Two manufacturers of eyedrops have recalled products over fears about contamination and sterility. The FDA issued recall notices last week for eyedrops made by Pharmedica and Apotex after the companies said they were voluntarily recalling the products. “Use of contaminated eye drops can result in the risk of eye infections that could result in blindness,” Pharmedica said about some of its Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops. The company urged consumers to stop using the drops and return them to the point of purchase. They are sold over the counter to treat eye irritation. The recall affects about 3,000 bottles of product made in Arizona. The FDA said there have been no reports of injury. Apotex is recalling some of its glaucoma drops distributed as Brimonidine Tartrate Ophthalmic Solution, 0.15% and sold from last April through February. The company said it found cracks in a few ...
A nationwide recall of organic frozen strawberry products is underway. The FDA is advising people who ate the products to get vaccinated against hepatitis A to prevent liver infection and symptoms like nausea and jaundice. The recalled products were sold at major retailers including Trader Joe’s, Costco, and ALDI, plus other regional retailers and suppliers. Five cases of hepatitis A in Washington state are linked to eating frozen strawberries, the FDA has warned. Two of the people were hospitalized. The illnesses started between Nov. 24, 2022, and Dec. 27, 2022, according to the CDC. The five people who were sickened all reported eating frozen strawberries and ranged in age from 38 to 61 years old. “Traceback and epidemiological investigations show that people with outbreak-associated cases in Washington purchased the same retail brand of frozen organic strawberries prior to becoming ill,” the CDC investigation report stated. The ...
Novartis, a global pharmaceutical company, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new heart failure drug, called Entresto XR. This approval expands the use of the company’s existing heart failure drug, Entresto, by making it available in an extended-release form. Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. It affects millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of hospitalization and death. Entresto XR is a once-daily tablet that combines two medications, sacubitril and valsartan, to reduce the strain on the heart and improve its ability to pump blood. The FDA’s approval of Entresto XR was based on the results of a clinical trial that involved over 5,000 patients with heart failure. The trial showed that Entresto XR was superior to the standard of care, enalapril, in ...
Bird flu outbreak forced Chile to suspend certification as free of avian influenza. Chilean authorities on Tuesday reported a new bird flu outbreak at an industrial facility in the Maule region in the southern part of the country. “This finding was made after a complaint made to the Maule SAG (agrigulture and livestock agency) about an increase in mortality on the farm of around 70 birds and another 60 that were symptomatic of the virus,” the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement. The statement said the birds, which were egg producers, in the industrial plant were sacrificed. The center had between 4,000 to 5,000 specimens. The first bird flu outbreak in an industrial setting was detected in mid-March, forcing the country to suspend its certification as a country free of highly pathogenic avian influenza for 30 days. CHILE CULLS WHOPPING 40,000 POULTRY AFTER DETECTING 1ST ...
March 20 (Reuters) – Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) expects to price its COVID-19 vaccine at around $130 per dose in the U.S. going forward as purchases move to the private sector from the government, the company’s president Stephen Hoge said in an interview on Monday. “There are different customers negotiating different prices right now, which is why it’s a little bit complicated,” Hoge said ahead of a Congressional hearing run by Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Moderna’s pricing plans. Moderna previously said it was considering pricing its COVID vaccine in a range of $110 to $130 per dose in the United States, similar to the range Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said in October it was considering for its rival COVID shots sold in partnership with BioNTech (22UAy.DE). Hoge said the government’s Medicare health plan for seniors pays $70 per dose for the seasonal influenza vaccine. That there were two to three times more hospitalizations and deaths ...
Sri Lanka has secured a $2.9bn (£2.3bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it faces its worst economic crisis since independence. The deal has been nearly a year in the making and a lifeline for the country that has billions of dollars in loans. Foreign minister Ali Sabry told the BBC the government will raise funds by restructuring state-owned enterprises and privatising the national airline. However, analysts warned Sri Lanka still faces a tough road ahead. The country’s economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices, populist tax cuts and inflation of more than 50%. A shortage of medicines, fuel and other essentials also helped to push the cost of living to record highs, triggering nationwide protests which overthrew the ruling government in 2022. As a result the country defaulted on its debts with international lenders last May for ...
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new blood test that can detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. The test looks for a specific protein called tau, which is known to be a key biomarker of Alzheimer’s. Currently, the most common way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease is through cognitive testing and brain imaging scans. However, these methods can be costly and invasive. Additionally, by the time symptoms appear, the disease has already caused significant damage to the brain. The new blood test offers a non-invasive and potentially more accessible way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease early on, when treatments may be more effective. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, involved analyzing blood samples from 158 individuals, including healthy adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers used a technique called mass spectrometry to measure levels ...
Recently, Hengrui Medicine’s ADC innovative drug SHR-A1811 for the treatment of HER2-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer who failed previous platinum-based chemotherapy was proposed to be included in the public list of breakthrough therapy varieties by the Center for Drug Evaluation of the National Medical Products Administration. The study was led by Professor Lu Shun from the Chest Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, and a total of 10 centers across the country participated. At the same time, the other two indications of SHR-A1811 have been included in the list of breakthrough therapy varieties by the Drug Evaluation Center of the State Drug Administration in February this year. The indications are: low expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Recurrent or metastatic breast cancer and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related death ...
This week, NICE rejected five major Covid-19 therapies due to high costs and uncertainties in clinical evidence. The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a draft guidance that does not recommend the use of five major Covid-19 therapies. This news came as many organisations and patient advocacy groups have been campaigning for the adoption of some of the rejected drugs for several months, amidst concerns about access to medicines in the UK. The therapies with a negative appraisal included three anti-Covid-19 antibodies; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ Ronapreve (casirivimab +imdevimab), GSK’s Xevudy (sotrovimab) and, AstraZeneca’s Evusheld (tixagevimab + cilgavimab). Between November 5 and November 12, a total of 20,588 people have reported testing positive for Covid-19 in England, according to government data. This number is likely an underestimation given the lack of testing amongst the population. Furthermore, in that same period, 3,407 patients were admitted to a hospital in the country for severe cases of Covid-19. ...
By John Pinching Lyophilized PCR reaction bead reduces the cost of transport and extends shelf life for the test. PBD Biotech has developed a lyophilized PCR reaction bead for its Actiphage blood test which identifies active tuberculosis (TB). The new function enables transportation without the need for a cold chain, which reduces the cost associated with shipment and also extends the shelf life for test components. TB treatment and testing must occur close to the point of infection and the update meets these criteria. Typically, products that contain enzymes are temperature-sensitive and require cold chain transport to ensure their functional integrity. Lyophilization, however, is a water removal system that can be used to extend the life of a product. PBD Biotech has also established PCR primers and probes that allow specific detection of DNA from mycobacteria TB isolated from a whole blood sample. By enabling early detection of TB disease ...
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