that quickly spike blood sugars may, not surprisingly, have a significantly higher risk of the most common form of diabetes, according to a new study.
"By raising blood sugar and demanding that the pancreas keep ...
PARIS (Reuters) - An investigation has identified a French meat-processing firm as a likely culprit in the horsemeat scandal that has enraged consumers across Europe and implicated traders and abattoirs from Cyprus to Romania.
Separately, British police investigating alleged mislabeling of beef ...
"The assumption is that we will be on the market with macitentan (Opsumit) in the U.S. this year," Chief Financial Officer Andrew Oakley told Reuters in an interview.
Actelion is banking on Opsumit, also known as macitentan, to reduce its dependency on its main product Tracleer, which ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More U.S. women are taking the "morning-after" pill, but generally just once, according to the government's first report on how the emergency contraception drug has been used since regulators eased access to it in 2006.
About 11 percent of sexually active women, or ...
The weight management company expects mid- to high-teen declines in attendance in the first quarter.
The company said its marketing strategy has not been effective in an increasingly competitive environment with its diet meetings business losing steam in North America and the United Kingdom.
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's decision to spotlight drug rebates as a way to save money on Medicare is likely to be opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which could potentially lose billions of dollars in profits.
In his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Obama said he would ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's no good evidence to say what types of treatment might help ward off anxiety and stress disorders in kids and teens exposed to traumatic events, according to a new analysis.
Researchers said that a few psychological interventions, including talk therapy and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of vitamin D in some supplements may be either much lower or much higher than what's written on the label, according to a new analysis.
Researchers found that off-the-shelf pills from 12 different manufacturers had between 52 percent and 135 percent of their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - No standard policy covers whether the state-level Medicaid committee members choosing which drugs and treatments the program pays for should disclose their ties to drug and medical device companies, according to a new report.
Health policy researchers at the University ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A common knee surgery that can sideline athletes for months does not ultimately affect the career length of women invited to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), according to a new study.
"With appropriate rehabilitation, ACL injuries do not mean an ...
Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told doctors he hopes to send so-called "Doc Fix" legislation to the House floor this summer that would repeal payment reductions enacted in 1997 as part of a law to balance the federal budget.
The 16-year-old ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Turbo-charged parents still running their university-aged children's schedules, laundry and vacations could be doing more harm than good with a study on Wednesday showing these students were more likely to be depressed and dissatisfied with life.
Researcher Holly Schiffrin from ...
(Reuters) - Hospira Inc, a hospital products maker that has grappled with regulatory issues at manufacturing plants for the past 18 months, said it had received a notice over the quality of its medical devices from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The company reported the notice during a ...
(Reuters) - Anti-obesity advocates who want to curb Americans' sugar habit on Wednesday asked the government to set a safe level for added sugars in soda and other beverages.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which is leading the regulatory push, has urged the government to ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A little over a year ago, Dr. Husseini Manji, global head of neuroscience drug development at Johnson & Johnson, predicted that brain researchers were on the cusp of a golden age.
That was before J&J's highly anticipated Alzheimer's drug, bapineuzumab, failed to improve ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A third patient in Britain has contracted a new SARS-like virus, becoming the second confirmed British case in a week and showing the deadly infection is being spread from person to person, health officials said on Wednesday.
The latest case, in a man from the same family as ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has proposed increased DNA testing of meat products to assess the scale of a scandal involving horsemeat sold as beef that has shocked the public and raised concern over the continent's food supply chains.
"The tests will be on DNA in meat products ...
"We are now investigating the various possibilities through which we can progress the development of ALX-0061, including discussions with potential partners and other paths which will allow us to maximise the value of this asset," Chief Executive Edwin Moses said in a statement on ...
"The current system in North Carolina is broken and not ready to expand without great risk to the taxpayers and to the delivery of existing services to those in need," said McCrory, a Republican elected in November.
Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot be compelled to ...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said it had issued new draft guidance not recommending Jakavi because it could not be considered a cost-effective use of resources.
The drug costs 3,600 pounds ($5,600) for a 60-tablet pack, corresponding to an annual cost of ...
(Reuters) - WellPoint Inc named Joseph Swedish, the top executive in a large non-profit hospital system, as the health insurer's new chief executive officer after a half-year search that began when former CEO Angela Braly abruptly stepped down in August.
The No.2 U.S. health insurer faces a ...
There have been no serious injuries or deaths associated with the product, which has been used in about 120 procedures since it was introduced last year, St Jude spokeswoman Amy Jo Meyer said.
The maker of medical devices advised physicians in a letter on January 17 to stop using the product, ...
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Slower government approval for testing new medicines is threatening India's aspirations to be a fast-growing, low-cost hub for clinical trials, and has prompted some drugs firms to shift operations elsewhere, adding to their costs.
While India's drug regulator and the ...
The New York Department of Health, which has been commissioned to study how the drilling process known as fracking affects public health, said the review is ongoing but that a few more weeks are needed due to the "complexity of the issues".
"As we have been reviewing the scope of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Screening one- and two-year-olds for lazy eye can reliably detect children at risk for vision problems, a new study suggests.
Researchers found tests by trained volunteers correctly caught a similar proportion of toddlers and older preschoolers with the early signs of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who took extra folic acid in the weeks before and just after becoming pregnant were less likely to have a child with autism, in a new study from Norway.
Because lack of folic acid has been tied to brain and spinal cord birth defects, groups including the U.S. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A measure used by Medicare to penalize hospitals for poor performance is not linked to how many patients die after being admitted, suggests a new study.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, suggests that hospitals can keep ...
The company has lost share in the market for implantable heart defibrillators, pacemakers, heart stents and other products used in interventional cardiology, sales of which make up about 60 percent of the company's revenue. Meanwhile, demand for those products has weakened because of the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Being treated for a heart attack in a crowded emergency department may be linked to developing symptoms of a stress disorder, according to a new study.
The study does not prove crowded ERs cause stress disorders, but the researchers suggest their findings show hospital ...
By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago issued an injunction pending appeal in favor of the Grote family, whose Grote Industries makes vehicle safety systems and has more than 1,100 full-time workers.
Members of the Grote family are Catholic, and opposed ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans who live where the air is thinnest are less likely to be obese than those in low-lying areas, according to a new study.
The results don't mean people should move to higher altitudes to lose weight, said study lead author Dr. Jameson Voss. But the work suggests ...
PARIS (Reuters) - For pharmaceutical companies, Africa is changing.
Not only is the continent's economic growth grabbing attention in boardrooms but the shifting nature of its disease burden is luring Big Pharma, as new opportunities open up for treating chronic diseases afflicting the middle ...
Fewer women gave birth in their 20s as well than in prior years, the researchers said in findings published in Pediatrics - but the birth rate increased for those in their late 30s and early 40s.
"The economy has declined, and that certainly is a factor that goes into people's decisions about ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Multinational food, drink and alcohol companies are using strategies similar to those employed by the tobacco industry to undermine public health policies, health experts said on Tuesday.
In an international analysis of involvement by so-called "unhealthy commodity" ...
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge has overturned an Arizona law that sought to block funding through the state for Planned Parenthood's healthcare clinics because the group also performs abortions.
U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake ruled that the controversial measure signed into law last May ...
BRUSSELS/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Monday it would order Irish meat processors to carry out DNA tests to reassure consumers worried by the discovery of horsemeat in some beef products and called a meeting of European ministers to discuss a wider response.
The horsemeat scandal affecting a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co's chief executive said his company had no intention of following Pfizer's lead by spinning off or selling the company's lucrative Elanco animal health unit.
"We're comfortable with that business and we're going to keep it," Lilly CEO John Lechleiter ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Giving men decision-making tools to help them consider the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening changed how they valued different possible outcomes but did not affect how many chose to be tested, in a new study.
A report last month suggested that one in four ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For nearsighted children in Denmark, vision deteriorated faster when days were shortest and more slowly during the summer months, according to a new study looking into whether daylight may slow kids' vision loss.
"Most likely it is the light exposure that causes ...
For every dollar spent investigating healthcare fraud over the past three years, the government recovered $7.90, according to a report released on Monday by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
This was the highest three-year average return on ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has ruled out raising the age that Americans become eligible for Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors, as a way to reduce the government's deficit, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
Republicans in Congress, who have ...
Tesco said tests carried out since pulling the product last Wednesday had identified the presence of horse DNA, with most positive results at a trace level of less than one percent. However, three tests showed horse DNA levels of over 60 percent.
None of its tests were positive for the potentially ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many hospitals are hard-pressed to tell people needing a hip replacement how much their procedure is likely to cost, according to a new study.
Even when they can cite prices, going rates for the procedure may vary from hospital to hospital by a factor of 10, researchers ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A new virus from the same family as SARS that sparked a global alert last September has been found in another patient in Britain, health officials said on Monday.
The latest case of infection with the new virus known as a coronavirus brings the total number confirmed globally to ...
Multiple myeloma is the second most commonly diagnosed blood cancer. There are an estimated 750,000 people with the disease worldwide, according to the International Myeloma Foundation.
Celgene said it expects the drug to be available to Chinese patients late in the second quarter of 2013.
The French and British governments have vowed to punish those found responsible for allowing horsemeat originating from Romania to be sold as beef.
The British unit of frozen foods group Findus began recalling its beef lasagne last week on advice from its French supplier, Comigel, which said the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sniffles, runny noses and flu-like symptoms can deter, delay and even derail many exercisers just when enthusiasm for that New Year's resolution is beginning to flag.
Health and fitness experts advise to starve a fever of exercise. But feeding a cold moderately, with a brisk ...
The drug is used to treat chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), Bayer said.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of U.S. babies born to teen mothers dropped to record lows in 2011, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fewer women also gave birth in their 20s than in prior years, researchers found - but the birth rate increased for ...
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - U.S. regulators refused to approve Novo Nordisk's new long-acting insulin Tresiba until it conducts extra tests for potential heart risks, dealing a major blow to a key product for the Danish drugmaker.
Shares in Novo, the world's leading insulin maker and the most valuable ...
A 21-year-old woman and 31-year-old man in Guiyang had tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus on Sunday after developing symptoms on February 2 and February 3 respectively, Xinhua cited health authorities as saying.
"They are in critical condition and medical workers are ...
JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - Mississippi on Friday became the first state to have its proposal for a health insurance exchange rejected by the U.S. government, and federal officials said Republican Governor Phil Bryant's opposition to the plan was to blame.
"With a lack of support from ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Exports of U.S. pharmaceuticals to Iran were cut in half last year, according to data released on Friday, while overall U.S. exports to the Islamic republic rose about nine percent because of grain sales.
The official U.S. government statistics appear to support the claims ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A nutritious diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables might not be the greenest in its environmental impact, according to a new study from France.
After analyzing the eating habits of about 2,000 French adults, and the greenhouse gas emissions generated by ...
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators have approved a new drug from Celgene Corp for patients with multiple myeloma whose disease has worsened after being treated with other cancer drugs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it approved the drug, Pomalyst, also known as pomalidomide, for the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A review of the existing evidence finds it to be inconclusive about whether omega-3 fatty acids taken by mothers during pregnancy boost their kids' brain development early in life.
"There are so many trials where pregnant women are supplemented with omega-3 fatty ...
(Reuters) - IBM's Watson supercomputer has beaten expert "Jeopardy" quiz show contestants, and its predecessor defeated a world chess champion. Now, doctors hope it can help them outsmart cancer.
Oncologists at two medical groups have started to test IBM's Watson's supercomputer system ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Seniors taking psychiatric drugs may be at extra high risk for falling, new Dutch research suggests.
Of about 400 elderly people in the study, those who took medications including antidepressants and antipsychotics were twice as likely to report having fallen three or ...
Shares of the company, with a market value of about C$279 million ($273 million) as of Thursday close, touched an 11-month high of C$4.94, making them among the top percentage gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.
The drug, Reolysin, was used intravenously in combination with ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government accused unknown criminals for a growing scandal of horsemeat being sold in imported beef products that has generated shock headlines in a country where many recoil in horror at the very idea of eating horses.
Prime Minister David Cameron assured consumers ...
French authorities suspended sales of medicines last week after four deaths over the past 25 years were linked to their use. Bayer said at the time it was "surprised" by the suspension.
The European watchdog, which expects to give its view in May, said the risk of blood clots with the ...
The company retained Stifel as its financial adviser for the strategic review process, and said it has not made a decision to pursue any specific transaction.
Tranzyme went public in April 2011 at $4 per share and has a market value of $15 million. It has two other products in early testing.
LONDON (Reuters) - Mounting evidence of a link between GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix flu shot and a spike in narcolepsy cases among children in Europe is putting one of the vaccine's key ingredients, AS03, under intense scrutiny.
The ingredient is one of a class of pharmaceuticals known as ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday to repeal a tax on medical devices that is part of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, although the proposal likely faces an uphill climb in Congress.
The tax applies to a range of medical products - ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Proposed U.S. guidelines may make it easier for drug companies to test Alzheimer's treatments in people at an earlier stage, when scientists think they may have the best shot at working.
The draft guidance document, issued on Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of birth defects among twins and triplets increased nearly two-fold in 14 European countries between 1984 and 2007, according to a new study.
Researchers, who had information on more than 5.4 million births occurring over the 24-year period, found that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Frequent blood sugar testing was strongly associated with better diabetes control in a large new study that concludes public and private insurers should not be limiting test strip supplies.
Particularly for people with type 1 diabetes, who must test their own blood ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Screening women over 65 each year for breast cancer doesn't catch any more early tumors - but it does lead to more false positives - than screening every other year, according to a new study.
The findings are based on more than 140,000 older women included in five ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Not all kids need a CT scan after a blunt trauma to the abdomen, according to a new study that identifies seven key signs to help doctors decide when a scan is unnecessary.
CT scans are becoming commonplace in emergency rooms, but they aren't harmless. Each scan ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the Obama Administration's latest bid for compromise over a hotly disputed health policy that requires employees at religiously affiliated institutions to have access to insurance coverage for contraceptives.
Cardinal Timothy ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc said it expects generic versions of biotech drugs, known as biosimilars, to be a multibillion-dollar opportunity for the company and has targeted some of the industry's biggest sellers, including the main rivals for its own blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug ...
(Reuters) - Vivus Inc, vying to create the world's first billion-dollar weight-loss pill, is taking a cautious approach to marketing in an attempt to overcome the skepticism, safety concerns and lawsuits that have dogged the diet drug industry.
The company has lost nearly half of its market value ...
Vytorin combines Zocor, a member of the statin family developed by Merck, with a newer Merck cholesterol treatment called Zetia. Sales of Vytorin are $1.75 billion while sales of Zetia used by itself are another $2.6 billion a year.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit did not discuss ...
The trial, one of the three late-stage trials planned for the drug, was testing tabalumab in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis who had an inadequate response to initial treatment.
Lilly conducted another analysis before stopping all ongoing mid- and late-stage trials of the ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Increasing the minimum price of alcohol by 10 percent can lead to immediate and significant drops in drink-related deaths and may also have long-term beneficial health effects, according to a study published on Thursday.
Canadian researchers found that deaths caused by alcohol ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Biogen Idec Inc's agreement to buy Elan Corp Plc's interest in the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri gives Biogen full control of a product that is poised for further growth and ends a long partnership that has often been contentious.
Analysts have speculated for several years ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The number of U.S. residents aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer's disease is expected to nearly triple to 13.8 million by 2050 as aging baby boomers swell the ranks of those living with the brain-wasting disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The new estimates, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite concerns that faulty brain proteins could be transferred from person to person by treatments involving human fluids and tissues, a new study finds no signs of increased risk for two major degenerative brain diseases among recipients.
"I think it's ...
(Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday endorsed an expansion of health coverage for the poor under President Barack Obama's reform law, joining five other Republican governors who have agreed to widen the Medicaid program in their states.
Snyder made his announcement at a hospital ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diets lean on meat and rich in healthy fats like olive oil were most effective at promoting weight loss and lowering blood sugar among people with diabetes in a review of evidence from the last 10 years.
Benefits were also seen with diets low in carbohydrates, high in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treating people with depression using weak electrical currents passed into the brain through a headband may help relieve some of their symptoms when combined with an antidepressant, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that after six weeks of treatment with a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A nerve stimulator placed on the forehead may help prevent migraines among some people who get the headaches regularly - and it appears to be safe, according to a new trial.
Researchers found that people who used the stimulation devices for a short period every day over ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Members of the baby boomer generation are in worse health than their parents were at the same age, according to a new study.
In a large national survey, about 13 percent of baby boomers - the generation born in the two decades after World War Two - reported being in ...
Diets lean on meat and rich in healthy fats like olive oil were most effective at promoting weight loss and lowering blood sugar among people with diabetes in a review of evidence from the last 10 years.
Benefits were also seen with diets low in carbohydrates, high in protein or low in simple ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The deaths of hundreds of hospital patients, left without food or water in filthy conditions, exposed an urgent need to change the culture of Britain's National Health Service (NHS), a report said on Wednesday.
Between 400 and 1,200 patients are estimated to have died needlessly ...
LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline plans to cut costs in its struggling European drugs division and promised investors a return to growth this year, after failing to deliver a hoped-for sales and margin recovery in 2012.
Britain's biggest drugmaker said a new program to restructure European ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan is raising more than $3.25 billion by selling its interests in its main drug and will splash out most of the proceeds on acquisitions, effectively reinventing itself as a company.
Under a deal announced on Wednesday, Elan's partner Biogen Idec will take full ...
Irish drugmaker Elan, which has co-marketed the drug with the larger U.S. company for 12 years, said it would receive a royalty of 12 percent of Tysabri global net sales for the first 12 months after the restructuring closes.
A tiered royalty structure will kick in after that, it said, with Elan ...
WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The medical marijuana shop next to a tattoo parlor on a busy street in Los Angeles looks much like hundreds of other pot dispensaries that dot the city.
Except for one thing: On the glass door - under a green cross signaling that cannabis can be bought there for ...
The decision announced on Tuesday is complicated and technical but goes to the core of President Barack Obama's goal to create a smooth transition for troops as they leave the military after 11 years of war and seek care at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The two bureaucracies - the largest in ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending on Social Security and healthcare will double to $3.2 trillion a year over the next decade, threatening a sharp rise in national debt unless Congress acts to avoid the danger, congressional researchers warned on Tuesday.
A report from the nonpartisan Congressional ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drops in smoking may have helped drive cancer death rates down among black men during the last decade, but they are still more likely to die of cancer than whites, according to a new analysis.
"I think we see some really good news, but then we also see some trends ...
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Mentally ill adults in the United States smoke cigarettes at a 70 percent higher rate than adults without any kind of mental illness, according to a report released by federal health agencies on Tuesday.
Statistics show smoking by the mentally ill is a "very serious health ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fewer elderly Americans are dying in acute care hospitals than were a decade ago, according to a new study of where Medicare beneficiaries spend their final months of life.
However, between 2000 and 2009 there was also an increase in the proportion of people admitted to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting a cortisone injection won't cure tennis elbow any better than a drug-free saline shot, according to a new study - and it might actually slow recovery.
Researchers found that a few weeks after receiving the steroid shots, people reported less pain and disability ...
Such deals, in which big drug companies resolve patent litigation with potentially infringing generic firms by reaching a settlement that delays a generic version of a drug in exchange for a payment, have angered U.S. and European antitrust enforcers for years.
The bill is sponsored by Senator Amy ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury on Tuesday ordered Merck & Co Inc to pay $285,000 in a lawsuit over the risks of its osteoporosis drug Fosamax, the second loss for the company after several earlier trials.
The eight-person jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan found that Merck failed to ...
The wave of inspections follow a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak stemming from a tainted steroid that was made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. The 2012 outbreak led to 45 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Massachusetts ...
Net profit fell to $9.1 million, or 17 cents per share, for the quarter ended December 31, from $30.1 million, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected earnings of 32 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Galapagos said in a statement that GSK would launch the studies for compound GSK2586184 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and chronic plaque psoriasis.
Galapagos is eligible to receive 34 million euros in additional milestones plus up to double-digit percentage royalties on global sales. It is ...
When the company agreed to the fines last July, government officials called it the largest healthcare fraud case in U.S. history, involving Glaxo drugs such as the antidepressant Paxil and diabetes pill Avandia.
Other firms have also reached settlement deals and the industry has come under growing ...
Bayer said it expected to complete the study in the second half of this year.
Dangerous bleeding is one of the main risks of bloodthinners such as Xarelto, which are used against thrombosis or heart attacks, and drugs can be applied more widely if they have so-called "antidotes".
The approval follows a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency in November based on a late-stage study of the drug that showed significant improvement in survival among patients with colon cancer.
Zaltrap, approved in the U.S. in August 2012, is among the new products Sanofi is relying ...
TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, grappling with a spike in military suicides, plans to take steps to improve soldiers' resilience to mental health problems to combat such deaths as well as depression, substance abuse, and violent behavior, Army Secretary John McHugh said on ...
Hemispherx, based in Philadelphia, said it plans to request an "end-of-review conference" with the Food and Drug Administration and may submit a formal appeal regarding the regulator's decision.
The FDA said Hemispherx should conduct at least one additional clinical trial, complete ...
The Department of Health and Human Services described the targeted regulations as unnecessary or excessively burdensome and said their proposed elimination would allow greater efficiency without jeopardizing safety for the Medicare program's elderly and disabled beneficiaries.
"We are ...
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Ohio's Republican governor on Monday endorsed the expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, raising expectations that political opposition to the plan may be starting to thaw among GOP leaders in so-called Red states.
Gov. John Kasich, the ...
Food companies such as Tesco and Burger King last month found that beef products supplied by an Irish firm contained horse DNA, a scandal that has hit retailers with a wave of bad publicity and left Ireland's 2 billion euro ($2.7 billion) beef industry reeling.
Results of tests on a Polish meat ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new analysis from the National Institutes of Health, men who took calcium tablets were more likely to die of heart disease over more than a decade than those who didn't get extra calcium in supplement form.
"The effect of supplemental or dietary calcium on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A drug originally approved to treat adults with diabetes may also help severely obese youths lose some weight, according to a new study.
"We're encouraged by these trial results because there is potentially a role for this class (of drugs) to be useful in terms of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who take vitamin C supplements are at higher-than-average risk of developing kidney stones, a new study from Sweden suggests.
The findings don't prove the vitamin itself triggers stones to form. But researchers said that because there are no clear benefits tied to ...
"Paul has been extremely touched and overwhelmed by the generous offers of help and support over the past few days," GamePlan Solutions said in a statement, adding that Gascoigne was an alcoholic with "complex issues."
"He is motivated to fully understand and control his ...
ROME (Reuters) - Religious leaders must convince women carrying out female genital mutilation that it is not required by scripture and it can cause infection, infertility or even death in young girls, African ministers said on Monday.
The practice is prevalent in 28 African countries and parts of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants given a traditional Guatemalan drink in the first month of life are almost twice as likely to have stunted growth than other children, according to a new study.
"We believe that aguitas may be part of the explanation for the high child stunting prevalence ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday denied a nursing home operator's emergency stay application that had cited legal confusion over President Barack Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.
Ginsburg denied the request filed earlier Monday ...
The results are expected to be used to support the company's regulatory filing seeking approval in the United States. Industry analysts say the market for such drugs could reach $25 billion by 2020.
An estimated 4 million Americans have the virus, with 170 million infected worldwide.
(Reuters) - Health regulators have approved a generic version of the cancer drug Doxil in a move that could ease a months-long shortage that has threatened the lives of thousands of patients.
The Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it approved a version of Doxil, known generically as ...
The company's shares, which rose 25 percent in early trading, later pared some gains to trade up 4 percent at $6.70.
The study was not part of Rockwell's pivotal program to get U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug, company spokesman David Connolly said. He said Rockwell would ...
The service will impose a temporary ban on U.S. turkey starting from February 11, it said.
It earlier decided to ban imports of U.S. beef and pork from the same date for the same reason.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A highly anticipated study of the first new tuberculosis vaccine in 90 years showed it offered no added benefit over the current vaccine when it came to protecting babies from TB infections, a disappointing but not entirely unexpected outcome, researchers said on Monday.
The ...
Also known by its generic name lixisenatide, the drug is taken once a day in conjunction with other drugs or insulin by patients who are otherwise not able to control their blood sugar levels.
The drug is one of the new products the French drug maker is betting on to restore growth after losing ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It does get better for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth, according to a new study of the name calling, threats and violence faced by teens in England.
Researchers found that although more than half of non-heterosexual teens reported getting bullied at ages 13 and ...
Researchers whose work appeared in the journal Diabetes Care found that the number of Philadelphia children under 5 diagnosed with type 1 diabetes increased 70 percent in 2005 from 1985, when a registry of such patients was begun.
The number of diagnosed cases among all children up to age 14 rose ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The GAVI global vaccines group is to help protect more than 180,000 girls in eight countries across Africa and Asia from cervical cancer by funding immunization projects with vaccines from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.
The non-profit GAVI Alliance, which funds bulk-buy vaccination ...
The study released on Friday by the Department of Veterans Affairs covered suicides from 1999 to 2010 and compared with a previous, less precise VA estimate that there were roughly 18 veteran deaths a day in the United States.
More than 69 percent of veteran suicides were among individuals aged 50 ...
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee first requested, in October, documents related to FDA's oversight of New England Compounding Center, the now defunct, Boston-area compounding pharmacy that was at the center of the outbreak.
But it says the agency produced few documents so far and ...
New York (Reuters Health) - Uninsured Americans were less likely to get the best treatment for heart troubles than those with insurance in a new study that hints the blame may lie with the quality of physicians who typically treat the uninsured.
In a group of about 61,000 Americans, researchers ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Toxicity caused by debris from a metal-on-metal hip implant meant that the device had to be removed from a 66-year-old man who is suing manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, according to expert testimony heard at the trial on Friday.
"I concluded that his hip failed ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Snacks sold in U.S. schools would need to be lower in fat, salt and sugar and include more nutritious items like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, under standards proposed on Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The proposal, more than a year overdue, also calls ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking extra selenium supplements offers no protection against heart disease - at least among people who already get enough of the mineral in their diets, according to a new analysis of past research.
In the review of 12 studies that included close to 20,000 people, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cases of insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes rose sharply in children under the age of five in Philadelphia over a two-decade span - similar to increases seen across the U.S. and Europe, according to new research.
"Why are we seeing this large increase in type 1 ...
The drug, to be sold under the brand name Ravicti, was approved for the chronic management of the serious genetic disorder in patients 2 years of age and older, the Food and Drug Administration said.
Ravicti, known chemically as glycerol phenylbutyrate, is a liquid taken three times a day with ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday sought to settle a dispute with religious leaders over whether employees at faith-affiliated universities, hospitals and other institutions should have access to health insurance coverage for contraceptives.
The new set of proposals would ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - After nearly 100 years, researchers could be on the verge of finding a vaccine that would eradicate tuberculosis infections, a scourge that kills 1.4 million people a year.
Global health experts are eagerly awaiting clinical trial results, expected early next week, of the first ...
The report by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund found 39 states have yet to pass laws or issue regulations on seven reforms, including coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions, a ban on coverage waiting periods and limits for out-of-pocket consumer costs.
The report coincides with ...
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The Arkansas state Senate approved a bill on Thursday to ban most abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, a move that would prohibit the procedure as early as five weeks into pregnancy.
The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act would also require women to ...
Despite clinical trials showing lumpectomy, or removal of the cancer only, to be as effective as mastectomies in treating early breast cancers, the number of women choosing breast removal has been on the rise, wrote lead researcher E. Shelley Hwang in the journal Cancer.
"It was kind of an ...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been considering Forxiga, or dapagliflozin, as an add-on therapy for use with other medicines, including insulin.
NICE, which decides if drugs should be paid for on the state health service, also said it had issued draft guidance ...
Surgical procedures such as liposuction and breast augmentations, as well as non-invasive treatments like lasers and anti-wrinkle injections, totaled 4.4 billion euros ($6 billion) in 2012 and are expected to reach 4.9 billion euros this year, the report said.
Asia is expected to see the strongest ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with type 2 diabetes are sometimes told to wait after using insulin for the drug to work its way into the body before they can begin eating, but a new study from Germany says that's not necessary.
In a group of about 100 diabetics, researchers found that blood ...
(NEW YORK) Reuters Health - Kidney disease patients who are black or lack private health insurance are less likely to get matched up with a donor organ before needing to go on dialysis, a new study suggests.
Still, researchers said, as long as patients get a kidney transplant within a year or so ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novartis AG said on Thursday it is recalling 183 lots of cough syrup after discovering the child-resistant feature on some bottle caps was not functioning correctly.
The Swiss drug company is recalling 142 lots of Triaminic and 41 lots of Theraflu Warming Relief Syrups ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vegetarians are one-third less likely to be hospitalized or die from heart disease than meat and fish eaters, according to a new UK study.
Earlier research has also suggested that non-meat eaters have fewer heart problems, researchers said, but it wasn't clear if other ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ending a practice that was intended to reduce emergency room crowding did not make things worse, and may have prompted improvements at nine Boston hospitals, according to a new study.
U.S. emergency departments have been diverting patients since the late 1990s, sending ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Virtually any kind of illegal drug can be bought on the Internet and delivered by post to users who no longer need to make direct contact with dealers, an EU study published on Thursday said.
It gave no statistics on online drug sales, which are normally conducted on so-called ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recommended limits on children's daily consumption of sodium which it hoped would help in the global fight against diet-related diseases becoming chronic among all populations.
In advice to its 194 member states on ...
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Fresenius Medical Care's focus on a life-threatening illness and its buying power with suppliers mean the world's biggest kidney dialysis provider may cope better with cuts in U.S. healthcare spending than many investors think.
FMC's shares have slumped about 10 percent over ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After more than a year's delay, American schools will soon see new U.S. government rules targeting the kinds of snacks sold to students, a move nutritionists say could play an important role in fighting childhood obesity.
Anxious schools have waited more than a year to find ...
The stock fell to a low of $1.41 before recovering slightly to trade at $1.46 on heavy volume on the Nasdaq on Thursday.
"I don't believe the data will support (marketing) registration in any of the major markets," Celsion Chief Executive Michael Tardugno said on a conference call.
The company said patients treated with the drug tasimelteon and those on a placebo showed about a 40 percent reduction in symptoms, based on a standard scale that measures severity of depression.
The trial, named Magellan, enrolled 507 patients in 43 sites in the United States, and was comparing a ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Children in Britain who were vaccinated with a GlaxoSmithKline shot against H1N1 swine flu had a significantly increased risk of developing the rare sleep disorder narcolepsy, according to results of a scientific study.
The findings, which have not yet been published in full, ...
The study didn't prove that carrying around some extra eight in childhood causes MS, a neurological disease in which the protective coating around nerve fibers breaks down, slowing signals traveling between the brain and the body, said researchers whose work appeared in the journal Neurology.
But ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A drug containing purified brain proteins derived from pigs may yield modest improvements in patients whose dementia is caused by a lack of blood flow to parts of the brain, according to a new analysis.
Researchers in China pulled together results from six randomized ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medicare and its beneficiaries in 100 metropolitan areas will pay less for durable equipment beginning July 1.
The new prices, set by competitive bidding, are expected to save 45 percent on average, on products including walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen equipment, hospital beds ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that obese kids - adolescent girls, in particular - are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) than normal-weight youth.
That doesn't prove carrying around some extra weight in childhood causes MS - in which the protective coating ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular yoga classes could help people with a common heart rhythm problem manage their symptoms while also improving their state of mind, a new study suggests.
According to the American Heart Association, about 2.7 million people in the U.S. have atrial fibrillation ...
The medical panel's lack of confidence could deter reimbursement for Eli Lilly's recently approved Amyvid, an imaging agent used to detect levels in the brain of plaque made from beta amyloid protein. The plaque is considered by many researchers to be a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
(Reporting ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new look at real-world outcomes for women with early-stage breast cancer finds that breast-conserving surgery may offer survival odds that are as good, or even better, than breast removal.
"It was kind of an exciting and hopeful message that women don't have to ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A nutritional supplement called myo-inositol may help protect women at risk for gestational diabetes, according to a small pilot study.
Previous studies have shown that inositol supplements may help restore fertility in polycystic ovary syndrome, but this is the first ...
Manchester-based law firm Express Solicitors said on Wednesday it had commenced high court proceedings in four cases against GSK over the way it developed and marketed Avandia.
The law firm, which has a further 15 cases on its books, said it believed it was the first to commence proceedings ...
The injectable drug, chemically known as alemtuzumab, is one of the new products the French drug maker is betting on to restore growth after losing several blockbusters to generic rivals.
The drug, which late-stage trials have shown helps people who have not responded to other multiple sclerosis ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Dieters who ate early lunches tended to lose more weight than those who had their midday meal on the later side, in a new Spanish study.
The finding doesn't prove bumping up your lunch hour will help you shed those extra pounds. But it's possible eating times play a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women carrying BRCA mutations tied to breast and ovarian cancer may hit menopause a few years earlier than other women, according to a new study.
Doctors already discuss with those women whether they want immediate surgery to remove their ovaries and breasts, or if they ...
ATLANTA (Reuters) - The flu isn't the only illness adults should be immunized against, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday, as a new study found current adult vaccination rates in the country "unacceptably low."
The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ...
The discovery of the variant could help doctors find those people at high risk of severe flu and prioritize them for treatment, researchers said.
It may also help explain why new strains of flu virus often emerge first in Asia, where the variant known as rs12252-C is more common in the population ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who bleed heavily after giving birth aren't at any higher risk of most complications during their next pregnancy, according to a new UK study.
Postpartum hemorrhage - when a woman loses at least half a quart of blood - typically occurs when the muscles in her ...
The agency, one of three international bodies that lead the global response to bird flu, warned of a repeat of the 2006 outbreaks, when the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus killed 79 people around the world and sparked fears of a pandemic.
Investment was vital to prevent a repeat of such a crisis, the ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The state-of-the-art brain scans that allowed doctors to look inside the head of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon show how advances in neuroscience are forcing a rethink of what it means to be in a long-term coma.
Neurologists who performed the tests said they hinted ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - It seems like a no-brainer.
Since about 75 percent of healthcare spending in the United States is for largely preventable chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, providing more preventive care should cut costs.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Moms-to-be should get a booster tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during each pregnancy to help protect their infants from whooping cough, according to a new vaccine schedule released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Babies ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors may miss some cases of pneumonia if they rely solely on their patient's medical history and symptoms without the help of x-rays, according to a new study from Europe.
Dutch researchers, who published their findings in the European Respiratory Journal, found that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A drug-free placebo pill prevents migraines in kids and teens just as well as most headache medicines, according to a new review of past evidence.
Researchers found only two drugs known to help migraine-plagued adults reduced the frequency of kids' headaches better than ...
The Food and Drug Administration said the affected lot of the product, known as Lactated Ringer's and 5% Dextrose Injection, was distributed nationwide between June 2011 and January 2012 to wholesalers, hospitals and pharmacies.
The FDA said the substance in the solution was discovered by a ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veggie Grill raised $20 million from current stakeholders and new investors to bolster its expansion and capitalize on the growing popularity of healthy dining options, the Santa Monica, California-based restaurant company said on Monday.
It is the fourth round of equity ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents who used stretching exercises and special sleeping pillows saw improvements in head deformities often created when infants lay in the same spot for a long time, according to a new study.
Those two alternatives are less expensive than special helmets that cost ...
(Reuters) - Sixteen people across five states have fallen ill from Salmonella poisoning, several from a raw ground-beef dish served at a single restaurant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.
Local, state and federal health and regulatory officials said the likely ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - A bankruptcy judge on Monday froze the assets of the owners of the pharmacy linked to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak.
Orders signed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry Boroff temporarily restrict the owners of New England Compounding Center (NECC) from selling their luxury homes ...
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Health Ministry has ordered doctors to review how they prescribe a birth control drug, after accusations it was being used to control the population of Ethiopian immigrants.
Suspicions that Ethiopian women had been coerced into receiving Depo-Provera arose in Israeli ...
Monday's move followed a request by France, where authorities have already taken steps to reduce use of the drugs in favor of second-generation birth control pills.
The newer pills, which include Bayer's Meliane or Yasmin, have proved popular because they reduce side effects seen with earlier ...
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will release funds this week to tackle the world's worst lead poisoning outbreak which has killed at least 400 children, a senator said on Monday, ending months of official inaction in which 1,500 more children were put at risk.
In May last year the government pledged 850 ...
The level of phosphate in blood increases when kidney function declines. Keryx is testing Zerenex as a treatment for elevated serum phosphorus levels, or hyperphosphatemia, in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis.
The drug showed a statistically significant reduction in patients' ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will award a total of 2 billion euros for research into brain disease and into the "miracle material" graphene which could be used to make flexible electronic devices and could lead to superfast Internet speeds.
The funding will be distributed ...
The potential ban could jeopardize more than $500 million a year of exports to Russia and coincides with mounting U.S.-Russian tensions over trade and human rights.
Alexey Alexeyenko, the spokesman for Russia's Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS), said chilled products could ...
The United States and Canada have required flour to be fortified with folic acid since 1998, after deficiencies of it in pregnant women were tied to brain and spinal cord birth defects in their babies.
But fortification isn't required in Western Europe, for example, partly out of concern that the ...
Health regulator ANSM said on Sunday that Diane-35, produced by German drugmaker Bayer, is authorized in 135 countries and sold in more than 116. Last year about 325,000 women in France used the drug, ANSM said, adding it would publish its report next week.
ANSM said the four deaths were due to ...
Los Angeles (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson was aware of defects when it started selling its now-recalled metal hip implants in 2004, lawyers said on Friday during opening arguments in a personal injury trial against the company.
More than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against J&J after ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the three approvals simultaneously on Friday.
Alogliptin by itself will be sold under the brand name Nesina, the agency said. The drug in combination with metformin - one of the most common initial treatments for the disease - will be sold as Kazano, ...
Gatorade said the change was not a response to the petition, although the 15-year-old girl claimed victory.
The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), is a chemical containing bromine, which is found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks ...
The product was already approved in the United States to prevent infections among children aged 6 weeks through 5 years. It is also approved for adults aged 50 and older.
The vaccine protects against infection with 13 strains of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium. The bacterium can cause ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weather has long been considered one of many potential migraine triggers, but a new study links lightning, specifically, to the onset of the severe headaches that plague more than 28 million Americans.
Based on headache logs and weather data for Ohio and Missouri, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People driving to work every day are packing on more pounds than their colleagues on trains, buses and bikes, according to a new study from Australia.
"Even if you are efficiently active during leisure time, if you use a car for commuting daily then that has an ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - According to a new analysis, people taking high doses of the B vitamin folic acid are not at an increased risk of cancer - easing some concern about possible side effects of national fortification programs.
The U.S. and Canada have required flour to be fortified with ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The bills for the flu - at epidemic levels in the United States this winter - are piling up.
The nation's three largest insurers, UnitedHealth Group Inc, WellPoint Inc, and Aetna Inc, have paid at least $100 million more than usual this year to cover doctor and hospital visits ...
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical industry productivity is improving as a more targeted approach to drug development yields dividends and regulators offer speedier decisions on medicines that make a real difference to patients.
That is the view of both the head of the U.S. Food and ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. mental health system has huge gaps that prevent many children with psychological problems from receiving effective treatment that could prevent tragic consequences later in life, experts told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.
Just over a month after the shooting rampage ...
LONDON (Reuters) - At least one in five people worldwide were infected with swine flu during the first year of the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic, an international research group said on Friday, but the death rate was just 0.02 percent.
The results echo other studies that found children were hit harder ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the over-the-counter version of Oxytrol would be available for women only and that the drug remained available to men by prescription.
Overactive bladder, which affects an estimated 33 million Americans, is a condition in which the bladder squeezes too ...
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmakers on Friday backed a law which would ban smoking in bars, cafes and other public spaces to promote healthier living in the world's largest tobacco market after China.
Supported by President Vladimir Putin, who likes to present a healthy, active image, and has ...
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Climate change is back on the global agenda, with debate in the corridors at Davos given fresh impetus by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon both highlighting it as top priority this week.
Yet business leaders are still struggling to ...
(Reuters) - They may be difficult to pronounce, but pharmaceutical companies eager to grab the attention of doctors and patients are returning to drug names starting with X and Z.
Recent X-branded names include prostate cancer treatment Xtandi, lung cancer drug Xalkori, and Xgeva for cancer that ...
The Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Committee said KFC's checks on its suppliers were lax, and that it found excessive levels of chemical residue in some of the fast food chain's supplies, the report said.
The investigation has now been passed to authorities where the suppliers are based, Xinhua ...
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez played down talk that it was looking to sell its one-third voting stake in crosstown rival Roche, and certainly not at its current market price.
There has been widespread speculation that the Novartis could be heading for a change ...
DENVER (Reuters) - Three Colorado bishops said on Thursday they will review a Catholic Church hospital's defense of a lawsuit that argues fetuses do not have legal status - apparently contradicting the Church's teaching on life issues.
The case stems from a malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit ...
Twitter is full of tweets about the flu, which has been severe and reached epidemic proportions this year, but it has been difficult to separate tweets about the flu from actual cases.
"We wanted to separate hype about the flu from messages from people who truly become ill," said Mark ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Just over ten percent of women in the military said in 2008 they'd had an unintended pregnancy in the last year - a figure significantly higher than rates in the general public, according to a new study.
The findings come amid news that the Pentagon will lift the ban on ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans want President Barack Obama and Congress to reduce the federal deficit without cutting Medicare, Social Security and education, according to polling data released Thursday.
A joint survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Harvard School of Public ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite hopes that a Mediterranean-style diet would be as good for the head as it is for the heart, a new study among French men and women found little benefit to aging brains.
The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers are hoping that people will do some research about where to get a tattoo, after a study found a link between body art and hepatitis C.
The new study found that people with the virus were almost four times more likely to report having a tattoo, even when ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with colon cancer who spend more time walking and fewer hours on the couch are less likely to die over the seven to eight years after being diagnosed, a new study suggests.
The findings don't prove exercise itself boosts a person's survival chances, researchers ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diabetic patients too often walk without wearing their custom-made shoes designed to prevent foot sores that can lead to infections and amputations, new research finds.
"It's very important that patients wear prescribed footwear as much as possible," said ...
The drug, known generically imatinib mesilate, was intended for use in adults as add-on therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the drug regulator said in a statement.
EMA reported that Novartis had said that the withdrawal was because it requires additional data to ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. mental health system has huge gaps that prevent millions of people with psychological problems, including children and teens, from receiving effective treatment that could prevent tragic consequences, experts told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.
Just over a month after ...
The injectable treatment, peginterferon beta-1a, also known as Peg-Avonex, is designed to reduce the dosing schedule typical of standard interferon drugs such as Biogen's own Avonex, as it is designed to last longer in the body.
Biogen said the results "support peginterferon beta-1a as a ...
LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Burger King, one of the most popular fast-food chains in Britain and Ireland, said on Thursday it had stopped using one of the firms caught up in the scandal of supplying grocers with beef that contained horse meat.
The British food industry has been rocked by the ...
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Obesity, a major factor in diabetes and heart disease, imposes costs on both public and private sectors and is a drag on economic growth, but business leaders meeting in Davos can't agree on what they can or should do to address it.
The World Economic Forum has some ...
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The jury is still out on the benefits of increasing "good" HDL cholesterol, but the strategy remains worth pursuing, despite recent setbacks, the chief executive of said on Thursday.
Confidence in the HDL thesis suffered a fresh blow last month when a major ...
The new use will allow patients first treated with Avastin plus chemotherapy to be treated again with the biotechnology drug in combination with a different chemotherapy regimen.
A pivotal clinical trial showed that such a treatment strategy improved survival.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors should ask teen girls and women whether their partners are trying to force them to get pregnant or otherwise "reproductively coercing" them, according to a group of ob-gyns.
That could include pressuring women to have sex - possibly without a condom or ...
FDA researchers, whose results appeared in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that people were best at assessing things like chips and frozen meals - and comparing the healthfulness of multiple products - when the nutrition facts were presented for the entire container's ...
(Reuters) - With U.S. backers of legalized marijuana emboldened by victories in two states during the November elections, foes are ramping up efforts and honing their message to focus on risks they say the drug poses to mental health and intellectual development, especially for the young.
A newly ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking at least one aspirin every week is linked to the development of age-related vision loss, according to a new study.
The Australian researchers, however, caution that there's still not enough evidence to say taking the popular pain reliever leads to age-related ...
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists around the world declared an end on Wednesday to a moratorium on researching mutant forms of the deadly H5N1 bird flu that had raised international biosecurity concerns.
Announcing their decision to resume what they say are risky but essential studies of the avian flu ...
Quest, the No. 1 U.S. laboratory testing company, and its peer Laboratory Corp of America Holdings face falling test volumes as hospitals buy physician groups, which order tests to be conducted inhouse.
Shares of Quest, which conducts tests under brands such as AmeriPath and Athena Diagnostics, ...
The latest work, which appears in the journal PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, also suggests that different policy steps might be needed in that case.
"My study essentially shows that the methods used and analyses presented in the original ...
(Reuters) - A top U.S. insurance industry executive on Wednesday predicted that most states will agree to expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, despite opposition from more than a dozen Republican governors.
"In the long run, the economic ...
The study, named Reset, was a 20-patient trial designed to test the maintenance effect of a 20 mg dose of the drug, tasimelteon.
Vanda on December 18 said the drug performed better than a placebo in the first of the four planned late-stage trials on the drug. The company's shares rose as much as ...
The Basel-based group guided investors to expect a mid-single digit decline in its core operating margin on a constant currency basis in 2013, as competition from generic copies knocks $3.5 billion off sales.
The drugmaker is hoping 2013 will be a turning point as it weathers the loss of ...
But researchers, whose results appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, warned that their findings don't prove that melamine is harmful to people in the amounts detected when study participants ate hot soup from melamine bowls.
Large doses of melamine, which is used in some types of fertilizer and in ...
The overall survival among patients treated with the Lilly drug in the study was 5.2 months, compared with 3.8 months for those who received a placebo.
However, some analysts were looking for a survival benefit greater than two months from the monoclonal antibody.
MAP Pharmaceuticals is developing Levadex, an orally inhaled drug for the acute treatment of migraines in adults. Levadex is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is set to make a decision about the drug around April 15.
Under the deal, Allergan will acquire 100 ...
As a result, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said this week that current evidence is "insufficient" to recommend such programs for dealing with the hundreds of thousands of children reported to be abused each year.
"There have been a few studies ...
(Reuters) - Celgene Corp said its Abraxane drug helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer live an average of two months longer than chemotherapy and significantly increased the percentage of those who survived with the disease for up to two years, according to a late-stage study.
Based on ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Over a few months, neither steroids nor platelet injections are any better than injections of inactive salt water when it comes to treating tennis elbow, according to new research.
Despite its name, tennis elbow - which is caused by overuse of tendons in the elbow - ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Large teaching hospitals and hospitals that primarily provide care to poor and uninsured patients are most likely to lose federal money under the U.S. government's plan to improve quality by tying payments to readmissions, according to new research.
"The concern ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday a bid by a group of 18 hospitals to reopen a specialized group of Medicare reimbursement claims that are up to 25 years old.
The hospitals, which are entitled to extra compensation for treating a large number of low-income patients, claimed ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Evidence is mixed on whether home visits and doctor's office interventions can help prevent child abuse, according to a new analysis - leading a government-backed panel to decide the data isn't convincing enough to recommend those programs.
Just as in 2004, on Monday ...
WICHITA, Kan (Reuters) - Closed since 2009 after its doctor was murdered, one of the country's most embattled abortion clinics is scheduled to reopen this spring over renewed objections of abortion opponents.
Controversy over the clinic in Wichita, Kansas is building as the country observes the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A chemical that sickened and killed babies in China when it tainted baby formula can also leach off of tableware and into food, a new small study suggests.
However, researchers said, that doesn't prove the compound, called melamine, is harmful to kids and adults in the ...
But researchers, whose results appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, warned that their findings don't prove that melamine is harmful to people in the amounts detected when study participants ate hot soup from melamine bowls.
Large doses of melamine, which is used in some types of fertilizer and in ...
(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson may sell or spin off its slow-growing $2 billion-a-year diagnostics business, the company said on Tuesday when it reported quarterly earnings.
The diversified healthcare company said it may sell the Ortho Clinical Diagnostics business - whose products include ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Creditors of the bankrupt pharmacy linked to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak are investigating $16 million in salary and shareholder distributions made to company owners in 2012, a lawyer for the group said on Tuesday.
Some of the transfers from the New England Compounding ...
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Emelie Olsson is plagued by hallucinations and nightmares. When she wakes up, she's often paralyzed, unable to breathe properly or call for help. During the day she can barely stay awake, and often misses school or having fun with friends. She is only 14, but at times she has ...
"Novartis is working with health authorities to provide access to Bexsero as soon as possible," the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
There is currently no approved vaccine offering broad protection against "MenB," this particular type of meningitis.
The leak occurred on Monday morning at a Lubrizol France plant near Rouen, 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Paris, and winds blew the invisible gas cloud south over northern France on Monday night and then up into England on Tuesday.
The fire brigade in the county of Kent, southeast of London, ...
"What we're worried about is if (undervaccination) becomes more and more common, is it possible this places children at an increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases?" said study leader Jason Glanz, with Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver.
"It's possible that some of these ...
So-called birth asphyxia - when babies are born not breathing - is one of the major causes of newborn death in regions with limited resources, said researchers whose work appeared in Pediatrics.
Reducing infant mortality in the developing world is one of the United Nations Millennium Development ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More and more babies and toddlers aren't getting their recommended vaccines on time, a new study suggests.
Of more than 300,000 U.S. kids born between 2004 and 2008, almost half were "undervaccinated" at some point before their second birthday - in some cases ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) now than were a decade ago, according to new research from a large California health plan.
It's not clear what's behind that trend, researchers noted. Possible explanations include ...
Novo Nordisk said in a statement that the European Commission had granted marketing authorization for Tresiba and another insulin, Ryzodeg.
Novo Nordisk, the world's biggest insulin producer, has estimated that Tresiba, the brand name for the active ingredient degludec, could become a blockbuster ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Training midwives and other birth attendants to help babies start breathing immediately after birth may prevent stillbirths and newborn deaths in the developing world, two new studies suggest.
So-called birth asphyxia - when babies are born not breathing - is one of the ...
Researchers at Imperial College London found there was a 12.3 percent fall in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the first year after laws against smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces came into effect in July 2007.
Similar anti-smoking legislation has been introduced in many ...
(Reuters) - A high body count is not the only meaningful number attached to a pandemic. The potential cost of a global outbreak of the flu or some other highly contagious disease, however ghoulish to calculate, is essential for government officials and business leaders to know. Only by putting a ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fighting the flu may soon get easier.
As early as next year, more modern and more effective vaccines will hit the market, thanks to investments by the U.S. government and pharmaceutical companies. And even bigger scientific advances are expected in the next decade, including a ...
The study, published in the journal Epilepsia, looked at 440 patient records from Kesennuma City Hospital, in a city that was devastated by the massive tsunami touched off by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Thirteen patients were admitted with seizures in the eight weeks after the disaster, but only ...
Botox injected into the bladder muscle causes the bladder to relax, increasing its storage capacity and reducing episodes of urinary incontinence, or leakage.
"Clinical studies have demonstrated Botox's ability to significantly reduce the frequency of urinary incontinence," Hylton Joffe, ...
Injuries rose by 13 percent in the two years after snowboarders were permitted at the Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico, compared to the two years before, according to the report in The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
"We recognize that a small but statistically significant increase in ...
J&J has offered to pay more than $200,000 per case, a deal that could top $2 billion if most plaintiffs accept the terms, but lawyers for the hip recipients have so far rejected the offer as too low, the sources said.
The settlement talks are likely to continue at least until the first trials ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly people with a certain type of blind spot were less likely to see pedestrians in time to avoid hitting them in a driving simulator, according to a new study.
"In the UK and parts of Europe, in order to have a license, you need to be tested for central blind ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Flu remains widespread in the United States and 29 children have died of complications from it, but there are signs the epidemic is easing, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
Forty-eight states reported widespread influenza infections last week, according to the U.S. Centers ...
(Reuters) - Researchers have selected Eli Lilly and Co's experimental treatment, solanezumab, for a federally sponsored study of whether Alzheimer's disease can be slowed or prevented in older patients who have not yet developed significant memory problems.
The closely watched "A4" ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research provides further evidence that some babies who pass their newborn hearing tests are found to be deaf or hard of hearing as young kids.
Some of those newborns may receive passing grades incorrectly, researchers said, but others can be born with good hearing ...
Merck began recalling the drug, which is also sold under the brand names Pelzont and Trevaclyn, on January 11 and recommended that doctors stop prescribing it.
The medicine had been on the market in 40 countries worldwide, but is not approved in the United States.
ATLANTA (Reuters) - More than 80 percent of health departments in the United States that treat tuberculosis resistant to standard treatment have trouble obtaining the drugs they need to cure the disease, according to a national survey released on Thursday.
Difficulties obtaining the drugs could be ...
At the top-end of the expected range, the offering would raise about $2.2 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the Zoetis IPO was likely by January or February, and that it could raise about $4 billion.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Fatal cases of measles have fallen by nearly 75 percent globally since 2000, but big outbreaks in Asian and African states with low vaccination rates jeopardize progress towards eradication, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
The highly-contagious disease is a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Removing the adenoids of kids who frequently get colds, sinus infections and laryngitis is more expensive and doesn't lead to better health or fewer symptoms than a "watchful waiting" approach, according to new research.
In other words, "waiting has no ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black lung cancer patients seem more likely to die of the disease than white cancer patients in the U.S., especially those living in segregated counties, according to a new study.
Researchers, who published their findings in JAMA Surgery on Wednesday, found blacks ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When the elderly can't exercise, stints on a vibrating platform may help older adults become slightly stronger, faster and more agile, according to a small short-term study.
Exercise is the best option for good health in older age, lead author Alba Gómez Cabello told ...
All-metal hip implants were developed to be more durable than traditional implants but have become a major cause of concern following several safety issues and user discomforts.
The traditional implants combine a ceramic or metal ball with a plastic socket.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black children and teens in the U.S. are almost twice as likely as their white peers to consume more than 500 calories a day of low-nutrient fruit drinks, according to a new study.
The results, which found a three-fold surge in the overall number of teens drinking ...
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Just weeks after Chinese authorities cleared Yum Brands Inc and McDonald's Corp of charges they had served chicken laced with excessive chemicals, local media are again attacking the iconic American firms, while barely reporting on the chances of Chinese restaurants selling ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 22 governors, including four Republicans, support an expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, while others are expected to decide in the coming weeks, experts said on Wednesday.
An analysis published by the New England Journal of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It may sound like the most unappealing treatment available, but a small new study has concluded that inserting fecal material from a healthy person into the gut of someone with severe diarrhea may cure their problem more effectively than antibiotics.
The study, which ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having step-by-step checklists on hand may help doctors and nurses manage emergencies in the operating room, a new study suggests.
In situations when a person's heart stops beating on the operating table or a patient begins bleeding uncontrollably, those lists can save ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting the flu vaccine while pregnant does not increase the odds that the fetus will die in the womb, according to a new study of tens of thousands of women in Norway.
Although fetal deaths were rare during the study, they were more common in pregnant women with the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smartphone applications that use algorithms to analyze skin lesions may not be very good at determining which ones are cancerous, a new study suggests.
The apps are marketed as educational only and so aren't covered as medical devices under the Food and Drug ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The current guideline for immunizing children against polio, whooping cough, measles and other infectious diseases is safe, but should still be monitored, federal health advisers said on Wednesday.
In what they called the most comprehensive review to date, scientists at the ...
Demand for Tysabri has been curtailed due to concerns over its association with a potentially fatal infection known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, which is caused by the JC virus.
Now, however, there is a test for the virus to predict if patients are at risk of developing ...
GENEVA (Reuters) - Dengue is the world's fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a "pandemic threat", infecting an estimated 50 million people across all continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
Transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes, the disease ...
Each year, more than $25 billion flows into coffers in some states, both from state excise taxes on tobacco products and payments made under a 1998 landmark anti-smoking agreement with tobacco companies, the American Lung Association said in a report titled "State of Tobacco Control ...
(Reuters) - A Cheesecake Factory pasta dish with more than 3,000 calories - or more than a day and a half of the recommended caloric intake for an average adult - is among the headliners on this year's Xtreme Eating list of the most unhealthy dishes at U.S. chain restaurants.
The Center for ...
The House of Commons Health Committee called on the government on Wednesday to make clear its plans by the end of March 2013.
"There has been extensive discussion of the principle of value-based pricing but it remains a source of concern that so little progress has been made on defining this ...
Researchers, whose study appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that the more minutes children spent exercising at the pace of a fast walk each day, the lower their percentage of body fat. But the time they spent lying around made no difference.
"Our study supports the current physical ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People prescribed high doses of powerful painkillers are more likely to be injured while driving than those taking very low doses, according to a new study from Canada.
The drugs, known as opioids, include common painkillers like codeine and oxycodone.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of caffeine that's typically found in two cups of coffee may contribute to a man's incontinence, according to a new study.
"It's something to consider... People who are having problems with urinary incontinence should modify their caffeine intake and I ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that "e-visits" for sinus infections and urinary tract infections (UTIs) may be cheaper than in-person office visits and similarly effective.
For e-visits, patients fill out online forms about their symptoms and a doctor or nurse gets back ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For kids, time spent inactive seems less of a factor in higher body fat than does a lack of exercise, according to a new study.
Researchers found that the more minutes kids spent exercising at the pace of a fast walk each day, the lower their body fat percentage was. ...
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's new chief executive stamped his authority on the struggling drugmaker on Tuesday by removing the heads of research and commercial operations in a management revamp designed to speed decision-making.
Pascal Soriot, who took the helm at Britain's second-biggest ...
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmakers are betting that a new wave of medicines for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis will shape up as tomorrow's blockbusters in the coming 12 months.
With the industry regaining some of its swagger after winning 39 new drug ...
Tamoxifen and raloxifene are already approved in the United States and other countries for preventing breast cancer in high-risk patients, but they have not so far been made available as preventative therapies in Britain.
The new proposal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical ...
The Basel-based drugmaker said on Tuesday John C. Reed, 54, chief executive at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in California, would take over as head of Roche's Pharma Research and Early Development - known as pRED - on April 2.
Mike Burgess, who has led the unit on a temporary basis ...
Researchers in the U.S. state of Georgia wrote in the Annals of Family Medicine that survey respondents tended to expect their cough to be gone in about a week, but a review of cough studies shows the hacking takes about three weeks to clear up.
The team, led by Mark Ebell from the University of ...
Most medication mistakes did not harm patients, the researchers said in a report published in Critical Care Medicine, but those that did were more likely to happen in intensive care units (ICUs) - with ICU patients and their families less likely to be told about errors.
"For the most part, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The gap between how long people expect their cough to last and how long it actually does may drive some to the doctor for antibiotics that won't help, according to a new study.
Researchers in Georgia found that survey respondents tended to expect their cough to be gone ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One in four family doctors doesn't ask male patients before screening them for prostate cancer, according to a new survey.
So-called prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing has been controversial in recent years because of uncertainty about whether it actually saves ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Overdoses of drugs, particularly prescription pain-killers and heroin, have overtaken AIDS to become the leading cause of death of homeless adults, according to a study of homeless residents of Boston released on Monday.
The finding came from a five-year study of homeless adults ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Reminding doctors and patients that bronchitis is almost always caused by a virus and won't get better with antibiotics may help cut down on unneeded prescriptions, a new study suggests.
That's important because overuse of antibiotics can lead to drug resistance - which ...
The commercial mentions how Coca-Cola sells about 180 low- and no-calorie drinks, works to produce better-tasting low-calorie sweeteners and has introduced smaller can sizes.
It also reminds viewers that "all calories count no matter where they come from" and that "if you eat and ...
Doctors gave the 45-year-old twins lethal injections after they had had a cup of coffee together and said goodbye to each other, a spokesman at the UZ Brussel hospital said on Monday.
"It's not simply that they were deaf and blind that they were granted the right to euthanasia. It is that ...
Albiglutide belongs to the same class of injectable GLP-1 medicines as Victoza, from Novo Nordisk, and Byetta and Bydureon, from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca's Amylin unit.
The submission by GSK, Britain's biggest drugmaker, was in line with its plan to seek regulatory approval for the new ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fewer kids were injured during early morning and after school hours once new traffic lights, pedestrian signals and speed bumps were put around New York City schools, according to a new study.
Those fixtures were added through the Safe Routes to School program, which ...
Around 57,000 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases in Bangladesh, on average 156 people per day, said Sayed Badrul Karim from the Progga NGO, which is supported by the Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
The "Death Clock", which keeps a rolling tally of ...
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas judge on Friday denied a Planned Parenthood request to be allowed to offer health services to low-income women through a state program.
Texas now excludes abortion providers and affiliates from the program and Planned Parenthood has been fighting to become a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients and their families are rarely told when hospitals make mistakes with their medicines, according to a new study.
Most medication mistakes did not harm patients, the researchers found, but those that did were more likely to happen in intensive care units (ICUs). ...
(Reuters) - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said on Friday that he will file legislation to overhaul benefits for public retirees, including a proposal to double the number of years an employee would have to serve to be eligible.
The bill would require most current employees of the state and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Close to one in six U.S. couples don't get pregnant despite a year of trying - after which doctors typically recommend evaluation for infertility, according to a new study.
Those data are based on a nationally-representative survey of more than 7,600 women - including ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with a certain type of heart attack get better care when paramedics take them directly to a medical center that can perform stent procedures - even if it's not the closest hospital, according to new research from North Carolina.
In a so-called ST-segment ...
(Reuters) - The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the government can require groups that receive federal funding for overseas HIV/AIDS programs to have explicit policies that oppose prostitution and sex trafficking.
The case is one of six that the court on Friday agreed to hear in its ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - College students threw out 15 percent less food after researchers peppered dining halls with short anti-waste slogans, according to new study.
"If you can get it into people's minds to talk about food waste, that's when little changes take effect," said lead ...
PARIS (Reuters) - French health authorities will ask the European Union to restrict the use of newer types of contraceptive pills over concerns they might carry health risks.
France's health minister Marisol Touraine said on Friday the newer pills, which have caught on because they reduce side ...
ArQule shares were down 15 percent at $2.48 on the Nasdaq on Friday morning. They touched a low of $2.39 earlier in the session.
The trial, which enrolled 122 patients with refractory or relapsed colorectal cancer, also failed to meet the secondary goal of showing improved response to the drug ...
The medicine is not approved in the United States but the U.S. drugmaker sells it in about 40 countries.
Merck said it would recall stocks of Tredaptive now held by wholesalers, but that pharmacies can continue to dispense their remaining supplies. Even so, the company said it plans to discourage ...
The move comes after French health regulators said last week they were considering limiting use of some birth control pills after a woman sued the German drugmaker over alleged side-effects.
In a statement responding to reports about the so-called "third-generation" contraceptive pills ...
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner declared an end on Thursday to the city's legal war on medical pot with a letter to city authorities ordering civil prosecutors to "stop the crackdown on marijuana dispensaries."
Filner, a Democrat who was sworn in December 1, said in the ...
"Investigators want to go overboard to make their studies look positive," said Ian Tannock, senior author of the study that appeared in the Annals of Oncology.
In two-thirds of the 164 studies that Tannock and his colleagues scrutinized, that meant not listing serious side effects, ...
"The fact that it's such a polar opposite shift is really surprising," said lead author Matthew Peters at Tulane University in New Orleans.
After the 2005 storm, the overall number of attacks tripled, likely due to an increased number of smokers. Attacks were more likely on weekday ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge refused to block a New York City regulation requiring people who perform circumcisions and use their mouths to draw away blood from the wound on a baby's penis to first obtain written consent from the parents.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ...
(Reuters) - A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended the agency approve an experimental new treatment for diabetes developed by Johnson & Johnson, potentially making it the first drug of its type to be approved in the United States.
The FDA's Endocrinologic and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heart attacks are usually most common on weekdays and mornings, especially Mondays, but new data analysis shows that pattern reversed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"The fact that it's such a polar opposite shift is really surprising," lead author Dr. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of donor livers thrown away in the U.S. has increased since 2004 due - in part - to a population growing older and heavier, according to a new study that also points to changes in medical practice that may make some donor livers less viable.
"The ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cutting back kids' time watching TV and playing video games may not encourage them to spend more of the day running around outside, a new study suggests.
Just four in 10 U.S. kids met dual national guidelines for getting enough physical activity and for limiting ...
New data showed that levels of the drug zolpidem may be high enough to impair alertness in some patients the morning after using it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on its website on Thursday. (http://link.reuters.com/ten25t)
Women appear to be more susceptible to the risk as they ...
LONDON (Reuters) - When it comes to protecting millions of people from deadly infectious diseases, Mark Kendall thinks a fingertip-sized patch covered in thousands of vaccine-coated microscopic spikes is the future.
A biomedical engineer with a fascination for problem solving, he has developed the ...
DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish woman terminally ill with multiple sclerosis lost her battle for the lawful right to die in the first case of its kind to be brought in Ireland, Dublin's High Court said on Thursday.
Marie Fleming, a 59-year-old former university lecturer who is completely Paralyzed, ...
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have discovered how insulin is taken up by cells, potentially opening the way for new drugs for diabetes patients that can be administered without injection.
The team, whose findings appeared in Nature, solved the puzzle of how the hormone insulin binds to ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could save $2 trillion in healthcare spending over the next decade, if the U.S. government used its influence in the public and private sectors to nudge soaring costs into line with economic growth, a study released on Thursday said.
Compiled by the ...
The findings, which appeared in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, doesn't prove that simply watching shows such as America's Next Top Model and Toddlers & Tiaras drives people to the tanning booths, researchers said.
But it does suggest the shows aren't promoting the ...
Researchers, whose findings appeared in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, said those numbers are similar to the prevalence of lifetime suicidal thinking and attempts reported by adults, suggesting that the teenage years are an especially vulnerable time.
"What adults say is, the highest risk time ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors relying on studies published in top journals for guidance about how to treat women with breast cancer may not be getting the most accurate information, according to a new analysis.
"Investigators want to go overboard to make their studies look ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Using cervical fluid collected from routine Pap smears, U.S. researchers were able to spot genetic changes caused by both ovarian and endometrial cancers, offering promise for a new kind of screening test for these deadly cancers.
Experts say that although the test has ...
(Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, which makes the market-leading multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, has filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could, if granted, delay entry to the market of a rival drug developed by Biogen Idec Inc.
Teva's petition asks that ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poor people are less likely to take part in clinical trials for new cancer drugs, which can make it harder to develop treatments, according to a new study.
"Cancer clinical trials are how we move the field forward. As a result of patients not participating in ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one in 25 U.S. teens has attempted suicide, according to a new national study, and one in eight has thought about it.
Researchers said those numbers are similar to the prevalence of lifetime suicidal thinking and attempts reported by adults - suggesting the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - College students who watch reality television beauty shows are at least twice as likely as non-viewers to use tanning lamps or tan outdoors for hours at a time, a new study suggests.
That finding doesn't prove watching shows such as America's Next Top Model and Toddlers ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans made fewer trips to their doctors' offices during the Great Recession than they did earlier in the decade, according to new research.
"These are not dramatic drops, but in our healthcare system we're used to our numbers going up... So just seeing a ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overeating, lack of health insurance access and comparatively high poverty are among the many reasons why Americans are less healthy and die younger than people in other wealthy countries, a report requested by the U.S. government showed on Wednesday.
The United States ...
Cuomo's order came a day after federal health officials said that fast-spreading influenza had officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, following an early start.
Nine of the 10 U.S. regions had "elevated" flu activity last week, and 20 children across the country ...
The company said on its website that the FDA had conveyed the need for additional time earlier this month. (http://r.reuters.com/jah25t)
Idenix said it submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December.
Bayer is already under fire in other markets over new-generation contraceptives. France will stop reimbursing prescription costs of some types from March, after a woman sued Bayer over alleged side effects.
CSS said on Wednesday it supported its client in her claim against Bayer and is acting as a ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of the winter vomiting disease norovirus has spread to France, New Zealand and Japan from Australia and is overtaking all others to become the dominant strain in Britain, health officials said on Wednesday.
The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified ...
Galapagos did not specify the amount of the payment, which is the result of 2006 alliance signed by the two companies related to medicines to fight immuno-inflammatory diseases.
According to the companies' agreement, Galapagos has the potential to receive more than 200 million euros in total ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A day after an exhaustive national report on cancer found the United States is making only slow progress against the disease, one of the country's most iconic - and iconoclastic - scientists weighed in on "the war against cancer." And he does not like what he ...
Previous research suggested that among people with the joint disorder, those with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood tended to have a slower progression of symptoms. But whether that meant taking more in supplement form would also have a protective effect was unclear.
"It looked ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The only remaining oral antibiotic used for gonorrhea failed to cure the infection in nearly 7 percent of patients treated at a clinic in Toronto, Canadian researchers said on Monday in the first published study of treatment-resistant gonorrhea in North America.
The study ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking daily vitamin D doesn't keep knee pain from getting worse or slow the loss of cartilage for people with osteoarthritis, according to a new study.
Previous research suggested that among people with the joint disorder, those with higher levels of vitamin D in their ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite concerns that Parkinson's patients were more likely to become compulsive gamblers or shoppers, a new study says untreated patients don't have any more addictions than people without the disease.
"It's further evidence that the increased frequency (of ...
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Binge drinking contributes to the deaths of about 12,000 women and girls annually in the United States and is a problem that gets overlooked despite causing a long list of health risks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
The federal health agency ...
The caffeine doses probably wouldn't be a problem on their own, but they may cause issues when the pills or powders are combined with energy drinks, coffee and other high-caffeine food and beverages, said researchers, whose report appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine.
"Consumers really have no ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Screening women for breast cancer costs the U.S. Medicare program $1 billion every year - about as much as it spends on treatment, according to a new study.
"It's known that we're spending over $1 billion on treating cancer, but we were surprised to find that we're ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Institute of Medicine launched on Monday a sweeping study of rising sports-related concussions among U.S. youth, amid concerns that the injuries may have contributed to the suicides of professional football players.
The Institute, part of the private, non-profit National ...
The company said the drug, generically called cangrelor, showed statistically significant results, compared to another clotting disorder drug, clopidogrel.
Cangrelor is prescribed to patients who have to undergo a stent-placing surgery or a bypass and prevents formation of clots during such ...
J&J is testing canagliflozin to treat Type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with obesity and a lack of exercise. Diabetes affects about 370 million people worldwide, and about 90 percent of those cases are Type 2 diabetes.
The FDA requires companies making treatments for the disorder to ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - The person hired to run the bankrupt pharmacy linked to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak is "hopelessly conflicted" and should be removed from the job, a U.S. Justice Department official said on Tuesday.
William Harrington, the U.S. Trustee for Region One, argued that ...
The vaccine protects against the potentially fatal effects of pneumococcal disease, a group of illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus.
Children in this age group who have not previously received Prevenar 13 may receive a single dose of the vaccine, ...
The data will form the basis of a biologics license application to be filed with the U.S. health regulators in the first quarter of 2013.
The Phase 3 clinical trial investigated the efficacy, safety and health-related quality of life benefits of its so-called anti-inhibitor coagulant complex ...
LONDON (Reuters) - A drug for bipolar disorder that works like lithium - the most common and effective treatment - but without lithium's side-effects has been identified by British researchers in tests on mice.
Scientists say the drug, ebselen, may be a swift answer to long-sought after better ...
By Lou Carlozo
New York (Reuters) - Having just earned his master's degree in written communication, Eric Kaplan should feel triumphant. But his academic success has been tempered by a failure outside the classroom: He can't find health insurance he can afford on his earnings as a freelance writer.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors often cave in to patients' requests for brand-name prescription drugs even when generic versions are available, a new study suggests - a tendency that adds billions in costs for patients and the health system.
"This is, by definition, a wasteful ...
It will be the fourth such price cut since 2011 and is part of reforms since the early 2000s to make healthcare cheaper and more accessible.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on Tuesday the latest round of price cuts involved 20 broad classes of ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal magistrate judge on Monday ruled that a medical-marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the world's largest can continue to operate, at least for now, in Oakland and San Jose despite a bid by federal prosecutors to shut it down.
The ruling marks the latest ...
"The electronic medical record was meant to make the process of documentation easier, but I think it's perpetuated copying," said lead author Daryl Thornton, assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Electronic health records have been touted as having ...
(Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott kept up his attacks on Obamacare on Monday even after meeting U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, complaining that federal healthcare reforms could cost Florida $26 billion over the next decade.
Scott, a vocal critic of the Affordable ...
Researchers publishing in Pediatrics also found that the average pediatric resident doctor's debt increased 34 percent between 2006 and 2010.
That suggests financial considerations may keep young doctors out of medical specialties, they said, especially those fields that aren't known for paying ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - When Dr. Diane Chaney arrived for her morning shift at the University of Chicago Medicine's emergency department on Monday, there were nine patients from the overnight shift waiting for treatment.
By late morning, 36 patients, most with flu symptoms, were waiting.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite long-standing recommendations that doctors check children's blood pressure at every office visit, a new review of research says there is not enough evidence to support that guideline.
The researchers say more studies looking at the benefits and harms of blood ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government launched on Monday a sweeping study of rising sports-related concussions among the youth, amid concerns that the injuries may have contributed to the suicides of professional football players.
The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies of ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare spending rose at a historically low rate of 3.9 percent for the third consecutive year in 2011, but showed underlying signs of acceleration as the economy recovered from recession, the Obama administration said on Monday.
The report, released by the U.S. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the United States enters the fifth decade of its "war on cancer," deaths continue to decline, according to an exhaustive report based on official data released on Monday.
But that doesn't tell the whole story, say experts not involved in the report from the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study of National Football League (NFL) veterans, former players with thinking and memory problems also had more lesions in their brains than healthy players and non-athletes in a comparison group.
But cognitive difficulties weren't directly related to the ...
The drug, known generically as carfilzomib, was initially approved to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in patients who did not respond to other medicines.
Sales of Kyprolis, which was launched last July, has crossed $62 million in 2012, Onyx Chief Executive Officer Anthony Coles ...
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a challenge to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research brought by two researchers who said the U.S. National Institutes of Health rules on such studies violate federal law.
The decision brings an end to a lawsuit that had ...
Gilead is scheduled to give investors an update on its candidates for HCV treatment at a JPMorgan healthcare conference this week in San Francisco.
The company will discuss new results from an arm of a continuing Phase 2 trial and provide a progress report on a range of Phase 2 and 3 trials ...
The companies said they expect to file for regulatory review of the drug in the United States, Europe and Japan in 2013 and will present detailed data from the trials this year and next.
The trials studied empagliflozin at 10 milligrams and 25 mg alone and in combination with other common diabetes ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pediatricians-in-training are more likely to plan to go into primary care - rather than a specialty field - if they have lots of debt from college and medical school, according to a new study.
Researchers also found the average pediatric resident's debt increased 34 ...
Researchers, whose report appeared in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that young Danish men who ate the most saturated fats had a 38 percent lower concentration of sperm, and 41 percent lower sperm counts in their semen, than those who ate the least fat.
"We cannot say that ...
When more than one center has patients on the same donor list, the centers have an incentive to get organs for as many of their own patients as possible, wrote researchers, whose report appeared in Liver Transplantation.
So doctors are more likely to take the first available organ when their ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama could seek common ground with Republicans in the looming battle over Medicare spending by broadening the debate over entitlement reform to encompass the spiraling healthcare costs that confront a wide range of Americans.
In recent public remarks the ...
A 65-year-old cancer patient died on Friday and a 22-year-old migrant worker died on December 27, the Beijing Daily said on its website, citing the city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Flu cases in Beijing are at their highest level in five years and the H1N1 strain has become the ...
OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - A measure to require special labeling of genetically modified foods appeared virtually certain to qualify for the ballot in Washington state on Friday, two months after voters in California rejected a similar initiative.
Sponsors of the measure turned in petitions ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More competition between medical centers that perform liver transplants may mean sicker patients get lower-quality donor organs, a new analysis suggests.
When more than one center has patients on the same donor list, the centers have an incentive to get organs for as ...
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Private equity funds quadrupled their investment in India's primary healthcare, betting the sick and ailing will stop seeing family doctors in often cramped and dingy quarters and check into modern chains sprouting up across Asia's No.3 economy.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Warburg ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Saturated fats, like those found in rich cheeses and meats, may do more than weigh men down after a meal - a new study also links them to dwindling sperm counts.
Researchers found that young Danish men who ate the most saturated fats had a 38 percent lower concentration ...
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on Friday proposed new state rules to more closely regulate the type of pharmacy at the heart of a U.S. meningitis outbreak that has killed 39 people.
The proposed legislation would require special licenses for compounding pharmacies, allow ...
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators proposed new food safety rules on Friday that aim to make food processors and farms more accountable for reducing food borne illnesses that kill or sicken thousands of Americans annually.
The rules, required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was signed ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Minority and Medicaid cancer patients are less likely to have their prostates removed at hospitals that use robot-assisted surgery, according to a new study that stops short of suggesting the robotic technique represents better care.
"People who are poor - ...
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators proposed new food safety rules on Friday that aim to make food processors and farms more accountable for reducing foodborne illnesses that kill or sicken thousands of Americans annually.
The new rules, required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was signed ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most doctors copy and paste old, potentially out-of-date information into patients' electronic records, according to a new study looking at a shortcut that some experts fear could lead to miscommunication and medical errors.
"The electronic medical record was meant ...
New York (Reuters Health) - The number of low-income preschoolers who qualify as obese or "extremely obese" has dropped over the last decade, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
Although the decline was only "modest" and may not apply to all ...
(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Friday it expects profit in 2013 to increase by more than Wall Street had been forecasting, primarily due to cost controls and improved productivity.
Lilly, whose shares were up nearly 4 percent on Friday, said 2013 sales will be flat to a bit higher, despite ...
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), in a reversal of an earlier decision, said on Friday Lucentis should now be available for patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO).
Lucentis is already approved by NICE to treat wet age-related macular degeneration.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly & Co may have a $15 billion wild card up its sleeve as it waits for desperately needed new drugs to bear fruit.
Should an obscure patent on Lilly lung cancer drug Alimta survive a court challenge this year, the company would be able to wring more than five ...
Oncologists who were reminded each time one of their patients started a new chemotherapy regimen were more than twice as likely to note patients' wishes before they became very sick, said researchers in a report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"If, God forbid, the patient does ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An increasing number of younger women in the United States are delaying their first Pap test for cervical cancer until after they reach 21, reflecting new U.S. guidelines, health officials said on Thursday.
But 60 percent of U.S. women who have had a total hysterectomy and no ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One-third of people getting a CT scan didn't know the test exposed their body to radiation, in a new study from a single U.S. medical center.
Researchers found the majority of patients also underestimated the amount of radiation delivered by a CT scan, and just one in ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah joined a list totaling 17 states and the District of Columbia that have all won conditional approval to establish their own state exchanges, with operations set to begin on January 1, 2014.
A fifth ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Email alerts may encourage cancer doctors to talk with terminally ill patients about their end-of-life wishes and to record those preferences in their medical records, a new study suggests.
Oncologists who were reminded each time one of their patients started a new ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who walk at least three hours every week are less likely to suffer a stroke than women who walk less or not at all, according to new research from Spain.
"The message for the general population remains similar: regularly engaging in moderate recreational ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Healthy food advertising in the form of online games doesn't make kids crave more wholesome snacks, according to a new study from the Netherlands.
Researchers expected children to choose to eat fruit after playing games promoting fruit, given that previous research has ...
An inquiry launched this week by the ANSM health regulator will review prescription practices by doctors, who it says may be over-prescribing higher-risk third and fourth-generation pills.
While all oral contraceptives are associated with a risk of blood clots, a number of studies suggest the most ...
LONDON (Reuters) - The Western world's first drug to fix faulty genes promises to transform the lives of patients with an ultra-rare disease that clogs their blood with fat. The only snag is the price.
The gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), a hereditary disorder that raises the ...
Heart stents are tiny tubular devices that prop open diseased blood vessels after angioplasty. Abbott's stent delivers a drug, everolimus, which helps keep the vessel from reclogging.
Abbott competes with Medtronic Inc and Boston Scientific in the market for heart stents.
(Reuters) - An experimental drug to combat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States, failed to work in an important trial and Biogen Idec said it would stop development of the treatment.
The drug, dexpramipexole, had shown promise and seemed to work ...
The company said on Thursday it planned to submit data from the trial in the coming months in a bid to win regulatory approval to sell Nexavar as a treatment for radioactive iodine (RAI) refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.
It would present a detailed analysis of the study, in which 417 ...
KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Reuters) - A Kansas man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple so they could have a child said on Wednesday he is shocked the state is now trying to make him pay child support.
William Marotta, 46, donated sperm to Jennifer Schreiner and Angela Bauer under a written agreement ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Whether states, hospitals and smaller practices that spend more money on health care provide better treatment is still an open question, according to a new review of past studies.
"This is really one of the central issues we're grappling with today in health ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People seem less likely to take their medications if the pill color changes between prescriptions, which can happen when switching from a brand-name to generic drug, says a new study.
"I have a lot of experience when patients of mine come and say, 'I was taking a ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Boston Scientific Corp's new leadless implantable heart defibrillator, hailed by some as a breakthrough, should be used on a limited basis until more data are collected, a prominent cardiologist wrote in an editorial of a top medical journal.
Leads, or wires that carry ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking common antidepressants during pregnancy doesn't increase a woman's risk of having a stillbirth, according to a new study of over one million Nordic women.
The drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, include fluoxetine (marketed as ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Unlike women in the U.S., Canada and much of Europe, most women in the world can access the birth control pill without a prescription, according to a new study.
As medical organizations and other groups push to ease the prescription requirements for the Pill in the U.S. ...
Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said cases of highly contagious norovirus have risen earlier than expected this winter - a trend that has also been seen across Europe, Japan and other parts of the world.
Health officials in the United States said last week that more than 400 people on two ...
Synergy shares soared as much as 25 percent to $6.58 on Wednesday, before losing some gains to trade at $5.88 at 1115 ET on the Nasdaq. Ironwood shares were up 4 percent at $11.53.
Initial data from a 12-week study on 951 patients showed that more patients on Synergy's drug plecanatide had a ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a review of almost 100 past studies covering nearly three million people, researchers found that being overweight or slightly obese was linked to about a 6 percent lower risk of dying, compared to people considered "normal weight."
Being severely obese, ...
President Yahya Jammeh said in 2007 he had found a remedy of boiled herbs to cure AIDS, stirring anger among Western medical experts who claimed he was giving false hope to the sick.
"With this project coming to fruition, we intend to treat 10,000 HIV/AIDS patients every six months through ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The addition of the antidepressant nortriptyline to conventional smoking cessation therapy didn't improve the chances of longterm success among male prisoners, Australian researchers have found.
Depression and other mental illnesses raise the likelihood of smoking, and ...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sorry, Charlie, but fish oil supplements did not prevent atrial fibrillation in patients who had already experienced episodes of the heart rhythm malfunction, a new clinical trial has found.
The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, adds ...
