‘At a time when millions of children and adults are taking drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the most comprehensive scientific analysis of the drugs to date has found little evidence that they are safe, that one drug is more effective than another or that they help school performance.
The 27 drugs studied included Adderall, Concerta, […]
‘Merck & Co., ordered last month to pay $253 million to a Vioxx user’s widow, will argue in a second trial that opened Monday that other causes, not its painkiller, were responsible for the heart attack of an ex-Marine.
Jury selection began in Atlantic City, N.J., where Frederick Humeston claims in court papers that Merck ignored […]
‘China’s pharmaceutical industry witnessed good development momentum in the first half of 2005, with profits and sales concentrated in large enterprises.
Jiangsu Province in east China is leading the pharmaceutical industry with a profit of 2.947 billion yuan in the first half.
China’s Shandong Province registered 24.665 billion yuan (US$3 billion) in sales value in the period, […]
‘Pfizer Inc.’s inhaled insulin powder neared U.S. approval on Thursday after scientific advisers said it could substitute for some of the injections many diabetics need to control blood sugar.
Sales of the product, Exubera, could top $2 billion a year as many of the 18 million U.S. diabetics opt for a needle-free way to treat their […]
‘A study has shown that a single dose of VaxGen’s smallpox vaccine candidate LC16m8 provides mice with 100% protection from vaccinia, a relative of the smallpox virus.
The purpose of the study, published in the Journal of Virology, was to compare the efficacy of LC16m8 with that of its parent strain, the Lister strain of vaccinia, […]
‘The Endeavour drug-eluting coronary stent system, which incorporates components developed by Abbott, Medtronic, Biocompatibles, and ScinoPharm, has been approved for marketing in Europe for the use during heart operations for coronary artery disease.
Stents are used to keep arteries open during heart surgery. The Endeavour stent is known as a drug-eluting stent, which is coated with […]
‘GlaxoSmithKline’s Arixtra, a treatment of acute coronary syndromes, has been shown in a large study to be as effective as Sanofi-Aventis’ industry standard Lovenox, whilst demonstrating a significantly better safety profile.
This landmark head-to-head trial, evaluated more than 20,000 patients with ACS, and was presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.
Arixtra […]
‘Chiron rejects Novartis takeover offer
Chiron Corporation has decided to reject Novartis’ offer to purchase approximately 58% of shares in Chiron that it does not already own, dubbing the offer “inadequate”.
Novartis, which already has a 42% stake in Chiron, made the offer to purchase the remaining shares on September 1, 2005 for $40 per share, or […]
‘Long-running negotiations for a new agreement with pharmacists over competition reform and drug subsidies have reached “the sharp end”, says federal Health Minister Tony Abbott.
The federal government yesterday presented the Pharmacy Guild of Australia with a formal proposal for the five-year agreement.
The deal will cover pharmacist payments under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), regulations restricting […]
‘The highly regarded women’s health chief at the Food and Drug Administration resigned Wednesday in protest of her agency’s refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.
Assistant Commissioner Susan Wood charged that FDA’s leader overruled his own scientists’ determination that the morning-after pill could safely be sold without a prescription, and stunned his employees last […]