Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Bill would give FDA clearer authority over drug compounders

The bill, introduced in Congress, would also direct the Food and Drug Administration to train state regulators -- whose oversights may have contributed to the meningitis outbreak that sickened more than 500 and killed at least 36.

7 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 7, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations includes articles on the talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on the "fiscal cliff."

7 Dec 2012

Roundup: Fla. judge rules legislature must decide on prison care privatization; Skepticism over Ore. medical liability reform proposal

A Tallahassee judge ruled Tuesday that a legislative committee did not have the authority to approve a contract regarding prison health care services. According to Businessweek, the plan would privatize health care services in three of Florida's four prison system regions. Circuit Judge John Cooper, who made the decision, said the policy changes must be approved by the full Legislature, rather than just a panel of 14 select legislators.

6 Dec 2012

FDA designates two of Cubist’s Phase 3 antibiotic candidates

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated two of the company's Phase 3 antibiotic candidates, CXA-201 (ceftolozane/tazobactam) and CB-315, as Qualified Infectious Disease Products (QIDP).

6 Dec 2012

Mass. Republicans want top state health official to resign

The state's Republicans are challenging the handling of the recent meningitis outbreak and drug test tampering allegations.

1 Dec 2012

Epidural steroid injections for back pain increase risk of bone loss in postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women suffered significant bone density loss in their hip after they were treated with an epidural steroid injection for back pain relief, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study

1 Dec 2012

Tdap well tolerated in over-65s

Off-label use of tetanus–diptheria–acellular pertussis vaccine in senior patients results in no more adverse events than the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, a US study shows.

30 Nov 2012

RIVA fully automated IV compounding system ahead of competitors in overall performance

RIVA, the fully automated IV compounding system manufactured by Intelligent Hospital Systems (IH Systems), is ahead of competitors in overall performance, meeting business case expectations and customer satisfaction, according to a new study of IV automation systems by independent healthcare research firm KLAS.

29 Nov 2012

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

The Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is sometimes also called the “triple vaccine” and has been around for about 50 years, and it protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. These are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

28 Nov 2012

Meningitis outbreak could prompt call for executive jail time

A tough prosecutor and high public scrutiny could mean jail time for executives of the New England Compounding Center -- the pharmacy at the center of the deadly meningitis outbreak. In the meantime, the pharmacy's lawyers counter that the executives had no direct hand in the illnesses.

22 Nov 2012

Dropping of cold chain requirement for meningitis vaccine will improve access, IRIN reports

IRIN examines how the WHO's recent declaration that the MenAfriVac meningitis A vaccine can be transported or stored for up to four days without refrigeration will affect immunization campaigns in Africa's meningitis belt, which runs from Senegal to Ethiopia.

22 Nov 2012

Questions continue over state, FDA oversight of specialty pharmacies

Several news outlets analyze the hearings last week into the meningitis outbreak resulting from a New England compounding pharmacy.

21 Nov 2012

A closer look into the meningitis outbreak's unwitting enablers

Randall Kinnard's legal clients had steroids injected into their backs last summer for a wide range of reasons. ... Now the 25 -- or their survivors -- have engaged Mr. Kinnaird, one of Nashville's leading lawyers, to sue the New England Compounding Center.

20 Nov 2012

Senators pledge regulation of compounding pharmacies

At a Capitol Hill hearing, senators from both parties promised to take action following a meningitis outbreak that killed 32 people.

17 Nov 2012

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

A new conjugate vaccine is highly effective (93–100%) at preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD; meningitis, sepsis, bacteremic pneumonia, and other blood-borne infections) in infants younger than 2 years who are the most vulnerable to infection, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet.

16 Nov 2012

Meningitis vaccine declared usable without refrigeration for up to four days

"In a breakthrough for the fight against meningitis in poor countries, researchers say the WHO has ruled that a key vaccine can be transported or stored for up to four days without refrigeration," Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Nov 2012

FDA chief's call for greater oversight of drug compounders triggers Republican skepticism

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday questioned Food and Drug Administration head Margaret Hamburg and the co-owner of a compounding pharmacy linked with a deadly meningitis outbreak. Hamburg called for Congress to give the FDA greater oversight of compounding pharmacies, which was met with skepticism by Republican lawmakers.

16 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Obama must tell allies that entitlements can't be excluded from fiscal deal; Medical device tax will thwart innovation

As bipartisan negotiations over avoiding the "fiscal cliff" draw nearer, many of President Obama's core Democratic supporters are urging him to fix the debt through defense cuts and tax increases rather than by tackling Social Security, Medicare and other federal entitlement programs. It's a reprise of progressive resistance to the entitlement trims Mr. Obama contemplated during the abortive debt-reduction negotiations with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) last year.

15 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 15, 2012

Today's headlines include the latest details on states' decisions about pursuing health exchanges as well as other political and policy developments.

15 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Voters want Medicare protected in 'grand bargain;' Increases in taxes can't cover the 'fiscal cliff'; Kids' health needs more attention

As the ranking member on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, let me simply state the hard truth. To avoid the fiscal cliff and to get our budget deficit and the national debt under control, we need to do three things simultaneously: cut spending, increase revenue and have the courage to put everything on the table in a responsible, bipartisan manner.

15 Nov 2012

Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Bill would give FDA clearer authority over drug compounders

First Edition: December 7, 2012

Roundup: Fla. judge rules legislature must decide on prison care privatization; Skepticism over Ore. medical liability reform proposal

FDA designates two of Cubist’s Phase 3 antibiotic candidates

Mass. Republicans want top state health official to resign

Epidural steroid injections for back pain increase risk of bone loss in postmenopausal women

Tdap well tolerated in over-65s

RIVA fully automated IV compounding system ahead of competitors in overall performance

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

Meningitis outbreak could prompt call for executive jail time

Dropping of cold chain requirement for meningitis vaccine will improve access, IRIN reports

Questions continue over state, FDA oversight of specialty pharmacies

A closer look into the meningitis outbreak's unwitting enablers

Senators pledge regulation of compounding pharmacies

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

Meningitis vaccine declared usable without refrigeration for up to four days

FDA chief's call for greater oversight of drug compounders triggers Republican skepticism

Viewpoints: Obama must tell allies that entitlements can't be excluded from fiscal deal; Medical device tax will thwart innovation

First Edition: November 15, 2012

Viewpoints: Voters want Medicare protected in 'grand bargain;' Increases in taxes can't cover the 'fiscal cliff'; Kids' health needs more attention

Forensics and toxicology - Industry Focus eBook eBook

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Forensics and toxicology - Industry Focus eBook eBook

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

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