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19 Sep 2010 10:22

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World: In Australia, lots and lots of drugs seized by police

  • $70 million worth of drugs seized – in Australian money source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2010 20:21

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U.S.: FDA panel: We’re OK if dangerous drug Avandia stays on the market

  • 20
    FDA panel members voted to allow Avandia’s sale; most wanted to restrict it
  • 12 members of the panel voted to take it off the market
  • one person abstained from the vote for some stupid reason source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Apr 2010 10:08

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Biz: Like big financial companies, Pfizer designated too big to fail

Pfizer marketed painkiller Bextra for use after surgeries, despite the FDA not approving it for that. But when push came to shove, the Feds didn’t go for the kill. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Mar 2010 09:50

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Culture: Does Corey Feldman think Corey Haim died of a drug overdose?

  • NO and Haim’s agent doesn’t
    think so, either source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Feb 2010 10:07

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Biz: U.S. to Glaxo: Uh, you should pull Avandia from the market

  • The drug has long been linked to heart attacks. The Senate Finance Committee released a report over the weekend containing internal FDA documents recommending it should be pulled from the market. Glaxo, though, is trying its hardest to avoid the pulling of the diabetes drug, and is in the midst of a blind test with another drug, Actos, to show how safe it is. That’s despite the use of a fear-of-God “black box” warning on the drug, and despite a study noting a 43 percent increase in heart trouble for Avendia users. The report suggests Glaxo knew the issues but kept the drug on the market anyway. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Sep 2009 08:24

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U.S., World: More on the HIV vaccine: What’s next and what’s possible?

  • Tests will have been done to verify that the difference is unlikely to have occurred by chance and I have no trouble believing the figures.
  • Dr. Adriano Boasso • An HIV expert at Imperial College London, on whether or not the findings mean something. According to Boasso and others, they mean a lot. While it’s possible the results come down to chance, the release of the full trial data will go a long way in confirming exactly how successful the drugs really were. The BBC has an informative Q&A which should answer some of the big questions on how it was done (a cocktail mix of a primer vaccine and a booster vaccine) and whether or not it’s ready for prime time (at 31.2%, no, but it’s a start). • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jul 2009 19:03

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U.S.: Baclofen: A miracle drug to cure alcoholism, or a joke?

  • I never understood how people could leave liquor in a glass. Now you could give me a sip of champagne and I could leave it. That was impossible in my wildest dreams. And it’s effortless.
  • French cardiologist and alcoholic Dr. Olivier Amiesen • On the effects he felt when taking baclofen, an anticraving medication. Some alcoholics are raving about the drug, saying they can now hang out in social drinking situations or even have a single drink without suffering from a relapse. Sounds too good to be true? Maybe. There is little scientific data to show it really works.  • source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Jun 2009 22:28

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Sports: Just when you thought ex-QB Ryan Leaf couldn’t fall any further …

  • Leaf was arrested on drug and burglary charges. You might remember Ryan Leaf as the guy who was drafted the same year as Peyton Manning and proceeded to tank in quick order. Or as the guy who worked at a small college as an assistant coach because his NFL career didn’t work out. Or even that guy who’s the trivia question. But now you can remember him as the guy arrested at the Canadian border on felony robbery and drug possession charges. If he keeps falling from grace, he might have whiplash. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 08:57

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Biz: An acquisition pays off in the form of a landmark cancer drug

  • $500 million The amount French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA paid for BiPar Sciences Inc. of San Francisco, which has just 18 employees
  • six weeks after the acquisition, a study came out showing that BiPar’s experimental drug helps immensely in fighting breast cancer source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2009 10:06

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U.S., World: Secretary of State Clinton: Blame us for Mexico’s drug violence

  • Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.
  • Secretary of State Hilary Clinton • Who admitted that the U.S. played a role in creating the volatile Mexican drug trade. By admitting the U.S. was largely to blame for the violence by both its usage and its weapons, she went much further than many other government officials have in the past. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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