Business: Health Care Industry

FDA clears Eli Lilly's blood thinner Effient

AP - 1 hour, 54 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a highly anticipated blood thinner from Eli Lilly, though the drug must carry the agency's sternest warning because of its bleeding risks.

  • Senate votes to permit drug imports from Canada AP - Thu Jul 9, 9:11 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - People in the United States could get lower-cost drugs from Canada over the Internet under a plan that has passed the Senate.

  • Merck, Portola in $470M deal for anticlotting drug AP - Thu Jul 9, 4:11 PM ET

    TRENTON, N.J. - Merck & Co. and Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday they have signed an exclusive deal to develop and market an experimental drug to prevent strokes in people with a dangerous irregular heart rhythm.

  • The Wall Street sign is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange, March 26, 2009. REUTERS/Chip East
    Wall Street ekes out gain on banks, materials Reuters - Thu Jul 9, 4:45 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors bought beaten-down technology and commodity shares, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector.

  • Harvard Pilgrim Health Care President Charles Baker arrives at a news conference, in Wellesley, Mass., Wednesday, July 8, 2009, held to announce that he is resigning from his private-sector job to enter the 2010 campaign for Massachusetts governor. Baker and convenience store magnate Christy Mihos are seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    House Dems look at surtax on the wealthy AP - Wed Jul 8, 7:47 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - A plan to raise taxes on the wealthy is emerging as the leading option among House Democrats looking to finance health care legislation that President Barack Obama wants.

  • President Barack Obama attends a meeting with the Parallel Civil Society in Moscow, July 7, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young
    Republicans: U.S. healthcare timetable may slip Reuters - Wed Jul 8, 6:11 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Critics assailed the Obama administration on Wednesday for a deal with hospitals meant to cut costs, and a top Republican said the U.S. Senate may need more than a planned month to pass a bipartisan healthcare reform bill.

  • U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the National Economic School graduation in Moscow, July 7, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young
    Obama praises public insurance plan on healthcare Reuters - Tue Jul 7, 11:35 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday a government-run, public health insurance plan would be one of the best ways to bring down costs and "force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest."

  • West Pharmaceutical buys Plastef Investissements AP - Tue Jul 7, 10:48 AM ET

    LIONVILLE, Pa. - Medical products maker West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. said Tuesday it bought the drug delivery device assets of Plastef Investissements SA for an undisclosed amount, in a move to complement its safety needles.

  • HealthSouth accuses Scrushy of hiding assets AP - Fri Jul 3, 2:56 PM ET

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - HealthSouth Corp. is accusing fired chief executive Richard Scrushy of hiding money in offshore bank accounts and transferring assets out of his name to avoid paying court judgments.

  • Likely FDA Approval Gives Dendreon A Lift Investor's Business Daily - Thu Jul 2, 6:14 PM ET

    Excitement over its Provenge cancer drug continues to build at Dendreon, the Seattle-based biotech that has seen shares hover near their all-time high for the past month.

  • President Barack Obama hugs Debby Smith, 53, from Appalachia, Va., after she asks him about her health care during a town hall meeting at the Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va., Wednesday, July 1, 2009.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
    Emotion, few details, in Obama's health care pitch AP - Wed Jul 1, 9:33 PM ET

    ANNANDALE, Va. - President Barack Obama wanted to put a human face on his plans to overhaul health care, and a Virginia supporter did just that Wednesday. Fighting back tears, Debby Smith, 53, told Obama of her kidney cancer and her inability to obtain health insurance or hold a job.

  • CDC: Private health care coverage at 50-year-low AP - Wed Jul 1, 5:56 PM ET

    ATLANTA - The percentage of Americans with private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports.

  • Former HealthSouth executive gets prison time AP - Wed Jul 1, 5:17 PM ET

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A former HealthSouth Corp. finance chief has been ordered to spend three months in federal prison for his role in the $2.6 billion financial fraud that nearly wrecked the company.

  • U.S. group questions AstraZeneca's Crestor patent Reuters - Wed Jul 1, 12:16 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. patent research group says it has uncovered evidence that could be used to declare AstraZeneca Plc's patent for its cholesterol fighter Crestor invalid.

  • A bottle of Tylenol, which contains the ingredient acetaminophen, appears with its box wrapper, in Walpole, Mass., Tuesday, June 30, 2009. In a series of votes Tuesday, a Food and Drug Administration panel endorsed lowering the maximum dose of over-the-counter acetaminophen — the key ingredient in Tylenol, Excedrin and other medications. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    FDA panel: Lower maximum daily dose of Tylenol AP - Tue Jun 30, 10:51 PM ET

    ADELPHI, Md. - Government experts called for sweeping safety restrictions Tuesday on the most widely used painkiller, including reducing the maximum dose of Tylenol and eliminating prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet.

  • Pfizer discontinues Sutent colon cancer study AP - Tue Jun 30, 5:26 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Pfizer is discontinuing a late-stage study of its cancer drug Sutent (SOO-tent) as an initial treatment for colon cancer because the drug is not proving effective enough.

  • People walk past a Wal-Mart sign in Rogers, Arkansas June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
    Wal-Mart supports employer-mandated health coverage Reuters - Tue Jun 30, 4:48 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.

  • Senate health panel readies gov't insurance option AP - Tue Jun 30, 4:17 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Senators on a key committee are putting the finishing touches on a government health insurance option that they hope will win broad support among Democrats and the public.

  • Wal-Mart backs employer health insurance mandate AP - Tue Jun 30, 1:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Wal-Mart has embraced President Barack Obama's call for requiring all large employers to offer health insurance to their workers.

  • Teva, Antares get FDA OK for hormone in new device AP - Mon Jun 29, 4:11 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Antares Pharma Inc. said Monday the companies received Food and Drug Administration approval for use of the human growth hormone Tev-Tropin in a needle-free injection system.

  • Universal American rises following upgrade AP - Mon Jun 29, 12:46 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Shares of health insurance provider Universal American Corp. advanced Monday following an upgrade from a Goldman Sachs analyst, who said the company's stock price more than reflects the difficulties Universal American faces.

  • U.S. President Barack Obama speaks with Ghana's President John Atta Mills upon Obama's arrival in Accra, Ghana, July 10, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed (GHANA POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)
    White House open to new tax on health benefits AP - Sun Jun 28, 6:32 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Obama White House left open the possibility Sunday that the president would break a campaign promise and raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000 to support his health care overhaul agenda.

  • FDA panel backs Ista drug for eye allergies AP - Fri Jun 26, 3:59 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - A panel of federal experts said Friday an anti-itching drug from eye care company Ista Pharmaceuticals is safe and effective, according to a government spokeswoman.

  • Senator: Use of faulty insurance data 'pervasive' AP - Wed Jun 24, 7:42 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators said Wednesday two-thirds of the U.S. health insurance industry used a faulty database that overcharged patients for seeing doctors outside their insurance network, costing Americans billions of dollars in inflated medical bills.

  • Cigna announces retirement of CEO H. Edward Hanway AP - Wed Jun 24, 7:00 PM ET

    INDIANAPOLIS - Managed care company Cigna Corp. said Wednesday Chairman and CEO H. Edward Hanway will retire at the end of 2009, ending a nearly decade-long run leading the company.

  • Watson gets FDA approval for generic Plan B AP - Wed Jun 24, 6:06 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday it recieved Food and Drug Administration approval for a generic version of Duramed Pharmaceuticals' Plan B emergency contraceptive.

  • President Barack Obama gestures during his news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
    Analysis: Obama rebukes insurance critics, GOP AP - Tue Jun 23, 5:01 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Even for a Democratic president, Barack Obama's challenge to health insurance companies and free market principles Tuesday were unusually pointed.

  • U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in Washington June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
    Obama: Health reform needs public insurer option Reuters - Tue Jun 23, 6:01 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday his healthcare overhaul needed a public insurance option to enforce market "discipline", but stopped short of saying he would veto legislation without one.

  • President Barack Obama shakes hands with AARP Chief Executive Officer Barry Rand in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 22, 2009, during an announcement on lower drug costs. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
    Drug deal valid if Congress overhauls health care AP - Mon Jun 22, 6:12 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Hailed by President Barack Obama, a multi-billion-dollar promise by drug companies to narrow a Medicare drug coverage gap for seniors is valid only if Congress succeeds in passing a comprehensive health care bill encountering strong opposition from Republicans, an industry spokesman said Monday.

  • FILE - In this March 31, 2009 file photo, then-Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, left, stands with former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, center, and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, FILE)
    No health care? Expect a requirement to get it AP - Mon Jun 22, 7:17 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Don't have health insurance? Don't want to pay for it? Too bad.

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