Pfizer Settles Protonix Patent Case for $2.15B
Pfizer says it has reached a $2.15 billion settlement with a couple of generic drugmakers over sales of their versions of the heartburn drug Protonix.
medicine
Americans' Rx Drug Spending Shows Rare Drop in 2012
Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health-care services.
Supreme Court Considers Patents on Human Genes
The question before the Court today is whether a company can claim human DNA as intellectual property. Billions of dollars and millions of lives could be at stake.
Flexible Spending Accounts: Use the Money Before You Lose It
Flexible spending accounts are a great way to save by using pretax money to cover medical expenses -- unless you leave money in them past Dec. 31 and lose it. Don't wait until next month to start thinking about how to drain your FSA: Follow this advice now.
Painless Tips on Shopping for Headache Medicine -- Savings Experiment
Experts compare name brand and generic headache medicine for value, effectiveness and savings.
Six Reasons Businesses Can't Live Without Gold
The majority of gold demand these days goes to jewelry and investors, but the precious metal is good for more than looking pretty and providing a hard asset: Industrial and technological uses for gold are growing.
Big Pharma Ads Flaunt FDA Rules
Officially, it's the FDA's job to ensure that pharmaceutical ads adhere to guidelines. But the agency's annual compliance budget is $9 million, while drug companies spend $58 billion a year on marketing. So it comes as no surprise that only 18% of ads are in compliance with the rules. But it's still disturbing: This is your health.
How Safe Are the Drugs in Your Medicine Cabinet?
Do you want your new prescription drugs to be made under last century's oversight? Like it or not, that's likely what you're getting -- or worse -- because increasingly, Americans' medicines are made overseas in place where the oversight isn't up to U.S. standards.
Why Free Clinics Are Turning Away Needy Patients
Free clinics and the uninsured are paying a heavy price for the nation's teetering recovery: More than half of the clinics are now time turning away eligible patients -- many for the first time -- according to an AmeriCares report published Wednesday.
Don't Let Medical Reimbursement Money Disappear
It's a guarantee in our health-care system: You may get better or you may not, but what you will get either way is paperwork: insurance claims, bills, receipts, and reams of forms that stand between you and the money you're owed. Recently, a new industry has sprung up to help you conquer the paper and recover your cash.
More Americans Turn to Acupuncture as Medical Costs Rise
A year after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, many Americans are still struggling to get their insurance to cover basic medical treatments. And now, they are increasingly exploring less expensive alternatives to traditional Western medicine -- like acupuncture.
FDA Approves First New Lupus Drug in Half a Century
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first new drug to treat lupus in 56 years. It's not terribly effective: It only worked for 35% of the patients tested. But experts say the approval could prompt the development of more effective drugs.
Pfizer Shrinks Its Drug Pipeline Amid R&D Cuts
In an update Tuesday, Pfizer said it is discontinuing 15 of the projects in its development pipeline. The news comes a month after the world's largest pharmaceutical company announced large research and development cuts were on the way.
New Cystic Fibrosis Drug Treats the Disease's Cause
Vertex Pharmaceutical shares soared 15% Wednesday as Wall Street cheered the results of a late-stage study of its new cystic fibrosis drug, an experimental treatment that targets the underlying cause of the disease rather than just its symptoms.
Senators Propose a New Law to Address Drug Shortages
Health care providers have been reporting unprecedented shortages of prescription drugs, including vital medications such as chemotherapies and antibiotics. Under current law, the FDA has no power to act, so two senators have introduced a bill to help government get a handle on the problem.
Health Insurers Post Healthy Profits but Remain Cautious on 2011
The recent pushback on health care reform appears to have boosted the stock prices of health insurance companies, which have outperformed major indexes by quite a margin so far this year. That's because Americans have been cutting back on doctor visits, keeping reimbursement costs low.
More Proof That Whistleblowing on Medicaid Fraud Works
Whistleblowing firm Ven-A-Care has recovered $2 billion for taxpayers by suing drug companies that overcharge the government and create windfalls for participating pharmacies. It also has made $380 million for itself. What's the problem with that?
Is 'Concierge Health Care' Worth the Money?
Short wait times for doctor visits and 24/7 access to physicians are some of the perks available through concierge health care. But such perks cost more -- sometimes a lot more. And these plans could create a two-tier health care system.
Can GE and J&J Help Detect Alzheimer's Earlier?
Medical imaging and diagnostics powerhouse GE Healthcare teams up with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to research methods of detecting Alzheimer's in patients -- even before they begin to exhibit symptoms of the devastating disease.
Johnson & Johnson Recalls More Children's Medicines
Just days after Johnson & Johnson's Children's Tylenol started returning to store shelves, the health care giant has recalled about four million packages of Children's Benadryl allergy tablets and some 800,000 bottles of Junior Strength Motrin, citing manufacturing problems.
Life Expectancy: The U.S. Falls Short, Despite High Spending
A new study from Columbia University finds that the reasons America is lagging other countries aren't the commonly cited obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities and homicide. Rather, the problem has been poor health care, or rather, a poor health care system.
World Drug Sales to Hit $880 Billion in 2011
Global pharmaceutical sales are expected to grow by 5% to 7% in 2011, thanks to robust growth in emerging markets, especially China, as well as new innovative treatments, and despite patent expirations and budget pressures in the developed world.
Judge Approves $600 Million Botox Settlement
A judge has finalized Allergan's $600 million settlement over the misleading marketing of its wrinkle-smoothing Botox medication. The pharmaceutical firm plead guilty to misbranding the product.
J&J Apologizes for Kids Medicine Issues, Phantom Recalls
In testimony before Congress Thursday, Johnson & Johnson's CEO apologized for the problems that have beset his company, including the quality issues with its children's medicines and the "phantom recall" of a batch of Motrin. He also said new batches of its children's medicines should start shipping next week.
Johnson & Johnson CEO to Apologize for Recalls
CEO William Weldon will apologize to Congress for a series of product recalls over the past year. The company is also expected to resume shipments of children's cold medication next week.