Bariatric surgery could halve the chance of severely obese teens developing premature heart disease or having a stroke, according to new research. The model presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018...

Improving early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease could significantly reduce healthcare costs in the United States, according to a new report from the Alzheimer’s Association. Up to $7.9 trillion could be saved in both health and long-term care expenditure in the United States if more...

The high cost of prescription medication remains a major concern for a significant proportion of Americans, with eight out ten respondents to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll describing prices as “unreasonable”. The results showed a rise in the proportion of the American public...

Obesity and diabetes are significantly more common in the United States than 20 years ago, according to recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). In 1997, under 20 percent of American adults over 20 years of age were classified as obese, a figure that rose to 31.4 percent...

Loud noise levels in American workplaces could be contributing to high cholesterol and high blood pressure levels among workers, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study. The analysis published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine examined the...

Treatment with emicizumab improves the health of patients with hemophilia A and inhibitors to Factor VIII, while simultaneously reducing the cost of treatment. These are the findings of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC), one of the Institute for Clinical and...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) as a treatment for certain adult patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Under the latest approval, the Seattle Genetics drug is indicated for use in combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for...

Annual per patient outpatient pharmacy costs at hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Discount Program are significantly higher than in non-340B hospitals, according to new analysis from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The analysis, prepared by Milliman and...

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced plans to improve patient access to Praluent (alirocumab) by offering a reduced net price to payers that commit to reducing access barriers for high-risk patients. The company will meet with US health plans to discuss price adjustments and will work...

A new treatment option is available for patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) HIV following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Trogarzo (ibalizumab-uiyk). The medication, developed by TaiMed Biologics USA Corp, is a new form of antiretroviral medication indicated for...

Universal vaccination against the flu could help slow the spread of the disease in the future, according to a recent study into the efficacy of flu vaccines. The clinical trial conducted by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) examined the efficacy of Fluarix Tetra (inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine...

Consumers have been warned about certain unapproved products claiming to prevent, treat or cure the flu. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged consumers to be wary of online pharmacies and other retailers claiming to sell flu cures not reviewed and approved by the...

Patients with health plans with value-based contracts for diabetes, high cholesterol, and HIV medication benefited from significantly cheaper co-pays than patients on other plans, according to new data from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). On average, these...

Last year was a record-breaking year for generic drug approvals in the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 1,027 generic drugs, 843 of which were full approvals, with tentative approvals making up the remainder. Tentative approvals are generic drugs considered ready...

Apace Packaging LLC has issued a nationwide voluntary recall of one lot of the antiviral medication acyclovir due to a product mix-up. Acyclovir is a widely used medication prescribed to treat several infections, notably infections caused by the herpes virus, such as genital herpes, cold sores,...

Asthma management among children has improved in recent years, with a smaller percentage of children hospitalized as a result of the condition, according to the latest Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Since the last study, the percentage of...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added a new warning to clarithromycin labels in light of a clinical trial which concluded the antibiotic increases the risk of death years later in patients with heart disease. Under the new recommendations, the drug should not be prescribed to patients...

Nasal influenza vaccines could be set to make a return for the 2018-19 flu season after a vaccine advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted to include FluMist in the immunization options for the coming year.  FluMist provides a route of administration for...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approval of Imfinzi (durvalumab) to provide a therapy to slow the progression of cancer in certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). AstraZeneca first gained accelerated FDA approval for Imfinzi in May 2017. Imfinzi is an...

A nationwide voluntary recall of the seizure medication divalproex sodium delayed-release tablets has been issued by the manufacturer Unichem Pharmaceuticals. The recall was issued earlier this month as a precautionary measure due to the possibility the product may be contaminated with traces of...