WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials are getting ready to set up and operate new health insurance markets in about half the states, where local officials appear unwilling or unable to do so.The markets, known as exchanges, are a centerpiece of President Obama’s health care law, and running th

Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer announced on Monday that they were halting development of a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug after two clinical trials failed to show that it was effective in patients with mild to moderate forms of the disease.Late last month, results of a large clinical trial of th

The company said the drug sovaprevir, when given along with the standard therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin, showed no detectable virus level in a majority of patients four weeks after the end of the treatment period.Of the 39 patients who received 12 weeks of additional standard therapy

Elderly people would need to spend less time in hospital if care in England were better organised, experts say.A review by the King’s Fund found there was scope to reduce the number of overnight stays by 2.3 million.That would free up 7,000 beds – 6% of the total – saving the NHS nearly £500m a year

An observational study has found evidence that people who sleep less may be less likely to benefit from a vaccine.Scientists gave 125 generally healthy men and women the hepatitis B vaccination — two doses one month apart and then a booster six months later. For the seven days surrounding each of th

In a warning letter to the company dated February 14, made public on Tuesday, the FDA said the labels on Hershey’s Syrup+Calcium and its Syrup Sugar Free with Vitamin & Mineral Fortification violate federal law.The FDA said the company may not use the terms “plus” and “fortification” on the labe

A drug which can extend the lives of men with incurable prostate cancer has been approved for use in Scotland.Scotland was the only part of the UK where abiraterone was not yet available on the NHS.But the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has now given doctors the green light to prescribe it.The

Watson said that the FDA improperly denied the company’s shared exclusivity on the generic version despite Watson directly following directions received from the regulator.As a result of the FDA’s decision, approval could be delayed for up to six months, Watson said.Watson planned to launch its gene

(Reuters Health) – Genetically modified rice could be a good source of vitamin A for children in countries where deficiency in the vitamin is common, a new study suggests.The study tested so-called Golden Rice against both spinach and supplements in providing vitamin A to 68 six- to eight-year-olds

(Reuters) – A U.S. health panel may soon make HIV testing as standard a practice as checking cholesterol levels, a move that would fundamentally change how the virus is detected and treated.The U.S. Preventive Services Task force, a government-backed group of clinicians and scientists, is expected t