Latest Medication News

Alzheimer's drug gets FDA panel's backing, setting the stage for broader use

Jun. 10, 2023 01:43 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health advisers on Friday unanimously backed the full approval of a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug, a key step toward opening insurance coverage to U.S. seniors with early stages of the brain-robbing disease. The drug, Leqembi, received conditional approval...

New Mexico reaches $500M settlement with Walgreens in opioid case

Jun. 09, 2023 19:55 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has settled with Walgreens for $500 million over the pharmacy chain’s role in distributing highly addictive prescription painkillers. The agreement was signed in March, and state officials confirmed that a confidentiality provision on the...

Lifesaving fentanyl test strips still illegal in some states under '70s-era war on drugs law

Jun. 08, 2023 12:08 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At Cleveland's Urban Kutz Barbershop, customers can flip through magazines as they wait, or help themselves to drug screening tests left out in a box on a table with a somber message: “Your drugs could contain fentanyl. Please take free test strips.” Owner...

Cancer centers say US chemotherapy shortage is leading to treatment complications

Jun. 07, 2023 17:48 PM EDT

A growing shortage of common cancer treatments is forcing doctors to switch medications and delaying some care, prominent U.S. cancer centers say. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network said Wednesday that nearly all the centers it surveyed late last month were dealing with...

Wisconsin Republicans block meningitis vaccine requirement for students

Jun. 07, 2023 16:29 PM EDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature on Wednesday voted to stop Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration from requiring seventh graders to be vaccinated against meningitis. The state Senate and Assembly, with all Republicans in support and...

Maryland board approves funds for abortion pill stockpile

Jun. 07, 2023 13:23 PM EDT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland board approved an emergency procurement of more than $1 million on Wednesday to pay for a stockpile of a widely used abortion pill due to uncertainty surrounding legal challenges against the drug's use. The Board of Public Works approved the funds...

Maker of anti-addiction drug Suboxone reaches $102.5 million settlement over antitrust claims

Jun. 02, 2023 16:05 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The company that makes the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone has agreed to pay $102.5 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia to settle claims that the company engaged in anticompetitive practices, it announced Friday. The agreement with...

FDA warns consumers not to use off-brand versions of Ozempic, Wegovy

Jun. 01, 2023 10:15 AM EDT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use off-brand versions of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy because they might not contain the same ingredients as the prescription products and may not be safe or effective. Agency officials said this...

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative wins Spain’s Princess of Asturias award

Jun. 01, 2023 06:23 AM EDT

MADRID (AP) — The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit that undertakes research and delivers treatment to millions of marginalized patients worldwide, has won Spain's Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. The Spanish foundation said...

Researchers link death in gene-editing study to a virus used to deliver the treatment, not CRISPR

May. 31, 2023 17:48 PM EDT

The lone volunteer in a gene-editing study targeting a rare form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy likely died after having a reaction to the virus that delivered the therapy in his body, researchers concluded in an early study. Terry Horgan, 27, of Montour Falls, New York, died last...