Current Events

Every night, a slew of TV commercials hammer home the benefits of drugs that treat autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis — and tack on a reminder about the risks they carry.

More than most, Tom Leith knows the possible perils. 

Over the last 20 years, he has been on three of the drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis: Enbrel, Orencia and Rituxan.

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As the Food and Drug Administration grapples with rising pressure to approve new medicines more quickly, a new analysis finds the agency disagreed with its expert advisory panels about one-fifth of the time. And the disagreements were more likely to occur over safety issues than over approving new products or additional uses for existing products.

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The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing a criminal probe into whether Johnson & Johnson lied about potential cancer risks of its talcum powder and has convened a grand jury in Washington, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

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About 34% of medical malpractice claims over a 10-year period that resulted in permanent injury or death to a patient were caused by diagnostic errors, according to a new study.

The findings, published Thursday and conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, highlight the serious injuries that may result from diagnostic errors, among of the most common mistakes in medicine.

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A juror who was part of a panel that delivered an $80 million award against Bayer AG after finding that its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused a man’s cancer has urged the presiding judge to uphold the decision.

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Boeing said on Wednesday that it would allocate $100 million to help the families and communities affected by the recent crashes of two of its 737 Max jets.

The move was among the most overt acknowledgments of Boeing’s responsibility in the crashes, which were caused in part by a malfunctioning anti-stall system on the new jets. It will also add to Boeing’s mounting costs, as the company faces lawsuits from victims’ families, investigations by federal authorities and calls for compensation from airlines.

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Users hail kratom — which is sold at gas stations, smoke shops and online —as a miracle cure for pain, fatigue, anxiety and even opioid addiction.

But many doctors say kratom (pronounced KRAY-tum or KRAH-tum) is dangerous because it works like an opioid, can make users high and can also be habit-forming. Plus, experts say, there's no real scientific proof it can cure anything.

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Pfizer Inc’s Wyeth unit must face a class action alleging that the drugmaker misled California women by downplaying risks including breast cancer associated with its hormone-replacement therapy products, a federal judge has ruled.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday that certain insulin pumps of Medtronic Plc were being recalled due to a potential risk of them being hacked.

The drug regulator said it was not aware of any confirmed reports of patient harm related to the potential cybersecurity risks.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday published millions of previously undisclosed reports of problems and post-surgical complications involving medical devices, including reports on implantable cardiac defibrillators, pacemaker electrodes and dental implants.

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A U.S. group that reviews the value of medicines issued a critical report on Novartis’s new multiple sclerosis drug Mayzent, calling its $88,561 list price “far out of line” compared with its benefits for patients.

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