Pharmaceuticals

FDA approves $84,000 a treatment hepatitis C drug

By Associated Press Posted: December 7, 2013 – 9:30 am ET Tags: Associated Press (AP), Pharmaceuticals, Physicians, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)   U.S. health officials have approved a highly anticipated hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences that is expected to offer a faster, more palatable cure to millions of people infected with the liver-destroying virus. The Food and…

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Improved medication use could have saved $200 billion, IMS study shows

By Jaimy Lee Posted: June 19, 2013 – 8:00 am ET An estimated $200 billion could have been saved last year if patients and clinicians improved the way they use medications, according to a new study from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.Medication nonadherence, misuse of antibiotics and other so-called “avoidable costs” lead to millions of unnecessary…

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FDA panel favors easing safety limits on Avandia

By Associated Press Posted: June 6, 2013 – 5:00 pm ET Federal health experts are recommending changes to safety restrictions on former blockbuster diabetes pill Avandia, in light of a new analysis suggesting that the drug may not increase the risk of heart attack as much as previously thought. A majority on a Food and Drug…

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FDA: Morning-after pill to move over the counter

By Associated Press Posted: April 30, 2013 – 6:30 pm ET The government is moving the morning-after pill over the counter but only those 15 and older can buy it — an attempt to find middle ground just days before a court-imposed deadline to lift all age restrictions on the emergency contraceptive. Today, Plan B…

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Painful side effects

Painful side effects Drug-abuse problems evade paltry anti-fraud efforts in Medicare Part D  Modern Healthcare By Joe Carlson Posted: April 12, 2013 – 12:01 am ET Tags: Fraud, Legal, Medicare, Pharmaceuticals, Regular Feature   The abuse of prescription painkillers causes more fatalities than heroin and cocaine use combined—more than 40 deaths every day. Yet programs that could stop the types of…

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