Pharma and biotech on a roll as drug approvals hit 18-year high

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. drug approvals in 2014 hit their highest level in 18 years and recommendations in Europe also came at a rapid rate, driven by expensive new treatments for cancer and rare diseases. After suffering a wave of patent losses on blockbuster products, which peaked two years ago, drugmakers are recovering their ability to bring new medicines to market and productivity is improving. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research approved 41 novel medicines in 2014, 14 more than a year earlier, according to its website. …
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Ebola spreads in Sierra Leone as global cases top 20,000 – WHO

Man walks past a banner about Ebola in FreetownGENEVA (Reuters) – The Ebola virus is still spreading in West Africa, especially in Sierra Leone, and the number of known cases globally has now exceeded 20,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. The death toll from the outbreak, which has been mostly confined to West Africa, has risen to 7,905, the WHO said, following 317 fatalities recorded since it last issued figures on Dec. 24. The number of known cases, including fatalities, totalled 20,206 at year-end, it said. Sierra Leone accounted for 337 of 476 new laboratory-confirmed cases since Dec. 24. …

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