OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP says it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to physicians following widespread criticism of the ways that drug makers market addictive painkillers, Reuters reported. The drug maker is informing doctors that its sales representatives will no…
Researchers have found that temporarily increasing the dosage of inhaled steroids when asthma symptoms begin to worsen does not effectively prevent severe flare-ups and may be associated with slowing a child’s growth, challenging a common medical practice involving children with mild-to-moderate asthma.…
A first-in-class medication being developed to treat back-of-the-eye diseases achieved positive results in the pivotal phase 3 PEACHTREE trial, the developer has announced. Among patients with macular edema associated with noninfectious uveitis, 47% of those treated every 12 weeks with suprachoroidal…
African-American men lowered their high blood pressure to healthy levels when aided by a pharmacist and their barber, according to a study from the Smidt Heart Institute. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the American…
Seven public health and medical groups have filed a lawsuit challenging an FDA decision that they said would allow e-cigarettes to remain on the market for years without regulatory review, Reuters reports. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, argued the FDA in August improperly…
Urgent action must be taken to address the dramatic rise of cancer drug prices and to better align prices with value, according to a report released by the President's Cancer Panel. The panel's report, Promoting Value, Affordability, and Innovation in Cancer Drug Treatment, found that while some cancer…
More than nine in 10 physicians (92%) say that prior authorizations programs have a negative impact on patient clinical outcomes, according to a new physician survey released by the American Medical Association (AMA). The survey results further bolster a growing recognition across the entire health…
The Justice Department is seeking court permission to participate in settlement negotiations aimed at resolving lawsuits by state and local governments against opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to a Reuters report. The Justice Department said in a brief that it wanted to participate in…
A federal judge in New York on Monday ordered Martin Shkreli, the former drug company executive convicted of defrauding investors, to forfeit $7.36 million in assets, which could include a Picasso painting and a one-of-a-kind album by the Wu-Tang Clan. U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn…
The FDA has issued warning letters to all three duodenoscope manufacturers for failing to comply with requirements of federal law under which they were ordered to conduct postmarket surveillance studies to assess the effectiveness of reprocessing the devices. As part of an ongoing effort to prevent…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has laid out a bevy of initiatives that officials said would reduce drug prices for patients covered by the Medicare Part D prescription drug program—but they have made no decisions yet on an issue that has confounded lawmakers and patients alike,…
Roche’s immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) has racked up a third trial win in combination with other cancer drugs, a boost for the Swiss drug-maker as it seeks to muscle in on space dominated by Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb, according to a Reuters report. A late-stage study, called IMpower131,…
Generic antiplatelet drugs seem to work as well as a brand-name drug for heart patients, according to research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. When a Canadian health system switched from prescribing brand-name Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi)…
Women face several options when it comes to birth control, so potential side effects often factor into their decision. Depression is a common concern for many women, but a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center is putting patients at ease. It found there’s…
The FDA has permitted marketing of the Dexcom G6 (Dexcom, Inc.) integrated continuous glucose monitoring (iCGM) system for determining blood glucose levels in patients two years of age and older with diabetes. This is the first type of continuous glucose monitoring system permitted by the agency to…
