The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Medicare will continue paying for Avastin for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, despite a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel’s recommendation to withdraw …
Pharmaceuticals
Breast-Cancer Survivors Plead With the FDA for Avastin
Dozens of women with late-stage breast cancer begged a federal panel Tuesday not to pull approval for their use of Avastin, a cancer therapy that has disappointed researchers but is keeping many women alive.
FDA Restricts Use of High Doses of Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Zocor
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday restricted the use of high doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin, which is sold in generic forms and under the brand names Zocor and Vytorin, because of concerns …
This Isn’t Your Mother’s Bayer Aspirin
The name Bayer has become highly recognizable, if you’re in the market for aspirin — and you’re about 60. That’s because the company has been so successful at marketing the drug for the prevention of heart attack and stroke in …
America’s 10 Most Popular Prescription Drugs
The contents of America’s medicine cabinets — as captured by IMS Health‘s new report on U.S. prescription drug use — offer an interesting snapshot of our national health. A look at the top 10 most popularly prescribed drugs, …
FDA Approves the First New Lupus Drug in 50 Years
[Post updated March 10] For the first time in half a century, lupus sufferers have a new drug that could help control their disease, and it’s the first medication that works directly on the immune cells responsible for the …
Ibuprofen May Reduce the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Ibuprofen is a popular painkiller, which works wonders to reduce inflammation in chronic conditions like arthritis and more discrete hurts brought about by surgery. Now researchers are hoping to add another condition to that list …
Mayo Clinic vs. WebMD: Another Perspective
The New York Times Magazine on Sunday included a rather befuddling column by departing writer Virginia Heffernan.
The Seroquel Scandal: A Minnesota Psychiatrist’s Ethical Lapses Are Suspected
In 2003, Dan Markingson, 26, was enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Minnesota aimed at comparing several drugs to treat schizophrenia. Despite the explicit demands of his mother, Mary Weiss, to pull him out of the …
Glass Ceiling Not Always Bad? Only 3 of Top Pharma-Earning Docs Are Women
Want to avoid seeing a doctor who earns big bucks from drug companies? You might want to choose a female physician, if the statistics from ProPublica’s investigation of the doctors who earn the most money in consulting and …
Investigation Shows Drug Companies Pay Bad Doctors Big Bucks to Consult
In a sweeping investigation of doctors paid by leading pharmaceutical companies to promote their drugs, the nonprofit ProPublica has found that hundreds have been accused of professional misconduct, lacked credentials or have …
Is There Still Hope for the Weight Loss Drug Qnexa?
Back in July, an FDA advisory panel voted not to recommend obesity drug Qnexa for government approval because of concerns about cardiovascular risks, memory loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking it, and potential harm to …
Seagull Droppings in Drug Development? Why Not!
Researchers have all kinds of sophisticated ways of tracking antibiotic resistant bacteria. Like biological CSI investigators, they use the bugs’ genetic fingerprints and knowledge of their favorite host haunts to learn more …