Maryland victim dies in meningitis outbreak
Another person has died — this time in Maryland — in the national outbreak of fungal meningitis, while two more Tennesseans were diagnosed with fungal infections linked to tainted spinal steroids, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of Tennessee patients infected now stands at 150, according to the […]
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Genentech Expected To Hire 600 New Employees
Genentech expects to fill nearly 600 new positions this year, many at their South San Francisco headquarters. The Bay Area biotech giant consistently lands on Fortune Magazine’s list of top companies to work for. Positions vary from the expected M.D.’s and Ph.D.’s to IT classifications and salespeople. The company reported that it has a staggering […]
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FDA Rejects Reckitt Petition to Block Generic Suboxone
source In a huge blow to Reckitt Benckiser, the FDA late last week rejected a citizen petition the company had filed last fall in hopes of thwarting generic rivals to its best-selling Suboxone tablet for treating opioid dependence. Moreover, the agency also referred the issue to the US Federal Trade Commission in response to comments […]
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J&J Coughs Up $3.4 Million for Bad Vaginal Mesh
source In the latest sign of difficulty for Johnson & Johnson, a New Jersey state court jury ruled today that the health care giant must pay $3.35 million to a woman because its Ethicon unit failed to properly warn of the risks of a vaginal mesh implant and made fraudulent misrepresentations. However, the jury ruled […]
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Ranbaxy Making Generic Lipitor Again in US
Source Three months after halting production of generic Lipitor due to tiny glass particles found in some lots, the troubled drugmaker says production has resumed. The move, which Ranbaxy hopes will end yet another embarrassing episode, comes after weeks were spent working with the FDA and implementing “multiple corrective and preventive actions,†according to a […]
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FDA Warns on Codeine Use for Children
Children shouldn’t be given codeine to relieve pain after having their tonsils or adenoids removed because the medication can cause death, the Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday. The FDA said it would require all codeine-containing products to carry a boxed warning, the agency’s toughest, to instruct doctors against use in children after such surgeries. […]
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FDA names new head of tobacco products center
A Food and Drug Administration veteran who helped spearhead efforts to regulate the tobacco industry in the 1990s is taking over the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says Mitch Zeller will become the center’s director on March 4. The center’s first chief, Dr. Lawrence Deyton, plans to step down and become […]
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Drugged Fish Can Act Aggressively in Nature
Source In the latest indication that traces of pharmaceuticals floating through rivers and streams can be problematic, scientists have discovered that tiny amounts of the oxazepam anti-anxiety drug can cause perch to become aggressive, anti-social and overactive. The fish are also prone to gobble up other fish more quickly. And the end result is that […]
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Roche Execs at Conference Slam Vodka Shots, Tossed From Bar
source After a hard day at a medical conference, a pair of senior Roche employees grabbed a taxi and went to a “lively, loud, party bar†to unwind. But then the Roche employees bought “round after round of shot drinks†for doctors who were also enjoying themselves. And the drinks “flowed like hot lava,†according […]
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Ranbaxy Labs Trashes Consumers Consumers on Lipitor Recall
Source Last November, Ranbaxy Laboratories recalled more than three dozen lots of generic Lipitor because some contained tiny glass particles and the generic drugmaker then halted all production of the cholesterol pill. Not surprisingly, the move prompted lawsuits, even though the FDA indicated the likelihood of patient harm appeared to be “extremely low†(back story […]
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