FDA news stories on Newser

Worries Dog HIV-Blocking Little Blue Pill

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:10:20 CDT

A drug designed to block HIV infection comes with a little hitch: Used incorrectly, it could invite infection or create a resistant strain that renders the drug useless. The very FDA panel that recommended approval for the drug, Truvada, tangled with these dilemmas, the New York Times reports: What if...

FDA Panel Backs First Drug to Block HIV

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:28:57 CDT

A panel of federal health advisers has endorsed the first drug shown to prevent HIV infection in healthy people, clearing the way for a potentially landmark approval in the 30-year-old effort against the virus that causes AIDS. In a series of votes, the FDA advisory panel recommended approval of the...

Tainted 'Spicy Tuna' Linked to Salmonella

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:04:33 CDT

A yellowfin tuna product used to make dishes like sushi and sashimi sold at restaurants and grocery stores has been linked with an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened more than 100 people in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Moon Marine USA of Cupertino, Calif., also known as...

Ruling Might End Use of Antibiotics in Animal Feed

John Johnson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:16:37 CDT

A decision yesterday by a federal judge could mean that farmers have to stop mixing antibiotics into animal feed, reports the OnEarth blog. The judge ordered the FDA to warn drug-makers of the coming change and give them a chance to prove that the antibiotics are safe and won't raise...

Coke Modifies Coloring to Avoid Cancer Label

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:59:29 CST

Coca-Cola has begun switching to a new caramel coloring—it won't be a noticeable change—to avoid being forced to slap cancer warnings on its soda in California. The chemical that delivers the distinctive color includes a substance called 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI. In 2011, California decreed that certain levels of...

Feds Back Weight-Loss Pill Qnexa

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:01:13 CST

A federal panel's decision has brought us a step closer to the first FDA-approved prescription weight-loss drug in more than 10 years. Qnexa was earlier rejected by the FDA over possible safety risks, but the non-FDA panel found, by a vote of 20-2, that the drug's benefits outweigh such risks,...

In Case of 2 Cancer Drug Shortages, Relief

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:38:42 CST

Though the FDA cautions that "we're not out of the woods," it today announced that dangerous shortages of two cancer drugs are being addressed. Stores of the drugs in question—doxorubicin and methotrexate—became dangerously low after the company that made them closed its Ohio manufacturing facility over product safety...

FDA to Probe Inhalable Caffeine

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:21:00 CST

New York Sen. Charles Schumer isn't convinced inhalable caffeine is a good thing—at least not for kids, the AP reports. He has helped prod the FDA into investigating chapstick-sized caffeine inhalers called Aeroshots. The senator says his concern was prompted by incidents last year when students guzzled too many...

First Diet Drug in 13 Years? FDA to Start Review

John Johnson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:32:28 CST

If the FDA gives its blessing, a drug named Qnexa could become a very big deal. A preliminary review begins next week on the pill, which could become the first diet drug approved in 13 years, reports the New York Times . It's nowhere near a sure thing: Two years ago,...