Medicare :: House passes bill on Medicare drug prices
The U.S. House on Friday passed a bill to require the government to negotiate with drug manufacturers to obtain lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.
Pharmaceutical
Medicare :: Bush would veto Medicare drug price negotiation
US President Bush would veto legislation requiring the government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices under Medicare. The House is to debate and vote on the bill on friday.
Pharmaceutical :: FDA orders retesting for MDS lab clients
US FDA urges drugmakers and pharmaceutical companies to check their clinical studies data for certain drugs done for them by a unit of MDS Inc. to make sure the results were accurate. Inspections of two MDS Pharma Services sites in Canada raised questions about the validity and accuracy of studies conducted from 2000 to 2004 to measure drug levels in a patient’s blood.
Medicare :: Major variation in Medicare Rx drug costs
As Congress debates changes to the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, a new study finds tremendous variation in what seniors in different states pay for the same medications, even if they choose the lowest-cost Part D plans in their areas. The highest costs often occur in the lowest-income, lowest cost-of-living areas.
Medicare :: PhRMA Statement on New Families USA Report
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Senior Vice President Ken Johnson released the following statement on today?s Families USA report:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome :: New therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome to be tested at Stanford
A preliminary study suggests there may be hope in the offing for some sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome with a new therapy being tested by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Medicare :: US bill would require Medicare price negotiations
U.S. House of Representatives Democrats introduced legislation on Friday that would require the health secretary to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs covered by the Medicare insurance program for the elderly and disabled. A vote by the full House is expected on Jan_12.
Headaches form over a possible new form of aspirin
New scientific insights into the packaging of molecules in solids may tempt jokesters to add a second line to that old medical axiom, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” Insiders familiar with an unfolding controversy about aspirin — more than 100 billion tablets of which are produced worldwide each year — might quip, “Well, doctor, should I take Form I or Form II?”
Mad Cow Disease :: Cattle genetically engineered to avoid mad cow disease
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists evaluated cattle that have been genetically modified so they do not produce prions, and determined that there were no observable adverse effects on the animals’ health. These genetically engineered cattle would not get mad cow disease.
Diabetes :: Japan’s Otsuka to develop saxagliptin for type 2 diabetes
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced Otsuka has been granted exclusive rights in Japan to develop and commercialize the investigational compound saxagliptin, being studied for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Saxagliptin, discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor currently in Phase III development in the United States and Europe.