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Pfizer’s XALKORI now available in Canada

Pfizer Canada is pleased to announce that XALKORI (crizotinib) is now available in Canada. Recently approved with conditions by Health Canada, XALKORI is an oral monotherapy for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

31 May 2012

Cohera Medical receives U.S. patent titled, ‘Hydrophilic Biodegradable Adhesives’

Cohera Medical, Inc., a leading innovator and developer of absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued the Company patent number 8,182,647, titled "Hydrophilic Biodegradable Adhesives".

31 May 2012

State roundup: Minn. defends Medicaid billing; Cigna, N.H. Group form joint venture; Health coupons in Mass.

Top Minnesota health officials pushed back Tuesday against a congressional committee probing allegations that the state overbilled federal taxpayers for Medicaid services to cover losses from in other state-run public health programs. In a letter to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson defended reforms implemented under DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, saying "our focus has been on changing course rather than investigating the past."

31 May 2012

Study shows how tafamidis drug works against amyloid disease

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer Inc. have published a new study showing how a new drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel) works.

31 May 2012

International conference: 'Preventing Overdiagnosis'

Overdiagnosis poses a significant threat to human health by labeling healthy people as sick and wasting resources on unnecessary care, warns Ray Moynihan, Senior Research Fellow at Bond University in Australia, in a feature published on bmj.com today.

31 May 2012

China Shenghuo first quarter total revenue increases 20.5% to $11.4M

China Shenghuo Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

31 May 2012

In new models for care, seniors look at co-housing options while patients elsewhere get hospital care at home

Some elderly residents of North Carolina are exploring co-housing options to avoid having to leave their homes. Meanwhile, in a few spots health leaders are instituting the "hospital at home" concept.

31 May 2012

Fever in pregnancy raises autism risk

Children whose mothers experience fever during pregnancy have an increased risk for developing autism compared with other children, show study findings.

30 May 2012

Gender link discovered for colorectal cancer

Researchers have identified three new colorectal cancer risk loci, including one on the X-chromosome, bringing the total number of independent loci associated with the disease to 20.

30 May 2012

Exposure to PVC flooring may increase phthalate uptake in infants

Results from a Swedish study suggest that exposure to polyvinylchloride flooring can increase the uptake of phthalates in infants.

30 May 2012

Pseudomonas infection signals poor outcome for COPD patients

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa have a worse clinical outcome and are more likely to be hospitalized than those without the infection, states recent research.

30 May 2012

Surprising life-quality benefit from early prostate cancer treatment

Treatment of early-stage prostate cancer may also improve quality of life if patients have previously suffered from obstructive urinary symptoms before undergoing treatment, shows US research.

30 May 2012

Delirium has protracted course in elderly care home residents

Episodes of delirium in elderly care home residents tend to be protracted, typically being preceded and/or followed by subacute symptomatology, a prospective cohort study indicates.

30 May 2012

Pituitary tumors may lead to glaucomatous changes

Certain tumors of the pituitary gland are associated with glaucomatous abnormalities of the optic nerve head, such as enlarged beta zone, an international research team reports.

30 May 2012

Longer life expectancy for women in their 70’s who exercise and eat a healthy diet

Women in their seventies who exercise and eat healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables have a longer life expectancy, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

30 May 2012

Specialty doctor groups ask feds to delay managed care move for dual eligibles

Several organizations have asked the federal government to slow down implementation of a health law provision that would move people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid into managed care.

30 May 2012

Beyond chemotherapy to cure leukemia

The fight against cancer is not won in a single battle: long after a cancer has been beaten into remission, it can return. The reason for this is under debate, and much is unclear.

30 May 2012

USAID announces Food Security Open Data Challenge

Following President Barack Obama's announcement of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at a food security summit last week, "USAID launched a Food Security Open Data Challenge that invites technologists, agriculture stakeholders, entrepreneurs, academics, and others to determine the most creative and wide-reaching use of open data for food security solutions and better, cheaper, and faster results," Maura O'Neill, chief innovation officer at USAID, and Kat Townsend, special assistant for engagement at USAID, write in a post in the agency's "DipNote" blog (5/27).

30 May 2012

Funding alone will not reduce maternal and child mortality rates

The statistics on maternal, newborn, and child mortality around the world are staggering: 265,000 maternal deaths, 880,000 stillbirths, 1.2 million neonatal deaths, and 3.2 million infant and child deaths annually, the vast majority occurring in low-income countries.

30 May 2012

'Silo' effect of western health aid to Africa damaging continent's future

In a two-part series in his Slate blog "The Reckoning," author Michael Moran examines the "silo" effect of Western aid to improve health in Africa, writing in the first part, "Charities know that raising money for exotic disease eradication in the West is a good deal easier than, say, funding upgrades to substandard cardiac facilities.

30 May 2012