THE GLOBAL generic drug industry has witnessed an almost decade-long sales euphoria and volumes and sales growth of prescription generic drugs continued to increase in 2009.
In the 12 months ended September 2009, global prescription sales growth of generic drugs climbed by 7.7%, up from 3.6% in 2008, according to US-based health care information and consulting company IMS Health. This compares with the 5.7% growth seen within the overall global pharmaceutical universe last year, says Doug Long, vice-president, industry relations at IMS Health. Read the rest of this entry »
The FDA today approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 years through 25 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Teresa Heinz, a part-time Wood River Valley resident for more than 30 years, has announced that she is being treated for breast cancer, but has a 95 percent chance of recovery.
Heinz, 71, and her husband, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, own a house just north of Ketchum along the Big Wood River. Read the rest of this entry »
The results of a recent study suggest that people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are less likely to develop cancer and people with cancer are less likely to contract Alzheimer’s disease.
A group of 3,020 people aged 65 and older were selected. Of this group, 164 people already had Alzheimer’s disease and 522 people already had a cancer diagnosis. Researchers tracked the group for an average of five years to see whether they developed dementia and an average of eight years to see whether they developed cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
The initial data from a Phase III study using the Revlimid in multiple myeloma patients who had undergone stem cell transplant reported that the trial had met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in time to disease progression. Read the rest of this entry »
In patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH), bosentan plus best conventional care produced greater improvement in cardiovascular parameters than best conventional care alone. Read the rest of this entry »
“This novel proteasome inhibitor appears to improve response rates and
survival in patients with progressive multiple myeloma.” Read the rest of this entry »
Iressa (gefitinib) Improves Progression-free Survival over Standard Chemotherapy in Patients with NSCLC with EGFR Mutations. Read the rest of this entry »
A quiet coup is taking place in American medicine cabinets. Prescription bottles bearing catchy brand names like Zoloft and Flonase are being pushed aside by tongue-twisting generics like sertraline and fluticasone propionate. While the trend is already pinching the profits of big pharmaceutical companies, it is rare good medical news for American pocketbooks. Read the rest of this entry »
The over-the-counter medicines and supplies to have at the ready for minor emergencies.
People go to medicine cabinets to find relief. Medicines, on the other hand, go to medicine cabinets to die a slow and undignified death. There’s the penicillin from 1997, the eyedrops with the label worn off, the reddish goop that may have once been cough syrup. And amid all these sputtering bottles and vials, you can’t find one measly Band-Aid. Read the rest of this entry »
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