drug companies news stories on Newser

Canada OKs World's 1st Stem Cell Therapy

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:59:05 CDT

Canada has approved the world's first stem cell treatment for a systemic disease, Reuters reports. This week, the nation's health regulators allowed doctors to use the drug Prochymal for children with graft-versus host disease (GvHD), a sometimes deadly side-effect from bone marrow transplants. GvHd kills up to 80% of afflicted...

Doctors 'Hold Birth Control Hostage'

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:00:00 CDT

A doctor had Stephanie Mencimer "over a barrel," she writes in Mother Jones : "Come in for a pelvic exam, or I won't refill your birth control pills." Mencimer not only refused to take another Pap smear—and risk "the ensuing misery" of a false positive—science happened to agree with...

Dangerous Counterfeit Cancer Drug Found in US

Rob Quinn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:44:00 CST

A fake version of best-selling anti-cancer drug Avastin has been found in the US. Swiss drugmaker Roche has warned doctors and hospitals to be on the lookout for the counterfeit medication, which lacks the intravenous drug's active ingredient, the Wall Street Journal reports. Samples of the fake drug are still...

US to Big Pharma: Disclose What You Pay Docs

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:26:34 CST

Studies have found that when doctors accept payments from drug companies, it can influence their treatment decisions—so the Obama administration will soon require drug companies to disclose those payments. The New York Times reports that around 25% of doctors receive cash from drug companies for consulting, speaking engagements, and...

Scientists Debate Ending Chimp Research

Mark Russell — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 06:11:26 CDT

After years of using chimpanzees for scientific research—shooting them into space, testing hepatitis vaccines on them, using them for HIV studies—man's closest relative could be nearing retirement, reports the Washington Post . The European Union banned using chimps for scientific research last year, and now the Institute of Medicine...

Stung by a Scorpion? Mexico Will Save You

Mark Russell — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:42:31 CDT

With the United States having run out of scorpion anti-venom nearly 10 years ago, the FDA has just approved a Mexican-made treatment for scorpion stings, reports NPR . Although there are about 250 severe scorpion stings a year in the United States—mainly in the "Venom Belt" in the southwest—US...

Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler Replaced in Surprise Move

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:21:05 CST

Pfizer abruptly replaced its CEO and chairman yesterday, saying Jeffrey B. Kindler was retiring after 4.5 years leading the world's biggest drugmaker to "recharge." Analysts saw the unexpected departure as an ouster, however, coming amid repeated failures from Pfizer's labs to produce new, much-needed blockbuster drugs, multiple patent expirations...

Disgraced Doctors Land at Big Pharma

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:59:20 CDT

Pharmaceutical companies say they hire highly respected doctors as their white-coat sales force, peddling their drugs to other physicians. But a Pro Publica investigation has discovered that hundreds of these pitchmen have been accused of professional misconduct, been disciplined by state boards, or lacked credentials. Medical board records in the...

Drugmakers Hike Prices Ahead of Reform

Jane Yager — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:08:02 CST

Bracing for health care reform, drug companies have been raising prices at the fastest rate in almost 20 years—even as they pledge to support Washington's goal of cutting the nation's drug bill. The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to get the price base as high as possible before legislation to...