Healthcare Industry News Archives

The California Supreme Court has reduced the punitive damages that McKesson Corp.

Lawyers for Merck & Co have told the US Supreme Court that investors shouldn't have waited so long to sue the drug maker over warnings about the risks of its painkiller Vioxx.

Isiah Harris receives an H1N1 influenza vaccine at Rush University Medical Center October 6, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.

Tabs on beverage cans -- the kind that stay attached once a can is opened -- still pose a danger to children, who can swallow the tabs and damage their digestive tract, according to a new study.

Every week, patients at Miami Children's Hospital get a visit from a foot-tall therapist who doesn't make them exercise or ask them how they feel.

A Matteson man was killed in a Saturday night accident on Interstate 57 near south suburban Calumet Park.

Caption: David Hasselhoff The 2009 MTV European Music Awards at the O2 World Arena - Arrivals Berlin, Germany .... DAVID HASSELHOFF is under an involuntary psychiatric hold at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a seizure on Friday , according to a U.S. report.

Most Watched: Bomb caused Russian train crash Labs Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds ...

Main Category: Liver Disease / Hepatitis Also Included In: Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals Article Date: 29 Nov 2009 - 0:00 PST Human Genome Sciences, Inc.

In December 2006, the companies entered into an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement to research, develop and commercialise vaccine products containing the company's investigational agonist compounds targeting Toll-like Receptors 7, 8, and 9 in the fields of oncology, infectious diseases and Alzheimer's disease.

The World Health Organization said last week that an unusual number of severe allergic reactions to swine flu vaccinations have been recorded in Canada, where a batch of the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline has been recalled.

A southwestern Michigan woman who went into her burning mobile home to try to rescue her 4-year-old son has died from severe burns.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the supplemental New Drug Application for ABILIFY for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, including symptoms of aggression towards others, deliberate ...

The Emerging Technologies Conference at M.I.T. ended a few days ago with a focus on developing universal flu vaccines.

Watch Perry Barsky play racquetball, and you're hard-pressed to believe he could barely use his arm a few years ago.

Two EMTs helped a 30-year-old Roxbury woman deliver her baby on Thanksgiving Day.

As only the second JAK inhibitor to enter phase III trials, Incyte's INCB18424 has already attracted a fair amount of attention.

A 52-year-old man who was shot last mouth has died and a woman accused of shooting him will likely face a stiffer charge.

Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday announced the end of a research partnership with Novartis AG, but said Merck & Co.

Pfizer will expand its China R&D operations by adding facilities in central and western China, according to a Reuters story.

Dr. David Boston from the Southwest Washington Medical Center gives advice to help people avoid caloric catastrophe this holiday season.

Every Tuesday, patients at Miami Children's Hospital get a visit from a foot-tall therapist who doesn't make them exercise or ask them how they feel.

In this May 11, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama , center, speaks about health care in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.

Older people who report pain are also more likely to get injured in a fall, according to a new study.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. said Wednesday it has filed for marketing approval of its hepatitis C drug Zalbin.

A 16-year-old Ledyard, Conn. High School student has died three days after he collapsed while playing in a junior varsity football game.

Nov 25 - Asian banks and financial shares dipped Wednesday, as investors sold after weaker-than expected U.S. economic data.

A division of Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that federal regulators granted full approval to an HIV drug designed to treat patients who have stopped responding to other treatments.

Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer has been hospitalized due to recurring symptoms from groin surgery in September.

QLT Inc. has agreed to pay US$20 million to settle a legal dispute with Massachusetts General Hospital.

Londonderry police say a 22-year-old man is hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the neck and his twin brother is in jail for shooting him.

ANI ANI ANI Chronic pain increases risk of falls in older adults Chronic pain can be more dangerous than previously thought, according to a new study.

Studies show that heart attacks spike during the holiday season, so the doctors at Southwest Washington Medical Center have tips for creating stress-free holidays.

The companies said that their combined commercialisation activities will expand access to Viread for the treatment of HBV, once approved, to patients in Asia where the prevalence in most countries is greater than 8%. Under the terms of the deal, Gilead will retain exclusive rights for commercialisation of Viread for HBV in Hong Kong, Singapore, ...

Let us give thanks - and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving.

A lawsuit filed against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by a patient at the center of a 2007 tuberculosis scare has been dismissed.

Medtronic reported a surprising 59 percent boost in second-quarter profit Tuesday, as increased sales of implantable heart devices defied reports of weakening demand from competitors.

The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline says it has advised medical staff in Canada to not use one batch of swine flu vaccine for fear it may trigger life-threatening allergies.

A second hospital in Los Angeles County has come forward saying its patients received overdoses of radiation from CT scans.

A Texas court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the state against drugmaker Merck & Co that sought a refund for money spent on the withdrawn Vioxx pain treatment, the company said on Monday.

Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Monday it is temporarily withdrawing its application for U.S. approval of a drug to prevent prostate cancer.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. , the industry leader in surgical robotics, today announced that it has received regulatory approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to allow marketing of its da Vinci S System in Japan.

West Virginia University is shopping for two deans. Search committees have been formed for the College of Arts and Sciences, which is replacing Mary Ellen Mazey.

A woman who worked as a patient services coordinator for Johns Hopkins Medicine has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing patient information.

Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a new study.

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy at a party on Long Island.

Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.

The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

Covidien, a global provider of healthcare products, today announced that the FDA)has set a new action date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act for the review of the New Drug Application for Exalgo Tablets , of February 22, 2010.

Canada's H1N1 flu vaccine manufacturer has asked the provinces to temporarily discontinue vaccinating Canadians from a lot of vaccine shipped in October due to a higher risk of adverse reactions, says a Manitoba health official.

PA32540 is a fixed-dose combination of 325 mg of enteric coated aspirin and 40 mg of immediate release omeprazole.

Puget Sound Business Journal Dendreon Corp. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will make a regulatory decision on the biotech's Provenge prostate cancer drug by May 1, 2010.

A large New Jersey hospital has tightened ethics rules after its role in a scandal, a report on NorthJersey.com said.

Nicole Richie has checked out of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after battling pneumonia and is at home resting, says her boyfriend Joel Madden .

Record profits. Job openings. Shareholders making money. It's not what you might think in Michigan, home to the country's highest unemployment rate, but a century-old company is in robust health thanks to achy, thifty Americans.

The economy has claimed another Twin Cities non-profit organization: the National Institute on Family and the Media.

Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Friday the Food and Drug Administration approved an intravenous version of its high blood pressure drug Revatio.

Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc . said today it expects to collect proceeds of $48.75 million from a new stock offering.

OraSure Technologies Inc., which makes diagnostic kits to detect HIV and drug use, said Thursday it will pay Inverness Medical $3 million to settle a patent dispute over HIV tests.

A federal jury on Thursday found the former head of the country's largest drug distributor guilty of fraud, nearly 10 years after he played a central role in one of the costliest corporate accounting scandals of the time.

A person walks past rare 18th-century anatomical illustrations by Dutch artist Jan Van Rhysdyk on... A person walks past rare 18th-century anatomical illustrations by Dutch artist Jan Van Rhysdyk on display at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov.

The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia.

Nov. 19 -- Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer John Mack, speaking yesterday at the "Covering the Crisis" panel hosted by Bloomberg News and Vanity Fair in New York, says he appreciates the increased regulation from the Federal Reserve that's come after converting to a bank holding company in the midst of the financial crisis.

Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Seattle biotechnology firm Cell Therapeutics Inc. can pursue claims for nearly $23 million against a former consultant, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Federal health experts said Wednesday an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine is safe and effective for infants and toddlers, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals.

Nicole Richie has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital and is being treated for pneumonia.

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2005, the "Rising Man" symbol stands in front of the Fridley, Minn., based... FILE - In this Aug.

Oil prices wavered Wednesday as the government said American petroleum demand continued to tumble, while AAA said it expects more drivers to hit the road during Thanksgiving weekend.

Home sales in Riverside County fell by 9.1 percent in October, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices fell by 17.4 percent, a real estate information service reported today.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A $4 million estate in central Alabama that belonged to former HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy is going to be auctioned next month.

Some big changes regarding substance abuse programs at the area's largest hospital.

FBI officials say an elderly, thin, gray-haired man nicknamed the "Geezer Bandit" is responsible for holding up five San Diego-area banks since summer.

Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections.

Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular heartburn medication can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.

Shares of Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. crashed Monday after the company said its cancer drug picoplatin missed its goal in a clinical trial.

Genzyme Corp. said Monday the Food and Drug Administration will not approve the potential Pompe disease treatment Lumizyme until the company fixes manufacturing problems at the company's Boston-area facility.

Washington - Federal health officials on Monday questioned whether to approve an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine for children, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals.

Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, government health officials said Monday.

Americans are worried about the fine print in the health care overhaul, an Associated Press poll says, and those concerns are creating new challenges for President Barack Obama as he tries to overcome doubts in Congress.

Nov 16 - Thousands of people flee fighting between Saudi forces and Yemeni rebels.

After drug giant Pfizer Inc. announced that it was opening a new research center here, city officials aggressively moved to acquire surrounding land for an economic development project - triggering an epic fight over eminent domain that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and ended with residents being forced from their homes.

Police say several people have been been shot, one fatally in southern Georgia. Valdosta police Capt.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is splitting off its holdings in infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.

A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin - drugs that are still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work.

A escalator carrying guests at Caesars Palace malfunctioned this afternoon, causing 12 people to be hospitalized, a Harrah's official confirmed.

Federal health officials said that 35 flu-related pediatric deaths were confirmed during the week ending Nov.

In this photo released by ABC, former Alaska Governor and Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin , left, is photographed with ABC's Barbara Walters , at a New York City hotel, Friday, Nov.

Nov 14 - United States President Barack Obama pushes for greater U.S. involvement in Asia, welcoming a "strong, prosperous" China.

The surgery was supposed to repair the patient's heart, but more than five hours into the procedure, something went wrong - a "catastrophic" failure of the pump meant to keep blood and oxygen flowing through the patient's body.

At least 22 million Americans have come down with the H1N1 swine flu since the virus first surfaced in April and approximately 3,900 people have died, including an estimated 540 children, federal health officials reported Thursday.

Myriad Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Friday reported a smaller fiscal first-quarter loss on lower research costs after the company was spun off from Myriad Genetics Inc.

Three members of a California family are in intensive care after eating mushrooms they picked in the wild.

The top research executive at Eli Lilly and Co. will retire in February, the Indianapolis drugmaker announced today, and will be succeeded by the top researcher at European competitor AstraZeneca.

Dr. Steven Garner, Emergency Medicine Specialist with New York Methodist Hospital, says the increase in the number of children dying from swine flu does not mean the virus is more severe.

A San Diego judge has finalized a ruling allowing a colony of harbor seals to remain at Children's Pool in La Jolla.

Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by Genzyme, the second time this year the biotechnology company has been cited for contamination issues.

Now that drug giant Pfizer Inc. has announced plans to pull out of a Connecticut city where it played a role in an epic eminent domain fight, residents are questioning why the battle was ever waged.

Orthopedic implant maker Zimmer Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will publicly offer $1 billion in senior notes, and use the proceeds to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes.

A Town of Newburgh cop was seriously injured when his police car collided with two Newburgh school district buses filled with 33 students Thursday afternoon.

Nov. 12 -- Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital Partners LLC, talk with Bloomberg's Mark Crumpton and Julie Hyman about Walt Disney Co.

Shares of Playboy Enterprises Inc. soared Thursday on a report that the men's magazine publisher is in talks to sell its business to Iconix Brand Group Inc.

Medical lab operator Quest Diagnostics Inc. said Thursday it is offering $750 million in notes and will use proceeds to buy back its senior debt.

Cigarette smoking rose slightly for the first time in almost 15 years, dashing health officials' hopes that the U.S. smoking rate had moved permanently below 20 percent.

Endo Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday it will pay LecTec Corp. $23 million to settle a dispute over patents related to pain treatments.

Dr. William Ganz, a pioneering cardiologist and one of the inventors of a specialized catheter, has died.

Standard & Poor's said Wednesday it is making changes to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.

Pfizer disputes the conclusions in a report in the New England Journal of Medicine that says results in company-funded studies of its epilepsy drug were fudged.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the state has reached a $24 million civil settlement with Eli Lilly & Co.

A police officer was shot multiple times overnight in Hartford's North End. The officer was taken to St.

GlaxoSmithKline today announced that it has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization to donate 50 million doses of its adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine to WHO for distribution to developing countries most in need.

Stryker Corp. said today that it will spend more than $100 million to acquire a California software company and bone-cutting products from two other companies.

Sanofi-Aventis and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday they expanded an existing development partnership to run through 2017.

There were balloons, a few curious neighbors, and a horde of reporters. Two weeks after a patient repeatedly stabbed her at a Massachusetts General Hospital clinic, Dr.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday they signed a collaboration deal potentially worth $1 billion, with a key focus on a rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino has undergone knee surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon sustained in an accident at home.

Vancouver - Published on Monday, Nov. 09, 2009 8:59AM EST Last updated on Monday, Nov.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center officials said Monday that 260 patients had been exposed to high doses of radiation during CT brain scans during an 18-month period, up from the hospital's original estimate of 206 in September.

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced Monday that it intends to sell its specialty pharmaceutical business to the sigma-tau Group for more than $300 million.

Nov. 9 -- Robert Glassman, private equity partner at OrbiMed Advisors, talks with Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker and Deirdre Bolton about the practice of so-called off-label drug marketing and its impact on the industry.

Pfizer trimming research plants after buying Wyeth NEW YORK - The world's biggest drugmaker is closing six of its 20 research facilities, reorganizing others, and cutting the jobs of roughly 15 percent of its scientists and support staff.

Canadian biopharmaceutical company Bioniche Life Sciences Inc said it received the first milestone payment of US$6-million under a licensing deal with Endo Pharmaceuticals for its experimental bladder cancer drug.

Swiss hearing aid firm Sonova Holding AG said Monday it is buying cochlear implant maker Advanced Bionics Corp., based in California, for $489 million in cash.

This is a press release from the Marion County Sheriff's Department in Salem, Ore.

Melody Trimble will be the new CEO of Sparks Regional Medical Center and its more than 2,000 employees beginning Dec.

A program is beginning this month to help Iowans safely dispose of unwanted medication.

Nov. 8 - Fire fighters in the Indian state of Orissa are taking special courses in snake catching.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the FDA has approved a labeling update for REYATAZ A to include long-term data from the CASTLE Study.

The Fort Wayne Cardiology building will be the new home of Manchester College's School of Pharmacy in 2012.

A 49-year-old man was found floating in Newport Harbor this morning and was pronounced dead soon after at a local hospital, authorities said.

PURCHASE,A N.Y. Nutrition 21 on Friday announced that the company has obtained an exclusive license for a patented combination of a probiotic and omega-3 fish oil from ProbioHealth and ProbioFerm.

Jazmin Gobert tipped her head back, mouth gaping, feet braced on the floor, her yellow socks peaking out from beneath the cuffs of her pant legs as the dental hygienist visiting her elementary school plunged in.

The Board of Trustees at Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith have signed a definitive agreement to sell the hospital to a Florida company.

A new mother of twins from Springfield Township died Thursday from possible complications of H1N1, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said on Friday.Health department spokesman Larry Vasko told FOX Toledo News that 24-year-old Mandy Kimbler died Thursday at Toledo Hospital.

Drug and medical device maker Covidien PLC said Friday it completed its $210 million purchase of Aspect Medical Systems, a company that makes brain monitoring technology.

A Waukesha Sheriff's Deputy shot an inmate at Waukesha Memorial Hospital after the inmate began a scuffle.

Only about a third of adults who have tried to get a swine flu vaccine have been able to get it, according to a new national poll released Friday.

Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. said Friday it will pay $296 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation into the company's Guidant unit.

Oil prices climbed toward $80 a barrel Friday, catching up with a surge in global stock markets and assisted by a slightly weaker dollar which made crude more attractive to international investors.

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating some of CVS Caremark Corp.'s business practices, the company said yesterday.

Heart device maker Thoratec Corp. said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit almost doubled on strong growth in its cardiovascular division.

Biotech drug developer Alkermes Inc. said relocation charges and stock-based compensation costs pushed it to a loss in the fiscal second quarter.

The Technical Symposium on Corrosive Imported Drywall will take place Thursday and Friday in Tampa.

A 52-year-old La Crosse man died Monday after being electrocuted at an oilfield site in southern Ellis County.

The United States has 31.8 million H1N1 flu vaccine doses available and is on track to have another 10 million ready by week's end, a federal health official said Tuesday.

GenVec, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to TNFerade for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. - Federal health advisers on Wednesday rejected an implant from Zimmer Holdings saying it's unclear how effective or safe the device would be for treating a painful spinal condition.

A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its partner, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

Positron emission tomography imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting .

Nov 4 - Shanghai residents excited about the prospect of Disneyland in their city.

Award-winning court and crime reporter Laurel J. Sweet has been featured in the ABC miniseries "Boston 24/7" and the 9-11 documentary motion picture "Looking For My Brother." T he "grateful" husband of a Massachusetts General Hospital doctor nearly stabbed to death last week on the job reports she "continues to improve every day." Though still ...

While the debate over health care reform rages on, hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp.

A mother watched with dread as a nurse inserted a tube in her baby's head. Blood streamed into the anemic 4-month-old who already has malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million African children every year.

Investors worried about the economic recovery drew only modest comfort from billionaire investor Warren Buffett's decision to buy one of the nation's largest railroads.

In this July 14, 2009 file photo, a customer removes a box of BAND-AID bandages, a Johnson and Johnson brand, from a display at Eastwood Pharmacy, in Tallahassee, Fla.

Nov. 2 -- Thomas Watkins, chief executive officer of Human Genome Sciences Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Matt Miller about the outlook for U.S. regulators' approval of the company's experimental lupus drug Benlysta.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals will get a new trial to determine if the drugmaker should pay punitive damages to a woman who got breast cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

EAST CHINA TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Authorities said a 31-year-old Detroit man who was stranded at a southeast Michigan hospital face charges after he stole an ambulance.

In this May 22, 2008 file photo, the company logo is seen on the doors of a building at Merck & Co.

Schering-Plough Corp. said its experimental hepatitis C drug helped eliminate the virus in about half of patients who did not respond to standard treatments.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it could potentially receive more than $1 billion from a partnership with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

Human Genome Sciences Inc said on Monday its experimental lupus drug Benlysta was successful in a second large clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the first new treatment for the disease in 50 years.

Individuals who consume a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks are more likely to experience a decline in kidney function, according to two papers being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's annual meeting in San Diego, California.

Canada's top doctor says health officials didn't expect so many people to line up for the swine flu shot.

Nov. 1 - Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah pulls out of run-off polls due to take place on 7 November.

Main Category: Melanoma / Skin Cancer Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Schering-Plough Corp.

R. Todd Joyce has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Watson Pharmaceuticals , effective immediately.

That extra hour of sleep you'll get in most parts of the country on Sunday might be restful, but the end of Daylight Saving Time could spell trouble for your body clock, a sleep expert says.