Reuters - Health Report

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Friday, July 28, 2017

Amgen gets fast FDA review for adding heart benefits to cholesterol drug label

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted priority review to the company's request to add important heart safety data to the label of its expensive injectable cholesterol drug Repatha.

As drug prices drop, generics makers fight back with deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Generic drug makers are turning to M&A to shield themselves against a concerted effort by U.S. regulators to crack down on steep drug prices.

New Zealand ministry says cattle disease outbreak under control

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's first outbreak of a serious bacterial cattle disease was well under control, the Primary Industries ministry said on Friday, with stock movement restrictions in place and testing continuing.

U.S. House panel spotlights use of FDA rules to slow generic drugs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Thursday discussed ways to prevent drugmakers from using rules developed to safeguard patients to instead block the sale of cheaper medicines.

U.S. Senator expands opioid probe to distributors, drugmakers

(Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday expanded an investigation into the causes of the opioid crisis plaguing the country, seeking information from four more drugmakers and three drug distributors.

More than half of men with diabetes have erectile dysfunction

(Reuters Health) - Diabetes has long been considered the number one risk factor for erectile dysfunction, and a new analysis of past research finds the sexual disorder is extremely common among men with diabetes, afflicting some 53 percent.

Sleep may even help memory in very young babies

(Reuters Health) - Three-month-old infants have better recall when they get a brief nap after learning something new, according to small experiment that suggests sleep may play a role in solidifying memories very early in life.

Trans teens worse off on health measures than peers

(Reuters Health) - Teenagers who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming may be worse off on several health measures than their non-transgender classmates, suggests a new study from Minnesota.

Vaccine lessens severity of whooping cough infections

(Reuters Health) - Even though vaccinations don’t always prevent whooping cough, people have milder symptoms of the respiratory illness and lower odds of serious complications with the vaccine than without it, a U.S. study suggests.

Adult colorectal cancer risk tied to weight as a teen

(Reuters Health) - Being overweight or obese as a teenager may increase a person’s risk of developing colorectal cancer as an adult, suggests a large Israeli study.