Experts contemplate whether Medicare should pay for Alzheimer's test

Also in the news, Astra Zeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb step up their diabetes-drug partnership.

NPR: Should Medicare Pay For Alzheimer's Scans?
Researchers have embraced the drug as a tool to gauge these so-called amyloid plaques in the brain. They've already found that amyloid shows up years before people start having problems with memory or thinking. But is the test appropriate for widespread clinical use? A panel of advisers grappled with that question Wednesday at a public meeting to consider whether Medicare should pay for the test (Hensley, 1/31).

The Wall Street Journal: AstraZenaca, Bristol-Myers Deepen Diabetes Alliance
AstraZeneca PLC and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. have deepened their diabetes-drug partnership by merging their diabetes marketing teams and moving them to a new U.S. headquarters separate from either company, AstraZeneca's new chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said in an interview (Whalen and Hodgson, 1/31).