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Abbott Laboratories’ said its experimental dissolvable heart stent has received approval in Europe, a key milestone in the development of the next-generation heart device for patients in the U.S. and around the world.
The North Chicago-based drug and medical device giant said it is the first-ever government regulatory approval of an absorbable stent. Get the full story »
The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it would decide whether a state law restricting commercial access to information about prescription drug records violated constitutional free-speech rights. Get the full story »
Chicago private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners this morning said it has purchased a subsidiary of developer of oral health products for an undisclosed sum.
Water Street said its purchase of OraPharma Inc. from New Jersey health and drug product giant Johnson & Johnson will “expand its group of companies specializing in life sciences, medical devices, distribution and health care services.” Get the full story »
The HB-Chip can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones . (AP Photo/PNAS Early Edition)
Includes updated information on the latest test format.
A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor’s office.
Boston scientists who invented the test and health care giant Johnson & Johnson will announce Monday that they are joining forces to bring it to market. Four big cancer centers also will start studies using the experimental test this year. Get the full story »
Abbott Laboratories was refused copyright protection on its AIDS drug Kaletra by India’s patent office, allowing Cipla Ltd. and other generic-drug companies to continue selling copies. Get the full story »
Abbott Laboratories and British drug giant AstraZeneca have decided to stop developing the drug Certriad, a pill that combines drugs already on the market.
Such combination pills are developed as a convenience to consumers by having several different drugs in one pill, but criticized by consumer groups, health plans and employers as a way for the drug makers to extend patents and continue charging high prices. Critics say the ingredients generally used in the pills have cheaper generic copies or similar less expensive rivals already on the market.
The Certiad product included a combination of a statin and a fenofibrate. There are already generic statins and fenofibrates on the market. Get the full story »
By Andrew Zajac
Abbott Laboratories Wednesday announced a recall of as many as 359 million glucose test strips used to monitor diabetics’ blood sugar because they may give falsely low readings.
The strips may not absorb enough blood quickly enough to give a proper reading, which can lead users to try to raise sugar levels unnecessarily, or to fail to treat elevated glucose levels, the company said in a statement. Get the full story »
Amid a tough economy, Walgreens first-quarter profits jumped nearly 19 percent in its first quarter thanks to intensifying cost controls such as slowing store expansions. The results, which beat analysts’ expectations, come even as the Deerfield-based drugstore giant’s sales at stores open at least a year grew less than one percent in the period ended Nov. 30. Get the full story »
Pfizer is recalling a lot of 19,000 bottles of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor, citing a consumer complaint about an “uncharacteristic” odor.
The latest announcement marks the fourth such recall since August over similar issues. Pfizer says the bottles were supplied by an outside manufacturer, though it did not identify the party. It also says health consequences appear to be minimal. Get the full story »
The incoming chairman of the U.S. congressional committee investigating Johnson & Johnson’s recalls of consumer products Friday identified the previously unnamed third-party manufacturer behind last week’s Rolaids recall.
Rep. Darrell Issa of California, in a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, said investigations by his staff revealed North Carolina-based Best Sweet as the company contracted by J&J to produce widely used Rolaids antacid products. Get the full story »
The European Medicines Agency said on Friday that current stocks of Baxter International’s peritoneal dialysis solutions should be replaced because of the possibility of contamination. The regulator was informed by Baxter of the potential presence of endotoxins in Dianeal, Extraneal and Nutrineal — three sterile solutions used in patients who have to undergo dialysis because of kidney failure. Get the full story »
The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on manufacturers of certain weight-loss, body-building and sexual-enhancement supplements that contain potentially dangerous ingredients.
The FDA said Wednesday that some manufacturers are deceptively labeling products to hide that they contain ingredients known to cause adverse health effects. Other supplements contain ingredients that should be available only by prescription. Get the full story »
Medical-sector companies are passing out thousands of iPad tablet computers to salespeople to spruce up their pitch to doctors, and at the same time giving Apple Inc. a crucial foot in the door to business customers.
Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. are among the drug and medical-device firms making the move, while others say they are testing out the devices. Get the full story »
