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| Glaxo heart drug that failed trial shows potential benefit Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:34 AM PDT  By Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new type of heart drug being developed by GlaxoSmithKline, which failed the main goal of a Phase III study of patients with chronic but well-treated heart disease, showed signs of potential benefit, the trial's co-leader said. "I'm convinced there is a signal here of efficacy and the drug is safe," said Dr. Harvey White, co-chair of the large, Glaxo-sponsored international study, who presented the findings. The real test of darapladib is likely to come from a second, late-stage study in far less stable patients who received the medicine within 30 days of a heart attack. Glaxo had previously said darapladib did no better than a placebo in decreasing the risk of a combination of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in the trial called Stability. Full Story | Top |
| GSK to invest in new factories and drug R&D in Africa Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:57 AM PDT  GlaxoSmithKline plans to make new investments in additional factories and drug research in Africa, its chief executive said on Sunday, as the pharmaceuticals group broadens its bet on promising emerging markets. Andrew Witty said the continent was important for the British company's long-term growth, adding that the investment would create jobs and build up healthcare capacity in a key region. "The transformation of Africa into a successful growth region is one area that we need to focus on," Witty wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. GSK, which already makes drugs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, is now looking at sites for additional facilities in countries including Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda, a company spokeswoman said. Full Story | Top |
| British experts say they have found London's lost Black Death graves Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:23 AM PDT By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Britain said on Sunday they had solved a 660-year-old mystery, citing DNA tests which they said proved they had found a lost burial site for tens of thousands of people killed in medieval London by the "Black Death" plague. The breakthrough follows the discovery last year of 13 skeletons wrapped in shrouds laid out in neat rows during excavations for London's new Crossrail rail line, Europe's biggest infrastructure project. Archaeologists, who say the find sheds new light on medieval England and its inhabitants, later found 12 more skeletons taking the total to 25. Limited records suggest up to 50,000 victims were buried in the cemetery in London's Farringdon district, one of two emergency burial sites. Full Story | Top |
| Kraft challenged by "healthier" macaroni and cheese brands Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:05 AM PDT  By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has been a favorite meal for generations of American children, but smaller brands made with more natural ingredients are starting to nibble at its market share, part of a trend that is biting into growth at large U.S. food companies. Zenobia Godschalk, an Atlanta mother of two young boys, stopped buying Kraft's "mac and cheese" after reading its complicated ingredient list. Now she buys Annie's organic version in bulk at Costco Wholesale Corp . "I'm fully aware that it is not a health food," said Godschalk, of Annie's macaroni and cheese product. Full Story | Top |
| Edwards heart valve system tops Medtronic version in small study Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:53 AM PDT The minimally invasive aortic heart valve replacement system from Edwards Lifesciences Corp performed better than a rival product sold by Medtronic Inc in the first head-to-head study of the two, according to data from a small German trial presented at a major heart meeting on Sunday. While the results are unlikely to be seen as decisive, given the size and limited scope of the study, they could provide the Edwards sales force with a valuable marketing tool as the two companies vie for market share with their competing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems. Both systems employ a catheter to thread the new valve through an artery into place in the heart, sparing patients too frail for open heart surgery from the invasive chest cracking procedure. The Edwards Sapien XT uses a balloon to expand the compressed valve once it is in position in the diseased valve, while the Medtronic CoreValve has a special self expanding valve using an alloy that reacts to body heat to open. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare hits milestone, but detours ahead for health law Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:34 AM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's embattled U.S. healthcare law, having survived a rollout marred by technology failures, reaches a milestone on Monday with the end of its first enrollment wave, and with the administration likely to come close to its goal of signing up 7 million people in private health insurance. But as the White House and its allies declare victory, major hurdles remain. And it will take years to determine whether the law will accomplish its mission of creating stable insurance markets that can help a significant number of America's nearly 50 million uninsured gain health coverage, experts say. Republicans are counting on that uncertainty to play into their strategy for the midterm congressional elections in November. Full Story | Top |
| Senegal shuts land border with Guinea to prevent Ebola spreading Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:24 AM PDT By Daniel Flynn and Saliou Samb DAKAR/CONAKRY (Reuters) - Senegal closed its land border with Guinea on Saturday to try to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, which Guinean authorities say is suspected of killing 70 people in the deadliest outbreak in seven years. The discovery of 11 people suspected to have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia in recent days has stirred concern that one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to man could spread in a poor corner of West Africa, where health systems are ill-equipped to cope. Senegal's Interior Ministry said in a statement it had closed the land border with Guinea in the southern region of Kolda and the southeastern region of Kedougou. Full Story | Top |
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