Melly Alazraki

    Melly Alazraki

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    By Melly Alazraki

    | 4:00 PM 9/1/2011
    As the world watches the uprising in the Arab world, another popular revolt is taking place in Israel. There, citizens are in an uproar over the same thing that raises the ire of many average Americans: the high cost of living. Israelis want affordable housing, food, gas, goods, and services. Or, as they put it, social justice. Could we take their actions as a model?

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 1:30 PM 8/25/2011
    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.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 4:00 PM 8/10/2011
    They call it the Great "Recession," but there's no question that these are depressing times. And doctors are writing scripts for antidepressants at an alarming rate -- especially given that many of these doctors aren't psychiatrists. What are the effects on patients who haven't been properly screened?

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 5:45 PM 8/5/2011
    One of Thursday's hardest-hit stocks was Dendreon, maker of the prostate cancer vaccine Provenge, which plunged 67% after reporting disappointing results. But, weirdly, Debdreon's disease seemed to infect the entire sector, dragging down companies with proven drugs. Are biotechs bargains right now?

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 2:15 PM 4/4/2011
    On Monday, Pfizer announced it would sell its Capsugel business to private-equity firm KKR for $2.375 billion. If the hints the drugmaker has been giving lately are true, the move could be the start of two years of major asset sales. Here's what's ahead for the world's biggest pharmaceutical company.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 12:30 PM 4/1/2011
    April Fools Day is the perfect time for people to play practical jokes and pranks on each other. But the holiday isn't just for individuals: Large companies have long had a tradition of using April 1 to pull humorous hoaxes on the public too. Here are a few favorites.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 7:30 AM 4/1/2011
    Pharmaceuticals are facing big patent cliff problems this year, but several biotechnology stocks have been doing quite well: Their biologic drugs command high prices, tend become blockbusters, and they are in far less danger from generic competition. Here are the big winners so far this year.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 3:20 PM 3/24/2011
    After years of trying to expand its online presence through organic growth, giant drug store chain Walgreen has decided to buy a bigger Web footprint, acquiring drugstore.com, the country's eighth-largest e-tailer -- and it's paying a premium price.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 5:00 PM 3/23/2011
    As the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues, some worry that radiation from the damaged reactors will reach U.S. shores. Dr. Edward Maher, president of the Health Physics Society, and an environmental science expert at Harvard, explains why we should breathe easy.

    By Melly Alazraki

    | 1:00 PM 3/21/2011
    We all know the psychological impacts of job loss and unemployment can be painful. But a new study reveals something that may surprise some victims of this recession: Having a bad job can be as harmful to your mental health as no job at all -- in fact, it can be even worse.