Category Archives: Drugs

The focus needs to be on social and health programs, not criminal charges for users ... Liberal MP Mal Washer. Photo: Chris Lane DECRIMINALISING illegal drugs will be investigated by the peak independent policy adviser under a plan championed by a trio of federal MPs from different sides of Parliament, with the aim of taking politics out of the debate. In April, a report from the Australia21 think tank argued the ''war on drugs'' and tough stance on illegal substances had failed, sparking debate and increasing support for decriminalising personal use from a swathe of eminent figures, including former police commissioners, state premiers and health ministers. The Liberal MP Mal Washer, the Greens senator Richard Di Natale, both doctors, and the independent MP Rob Oakeshott will this morning call on the government to ask the Productivity Commission to investigate the adequacy of illegal drug laws. Advertisement: Story continues below ''The reason for the Productivity Commission is to take the politics out of it and base it on evidence - which is dispassionate and hard-nosed. I've lost count of how many MPs have told me privately we have to change the approach to drugs, but won't speak out,'' Senator Di Natale … Continue reading →

DECRIMINALISING drugs will be investigated by Australia's top independent policy adviser under a plan championed by a trio of federal MPs from different sides of Parliament, with the aim to take politics out of the debate. In April a report from the Australia21 think tank argued the ''war on drugs'' and tough stance on illegal substances had failed, sparking debate and gaining support for decriminalising personal use from eminent Australians, including former police commissioners and premiers. Liberal MP Mal Washer, Greens senator Richard Di Natale (who are both doctors) and independent Rob Oakeshott will this morning call on the government to ask the Productivity Commission to investigate the current adequacy of illegal drug laws. Advertisement: Story continues below ''The reason for the Productivity Commission is to take the politics out of it and base it on evidence - which is dispassionate and hard nosed,'' Senator Di Natale told The Age. ''I've lost count of how many MPs have told me privately we have to change the approach to drugs but won't speak out.'' It is unclear which MP would move a motion but Dr Washer said he would ideally like a government MP to do so to ensure the best … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Genitourinary Drugs: Technologies and Global Markets http://www.reportlinker.com/p0919336/Genitourinary-Drugs-Technologies-and-Global-Markets.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_and_Medication REPORT SCOPE INTRODUCTION STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the market for genitourinary drugs on a global basis. Its aim is to provide a range of information, from detailed product analyses within health and wellness subsegments to overall industry trends, in order to quantify and qualify the market for drug products to treat various genitourinary diseases in both men and women. Individual drug product-types are forecast on a global basis, as are overall disease segments. Forecasts and trends are developed from a cross-reference of data points, gleaned from proprietary industry sources, company publications, industry benchmarking, and other divergent data sources to arrive at a cogent and coordinated forecast. REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY For companies with an effective strategy, market opportunity awaits. Importantly, the ability to develop an effective strategy begins with where opportunity exists and ends with how to effectively execute the strategy to capture profit from opportunity. The genitourinary disease drug market presents a significant part of the overall pharmaceutical product market worldwide. This study investigates … Continue reading →

CHICAGO, June 25 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said intensive cholesterol therapy involving a combination of drugs for 20 years may be more effective than a single statin medication. Lead author Dr. Binh An P. Phan, a cardiologist at Loyola University Health System, said previous studies documented the short-term benefits of taking a combination of two or three cholesterol drugs aimed at aggressively lowering low-density lipoprotein, the "bad," cholesterol and raising high-density lipoprotein, the "good," cholesterol. The study is the first to show such benefits are maintained over a period of 20 years, Phan said. In the study, one group took the statin medication lovastatin, or Mevacor, plus the medication colestipol that binds to cholesterol. A second group took colestipol plus niacin. A third group took a placebo. Both groups of study participants had a similar age and fatty build-up in their blood vessels and after 20 years, the group taking the combination therapy had a "vascular age" 10.2 years younger than the group taking a single statin. Vascular age reflects how old an individual's blood vessels appear to be, based on risk factors and the amount of plaque buildup -- it can be higher or lower than an individual's chronological … Continue reading →

By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff More than 62,000 seniors and people with disabilities in Massachusetts have saved money on their prescription drugs since President Obamas health care overhaul law was enacted in 2010, according to a report to be released Monday by the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The report is the latest in the administrations push to trumpet the benefits of the controversial law before a Supreme Court ruling, expected this week, on whether the measure is constitutional. The agencys data show that Massachusetts seniors and those with disabilities who are covered by Medicare have saved, on average, $648 so far this year. Since 2010, the savings in Massachusetts have totaled more than $64.2 million on prescription drugs bought by people who had reached the so-called donut hole coverage gap, according to the report. The donut hole refers to a gap in prescription drug coverage through the Medicare Part D program. That gap kicks in when a Medicare beneficiary this year reaches $2,930 in prescription drug costs. The gap ends when a persons total out-of-pocket costs reach $4,700. Under the health care law, people with Medicare who hit the donut hole in 2010 received a one-time $250 … Continue reading →

DENVER, June 24 (UPI) -- New classes of drugs that target androgens such as testosterone, which prostate cancer cells require to grow, are showing promise, U.S. researchers say. Dr. E. David Crawford of the University of Colorado Cancer Center said the production of androgens like testosterone depends on an intact system in which the brain recognizes hormone levels, signals the pituitary to increase or decrease production, and the pituitary in turn sets the testes in motion. "By targeting the production of androgens by the testes, we could break that system at many other points," Crawford said in a statement. "For example, estrogen is similar enough to testosterone that administering estrogen to patients tricked the brain into thinking testosterone hormone levels were high -- with high presumed hormone levels, the brain sent no production signal to the pituitary. But estrogen therapy led to side effects including breast enlargement." Another class of drugs -- luteinizing hormone releasing hormones -- intervened in this signaling chain at the level of the pituitary in a similar way to estrogen, but for those with bone metastasis in the back, spinal complications could occur, Crawford said. However, androgen antagonists like the drug Enzalutamide -- currently in phase … Continue reading →

Pharmaceutical drugs for treating a range of illnesses, from cystic fibrosis to infertility, will be subsidised. Eleven new drugs for conditions ranging from cystic fibrosis to infertility will receive taxpayer subsidies, cutting the price of medicines by thousands of dollars for 45,000 patients. Among them is Bronchitol, a drug discovered and trialled in Australia. The portable inhaler hydrates and helps to expel mucous - reducing the chances of bacterial infection in the lungs, a continual affliction for many people with cystic fibrosis. It would normally cost patients up to $7247 a year, but will now be capped at $5.80 per script for concession cardholders and $35.40 for others. The federal Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, lauded the decision to subsidise the drugs under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Advertisement: Story continues below ''This will ensure more patients have greater access to the medicines and treatment they need at subsidised prices,'' she told The Sun-Herald. The listing of Bronchitol - also known as Mannitol - is expected to give up to 325 young people relief from some of the many awful symptoms of the chronic genetic illness - hacking coughing fits, continual lung infections and reduced lung capacity. Sian Ellett, 23, a … Continue reading →

22 June 2012 Last updated at 12:21 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Footage taken aboard the yacht shows the extent of the haul A gang leader and his son who used a luxury yacht to smuggle cocaine with a street value of 300m into the UK from Venezuela have been jailed. The pair, from the Netherlands, hid a tonne of cocaine in a deep compartment specially designed for smuggling. The haul - one of the UK's biggest drugs seizures - was located by border officers in Southampton last year. The men were jailed along with a third man, but the gang leader's other son was acquitted after a trial. Defendants referred to in court only as Klaas L, Robert L and Mohamed Z were convicted of being involved in the transportation of cocaine. Their co-accused, Arjan L, 35, was acquitted of the same charge. Klaas L, 61, owner of the yacht, was jailed for seven years; Mohamed Z, 45, for eight years; and Robert L, 33, who was also convicted of possession of a firearm, for five years following a trial in Rotterdam. Continue reading here: Drugs gang jailed over £300m plot … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/lxq9wv/global_hepatitis_c) has announced the addition of the "Global Hepatitis C Drugs Market 2011-2015" report to their offering. TechNavio's analysts forecast the Global Hepatitis C Drugs market to grow at a CAGR of 28 percent over the period 2011-2015. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing prevalence of hepatitis C infection. The Global Hepatitis C Drugs market has also been witnessing the shift of treatments from multiple drug therapy to single drug therapy. However, the virus developing resistance to the drugs could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. Key vendors dominating this market space include GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck & Co. Inc., Roche Holding Ltd., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Commenting on the report, an analyst from TechNavio's Healthcare team said; Vendors are partnering with each other to share their competencies in order to develop more efficient drugs and penetrate the hitherto unexplored market. Hence, vendors are forming strategic alliances with each other to market their manufactured drugs in the unexplored regions and to thereby increase their market share in the Global Hepatitis C Drugs market. According to the report, novel and newly-introduced drugs such as telaprevir and boceprevir, … Continue reading →

ST. LOUIS A California woman who helped supply unapproved foreign chemotherapy drugs to U.S. Doctors was sentenced Friday to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service, prosecutors said. Sandra L. Behe, 44, of La Jolla, pleaded guilty March 1 to a felony charge of introducing adulterated prescription drugs into interstate commerce and admitted that she was involved in the shipment of chemotherapy drugs that were not stored or shipped properly. At the time, Behe worked for Ban Dune Marketing Inc. of La Jolla. Owner James R. Newcomb, 61, also of La Jolla, Calif., pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiring to distribute adulterated prescription drugs and admitted that the company distributed unapproved prescription medication from Jan. 1, 2008, to May 18, 2011. He is set for sentencing July 6. Dr. Abid Nisar, 60, who has offices in Florissant, East St. Louis and Granite City, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of introducing misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce. Nisar admitted buying $352,504 worth of drugs from Newcomb and Behe. Nisar was sentenced last month to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine. He also agreed to pay back more than … Continue reading →