Immune system cancer drugs tipped to be a $35 billion market >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 09:48:38 GMT
By Ben Hirschler 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...
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Cancer Society hits 100 as US cancer rate falls >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 07:14:35 GMT
NEW YORK (AP) — The American Cancer Society — one of the nation's best known and influential health advocacy groups — is 100 years old this week.
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Life-saving face transplant performed in Poland >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 11:19:41 GMT
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Doctors in Poland say they have performed an urgent total face transplant on a 33-year-old man whose face was torn off in an accident which also crushed his jaws.
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Oncolytics cancer drug meets mid-stage trial goal, shares rise >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 13:46:28 GMT
(Reuters) - Oncolytics Biotech Inc said preliminary data from a mid-stage trial showed that its cancer drug, Reolysin, met the main goal of reducing the size of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Shares of the Calg...
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Pfizer to spin off Zoetis stake to shareholders >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 12:52:18 GMT
(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday it will spin off its majority stake in animal health business Zoetis Inc to shareholders by allowing them to swap Pfizer stock for Zoetis stock at a 7 percent discount. Pfizer, the largest drugmaker, sold Z...
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When it comes to deadly viruses, what's in a name? >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 12:54:39 GMT
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent 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 ...
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Los Angeles voters OK move to curtail medical marijuana outlets >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 10:54:25 GMT
By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Voters strongly supported a ballot measure to sharply curtail the number of medical marijuana dispensaries permitted to operate in Los Angeles while boosting taxes on the sale of pot for health reasons, ...
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Swiss billionaires buy Merck Serono HQ for biotech campus >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 13:43:04 GMT
By Caroline Copley 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 drugma...
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U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for new antibiotics >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:46 GMT
By Ben Hirschler 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 ki...
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Analysis: Some Republicans see new scandal in Sebelius fundraising >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 08:06:09 GMT
By David Morgan 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 he...
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AcelRX drug device meets main goal of late-stage study; shares jump >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:01 GMT
(Reuters) - AcelRX Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental drug device to treat post-operative pain met the main goal of controlling pain in a late-stage study among patients who had undergone knee or hip replacement surgery. Shares of the compa...
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Regeneron, Sanofi asthma drug seen as potential game changer >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:47 GMT
By Ransdell Pierson (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...
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New rice contamination reported in China >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 13:02:03 GMT
BEIJING (AP) — Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.
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France: Drugmaker on trial, suspected in deaths >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 13:58:30 GMT
NANTERRE, France (AP) — A French drug company and its founder are on trial on charges of misleading the public about a diabetes drug marketed as a weight loss method and suspected in hundreds of deaths.
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Tunisia announces first death from new coronavirus >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 16:24:02 GMT
Tunis (Reuters) - A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from new coronavirus, a strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year, after a visit to Saudi Arabia, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The man, a diabetic, died in hospital in...
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Vermont passes law allowing doctor-assisted suicide >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 14:09:09 GMT
By Jason McLure (Reuters) - Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives. The law, which includes a number of safeguards over t...
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More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knows >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 16:11:01 GMT
A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:
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Schoolmates of suicide victims at higher risk >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 16:12:54 GMT
By Kathryn Doyle 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 bee...
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Health sites too complex, full of cliches: study >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 14:37:38 GMT
By Ivan Oransky 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 C...
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Texas House passes measure to prevent Medicaid expansion >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 21:52:13 GMT
By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas House passed a measure on Tuesday that would prevent the state from expanding its Medicaid program as outlined by President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. Texas Governor Rick Perry...
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Amag says anemia drug caused fatal reaction in Switzerland >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 22:04:31 GMT
(Reuters) - Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc said its marketing partner in Switzerland, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug, Rienso, because of a death and several cases of hypersensitivity. Amag shares were down a...
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Appeals court strikes down Arizona ban on abortions at 20 weeks >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 22:52:33 GMT
By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) - A federal appeals court struck down an Arizona law on Tuesday that bans abortions from 20 weeks gestation, saying it violated "unalterably clear" U.S. Supreme Court rulings that women have a right to terminate...
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Amag investigates anemia drug after report of death in Switzerland >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 00:43:17 GMT
(Reuters) - Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc said its marketing partner in Switzerland, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug, Rienso, because of a death and several cases of hypersensitivity. Amag shares were down a...
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Healthcare workers strike at five California public hospitals >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 01:24:30 GMT
By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thousands of healthcare workers walked off the job at the University of California's five medical centers on Tuesday, delaying emergency care, surgeries, diagnostic procedures and other medical treatme...
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Tunisia announces 3 cases of coronavirus, 1 death >>
Tue, 21 May 2013 13:50:41 GMT
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it, the Tunisian Health Ministry reported.
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Portland, Ore., voting on water fluoridation >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 02:24:25 GMT
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oral health and politics collided Tuesday as Portlanders — proudly nonconformist and environmentally minded — decided whether their city remains the largest in the U.S. without public fluoridation.
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Athletics-Cheruiyot expecting first child, aims to return in 2014 >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 03:41:11 GMT
May 22 (Reuters) - Vivian Cheruiyot is not defending her world 5,000 and 10,000 metres gold medals in Moscow in August because she is expecting her first child, the Kenyan said in a statement. The 29-year-old, who won both races at the 2011 world ...
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Cheruiyot expecting first child, aims to return in 2014 >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 03:56:47 GMT
(Reuters) - Vivian Cheruiyot is not defending her world 5,000 and 10,000 meters gold medals in Moscow in August because she is expecting her first child, the Kenyan said in a statement. The 29-year-old, who won both races at the 2011 world athleti...
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Merck signs $5 billion share buyback agreement with Goldman Sachs >>
Wed, 22 May 2013 06:07:27 GMT
(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said it has entered into a $5 billion share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as the drug giant looks to prop up shareholder value in face of stiff competition from makers of less-costly generics. Under ...
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