http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new, lower-dose labeling for the popular sleep drug Ambien (zolpidem) in an effort to cut down on daytime drowsiness that could be a hazard while performing certain tasks such as driving. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-ambien-dose-drowsy.html Medications Wed, 15 May 2013 21:30:02 EST news287861052 A subsidiary of India's largest pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay a record $500 million in fines and penalties for selling adulterated drugs and lying to federal regulators in a case that is part of an ongoing crackdown on the quality of generic drugs flowing into the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drug-million-penalty.html Medications Mon, 13 May 2013 17:20:01 EST news287683643 In a surprise move, federal health regulators have denied a request by Endo Health Solutions to block generic versions of its painkiller Opana ER, which the company argued can be more easily abused than its branded product. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-denies-block-painkiller.html Medications Fri, 10 May 2013 17:12:44 EST news287424756 (HealthDay)—Pregnant women who struggle with migraine headaches should never use medicines containing the ingredient valproate because they can lower the IQ scores of their children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-pregnant-women-migraine-drugs.html Medications Mon, 06 May 2013 18:24:19 EST news287083452 U.S. health regulators will require generic versions of the best-selling painkiller OxyContin to include recent formulation changes designed to make the pill harder to abuse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-abuse-fda-blocks-oxycontin.html Medications Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:47:37 EST news285353249 The India Supreme Court's rejection of a patent for an improved version of a costly cancer drug by Novartis AG could have big implications for the world's largest drugmakers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-india-drug-patent-reverberate.html Medications Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:11:06 EST news284062257 (AP)—Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has settled a patent dispute with Watson Laboratories, Inc., removing a threat against its top-selling cholesterol-control drug, Crestor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-astrazeneca-legal-dispute-watson.html Medications Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:31:14 EST news283415468 Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday that a new patent on one of its top drugs, anti-inflammatory painkiller Celebrex, extends its U.S. patent protection by 18 months, potentially bringing the company a few billion dollars in additional revenue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pfizer-painkiller-longer-patent.html Medications Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:48:46 EST news281717320 German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer, maker of Aspirin, vowed Monday to fight a ruling by the patent authorities in India allowing a local company to produce and sell a generic copy of its anti-cancer drug Nexavar. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-bayer-vows-patent-anti-cancer-drug.html Medications Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:17:23 EST news281618226 The widely held belief that the UK supply of innovative new medicines has conspicuously dwindled in recent decades, is not borne out by the evidence, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-myth-uk-pharma-drugs.html Medications Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:30:02 EST news280604669 In the fifth Series paper, researchers led by Professor Hans Hogerzeil from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands say that most NCDs could be treated with a small range of inexpensive, off-patent medicines, and suggest that substantial improvements in availability of life-saving drugs in poorer nations could be achieved within existing budgets by more careful selection and sourcing of generic versions, and better targeting of people at highest risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-ncds-small-cheap-drugs.html Medications Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:40:01 EST news279822340 (AP)—Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC warned over expiring patents on its medicines as the company announced a 37 percent fall in full-year net profit on Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-astazeneca-patent-net-profit-falls.html Other Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:46:55 EST news278837210 Problem-plagued Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has halted production of generic cholesterol drug Lipitor while it investigates how tiny glass particles got into the ingredients used for dozens of batches of the drug that were recalled in November. It was Ranbaxy's second recall of the drug, called atorvastatin, since August. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drugmaker-ranbaxy-halts-lipitor-production.html Medications Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:51:54 EST news273502260 (AP)—Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has recalled dozens of lots of its generic version of cholesterol drug Lipitor because some may contain tiny glass particles, the latest in a string of manufacturing deficiencies that once led U.S. regulators to bar imports of the Indian company's medicines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ranbaxy-recalls-lipitor-doses.html Medications Fri, 23 Nov 2012 09:30:01 EST news272884377 (AP)—Teva Pharmaceuticals has stopped shipping its generic version of a popular antidepressant off the market after a U.S. government analysis showed the pill does not work properly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-teva-antidepressant-ineffective.html Medications Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:52:40 EST news268501948 (AP)—Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and France's Sanofi SA said Wednesday that they are restructuring their longtime partnership selling popular heart medications, now that their sales are plunging due to widespread competition from generic versions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-bristol-myers-sanofi-revamp-plavix-sales.html Medications Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:27:45 EST news268489657 (HealthDay) -- The first generic versions of Singulair (montelukast sodium) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-versions-singulair.html Medications Sat, 04 Aug 2012 05:47:52 EST news263278064 Drugmaker Pfizer Inc.'s second-quarter net income jumped 25 percent as sharply lower costs for production, marketing and restructuring more than offset a plunge in revenue from cholesterol fighter Lipitor due to increasing generic competition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-pfizer-2q-net-income-pct.html Other Tue, 31 Jul 2012 08:29:14 EST news262942146 (AP) — The head of Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. says he's charging ahead with plans to expand sales in the crucial U.S. market, despite extra oversight from American regulators over quality questions that have blocked imports of 31 of its medicines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-ranbaxy-ceo-expansion.html Medications Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:14:39 EST news261116042 (AP) — Five large U.S. drug and grocery chains are suing Pfizer Inc. and a second drugmaker, alleging they conspired to delay sales of cheap generic versions of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-retailers-sue-pfizer-lipitor.html Medications Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:37:34 EST news260858099 India is moving ahead with ambitious plans to spend nearly $5 billion to supply free drugs to patients -- bringing the nation closer to universal health coverage, officials said on Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-india-closer-drugs.html Medications Fri, 06 Jul 2012 08:08:53 EST news260780927 (HealthDay) -- The first generic versions of Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-versions-plavix.html Medications Fri, 18 May 2012 03:55:05 EST news256532090 (HealthDay) -- The first generic versions of the once-monthly osteoporosis drug Boniva (ibandronate) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-boniva-osteoporosis.html Medications Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:40:01 EST news251396444 Three South Korean pharmaceutical firms will soon be allowed to produce generic versions of the anti-impotence drug Viagra despite a row over patents, officials said Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-korea-viagra.html Medications Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:00:21 EST news250920015 Sales of cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor plunged by half barely a week after the world's top-selling drug got its first U.S. generic competition, new data show. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-rivals-lipitor-sales-halved.html Medications Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:00:02 EST news243578929 (AP) -- Federal health officials on Monday approved the first generic versions of the blockbuster drug Zyprexa, an expensive treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-fda-versions-zyprexa.html Medications Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:38:47 EST news238693121 (AP) -- A pill developed in Bulgaria during the Soviet era shows promise for helping millions of smokers cheaply and safely kick the habit, the first big study of it shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-soviet-era-pill-bulgaria-smokers.html Health Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:43:12 EST news236454184 Supply of cheap, copycat drugs for the developing world could be badly threatened if Swiss firm Novartis wins a challenge to India's patent law, medical charity MSF said on Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-india-patent-case-threatens-cheap.html Medications Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:33:56 EST news234430374 (AP) -- Millions of women stand to gain free access to a broad menu of birth control methods, thanks to a recommendation issued Tuesday by health experts advising the government. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-govt-birth-free.html Health Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:47:51 EST news230305649