News from other sources ...

Pharmaceuticals

The drugmaker giants announced Tuesday they will seek approval by 2018 for a new type of pain drug that will treat osteoarthritis, chronic back pain and cancer pain. Eli Lilly and Co. research chief said the drug would be an alternative to opioids. Pfizer and Lily partnered in 2013 to jointly develop the drug, called tanezumab, in a $1.8 million deal.

Medicare drug pricing proposal stirs opposition | Kaiser Health News

In a controversial measure, the CMS will begin to test a nationwide experiment in 2017 that will allow the agency to set a benchmark price for all drugs in the same category. The chosen amount may be the cost of the drug the agency considers most effective. Pharmaceutical companies oppose the measure, concerned it will lead to lower profits.

Medical devices and equipment

The FDA is reviewing a rod-like device implanted in the skin that releases buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction. The FDA is expected to decide whether they will approve the device by next week. The device, called Probuphine, consists of four rods the size of match sticks usually implanted in the arm.

Safety, quality and clinical practice

In a new book, "The Finest Traditions of My Calling," Dr. Abraham Nussbaum says doctors and patients are being shortchanged by population-based standards of care that put the individual's needs lower on the list of priorities. Nussbaum, a psychiatrist, is the chief education officer at Denver Health Medical Center.

Specialists call for gastric surgery to be standard diabetes treatment | Reuters

In one of the biggest shifts in diabetes treatment guidelines since insulin, a group of leading diabetes groups said bariatric, or metabolic, surgery should be offered to people with diabetes as a standard treatment option. They say the surgery could help control the condition without medication for years.