Archived News Headlines
We have been archiving all OBR daily news stories since March 2008. Use the box below to search our archives for specific articles and content.
Please note: we do not "host" news articles on our website. When a media source removes an article from their website the link becomes inactive, and you will only be able to see the date, title, first sentence and media source that published the article.
Opinion: Surer Footing for Medicare
(Washington Post) September 3, 2010 - Former health and human services secretary Michael Leavitt was incorrect in calling the Affordable Care Act's Medicare reforms an "illusion" ["The wrong prescription for Medicare," Washington Forum, Aug. 27].
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Novartis Malaria Drug May Yield First New Treatment in 30 Years
(Bloomberg) September 2, 2010 - An experimental Novartis AG medicine that killed drug-resistant malaria in laboratory studies may become the first new class of treatment against the disease in 30 years, researchers said.
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Special Report: Outgunned FDA Tries to Get Tough with Drug Ads
(Reuters) September 3, 2010 - In February 2009, a popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow "frazzled moms." They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a birth control device sold by Bayer Healthcare.The nurse was on Bayer's payroll.
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Ads for Sleep Aid, HIV Drug Among Those Warned by FDA
(Reuters) September 3, 2010 - The following are details of some recent FDA warnings sent to drugmakers over misleading or inappropriate advertising, along with the dates the letters were made public.
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Roche to Cut Costs, Review Business After Drug Setbacks
(Reuters) September 3, 2010 - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG will review its business and cut costs to cope with recent setbacks on key drugs and rising pressures on prices from healthcare reforms, it said on Friday.
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Abbott Abandons Plans to Sell Vaccines Business
(New York Times) September 3, 2010 - Drug and medical device firm Abbott Laboratories says it has abandoned plans to sell its vaccines unit, less than three months after exploring sales talks with rival companies.
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Orexigen, Takeda in Deal Worth $1 bln for Obesity Drug
(Reuters) September 2, 2010 - Orexigen Therapeutics Inc said it sold the North American marketing rights for its obesity drug to Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd for an upfront payment of $50 million and milestone payments of more than $1 billion.
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Abbott Weight-Loss Drug Meridia Raises Heart Attack, Stroke Risk in Study
(Bloomberg) September 1, 2010 - Abbott Laboratories’ weight-loss pill Meridia increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people with heart disease, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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New Automated Diagnostic Test Can Identify TB Infections in 2 Hours
(Los Angeles Times) September 1, 2010 - A new automated test to detect tuberculosis infections and the presence of an antibiotic-resistant TB strain can shave days to weeks off the time it takes to identify new infections, allowing treatment to be started immediately to prevent further spread of the bacterium.
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The Ugly Truth Behind America’s Objection To Health Care Reform
(Forbes Blog) September 1, 2010 - As we head into the November elections, much is being made of the failing support for health care reform. According to the most recent Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll , only 43% of those surveyed support the new legislation while 45% give the legislation an unfavorable review.
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Growth Slows in Health Spending
(USA Today) September 2, 2010 - Health care spending this year has grown at its slowest rate in a half-century, a sign that people are forgoing medical care during the recession, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.
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US Workers See Higher Health Costs, Less Care
(Reuters) September 2, 2010 - U.S. companies are cutting healthcare costs further amid a continuing sour economy, scaling back benefits and shifting a greater share of the expense to employees.
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U.S. Appeals Order Blocking Stem Cell Research
(Los Angeles Times) August 31, 2010 - The Obama administration on Tuesday asked a federal judge to lift a restraining order that it says could undercut U.S. government funded embryonic stem cell research.
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More 'Empowered' Patients Question Doctors' Orders
(USA Today) September 1, 2010 - In the past, most patients placed their entire trust in the hands of their physician. Your doc said you needed a certain medical test, you got it. Not so much anymore.
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Appeals Court Backs Eli Lilly Injunction Blocking Generic Evista
(DowJones/Morningstar) September 1, 2010 - A federal appeals court on Wednesday affirmed an injunction blocking generic versions of Eli Lilly & Co.'s osteoporosis drug Evista.
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U.S. to Aggressively Pursue Drug Misbranding Cases
(Reuters) September 1, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Justice will continue to "aggressively pursue" pharmaceutical companies that illegally market drugs for uses that have not been approved by health regulators, a top agency official said on Wednesday.
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Pfizer, Bayer Studies Show Clot Drugs Are as Safe as Standard Treatment
(Bloomberg) August 31, 2010 – Pfizer Inc. and Bayer AG revealed study results today that may give their medicines a foothold in a $10-billion-a-year market to prevent clots that cause strokes and deadly lung damage.
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Even with Malpractice Insurance, Doctors Opt for Expensive, Defensive Medicine
(Washington Post) August 31, 2010 - Some months ago, the receptionist in my clinic handed me a registered letter.
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Cash-Poor Governments Ditching Public Hospitals
(Wall Street Journal) August 29, 2010 - Faced with mounting debt and looming costs from the new federal health-care law, many local governments are leaving the hospital business, shedding public facilities that can be the caregiver of last resort.
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White House Touts Medicare Rebates
(New York Times The Caucus Blog) August 30, 2010 - Stepping up a concerted, election-year effort to highlight aspects of the big health care law enacted earlier this year, the Obama administration on Monday announced that more than one million Medicare beneficiaries had received $250 rebate checks as part of the provision to close the gap in prescription drug coverage known as the doughnut hole.
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Glaxo, Valeant May Wait Three More Months for U.S. FDA to Review Epilepsy Drug
(Bloomberg) August 31, 2010 – GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International may have to wait an extra three months for a review of their experimental epilepsy medicine after U.S. regulators sought more time to study data.
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Docs' Beliefs Affect End-of-Life Care
(CNNHealth) August 26, 2010 - If you think your beliefs are the only ones that affect your health care, pay attention to this: A doctor's own religious practice can become quite relevant to patient care, especially when end-of-life issues come into play.
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U.S. FDA Gets Tougher with Certain Drug Trials
(Reuters) August 27, 2010 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on use of certain clinical trials that show a new drug is no worse than another already on the market, according to a government report released on Friday.
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Genzyme Rejects Sanofi's $18.5B Offer
(TheStreet) August 30, 2010 - Genzyme has rejected Sanofi-Aventis' $18.5 billion takeover offer, prompting Sanofi's chief executive to accuse Genzyme's management of "stonewalling" negotiations and having "unrealistic" expectations about the biotech company's value.
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Sanofi's Experimental Oral Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Reduces Relapses
(Bloomberg) August 30, 2010 – Sanofi-Aventis SA’s experimental oral medicine teriflunomide significantly reduced the relapse rate in multiple sclerosis patients, meeting the goal of a late- stage study.
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