The drug, linaclotide, will be sold under the brand name Linzess and carry a boxed warning that it should not be used in patients 16 or younger, the agency said.An estimated 63 million people suffer from chronic constipation, according to the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, an estimated

(Reuters) – Scientists have grown a drug to treat a rare genetic disease inside corn plants, potentially offering a cheaper way to manufacture a treatment that currently costs hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for each patient.The move marks an advance for the emerging field of molecular farmi

PMAC 2016 Side Event (SE 014): Advanced Workshop in Methods for HTAThe methods of HTA have developed rapidly in the last decade. This is particularly the case in assessing the cost-effectiveness of interventions using modelling methods and in undertaking uncertainty analysis to guide decisions. Deci

(Reuters) – U.S. antitrust officials have approved Spectrum Pharmaceuticals’ purchase of cancer drugmaker Allos Therapeutics, a $206 million deal aimed at giving Spectrum access to the Allos anti-cancer drug Folotyn.The Federal Trade Commission posted letters on its web site sent to lawyers for Allo

(Reuters) – A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel on Thursday recommended two drugs for combating different forms of vision loss that can lead to blindness among a range of adults, including diabetics and the elderly.The FDA advisory committee of outside experts gave its support to Swiss-based R

New drugs for breast cancer and multiple myeloma won approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, expanding options for patients in advanced stages of those diseases.The breast cancer drug, Afinitor from Novartis, seems to expand the time that endocrine therapy can keep the disease in c

(Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline is holding talks this weekend with Human Genome Sciences to agree a deal to acquire it for some $2.6 billion, after pursuing the U.S. biotech company for three months, sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday.The British pharmaceutical giant could sweeten its pr

To learn how best to prescribe powerful drugs to children, Congress passed a law in the 1990s that rewarded drug makers for conducting clinical studies involving children. Among the incentives for cooperating companies was a possible six-month extension of protection from generic competition after a

(Reuters) – Pharmaceutical companies selling drugs in parts of the San Francisco Bay area would be required to submit plans for incinerating or safely disposing of unused medication under a plan advanced by county officials this week.The measure, billed by supporters as the first of its kind in the

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