Healthcare Industry News

Two academic officers who resigned in a scandal over a master's degree that West Virginia University wrongly awarded to the governor's daughter are moving down, but not out.

Provost Gerald Lang and business school Dean R. Stephen Sears resigned within days of a report last week condemning their decision to alter a transcript and retroactively grant a degree to Heather Bresch, the 38-year-old daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin.

Lang and Sears have the option of returning to teaching, and WVU spokeswoman Amy Neil said Tuesday that both have indicated they will do so after leaving their administrative posts June 30. Read more

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Regulators ended last week and started this one by rejecting two potential blockbuster cholesterol drugs, leaving three drug makers reeling and Wall Street wondering if tougher approval standards are here. via The Boston Globe

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“That doesn't sound like we're getting the best value from the investment we're making”

Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the ... via WSLS

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“We are disappointed in the results of this Phase II/III study, but we understood from the outset the significant challenges in developing treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus”

Genentech Inc and Biogen Idec Inc said on Tuesday a key study of Rituxan did not meet its main goal of a response in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly called lupus. via Earth Times

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who lost relatives to deadly reactions from the blood-thinner heparin are set to testify on Tuesday before U.S. lawmakers probing contamination of the drug made with raw ingredients imported from China.

The chief executives of heparin maker Baxter International Inc and its ingredient supplier also are scheduled to appear before a House of Representatives subcommittee.

Eighty-one deaths following allergic reactions have been reported to the FDA in patients treated with some brand of heparin since January 2007. An FDA probe found some batches sold by Baxter in the United States were contaminated with a chemical that mimicked heparin in conventional tests. Read more

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“On the other hand, with the diabetes drugs, I think there is indeed a possible fracture risk association”

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two studies provide new evidence of risks associated with drugs commonly used to treat diabetes and osteoporosis, researchers said on Monday.

In one study, U.S. researchers found women who took Merck & Co Inc's osteoporosis drug Fosamax, or alendronate sodium, were nearly twice as likely to have a type of abnormal heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

In another, Swiss researchers found the diabetes drugs Avandia, or rosiglitazone, from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Actos, or pioglitazone, from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd can more than double the risk of bone fractures. Read more

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“It's not so late that it doesn't matter”

Warner Bros. is launching two Web sites to capture new ad revenue and a younger generation of viewers, the company said Monday. via The Oregonian

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“They want the government to make the decisions, I want the families to make decisions”

Sen. John McCain on Monday rejected a "big government" takeover of the health care system, saying he wants to empower families to make more medical decisions. via CNN

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“We firmly believe that MK-0524A provides physicians with an important option to manage their patients' cholesterol.”

A Merck & Co. experimental drug has been rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the second time in four days. via The Jersey Journal

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“We don't want to lose one of our very important guns in terms of fighting infection”

Seven of nine confirmed cases of a new and potentially deadly bacteria have emerged in metro Detroit, and experts fear the drug-resistant germ may develop the ability to spread easily. via Detroit Free Press

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