Markey's proposal differs from legislation approved by a Senate committee on Wednesday that would give the FDA oversight only over compounding pharmacies that make sterile products and ship them across state lines.
WASHINGTON-- The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it approved a new blood test from Roche to help doctors diagnose diabetes. The FDA said Roche's test is the first to be approved to diagnose the disease.
SEATTLE-- Omeros Corp. said Thursday it will start two midstage clinical trials of its drug OMS824 later this year, giving its stock a boost. Omeros said Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration awarded OMS824 orphan drug status as a treatment for Huntington's.
*FDA panel says suvorexant safe, effective at lower doses. On Monday, the FDA's internal reviewers published a report expressing concern about suvorexant's potential to cause next-day sleepiness and impaired driving.
NEW YORK-- Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. edged higher on Wednesday on positive clinical trial data for an experimental asthma drug. THE SPARK: The New England Journal of Medicine's website on Tuesday published the results of a study of the asthma treatment dupilumab, which Regeneron is developing with French drugmaker Sanofi.
NEW YORK, May 22- Little known biotechnology company Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc has quietly built a large pipeline of experimental cancer treatments that it aims to deliver at a fraction of the cost spent by larger rivals. Medicare system contending with new cancer treatments that can exceed $100,000 per patient.
*Potential sales of $35 bln a year over next 10 years- Citigroup. That bullish sales forecast by analysts at U.S. bank Citigroup highlights the growing excitement surrounding so-called immunotherapy after positive results from clinical trials conducted by companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche Holding.
WESTON, Mass.-- Specialty drugmaker Biogen Idec said Tuesday it submitted a new injectable multiple sclerosis drug to the Food and Drug Administration for U.S. market approval. The company also plans to submit the drug to the European Medicines Agency in coming weeks. Shares of Biogen Idec Inc. rose $6.15, or 2.7 percent, to close Tuesday at $231.33.
MOORE, Okla.-- Officials say a tornado hit a small hospital in suburban Oklahoma City, but all the 30 patients inside survived. Moore Medical Center spokeswoman Kelly Wells says the hospital was "pretty much destroyed" after Monday's tornado.
The revenue hit faced by Cubist Pharmaceuticals from generic competition may not be as dramatic as it has been for other drugs, Cantor Fitzgerald said Tuesday, as it raised its rating on the drugmaker.
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has halted a late-stage study of an experimental cancer compound being tested in patients with a certain form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, because an interim analysis showed the drug wasn't helping patients live longer.
May 20- Merck& Co's experimental insomnia drug suvorexant appears generally effective, according to reviewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but they questioned the company's proposed dosing levels.
SANTA CLARA, Calif.-- Drug developer XenoPort said Friday that its treatment for restless leg syndrome, Horizant, will likely be available to U.S. patients in early June. Last month XenoPort Inc. said that there was a shortage of Horizant, with patients telling them that they were unable to fill prescriptions.
NEW YORK-- Shares of Oncothyreon Inc. fell Thursday after the drug developer announced new clinical trial data about an experimental lung cancer treatment that failed to improve overall survival rate. THE SPARK: Oncothyreon said that it identified some patients who appeared to live longer after treatment with Stimuvax.