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| Japanese drugmakers open 'libraries' in $100 million health project Thursday, May 30, 2013 12:13 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Five top Japanese drug companies are to open their "libraries" of experimental compounds to scrutiny by scientists hunting new treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases affecting the world's poor. The initiative, announced on Thursday, is the first project under a new $100 million partnership between the drugmakers, the Japanese government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research into neglected tropical diseases. ... Full Story | Top |
| No science behind blood-type diets Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:39 AM PDT By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - They are a fad that refuses to fade, but no solid evidence exists to show whether or not eating plans tailored to ABO blood types promote health, say Belgian researchers who tried their best to find some. After sifting through the scientific literature, researchers identified just one indirectly related study - it looked at the effects of low-fat diets on cholesterol levels in people with different blood types - and even that one was weak, they concluded. ... Full Story | Top |
| Could shedding extra pounds improve psoriasis? Thursday, May 30, 2013 09:34 AM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Losing weight may ease psoriasis and improve quality of life for some overweight people with the chronic skin disease, new research from Denmark suggests. But the trial may have been too small to fully flesh out that link, and researchers said future studies will have to follow larger groups of patients for more time to make definitive conclusions. "The results, I would say, are promising," said Dr. Joel Gelfand, a dermatologist from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Weak mayor' system keeps Toronto ticking through crack controversy Thursday, May 30, 2013 08:50 AM PDT  By Julie Gordon TORONTO (Reuters) - Between the army of reporters camped at his door and an exodus of top aides, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has endured a tough two weeks since allegations surfaced that he was caught smoking crack cocaine on video, something he staunchly denies. For North America's fourth-largest city, however, it's been mostly business as usual thanks to a "weak mayor" political system that limits the executive's influence and puts more power in the hands of the city council. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK bets on chimp virus with $321 million vaccines buy Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is betting on a new vaccine technology based on chimpanzee viruses by acquiring Swiss-based Okairos for 250 million euros (321 million U.S. dollars) - the latest bolt-on biotech buy by a big drugmaker. Britain's largest pharmaceuticals group said on Wednesday that the privately owned company's know-how was expected to play an important role in GSK's development of vaccines to both prevent and treat diseases. Okairos was spun out from Merck & Co in 2007 and has laboratories in Rome and Naples, with headquarters in Basel. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says will back down over Bayer acne pill Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:52 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's health regulator said on Thursday it would comply with the European Commission if it ruled that Bayer acne pill Diane 35 and its generic versions were safe to use in some cases. However, it added it would keep sales of the treatment on hold until then. France is the only EU country where sales of the treatment were suspended earlier this year after four deaths over the past 25 years were linked to its use. Diane 35 reduces acne by regulating hormones and blocking ovulation, and is often prescribed as a contraceptive even though it is not approved for this use. ... Full Story | Top |
| Elan says has 'Plan B' if shareholders reject deals Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:36 AM PDT By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan will lay out an alternative strategy if shareholders reject a string of planned deals and thereby make a bid from a U.S.-based investment group more likely to succeed. Royalty Pharma last week increased its a hostile cash bid for Elan, conditional on the target's shareholders rejecting a series of planned transactions at a meeting due to be held on June 17. Elan, which rejected Royalty's offer, said on Thursday there were different opinions among shareholders on one of the deals struck earlier this month, with U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK melanoma drugs add to tally of U.S. drug approvals Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler and Bill Berkrot LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have approved two new GlaxoSmithKline drugs for treating advanced melanoma, in the latest sign that companies are having more success getting novel medicines to market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light to Tafinlar and Mekinist late on Wednesday, bringing the tally of new drugs approved by the U.S. agency so far this year to 13, compared with 11 at the same stage in 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thailand's CP Foods says considered bidding for Smithfield Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:01 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc, controlled by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, said on Thursday it had considered bidding for Smithfield Foods Inc. On Wednesday, China's privately-owned Shuanghui International agreed to buy Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion in cash to feed growing Chinese appetite for U.S. pork, in a deal that has already stirred concern from U.S. politicians. CP Foods declined to give more details due to a non-disclosure agreement. (Reporting by Denny Thomas and Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Ryan Woo) Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Behind China's U.S. pork deal, fears over feed additives Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:34 PM PDT  By P.J. Huffstutter and Lisa Baertlein CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Smithfield Foods Inc. quietly weaned the first of its pigs off the controversial feed additive ractopamine last year, it may have helped open the door for a Chinese counterpart to acquire the world's largest hog producer. Used for more than a decade in the U.S. livestock industry to help pigs quickly build lean muscle instead of fat, the additive had begun to ring alarm bells among some major meat importing countries around the globe. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge rejects legal challenges by accused Colorado theater gunman Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado judge rejected challenges on Wednesday to the state's insanity defense statute and death penalty law by accused movie theater spree gunman James Holmes, resolving a key legal hurdle in the sensational case. Lawyers for Holmes, accused of killing 12 moviegoers and wounding dozens more in a rampage last July, had argued that the state's insanity law was unconstitutional because it forces their client to cooperate with court-appointed psychiatrists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois judge resigns after charges of possessing heroin Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:53 PM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - An Illinois judge resigned on Wednesday, days after he was charged in federal court with possession of heroin and weeks after a fellow judge died of a cocaine overdose while the two were on a hunting trip. Michael Cook submitted his resignation as a St. Clair County Circuit Court judge and is now undergoing treatment for drug abuse, said his attorney, Thomas Keefe. Cook has been involved with two drug-related incidents in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wife of Philadelphia abortion doctor sentenced to prison Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:30 PM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The wife of a Philadelphia doctor convicted of murdering babies during late-term abortions was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 23 months in prison for helping her husband. Pearl Gosnell, 52, whose husband, Dr Kermit Gosnell, ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society clinic in Philadelphia, had pleaded guilty to performing an illegal abortion, being part of a corrupt organization and conspiracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Immigrants are net contributors to U.S. Medicare program : study Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:17 PM PDT By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Immigrants for years have paid far more into Medicare's coffers than they have pulled out, effectively subsidizing rising healthcare payments to the aging U.S. population, a study released on Wednesday showed. The analysis from Harvard Medical School showed immigrants generated a $13.8 billion surplus for the U.S. government healthcare program for the elderly in 2009, the most recent figures available. ... Full Story | Top |
| High doses of common painkillers increase heart attack risks Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:03 PM PDT By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Long-term high-dose use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac is "equally hazardous" in terms of heart attack risk as use of the drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn due to its potential dangers, researchers said on Thursday. Presenting the results of a large international study into a class of painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the researchers said high doses of them increase the risk of a major vascular event - a heart attack, stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease - by around a third. ... Full Story | Top |
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