Posts Tagged ‘Vaccines’


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  • The Flu Vaccine is On its Way

    Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at 02:35 | Comments Off

    No, summer isn’t over yet. But preparations for the next flu season, which typically begins in October, have already started.

    The FDA said today it’s approved the formulation for the 2011-12 vaccine. As we reported last month, the new vaccine looks a lot like it did last year — it will protect against the type of influenza A virus that caused the H1N1/swine flu pandemic, another type of influenza A virus (H3N2) and a type of influenza B virus. But you ..read more

  • A.M. Vitals: Pfizer Looks to Extend Viagra Patent to 2019

    Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 22:49 | Comments Off

    Patent Defense: Pfizer goes to court this week to try to extend its exclusive rights to sell Viagra — which has U.S. sales of $1 billion per year — until 2019, the WSJ reports. Pfizer’s basic patent on the drug, which was first developed to treat heart-related issues, expires next year, but the company is suing Teva Pharmaceuticals to prevent it from selling a generic version. Pfizer argues that a second patent covers the drug’s use specifically ..read more

  • A.M. Vitals: FDA to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes as Tobacco Products

    Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 at 22:23 | Comments Off

    E-Cigarette Rules: The FDA will regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products — like regular cigarettes — rather than as drug devices, such as nicotine gum, Dow Jones Newswires reports. The FDA preferred the latter designation, which would have required the agency to review e-cigarettes before they could be sold, but said yesterday it won’t seek further review of a January court decision that classified the devices as tobacco products.

    Wider Use: The FDA expanded approval of Sanofi-Aventis’s meningitis ..read more

  • A.M. Vitals: Endo to Pay About $2.6 Billion for American Medical Systems

    Monday, April 11th, 2011 at 22:34 | Comments Off

    Endo Buys: Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings will pay about $2.6 billion in cash for American Medical Systems, which makes minimally invasive products to treat men’s and women’s pelvic health conditions, the WSJ reports. The purchase price includes the assumption of $312 million in debt.

    Time Out on Vaccine: Merck and Intercell AG said the independent data monitoring committee for a trial studying the companies’ experimental vaccine against the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria recommended study enrollment be halted, Bloomberg News reports. ..read more

  • Sanofi’s ActHIB Vaccine Recalled in Japan

    Saturday, March 12th, 2011 at 08:10 | Comments Off

    Early this week, we learned that Japanese health officials had temporarily suspended the use of two common childhood vaccines while authorities investigated the deaths of five children.

    Sanofi-Aventis SA, maker of the ActHIB vaccine caught up in the suspension, now says it’s recalling 200,000 doses distributed in Japan –  but not because of the investigation.

    Sanofi took action after finding that two syringes used to dispense the vaccine contained an undetermined “foreign matter,” a spokeswoman tells the Health Blog. The move ..read more

  • Scrutinized in Japan, Pfizer’s Prevnar Vaccine is Used Widely in U.S.

    Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 at 08:26 | Comments Off

    Prevnar, the Pfizer vaccine that is under investigation in Japan, is widely used in U.S. children to prevent infection by a bacterium that causes pneumonia and meningitis.

    Infants routinely receive the shot, starting at two months of age and ending at 15 months, with a fourth dose.

    The goal of immunization is to prevent infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. About one in 20 people who contract pneumonia because of infection by S. pneumoniae die, according to the CDC; the death rate is about three in ..read more

  • Air Travelers Warned About Possible Measles Exposure

    Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 04:21 | Comments Off

     

    Here’s the trajectory of a communicable disease in an era of jet travel: A woman infected with measles travels from the U.K. into Dulles Airport in Virginia on Feb. 20. Two days later she flies from Baltimore Washington International Airport to Denver, where she transfers to another flight to Albuquerque.

    Now, according to the CDC, local and state health departments are trying to find people she might have exposed to measles during her travels. The ..read more

  • Supreme Court Rules For Pfizer’s Wyeth Unit in Vaccine Case

    Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011 at 05:27 | Comments Off

    By law, vaccine manufacturers are protected from lawsuits over injuries caused by “unavoidable side effects.”

    And as the WSJ reports, the Supreme Court has just ruled that a Pennsylvania family’s claim against Pfizer’s Wyeth unit would fall under that umbrella, meaning that it has to be dealt with through the government’s vaccine court system rather than the regular civil courts.

    The Bruesewitz family wanted to sue over a seizure disorder they say Hannah Bruesewitz developed after receiving Wyeth’s now-defunct DPT vaccine, alleging ..read more

  • A.M. Vitals: Crucell’s Manufacturing Problems Resolved

    Saturday, February 12th, 2011 at 00:25 | Comments Off

    Also: One syphilis test has high false-positive rate; MannKind cuts workforce; ideal pain relief for labor?

    See the original post: A.M. Vitals: Crucell’s Manufacturing Problems Resolved

  • Most Primary-Care Docs Don’t Stock All Adult Vaccines

    Friday, February 11th, 2011 at 09:22 | Comments Off

    Only 27% of primary-care docs who treat adults surveyed said they had all adult vaccines on hand.

    View post: Most Primary-Care Docs Don’t Stock All Adult Vaccines

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