| | |
| UK government says Pfizer's AstraZeneca bid a decision for shareholders Friday, May 02, 2014 12:48 AM PDT The British government said it had pressed U.S. company Pfizer to commit to British jobs and research in its bid for AstraZeneca, but the decision on whether the British group will be sold was a matter for its shareholders. "This is ultimately going to be a decision for AstraZeneca shareholders," the Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts told BBC Radio on Friday. "We are pressing Pfizer in a very hard-nosed way. Their letter has a set of proposals for research and development and manufacturing in the UK that have moved a long way from where they were a week ago." The U.S. company sent a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron laying out a series of commitments to Britain on Friday, when it also raised its offer for Britain's second biggest pharmaceutical company. Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer engages AstraZeneca with raised $106 billion offer Friday, May 02, 2014 12:32 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc has raised its offer for AstraZeneca Plc to 63 billion pounds ($106 billion), it said on Friday, adding that the British drugmaker was reviewing the proposal. Pfizer's pursuit of AstraZeneca to create the world's biggest pharmaceuticals company - and cut its tax bill - comes amid a wave of deal-making in the healthcare sector. The 50 pounds ($84.47) a share indicative offer follows AstraZeneca's decision to rebuff an earlier proposal valuing it at 58.8 billion pounds, or 46.61 pounds per share. "Given where the shares have come from, this doesn't look unreasonable," said one fund manager whose institution is among the top 10 investors in AstraZeneca. Full Story | Top |
| AstraZeneca says board will review Pfizer offer Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:44 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's board will be reviewing a sweetened takeover offer from Pfizer but the company has no further comment at this stage, a spokeswoman for the British drugmaker said on Friday. Earlier the U.S. drugmaker revealed it had raised its offer for the British group to 63 billion pounds ($106 billion). (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Kate Holton) Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer commits to UK research hub in Astra battle Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:38 PM PDT U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer Inc has told Prime Minister David Cameron it will retain British jobs and a planned scientific research hub in Cambridge if it succeeds in its bid to take over rival AstraZeneca. Pfizer laid out a number of pledges in a letter to Cameron, including establishing the combined company's corporate and tax residence in England and completing a substantial R&D innovation hub in Cambridge, eastern England. Pfizer also vowed that 20 percent of the combined company's total R&D workforce would be in Britain if the deal goes ahead. "We would like to assure the government of our long term commitment to the UK where Pfizer already employs a significant number of colleagues across Research, Commercial, and Administrative roles," the company said on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. anti-money laundering authority faces hiring probe - sources Thursday, May 01, 2014 10:05 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter and Brett Wolf NEW YORK/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department has frozen all recruitment by its anti-money laundering arm and forced the agency to rescind 11 job offers, after an investigation found it violated the federal employment code during an aggressive hiring push, according to several government officials. The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that governs labor practices in the government, determined that the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain jobs, the officials said. It has recommended further investigations by two other federal agencies into FinCEN's practices, they added. Full Story | Top |
| Phoenix veterans hospital chief put on leave, care delay probed Thursday, May 01, 2014 07:54 PM PDT By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The top official at a Phoenix veterans hospital was placed on indefinite leave on Thursday while regulators probe whistleblowers' claims that delayed care may have led to the deaths of as many as 40 veterans, the head of U.S. veterans affairs said. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said in a statement that Director Sharon Helman was put on administrative leave "until further notice" pending a "thorough" review by the agency's inspector general's office. Also put on leave were associate director Lance Robinson and a third individual whose name and position were not disclosed, the Department of Veterans Affairs said. "These allegations, if true, are absolutely unacceptable and if the inspector general's investigation substantiates these claims, swift and appropriate action will be taken." Helman and Robinson could not be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Vertex says cystic fibrosis drugs shown to boost lung function Thursday, May 01, 2014 05:51 PM PDT Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc on Thursday said a combination of its cystic fibrosis drug Kalydeco and an experimental compound was shown to improve lung function in a mid-stage trial, sending its shares up nearly 8 percent. The study found that treatment with Kalydeco and the experimental drug VX-661 for 28 days resulted in a 4.6 percentage point improvement in mean lung function for patients with two specific genetic mutations. If eventually approved by regulators, VX-661 would be the second drug from Vertex that works by treating the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, a rare genetic disease that impairs the lungs and digestive system. Full Story | Top |
| California senate advances bill to curb antibiotics in farm animals Thursday, May 01, 2014 04:54 PM PDT By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California State Senate advanced a bill on Thursday to restrict the use of antibiotics in farm animals for growth enhancement by requiring that the drugs be sold by prescription for medical reasons only, officials said. The first-in-the-nation legislation would codify into law voluntary U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines, issued late last year, aimed at stemming a surge in resistance to certain antibiotics in humans, according to state Senator Jerry Hill, the bill's author. "The more antibiotics are used, the more resistance will develop," Hill, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This is an emergent public health issue." Antibiotic resistance, which can cause humans to lose the ability to fight infections, is thought to be caused partly by the prevalence of the drugs in animal products. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto Mayor Ford takes leave to deal with alcohol problem Thursday, May 01, 2014 03:08 PM PDT  By Allison Martell and Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford flew to the United States in a private plane on Thursday, a TV network said, a day after he said he would take a leave of absence from his job and his re-election campaign to seek treatment for an alcohol problem. Global News reported that it had confirmed Chicago as Ford's destination but did not cite any sources. Ford's decision to take a leave of absence followed months of denials that he has a substance abuse problem and nearly a year after media reports surfaced that he appeared in a video smoking crack cocaine. His departure followed a Globe and Mail report on Wednesday that it had seen a video shot last week that showed Ford using what appeared to be drugs. Full Story | Top |
| Oklahoma prison report says collapsed vein behind botched execution Thursday, May 01, 2014 02:56 PM PDT  By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The botched Oklahoma execution of Clayton Lockett was largely due to a collapsed vein during the lethal injection, and the needle was inserted in the groin area instead of the arm after prison officials used a stun gun to restrain him, a prisons report said on Thursday. Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said in the report the state's execution protocols needed to be revised and called for an indefinite stay of executions until the new procedures are in place and staff trained. Ahead of the Tuesday execution, Lockett, a convicted murderer, had refused to be restrained, the report said, and after being given a warning "an electronic shock device was administered," causing an injury to his arm. Lockett, 38, died of an apparent heart attack minutes after the lethal injection protocol failed. Full Story | Top |
| Air transport not always faster in heart attack cases Thursday, May 01, 2014 02:25 PM PDT By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Switching from helicopter to ground transport between two Texas hospitals cut the time heart attack patients had to wait to have their arteries unblocked by more than half an hour, according to a new study. "What we showed in our study was by tweaking our system, in this case by changing our mode of transportation from air to ground, we actually took median treatment time from about 121 minutes beforehand to 90 minutes afterward," Dr. Timothy Mixon told Reuters Health in a phone call. He and coauthor Dr. Luis Colato wrote the paper that was published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine. The change to ground transport resulted in more than 90 percent of patients being treated within national guideline time of less than 120 minutes, the authors say, versus less than half getting treatment within that two-hour window before. Full Story | Top |
| TSX ekes out gain as Manulife, Catamaran climb Thursday, May 01, 2014 01:54 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Thursday as gains in Manulife Financial Corp and Catamaran Corp helped offset a decline in shares of Bombardier Inc after those companies reported results. Goldcorp Inc , one of the world's biggest gold miners, also unveiled a quarterly statement which showed a decline in profit. The Toronto stock market's benchmark index climbed to its highest level in nearly six years earlier in the session. On Wednesday, investors cheered upbeat commentary on the U.S. economy by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says Obamacare enrollment points to stable costs Thursday, May 01, 2014 01:48 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday predicted stable health insurance costs for consumers who have purchased Obamacare plans, defying critics who warn that President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law will lead to skyrocketing premiums. Just over 8 million Americans signed up for private coverage in state and federal insurance marketplaces during the law's first enrollment period through April 19, according to a new administration report released on Thursday. Outside the marketplaces, the report said, an additional 5 million people bought plans that comply with Obamacare's consumer protection and benefit standards. Full Story | Top |
| Geomagnetic storms may influence risk of stroke Thursday, May 01, 2014 01:24 PM PDT By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More strokes happen when geomagnetic storms are afoot, according to a new review of stroke literature - although it's not clear what protective measures anyone could take, researchers said. Geomagnetic storms happen when the Earth's magnetic field is disturbed by solar winds or coronal mass ejections, which throw out powerful magnetic fields from the sun. Among more than 11,000 people who had a stroke, the event was almost 20 percent more likely to happen on days with geomagnetic storms, researchers in New Zealand found. "The results were a big surprise to us," said lead author Dr. Valery L. Feigin of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at the School of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies at Auckland University of Technology. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. city health officials want tighter restrictions on e-cigarettes Thursday, May 01, 2014 12:54 PM PDT  By Bill Trott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of urban health officials on Thursday urged the Food and Drug Administration to go beyond the regulations it proposed last week for e-cigarettes and treat them like regular cigarettes. In an open letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) noted that the FDA has nothing in its proposed regulations that would govern the advertising of e-cigarettes, which it said often targets the youth market. The FDA did propose banning sales of e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18. The e-cigarette industry, estimated at $2 billion and growing, did not object loudly to last week's proposed FDA rules, which many health officials found too loose. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment