Month: January 2014

Food fads such as the hunter-gatherer 'Paleo' plan or the 5:2 diet can deliver. … Resolutions to lose weight are often made in January yet almost as … According to the World Health Organisation, worldwide obesity – defined as …

(Reuters) – Health insurer Humana Inc said on Thursday that it projected its enrollment mix in private plans through the exchanges created by President Barack Obama’s healthcare law will be, “more adverse than previously expected.” Humana attributed the enrollment trend to regulatory changes allowing people to remain in previously existing plans not sold on the exchanges. Humana released its projections in a U.S. securities filing ahead of meetings next week with investors and analysts. Despite the negative projections about the exchange enrollment, Humana backed its 2014 earnings forecast of $7.25 to $7.75 per share. The company, one of the largest providers of Medicare plans for the elderly, expected higher membership gains in its Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug plans in 2014, following the enrollment period for Medicare.

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A small number of U.S. compounding pharmacies have begun registering with the Food and Drug Administration under new legislation designed to tighten control of the custom medication makers following a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to a pharmacy in Massachusetts. So far, 11 compounding pharmacies have taken up the option under the Drug Quality and Security Act of registering with the FDA, a move they hope will give them a marketing edge. The law signed in November aims to clarify the FDA’s authority to regulate compounding pharmacies after federal regulators were blamed for not acting soon enough to shut down the pharmacy at the center of the meningitis outbreak. Names of the registered facilities were posted on the FDA’s website on Thursday.

(Reuters) – West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for five counties on Thursday following a chemical spill along the Elk River in Charleston, the state’s capital and largest city, according to the governor’s office and local officials. Health officials are advising residents not to drink, bathe or cook in the water, and only use it for flushing and fire fighting. According to a warning to residents posted on the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department website, “conditions indicate there is a high probability that your water is contaminated,” although no testing has been done yet. Local media is reporting the chemical leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries in Charleston, which produces chemicals for mining, cement and steel industries.

By Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) – Years before he was accused of insider trading, former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma forged a Harvard transcript, falsified an email, and created a dummy forensic computing company to try to cover his tracks, according to a court document unsealed on Thursday. Martoma was eventually expelled from Harvard Law School over the incident, according to the document, which began with his forging a Harvard transcript to submit an application for a clerkship. The revelations, which date back to 1999, came as government and defense lawyers prepared to make their opening statements in Martoma's high-profile insider trading trial on Friday. Martoma's lawyers on Thursday lost a battle to keep the facts surrounding Martoma's expulsion from Harvard Law out of his insider trading trial.

(Reuters) – Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday that it received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting documents related to the marketing and sale of its cholesterol drug Juxtapid in the United States. Juxtapid was approved by U.S. health regulators in December 2012 to treat patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a rare genetic disease that impairs the function of the receptor responsible for removing LDL-C or “bad” cholesterol from the body. Chief Executive Mark Beer had received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November over statements that the regulator said misleadingly suggested Juxtapid was safe and effective in decreasing cardiovascular events and could be used as a standalone therapy. The FDA asked that the company respond with a plan to show it would not use promotional material containing the misleading statements and a strategy to adopt corrective measures in the marketing of the drug.