Health News
When it comes to deadly viruses, what's in a name?
LONDON - For a pathogen with such a short history, the mysterious new virus killing people in the Middle East and Europe has already had an amazing array of names.
U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for new antibiotics
LONDON - The U.S. government has signed an antibiotics development deal worth up to $200 million with GlaxoSmithKline to tackle the dual threats of drug resistance and bioterrorism.
Los Angeles voters OK move to curtail medical marijuana outlets
LOS ANGELES - Voters strongly supported a ballot measure to sharply curtail the number of medical marijuana dispensaries permitted to operate in Los Angeles while boosting taxes on the sale of pot for health reasons, election returns early on Wednesday showed.
Pfizer to spin off Zoetis stake to shareholders
- Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday it will spin off its majority stake in animal health business Zoetis Inc to shareholders by allowing them to swap Pfizer stock for Zoetis shares at a 7 percent discount.
China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion
GENEVA - The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday.
Swiss billionaires buy Merck Serono HQ for biotech campus
ZURICH - Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has bought back the Geneva headquarters of his former biotech firm Serono, hoping to establish a biotech research campus.
Immune system cancer drugs tipped to be a $35 billion market
LONDON - A new wave of medicines that tap the power of the immune system to fight cancer could become the biggest drug class in history, with potential sales of $35 billion a year.
Oncolytics cancer drug meets mid-stage trial goal, shares rise
- Oncolytics Biotech Inc said preliminary data from a mid-stage trial showed that its cancer drug, Reolysin, met the main goal of reducing the size of tumors in patients with metastatic melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Amag investigates anemia drug after report of death in Switzerland
- Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc said its marketing partner in Switzerland, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug, Rienso, because of a death and several cases of hypersensitivity.
Merck signs $5 billion share buyback agreement with Goldman Sachs
- Merck & Co Inc said it has entered into a $5 billion share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as the drug giant looks to prop up shareholder value in face of stiff competition from makers of less-costly generics.



