Month: May 2014

China has adjusted its policy on pricing cheaper drugs sold in the country, allowing drugmakers more leeway in deciding how much to charge for their treatments in the face of rising costs. Prices will be capped at 3 yuan ($0.48) per daily dosage for Western drugs, and 5 yuan for traditional Chinese medicine. Previously, China set individual price caps for over 2,000 drugs covered by national health insurance. \"Compared with high-priced drugs, the profitability of cheap medicine is low, which limits the (drugmakers') ability to absorb rising costs,\" the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.

By Mirwais Harooni and Jeremy Laurence AAB BAREEK/KABUL Afghanistan (Reuters) – For all the billions of dollars in foreign aid that have poured into Afghanistan over the past 12 years, Sajeda, her head-to-toe burqa covered in dust, sobs that the world has forgotten the poorest of the poor in the largely untroubled north of the country. A deadly landslide last week exposed the extreme poverty in the remote mountainous area and also highlighted one of the paradoxes of Western aid: the northern region which supported the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has got significantly less help than the south and east, home of the Taliban militants. Over the past decade, much of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding has been spent in the strongholds of the insurgents as part of Washington's strategy to win the \"hearts and minds\" of the local population. We are forgotten,\" said Sajeda, who lost 12 members of her family in the landslide that killed hundreds in northern Badakhshan province.

(Reuters) – Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp said it received a subpoena this week from the Department of Health and Human Services seeking information about the performance of some of its implanted defibrillators. The subpoena, received on May 5, requested information related to the 2008 launch of two brands of implanted cardioverter defibrillators made by Boston Scientific, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, treat arrhythmias by shocking a dangerously racing heartbeat back into a normal rhythm. Boston Scientific, which competes with Medtronic Inc and St. Jude Medical Inc in selling ICDs, said it is cooperating with the request.

Senator Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat, said he wants to make it harder for U.S. companies to move their headquarters abroad to lower their taxes for inversion deals that take place on or after May 8, 2014. Wyden said he wants to increase to 50 percent from 20 percent the amount of stock a foreign company must own in a U.S. company for an inversion deal to legally take place. \”I’m committed to making this happen and including changes in the inversion rules as part of a tax overhaul,\” Wyden said. Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Senator Carl Levin, a long-time advocate for closing corporate tax loopholes, said he is also talking with senators about potential legislation.

(Reuters) – The governors of Maryland and Delaware on Thursday sent a letter to Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Ian Read \"expressing deep concerns\" about the pharmaceutical company's bid to acquire London-based AstraZeneca Plc . The letter, from Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Delaware Governor Jack Markell, questions the impact of the deal on jobs in both states as well as Pfizer's open interest in relocating its corporate base to Britain to lower its federal taxes. AstraZeneca employs around 3,100 people in Maryland, and around 2,600 people in Delaware, according to the letter.

In my work teaching older adults, I listen to their issues, guide them in living healthier lives, and build their confidence to keep them moving strong. I feel I have an honored role. Together we sort out what matters most in their lives, and find solutions to help them live full, enriched, independent lives. In return, I receive their joy and wisdom.