Reuters: Health News

New 'Obamacare' exchanges could miss enrollment deadline - GAO

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:07:27 GMT

(Reuters) - New health insurance exchanges being set up by the federal government in more than 30 states under President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul could miss an October 1 deadline for open enrollment, a government report said on Wednesday.

Exclusive - Forest keen to bid for Irish drugmaker Elan - sources

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:00:21 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forest Laboratories Inc, the specialty drugmaker that counts investor Carl Icahn as a major shareholder, is among a handful of companies interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp, two people familiar with the situation said.

U.S. doctor group votes to recognize obesity as a disease

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:10:05 GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In order to fight what it described as an "obesity epidemic," the American Medical Association voted on Tuesday to recognize obesity as a disease and recommended a number of measures to fight it.

Cervical cancer vaccines cut rates of HPV infections: U.S

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:06:09 GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. introduction of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in 2006 has reduced infections with the human papillomavirus or HPV - the sexually transmitted virus that causes the disease - by more than half among girls and young women, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.

Niche drugmaker ViroPharma attracts takeover interest: sources

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:52:30 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - ViroPharma Inc, a drug maker specializing in rare diseases, is attracting preliminary acquisition interest from several pharmaceutical companies, according to three people familiar with the matter.

New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:36:09 GMT

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan.

Hot flashes common even before menopause

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:02:05 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most women expect hot flashes as a part of the "change of life," but more than half start sweating before menopause has actually begun, according to a survey.

EU fines Lundbeck and others 146 million euros for blocking rival drugs

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:26:28 GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European antitrust regulators fined nine drugmakers, including Denmark's Lundbeck, a total of 146 million euros ($195 million) for blocking the supply of a cheaper anti-depressant to the market, the first EU sanction against such deals.

AstraZeneca, Bristol diabetes drug disappoints in key test

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:07:54 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb's diabetes drug Onglyza failed to reduce heart risks in a large clinical study, disappointing investors who had thought it might demonstrate an edge over rivals.

Analysis: Hospital investors sold on U.S. health reform despite bumps

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:44:50 GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. hospital operators have been on a tear this year, on average posting triple the gains of the broader stock market, as investors tallied up the benefits of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform.

Outbreak of deadly piglet virus spreads to 13 U.S. states

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:35:56 GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A swine virus deadly to young pigs, one never before seen in North America, is spreading rapidly across the United States and proving harder to control than previously believed.

Call for overhaul of drug industry business model

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:03:40 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies need to boost the benefits of drug research by working with regulators and healthcare providers to overhaul the way medicines are approved and paid for, a thinktank backed by investors says.

Enroll America sets private outreach for Obamacare sign-up

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:07:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enroll America, a nonprofit group at the center of the political fight over President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, launched a multi-state grassroots campaign on Tuesday to help sign up millions of uninsured Americans for health coverage in the coming months.

FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:06:58 GMT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cases of two individuals who died after injections with Eli Lilly and Co.'s long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, Zyprexa Relprevv.

Past care tied to later treatment's success

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:46:36 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If a person doesn't have much success with one pain treatment, they may say the next one they try doesn't work so great either, suggests a new study from Germany.

New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:38:53 GMT

U.S. court finds Novo Nordisk Prandin diabetes drug patent invalid

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:25:40 GMT

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court found the patent on Novo Nordisk's Prandin diabetes drug in combination with metformin to be invalid, paving the way for introduction of a generic version of the medicine, the Danish drugmaker said on Tuesday.

Obamacare-like groups tied to lower costs: study

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:23:28 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Large independent doctor practices that focus on primary care tend to spend less money and are more likely to meet guidelines for Americans on Medicare than smaller groups, according to a new study.

MRI may help find infection from tainted injection

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:14:06 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some people who received potentially contaminated steroid injections may benefit from a MRI to check for signs of infection, a new study suggests - even if they don't have obvious symptoms.

Industry-backed studies more prominent at meetings

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:11:24 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Studies that are funded by pharmaceutical companies or involve industry-backed scientists tend to be more prominent at cancer meetings than independent studies, a new report suggests.

FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:01:51 GMT

(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cases of two individuals who died after injections with Eli Lilly and Co's long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, Zyprexa Relprevv.

AstraZeneca turnaround is 3-4 year journey, says CEO

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:50:35 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Turning around drugmaker AstraZeneca will be a long haul, with a strategy of revamping research and boosting acquisitions set to take up to four years to pay off, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

GSK negotiating $1 billion sale of thrombosis drugs to Aspen

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:03:24 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is discussing the sale of its thrombosis drug brands Arixtra and Fraxiparine, along with a related French factory, to Aspen Pharmacare in a deal that could be worth some $1 billion.

WHO urges tougher food marketing rules to curb childhood obesity

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:29:12 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The marketing of unhealthy foods to children has proven "disastrously effective", driving obesity by using cheap social media channels to promote fat-, salt- and sugar-laden foods, the World Health Organisation's Europe office said on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca picks site for new global home in Cambridge

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:38:19 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has chosen a science park on the southern outskirts of Cambridge, England, next to the world-renowned Addenbrooke's Hospital, for its new $500 million global headquarters and research center.