Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about healthcare.
Making fat mice live longer. Using a drug designed to reduce the amount of fat in the liver and increase sensitivity to insulin, researchers have discovered that they can protect fat mice from diseases associated with obesity and extend their lives by 44 percent.
The new obesity drug — which the researchers say is not meant to replace other ways to lose weight — mimic resveratrol, a trace ingredient in red wine that is thought to activate protective proteins. Drugs closely related to the obesity drug SRT-1720 are now being clinically tested for human use.
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Sleazy salesmen. With drug shortages abound, some salesmen are stockpiling drugs in shortage and selling them to hospitals for an average of 6.5 times their market price, according to a new report from Charlotte-based Premier health care alliance.
A deal for cheaper, faster drugs. Generic drug companies are working with federal regulators on an agreement that would speed the process of approving generic drugs and increase inspections in foreign plants that export drugs to the U.S. Congress will have to approve the agreement, which calls for generic drug companies to collectively pay $299 million in annual fees to support additional FDA staff members.
Google and healthcare: take two? Speculation about Google purchasing Motorola Mobility has sparked conversation that it may be eyeing the healthcare market once again.
Drug repurposing. Stanford University researchers are looking at innovate ways to recycle already approved drugs for new uses with a computer program that works like a dating website, using a formula based on the idea that opposites attract. Through animal testing, the researchers have already found two potential new uses for drugs.