All About: Roche, Childhood brain tumors, AstraZeneca's drug, China-made heart drug

Even though the Swiss company has some of the pharmaceutical industry's most admired research and development labs, it is now battling to increase medicine sales as its biotech portfolio ages and rivalry intensifies.

Roche steps up efficiency drive to take sting out of biosimilars

Roche, the world's biggest producer of cancer drugs, is stepping up cost cuts in an efficiency drive made unavoidable by competition from cut-price copies of three mega-brands from its famed U.S. Genentech biotech stable. Even though the Swiss company has some of the pharmaceutical industry's most admired research and development labs, it is now battling to increase medicine sales as its biotech portfolio ages and rivalry intensifies.

Adult survivors of childhood brain tumors may struggle to live independently

Adults who had brain cancer as children may have a harder time living independently and having rich professional and personal lives than people who didn't have these tumors in childhood, a U.S. study suggests. The 306 childhood brain tumor survivors in the study were 26 years old on average and had typically been diagnosed with cancer about 18 years earlier. Overall, 40 percent had achieved levels of independence similar to what might be seen in 20-somethings without a history of cancer, managing things like a home of their own, a job, a driver's license, and a romantic relationship or marriage.

FDA approves AstraZeneca's drug for rare form of blood cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it approved AstraZeneca Plc's treatment for hairy cell leukemia, a slow-growing type of blood cancer. The treatment, marketed as Lumoxiti, was approved for treating a stubborn form of the disease or a relapse in patients who have received at least two prior therapies, the FDA https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm620448.htm said.

Maternal obesity linked to complications in newborns

Babies born to obese mothers are more likely to face complications as newborns, even if the mother doesn't have high blood pressure or diabetes, a new study suggests. Obesity may be as important (as) hypertension and diabetes as a modifiable risk factor to improve birth outcomes, the study authors wrote in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

France calls for measures after African swine fever found in Belgium

France called on Thursday for protective measures following reports that African swine fever had been detected in wild boars in Belgium near the French border. The disease, highly viral for pigs but not dangerous for humans, has been spreading in the European Union, mainly in the eastern part of the bloc where it has led to the culling of hundred thousand of animals.

EU investigating second impurity in China-made heart drug

Europe's drugs regulator is looking into another potentially cancer-causing substance in a common blood pressure and heart drug produced in China before 2012, widening an investigation that has so far focused on batches made after 2012. Blood pressure drug valsartan, produced by China's Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical, was this year found to contain traces of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen, due to a production change in 2012. The findings have prompted recalls in more than 50 countries.

India bans 328 combination drugs in setback for pharma companies

The Indian government has banned 328 combination drugs in a blow to both domestic and foreign pharmaceutical firms, but the ban has been cheered by health activists worried about growing antibiotic resistance due to the misuse of medicines. The Indian government had in 2016 banned about 350 such drugs, referred to as fixed-dose combinations (FDCs), but the industry mounted various legal challenges that prompted the Supreme Court to call for a review by an advisory board.

FDA proposed crackdown on flavored e-cigs puts Juul on notice

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes from Juul Labs and other companies as it grapples with an "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts, the agency's head said on Wednesday. In a speech at FDA headquarters, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency would also revisit a policy that extended the dates for some manufacturers of flavored e-cigarettes to get FDA approval before selling their products. That could lead to the removal of some major flavored e-cigarette brands, including the popular products made by Juul Labs Inc. if they do not address the issue to the agency's satisfaction.

Even with more U.S. dermatologists, rural patients may lack access

The number of dermatologists per capita in the U.S. has surged more than 20 percent since the mid-90s, but a new study suggests access to care may have improved more in cities than in rural areas. Nationwide between 1995 and 2013, the number of dermatologists rose 21 percent, from 3.02 for every 100,000 people in the population to 3.65 for every 100,000 residents, researchers report in JAMA Dermatology. Over that time, however, the chasm between urban and rural America widened.

Aid agencies ramp up response to Zimbabwe cholera outbreak

The World Health Organization and the Red Cross said on Thursday they were ramping up their emergency responses to Zimbabwe's deadliest cholera outbreak in a decade, with politicians trading blame over contaminated water and collapsing infrastructure. The death toll rose to 26 from the disease, testing the capacity of a new government to handle a major crisis just weeks after violent demonstrations that followed the first election since Robert Mugabe was toppled in a coup.