Every so often, a major scientific breakthrough profoundly alters the trajectory of scientific research. In the 1960s, microbiologists sparked the recombinant-DNA revolution with the discovery that bacteria have innate immune systems based on restriction enzymes. These enzymes bind and cut invading viral genomes at specific short sequences, and scientists rapidly repurposed them to cut and…
As a rheumatologist, you’re used to having goals. After all, you set your sights on becoming a physician, achieved the necessary educational degrees and passed required exams. After meeting your educational goals, you landed a job at an academic medical center or an established rheumatology practice, or you may have started your own practice. So…
PARIS (Reuters)—One person has been left brain dead and five others are in a serious condition after taking part in a clinical trial in western France of an experimental medicine from an unnamed drug company, the French health ministry said on Friday, Jan. 15. The ministry did not say what the medicine was intended to be used…
Rheumatologists practicing in rural and urban areas face different challenges. Robert Jackson, DO, discusses how technology, healthcare reform and hospital closures affect rheumatology practice in rural areas and its future…
(Reuters Health)—U.S. emergency rooms are increasingly running short on medications, including many that are needed for life-threatening conditions, a recent study documents. Since 2008, the number of shortages has risen by more than 400%, researchers found. Half of all emergency room shortages were for life-saving drugs, and for one in 10 there were no available…
(Reuters)—U.S. patent officials on Thursday denied petitions by Amgen to review two formulation patents on AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab), a potential setback in Amgen efforts to market a biosimilar version of the world’s top-selling prescription medicine. In June, Amgen, the world’s biggest biotechnology company, asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the review, arguing that…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Almost half of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients treated with etanercept achieve minimal disease activity after one year of treatment, according to new findings. Younger patients and those who did not require corticosteroid treatment were more likely to have an excellent response, Dr. Kimme Hyrich of the University of Manchester in the…
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—With a backlash brewing over the price of medicines in the U.S., drugmakers are pushing back with a new message: Most people don’t pay retail. Top executives from Eli Lilly and Co, Merck & Co and Biogen Inc. said in interviews with Reuters this week that the media focus on retail, or “list…
(Reuters)—Anthem Inc. could save $3 billion annually on drug costs from a re-pricing provision in its current contract with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co, the health insurer’s chief executive officer said Tuesday. Anthem said it is working to renegotiate the contract this year to avoid overpaying for pharmaceuticals based on current market conditions….
(Reuters)—Three large U.S. venture capital firms are betting that hospitals will buy into a new service designed to help healthcare providers treat their patients more like upscale hotels treat their customers. The new company, called Docent Health, is creating software and mobile applications that will help organize and monitor every aspect of an individual’s hospital…