In what will be seen by many as perfect timing, from Valentine's Day on men in Britain will be able to buy the impotence treatment Viagra over the counter for the first time.The chemist chain Alliance Boots says as part of a trial scheme three of it's Manchester pharmacies will sell the prescription-only medication from February 14th over the counter.The pilot programme will mean men aged between 30 and 65 suffering from erectile dysfunction will be able to buy four Viagra pills for 50 po...Sunday, 11-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved orlistat capsules as an over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss aid for overweight adults. Orlistat was initially approved in 1999 as a prescription drug to treat obesity, and remains a prescription drug for obesity at a higher dose than the OTC version. OTC orlistat will be manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline under the name Alli and is indicated ...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about topical anesthetics that have skin-numbing effects.Topical anesthetics are most commonly used for cosmetic procedures and to relieve burning and itching and they contain anesthetic drugs such as lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine, and prilocaine in a cream, ointment, or gel form.The FDA says such products can cause serious and life-threatening side effects such as irregular...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
Doctors have long wondered why, in some people, the immune system turns against parts of the body it is designed to protect, leading to autoimmune disease. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), in collaboration with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, have provided some new clues into one likely factor: the early development...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for maribavir for prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia and disease in the populations at-risk. The Orphan Drug Act was designed to provide incentives to companies to develop drugs that treat conditions affecting 200,000 or fewer patients annually in the U.S. and tha...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
The World Health Organization on Thursday cautioned the Thai government on its decision to allow the country to produce a lower-cost version of Abbott Laboratories' antiretroviral drug Kaletra by granting a compulsory license for the drug, the Bangkok Post reports (Treerutkuarkul, Bangkok Post, 2/2). Thailand's ...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
At least 37 packages of prescription drugs from Canada were seized by federal officials in South Florida, despite a federal government promise in October 2006 to stop confiscating drugs imported for personal use, the South Florida ...Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
The advocacy group Public Citizen has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanding that the sale of some of the newer birth control pills be banned.The group says some of them almost double the risk of life-threatening blood clots compared to older forms of birth control pills and should be taken off market.All contraceptive pills are known to carry some risk of blo...Tuesday, 6-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
Ranbaxy Laboratories announced today that the Company and GlaxoSmithKline have signed a new, multiyear R&D agreement that modifies and expands the terms of their strategic alliance established in 2003 to provide Ranbaxy expanded drug-development responsibilities and further financial opportunities. Under the original agreement, Ranbaxy conducted the optimization chemistry required to progress ...Tuesday, 6-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]
Many low-income Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the prescription drug benefit receive no help from patient assistance programs operated by pharmaceutical companies, according to advocacy groups, USA Today reports. Many pharmace...Tuesday, 6-Feb-2007 / [ Details... ]