Month: March 2013

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African cardinal on Monday apologized for offending victims of child abuse when he described pedophilia as an illness and not a crime in a media interview. Victims' rights groups and others said the comments by Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, comments were insensitive, especially given perceptions the Catholic Church has not done enough to root out abuse. …

(Reuters) – Staff reviewers for the Food and Drug Administration did not recommend the approval of Abbott Laboratories' implantable heart device MitraClip, citing a lack of "valid scientific evidence" of safety and effectiveness. FDA reviewers said in briefing documents, posted on the regulator's website on Monday, that approval of the device would not be appropriate at the time as major questions of safety, efficacy and overall benefit-risk profile remained unanswered. …

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca is to cut around 1,600 jobs as it overhauls research operations and consolidates drug development work in three major centers in Britain, the United States and Sweden. The move will see the end of drug development at AstraZeneca's Alderley Park facility in northwest England, for many years a hub of the group's research and development (R&D) efforts, the drugmaker said on Monday. New Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, who will present his detailed strategy plans for the group to investors on March 21, said the program would lead to $1. …

Now that some of the frenzy over Lance Armstrong’s recent admissions has died down, I thought it might be a good time for me to weigh in. You see, I hold the title of LIVESTRONG Global Envoy (really, it’s on their website and everything). As such, I am asked to use my paltry celebrity and limited influence to spread awareness of the LIVESTRONG Foundation’s programs. (LIVESTRONG is the foundation that Lance founded to help cancer patients and survivors, among others.)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating new unpublished research by a group of scientists that shows a possible link between a class of diabetes drugs known as incretin mimetics and an increased risk of developing pancreatitis or pre-cancerous cells. According to a statement released by the agency on Thursday, the FDA intends to look at the research and the pancreatic samples used by the scientists in their study in order to “further investigate” the questions raised by the team’s initial findings.

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Thirty years ago, when the world faced the terrifying prospect of an untreatable disease known as AIDS, big drugmakers scented an opportunity and raced to develop new medicines. Today, as the world confronts another crisis, this time one of antibiotic resistance, the industry is doing the opposite. It is cutting research in a field that offers little scope for making money. Antibiotics have become victims of their own success. Seen as cheap, routine treatments, they are overprescribed and taken haphazardly, creating "superbugs" they can no longer fight. …

By Kate Kelland and Stephanie Nebehay LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) – Deadly strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs are spreading around the world, and authorities urgently need another $1.6 billion a year to tackle them, global health officials said on Monday. Donors should step up with "significant funding" to help experts track down all existing cases and treat the most serious ones, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said in joint statement. …