OxyContin’s Deception Costs Firm $634M

Two days after agreeing to pay states nearly $20 million for falsely marketing OxyContin, the drug’s maker, Perdue Pharma, and three current and former executives plead guilty to federal charges.
The Stamford, Conn.-based maker of the powerful painkiller, and three of its current and former executives, pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about OxyContin’s risk [...]

Lung disease linked to flavoring chemical (popcorn)

United States (UPI) — Politicians and health workers in the United States are pushing for a bill to ban the use of a food flavoring chemical that has been linked to lung disease.The Washington Post reported on a growing group of California food-flavoring workers who have been diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare and life-threatening [...]

The former US president Bill Clinton has unveiled an ambitious programme to provide generic versions of Aids drugs for patients in developing countries at greatly reduced prices.

The former US president Bill Clinton has unveiled an ambitious programme to provide generic versions of Aids drugs for patients in developing countries at greatly reduced prices.
The initiative is a challenge to many US-based manufacturers who have balked at relaxing patent protections and cutting prices for poorer countries.
Mr Clinton has also endorsed decisions by Brazil [...]

If Canadians could cut their salt intake by half, we could eliminate high blood pressure in one million Canadians, double the number of Canadians with adequately controlled hypertension, and save the health-care system $430 million a year.

If Canadians could cut their salt intake by half, we could eliminate high blood pressure in one million Canadians, double the number of Canadians with adequately controlled hypertension, and save the health-care system $430 million a year.
That’s according to a study by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Stroke Network, and published in [...]

Senate OKs bill overhauling nation’s drug safety system

WASHINGTON — The Senate today approved a major overhaul of the nation’s drug safety system, designed to fix the problems revealed by the withdrawal of the painkiller Vioxx and other recent lapses.
The bill would create a computerized system to scan medical and pharmacy records for indicators of trouble with new medications, and give the Food [...]