Cholesterol News

“Specialty drugs, which span many categories of treatments, were the largest contributor to drug trend last year”

Diabetes treatments are now the leading driver of prescription drug spending growth, displacing lipid-lowering drugs which fell precipitously after a decade of reigning in the top position, as generic drugs cut ... via Med Ad News

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“This is the first study to suggest a dose-response effect of lipophilic statins on cancer occurrence”

High-doses of cholesterol-lowering statins that are "lipophilic" -- meaning they are soluble in fats -- may offer protection against cancer, according to a new study that found a significant reduction in the ... via Reuters

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“We need additional drugs to add to this regimen to improve the cure rate”

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a new use for an old drug. via Biology News Net

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Thanks to a tidal wave of brand-name drugs losing patent protection - among them popular medications such as cholesterol-reducing Zocor, antihypertensive Toprol-XL and antidepressant Zoloft - more generics are ... via Deseret Morning News

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“It's all about politics, not advertising”

Pharmacy / Pharmacist During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight Subcommittee on Thursday, executives from Johnson & Johnson , Pfizer and a joint-venture between Merck and ... via MediLexicon

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“I saw a vigorous debate around the quality of that data”

Some of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies defended their TV advertisements Thursday from Democrats pushing for tougher marketing restrictions. via MLive.com

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Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield released a list today of the top 10 brand name prescriptions sold in upstate New York in 2007. via WHEC-TV Rochester

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“I think the FDA is beginning to understand that unless they set the bar high enough we may not fully understand how a drug works”

Doctors are waiting for new preventive heart medicines beyond popular statin therapies, but a tough regulatory climate and fierce debate over the effectiveness of some newer drugs has clouded the future of ... via Heart Info

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers will examine advertising campaigns for the cholesterol drugs Lipitor and Vytorin plus anemia drug Procrit at a hearing on Thursday, a U.S. House of Representatives committee said.

Officials from the drugmakers will testify at the hearing, according to a notice sent on Monday from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Pfizer makes Lipitor, and Johnson & Johnson sells Procrit. Vytorin is sold through a joint venture of Merck & Co Inc and Schering-Plough Corp. Read more

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“If anybody has a track record of turning things around, it is these people.”

Merck & Co. said Monday it is eliminating 1,200 U.S. sales jobs, a move that comes a week after federal regulators' surprise rejection of an experimental cholesterol drug heavily touted by the pharmaceutical ... via San Jose Mercury News

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