Study shows many women skip mammograms. Despite the uproar over mammography guideline changes, many women still skip screenings, according to a Medco Health Solutions study of utilization in more than 1.5 million women, reports MedPage Today.
Wikileaks-released cable shows Pfizer hired investigators to pressure Nigeria to drop lawsuit. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) hired investigators to dig up dirt on Nigeria’s then-attorney general early last year to pressure him to drop a $6 billion lawsuit over a 1996 drug experiment on ill children, according to a classified U.S. diplomatic cable, reports The Washington Post.
Scientists prod sperm-producing cells into making insulin. Researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center have been able to coax human cells that normally produce sperm to make insulin instead. After the cells were transplanted, they briefly cured mice with type 1 diabetes, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.
Sanofi extends deadline for Genzyme takeover. Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE:SNY) moved the deadline back for its tender offer to take over Genzyme (NSDQ:GENZ) to Jan. 21, reports Bloomberg.
Reimbursement rates not equal. Unequal access to healthcare is hardly a new phenomenon in the United States, but the country is moving toward rationing at an unprecedented pace. The underlying problem is that doctors are reimbursed at different rates, reports The New York Times.
Prodded by activists. The FDA is reviewing the evidence used to declare that the amount of mercury in dental amalgam is “not high enough to cause harm” to patients, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Pfizer ends Thelin studies. Pfizer has ended worldwide clinical trials of blood pressure medicine Thelin, pulling the drug off shelves in the European Union, Australia and Canada because the drug poses a serious liver damage risk.
Pittsburgh angel fund looks for more money. Pittsburgh Equity Partners, an angel fund formed four years ago to fund early stage companies in western Pennsylvania, has retained Trustmont Financial Group to help it raise as much as $50 million through a private offering, reports the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Healthcare reform law oops. Drug companies Genentech and Allergan are discontinuing orphan drug discounts for children’s hospitals, an unintended consequence of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to The New York Times.
Material from MedCity News was used in this report.
