Mary Vanac is a co-founder of MedCity News.
Research Triangle Park medical device maker nContact Surgical Inc. has raised $16 million for its endoscopic cardiac ablation system that could enable doctors to treat the most difficult atrial fibrillation patients.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to whittle 36 graphic smoking warnings to nine and will seek the public's input on the proposal of putting them on the front and back of every cigarette packet starting in October of 2012, according to U.S. News and World Report.
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
How did our nation's most ambitious experiment in universal healthcare -- comprehensive Medicare coverage for every kidney failure patient -- descend from a "supremely hopeful moment" nearly four decades ago to a $20-billion-a-year "hulking monster" that kills thousands of patients? ProPublica asks in its latest investigative series.
Novartis AG plans to seek regulatory approval within 18 months for a pioneering tablet containing an embedded microchip that sends information to your doctor about whether you took your medication and how it's working, according to Reuters.
Indianapolis drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) has agreed to pay up to $800 million for Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, the Philadelphia developer of a tracing agent that can help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. The tracing agent, florbetapir F 18 -- which last week topped the Cleveland Clinic's Top 10 Medical Innovations list for 2011 -- is coupled with a PET scan to allow doctors to see inside patients' brains to detect beta-amyloid plaques, the tell-tale signature of Alzheimer's.
International consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says biotechnology companies must collaborate to produce more efficient and cost-effective medicines or face extinction in a new report called Biotech Reinvented.
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
A panel at Cleveland Clinic's Medical Innovations Summit focused on five companies developing innovative obesity-fighting medical devices that have yet to hit the market. And Medtronic debuted its wireless pacemaker at TEDMED.
Though presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) says of health reform, "there's a lot of tricks up our sleeves in terms of how we can dent this, kick it, slow it down to make sure it never happens," it is likely the law will remain intact in a divided Congress, according to the Washington Post.
Virtually every House Democrat from a swing district who took a gamble by voting for the health law ended up losing on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
What if you eliminated or really whacked co-pays for drugs that could make a difference in people's health? As postage-meter maker Pitney Bowes found out, more people take their medicines, reports NPR.
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Research!America offers to help you better understand your candidates' positions on issues in health and research. And Amgen Inc. Chief Executive Kevin Sharer says there's no magic bullet for diabetes.
Arcadia Resources Inc. (AMEX: KAD) will sell up to $5 million in common shares in a registered direct offering to raise money for general corporate purposes, including expanding its pharmacy business.
Samuel D. Waksal, the former chief executive of biotechnology company ImClone Systems who spent five years in federal prison for insider trading is mounting an audacious effort at redemption, again in biotechnology, the New York Times reports.
Medical data management company Explorys Inc. has added three Northeast Ohio hospital systems to its emerging member network that's aimed at harnessing information from burgeoning electronic records to improve patient outcomes. MetroHealth System and University Hospitals in Cleveland, and Summa Health System in Akron, are joining Cleveland Clinic, the inaugural network member that helped launch Explorys last year.
Medical products supplier Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) took the unusual step Tuesday afternoon of publicly responding to rumors of an imminent sale to a private equity firm. The message? Cardinal Health is not for sale.