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Truvada gains FDA approval as HIV preventive

The daily pill is the first aimed at reducing the risk of contracting HIV in healthy people who are at high risk of contracting AIDS. It will have a boxed warning that it should be used only by people whose HIV-negative status is confirmed prior to prescription and at least every three months after.

18 Jul 2012

Arsenic exposure impairs semen quality

Environmental exposure to arsenic significantly reduces semen quality in Chinese men, research shows.

18 Jul 2012

Interferon beta not associated with less progression of disability in patients with RRMS

Among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), treatment with the widely-prescribed drug to treat MS, interferon beta, was not associated with less progression of disability, according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Jul 2012

PPAHS releases safety checklist that targets Patient-Controlled Analgesia

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), an advocacy group devoted to improving patient health and safety, today announced the release of a concise checklist that reminds caregivers of the essential steps needed to be taken to initiate Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) with a patient and to continue to assess that patient's use of PCA.

18 Jul 2012

Vivus receives FDA approval for Qsymia to manage chronic weight

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate extended-release) as an addition to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise for chronic weight management.

18 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 18, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of a new report that offers a gloomy fiscal forecast for states as they confront rising health care costs, underfunded pensions and a range of other economic challenges.

18 Jul 2012

Grassley: FDA officials OK'd surveillance on groups of doctors wary of medical device safety

Congressional investigators said Monday that the chief counsel's office at the Food and Drug Administration authorized wide-ranging surveillance of a group of the agency's scientists, the first indication that the effort was sanctioned at the highest levels. In a letter to the FDA, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said that his staff had learned that the spying was "explicitly authorized, in writing" by the agency's top legal office.

18 Jul 2012

Dr. Reddy's launches generic LIPITOR tablets in the U.S.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced today that it has launched ATORVASTATIN CALCIUM TABLETS 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg, a bioequivalent generic version of LIPITOR (atorvastatin calcium) tablets, in the US market on July 17, 2012 following the approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) of Dr. Reddy's ANDA for atorvastatin calcium tablets.

18 Jul 2012

Emmaus receives EC Orphan Medicinal Product designation for Levoglutamide

Emmaus Medical, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and regenerative medicine technology company, and subsidiary of Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation for the company's investigational drug Levoglutamide (L-glutamine) for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

18 Jul 2012

Combination of tPA and 3K3A-APC may effectively treat stroke

A team led by a physician-scientist at the University of Southern California (USC) has created an experimental drug that reduces brain damage and improves motor skills among stroke-afflicted rodents when given with federally approved clot-busting therapy.

18 Jul 2012

Risk of birth defects linked to certain jobs dads do

Several types of job carried out by future fathers may be linked to an increased risk of birth defects in their babies, suggests research published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

18 Jul 2012

Mu-opioid receptors put brakes on appetite

Activation of mu-opioid receptors in the nerves of the portal vein walls triggers a gut–brain neural circuit that leads to feelings of satiety, researchers report in Cell.

17 Jul 2012

Ferring Pharmaceuticals receives FDA approval for new colon-cleansing drug

On July 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Prepopik (sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide and citric acid) to help cleanse the colon in adults preparing for colonoscopy.

17 Jul 2012

Trans fat ban in NYC can improve quality of meals purchased outside the home

By requiring commercial food establishments to replace trans fats with oils and spreads that are low in trans and saturated fats, New York City provides a good template for initiating public health measures to improve the quality of meals purchased outside the home, Tufts University Nutrition Scientist Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, writes in an editorial published July 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 Jul 2012

Johnson & Johnson second quarter sales decrease 0.7% to $16.5B

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.5 billion for the second quarter of 2012, a decrease of 0.7% as compared to the second quarter of 2011. Operational results increased 3.5% and the negative impact of currency was 4.2%.

17 Jul 2012

Study shows why eating less may be therapeutic for people with neuromuscular disorders

A novel technique for measuring tiny, rapid-fire secretions in the brains and mouthparts of fruit flies (drosophila) is providing insights into the beneficial effects of eating less - information that ultimately could help people suffering from neuromuscular disorders.

17 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 17, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that concludes that few Americans will pay more as a result of the health law.

17 Jul 2012

Healthier levels of vitamin C can reduce inflammatory conditions

The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report, because medical experts insist on evaluating this natural, but critical nutrient in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result.

17 Jul 2012

Repeal strategies take shape -- though none will likely be easy

Yes, if Mitt Romney wins the White House and his Republican allies retake the Senate, he could shred most of President Barack Obama's health care law without having to overpower a Democratic filibuster. But it won't be as easy as some Republicans portend, and it certainly won't be quick. Why? Because any realistic effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act -- as opposed to last week's quixotic vote in the GOP-controlled House -- is sure to get jumbled together with lots of other issues, including Medicare, taxes, food stamps and defense spending.

17 Jul 2012

U.S. FDA approves Gilead’s Truvada to minimize risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of HIV infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. Truto reduce the risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection in adults at high risk.

17 Jul 2012