Medical devices and equipment
Zika inspires market for questionable products | STATEntrepreneurs are flooding the market with products that promise to keep people safe from the Zika virus. But, most of them are ineffective. The products include floppy hats, “anti-Zika” condoms and mosquito repellents. A chemical oncologist says the marketers of the products “prey on people’s fears.”
Hologic approved to sell its Zika test | Reuters
Imaging systems company Hologic won emergency U.S. authorization to sell its Zika test, expanding labs that can test for the virus. The FDA granted emergency authorization for the company’s Aptima test, which detects the Zika virus in human serum and plasma specimens. The test will be available in every U.S. state and Puerto Rico.
Device lawsuits plague Cook Medical | Indianapolis Business Journal
The lawsuits against Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind., began four years ago with a trickle but have since turned into a gusher, now surpassing 500. Patients say the blood-clot device breaks, moves or pokes through vessels. The $2 billion company has issued five recalls since 2014.
Pharmaceuticals
Novartis aims to triple biosimilar drugs by 2020 | ReutersSwitzerland-based drug maker Novartis plans to nearly triple its number of biosimilar drugs on the market by 2020. The company is hoping that investing in cheaper versions of popular cancer and immune system drugs will draw in billions in profits.
FedEx beats charges over illegal online drug shipments | Bloomberg.com
Charges that FedEx Corp. intentionally shipped illegal online prescriptions were dropped by federal prosecutors, ending a trial that carried as much as $1.6 billion in fines.
Physicians
Cancer docs lead campaign to boost HPV vaccine | The Wall Street JournalThe nation’s leading cancer doctors are pushing pediatricians and other providers to increase the use of the HPV vaccine, which they think could help prevent thousands of cancer cases. Although the vaccine is universally acknowledged as effective, it has remained underused even as some of the most commonly sexually transmitted diseases have surged.
Medical malpractice: The alarming numbers of doctors busted for bribery | NJ.com
In two New Jersey courtrooms less than an hour's drive apart, two doctors were sent to prison recently for putting greed ahead of the welfare of patients. Physicians have been prone to crime with alarming frequency in the past year and officials have raised concerns about the unusually large scope of the problem.
