Month: March 2013

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s health cost watchdog NICE will be responsible for assessing the full value of medicines under a value-based pricing system for new drugs due to take effect from 2014, the government said on Thursday. The move, which had been expected, will allow the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to build on its current drug evaluation processes by giving it broader scope to assess a medicine’s benefits and costs. Britain’s current drug pricing arrangements cap the return on investment that drugmakers can make. …

By Trevor Stokes NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Long-term constipation doesn’t raise risk for colon and rectal cancers according to a new analysis of the existing evidence. Past studies had suggested a possible connection, but researchers said those results may have been skewed by poor study designs. “Someone who’s got chronic constipation is unlikely to be associated with colon cancer now or in the future,” said study author Dr. Alexander Ford, senior lecturer at the St. James’s University Hospital’s Leeds Gastroenterology Institute in the UK. …

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – Tuberculosis rates in the United States reached an all-time low in 2012, with fewer than 10,000 cases reported even as the global threat of drug-resistant TB rises, but U.S. officials fear progress in beating back the disease could be fleeting. About a third of the world’s population is infected with the bacteria that cause TB, and nearly 4 percent of those newly infected globally are resistant to multiple drugs from the start. …

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it’s “in the best interests” of the children.

CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's most influential pediatrician's group says gays should be allowed to marry to help ensure the health and well-being of their children.

Academy of Pediatrics backs gay marriage; says kids raised in such families do just as well

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca's new chief executive announced another 2,300 job cuts in sales and administration on Thursday as he set out his stall for turning round the struggling drugmaker and returning it to growth. The latest cutbacks mean the group will shed around a tenth of its workforce, or 5,050 jobs, by 2016 as expiring drug patents shrink sales and it faces generic competition on several top-selling medicines. Pascal Soriot said he had no quick fix for the company and ruled out the idea of diversifying away from prescription drugs, as several rivals have done. …

In a trend that may make your eyes water just thinking about it, seasonal allergy experts are confirming that 2013 allergies are going to start sooner—and last longer—in most parts of the country.

Jen Larson says her weight loss made her aware of previously unknown issues she had to face.

CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's most influential pediatrician's group has endorsed gay marriage, saying a stable relationship between parents regardless of sexual orientation contributes to a child's health and well-being.