Drug maker Eli Lilly is increasing its efforts to get a larger share of the diabetes market, Reuters reports.
The story says Lilly is now the fourth-largest diabetes drug manufacturer, with 10.6 percent market share. That puts it behind Denmark’s Novo Nordisk , France’s Sanofi and the U.S.A.’s Merck & Co.
Lilly is looking to change that position, with dozens of medications in development. Among them is the experimental once-weekly injection dulaglutide, for which the company is seeking approval.
Dulaglutide is part of a class of medicines called GLP-1 agonists that includes the company’s widely used Byetta, and which have generated some health concerns lately. Byetta, along with Merck’s Januvia, has been linked to pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Byetta has also been linked to an increased risk of thyroid cancer. (more…)
Pfizer Inc. has posted lower-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter, in part because of rapidly falling sales of the cholesterol drug Lipitor, Reuters reports.
Following an inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a Florida specialty pharmacy called The Compounding Shop is recalling all of its sterile products, ABC News reports.
The good news is that national cholesterol levels have dropped over the last four decades. The bad news is that they still represent a “significant public health problem,” according to the National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A story in The Telegraph details the advice that British health regulators are providing for U.K. residents who received a “metal-on-metal” hip implant, in light of recent findings that up to half of the devices fail within six years.
A story in the Washington Post says that several Johnson & Johnson shareholders spoke of their dissatisfaction with the company during their annual meeting recently. Their complaints focused on a long string of product recalls, ethical lapses and excessive executive pay.
The Hindu, an English-language newspaper out of India, describes the case of a 37-year-old man who regained his eyesight after 18 years of blindness.
An article in the Jerusalem Post says the Israeli Health Ministry’s pharmaceutical division is cautioning doctors to be vigilant for cases of pancreatic infections and pancreatic cancer among people taking a class of diabetes drugs that includes Byetta and Januvia.
A study has found a link between U.S. veterans’ exposure to Agent Orange, and deadly forms of prostate cancer, according to a story in U.S. News and World Report.
A story on EmpowHer evaluates the pros and cons of different types of birth control available to women, including pills and intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Both options carry different side effects, the report says.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg has admitted that her agency wasn’t aggressive enough in investigating compounding pharmacies, such as the one responsible for a deadly, nationwide 
Nature World News reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the anti-cholesterol drug Liptruzet.
A report on News Channel 4 out of Oklahoma tells the story of a woman who received a vaginal mesh implant in the belief that it was the most advanced, minimally invasive technique available to cure her urinary incontinence.
CBS News reports on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning that medications containing valproate sodium may cause lower IQs in children born to women who take them.