Know about Pfizer rare heart disease drug, why stroke survivors skip Obamacare medicines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc's antibiotic for complicated intra-abdominal infections, providing a new option to combat the growing problem of treatment-resistant bacteria.

FDA approves Tetraphase Pharma's antibiotic

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc's antibiotic for complicated intra-abdominal infections, providing a new option to combat the growing problem of treatment-resistant bacteria. The approval allows the use of the drug, Xerava, in patients aged 18 and older.

Pfizer rare heart disease drug reduces the risk of death by 30 percent in the study

Pfizer Inc said on Monday that its drug tafamidis reduced the risk of death for patients with a rare and fatal heart disease by around 30 percent, boosting the prospects of what could be a billion-dollar-a-year drug. The study showed that tafamidis reduced all-cause mortality over a 30-month period in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy to 29.5 percent, versus 42.9 percent in patients who received a placebo. It also reduced the rate of cardiovascular-related hospitalization by around 32 percent, Pfizer said.

Fewer middle-aged stroke survivors skip medicines under Obamacare

With increased access to insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, fewer middle-aged stroke survivors are skipping medications that they previously might have struggled to afford, a U.S. study suggests. Stroke survivors take an average of 11 medications a day, researchers note in JAMA Neurology. Half of the stroke survivors under age 65 spend at least 10 percent of their disposable income on health care, and these middle-aged people are more likely to be uninsured than older people who qualify for Medicare.

Novartis wins EU approval for blood cancer therapy Kymriah

Novartis has received European approval for Kymriah, its gene-modifying therapy for blood cancer, but said its introduction would vary from country to country as the Swiss drugmaker works out payment details and builds manufacturing capacity. The company aims initially to use the therapy in Europe for young people up to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and later for adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

U.S. FDA proposes restricting the compounding of three drug substances

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed excluding three substances from a list of ingredients that could be used to manufacture compounded medications in bulk for use by hospitals and doctors' offices. The action was the first time the regulator has moved to exclude any substance from a list of ingredients that may be used to produce in bulk compounded medications that do not need to go through the agency's safety approval process.

FDA declines to approve Akcea-Ionis genetic disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday declined to approve a drug from Akcea Therapeutics Inc and Ionis Pharmaceuticals that aims to treat a genetic disease which causes fat accumulation in the blood. An advisory committee to the health regulator voted 12-8 in favor of the drug in a meeting held in May.

South Korea tightens quarantine after African swine fever found in Chinese foods

South Korea's agriculture ministry said on Monday it has ramped up quarantine measures at airports after African swine fever (ASF) was detected in Chinese foods brought by a South Korean traveler //The ministry said in a statement the South Korean traveler brought in processed pork products from China and reported them to authorities; however, the possibility of spreading is low because the foods were heat-treated

Esperion's combo therapy lowers cholesterol level by 35 percent, shares surge

Esperion Therapeutics Inc said on Monday a combination of its drug, bempedoic acid, taken along with Merck's Zetia lowered cholesterol level by 35 percent in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares up as much as 11 percent. The 12-week study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the bempedoic acid-ezetimibe combination pill compared with bempedoic acid, ezetimibe or placebo in 382 high-risk patients.

Seniors healthier when medical care is coordinated

As America's population ages, experts are exploring how best to keep older people with multiple chronic illnesses healthy. A new study suggests that coordination between physicians may be key. In a reanalysis of 25 earlier studies including 12,579 patients, researchers found that coordination of care for older adults with multiple medical conditions resulted in improved health. Patients in the study had combinations of disorders such as heart failure and obstructive lung disease, arthritis and depression, diabetes and depression, or diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

China's Shandong bans live hogs, products from African swine fever areas

China's Shandong province said it has banned live hogs and related products from areas of high risk for African swine fever (ASF) from entering the province, in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly disease across the world's largest herd. The eastern province will strengthen inspection and quarantine on the slaughtering of hogs and step up checks on live hogs and products being transported within the region, Shandong's animal husbandry bureau said in a statement on its website on Sunday.