http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Pfizer Inc., in a first for the drug industry, told The Associated Press that the drugmaker will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-bashful-blue-pill-online.html Medications Mon, 06 May 2013 05:20:02 EST news287035121 (AP)—French drug maker Sanofi said Thursday its net profit was slashed in the first quarter from a year earlier as falling sales and patent losses on key drugs combined to hammer earnings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-sanofi-slashed-quarter.html Other Thu, 02 May 2013 05:30:02 EST news286690220 Pfizer Inc.'s first-quarter net income rose 53 percent despite falling sales, mainly because the world's second-largest drugmaker took big charges a year ago. Pfizer's results fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and the company lowered its profit and sales forecasts for the year, blaming sudden worsening currency exchange rates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-pfizer-q1-profit-drugmaker-outlook.html Other Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:57:53 EST news286534664 Pfizer Inc. says its experimental pill for advanced, often deadly breast cancer has been designated as a breakthrough therapy by the Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-pfizer-breast-cancer-drug-breakthrough.html Cancer Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:50:01 EST news284825946 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 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded approval of a Bayer cancer pill to treat tumors of the intestinal tract that do not respond to other treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-fda-bayer-cancer-drug.html Medications Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:30:01 EST news281031295 Hot flashes put a damper on women's health and productivity at work and pump up the cost of health care. A study published online this month in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), has put some numbers on their impact. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-hot-toll-life-health.html Health Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:42:39 EST news280755748 (AP)—The maker of Zoloft is being sued in an unusual case alleging the popular antidepressant has no more benefit than a dummy pill. The federal lawsuit, filed in California, argues that patients who took it should be reimbursed for their costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-pfizer-disputes-zoloft-doesnt.html Medications Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:37:03 EST news278876213 Pfizer Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled, despite competition from generic drugs hurting sales of Lipitor and other medicines, because of a $4.8 billion gain from selling its nutrition business. The drugmaker's profit and sales both beat Wall Street expectations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-pfizer-q4-net-sale-nutrition.html Other Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:51:59 EST news278668310 (AP)—Pharmaceutical companies that can no longer rely on lucrative patents to drive profits are increasingly teaming up with academia in search of the next big drug discovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-drug-companies-forge-partnerships-schools.html Medications Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:21:45 EST news277053699 The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved the anticlotting drug Eliquis, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. It's a potential blockbuster drug in a new category of medicines to prevent strokes and heart attacks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fda-anticlotting-drug-eliquis.html Medications Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:54:15 EST news275939650 Regulators in Japan have approved sales of an anticlotting drug called Eliquis, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc., that's a potential blockbuster in a new category of medicines to prevent strokes and heart attacks. But that's only if it can win U.S. approval, as two rival drugs have done. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-bristol-myers-pfizer-eliquis-japan.html Medications Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:43:13 EST news275755378 (HealthDay)—People who take the prescription quit-smoking drug Chantix may be at higher risk for cardiovascular problems, and doctors should weigh the risks of the drug against it benefits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-stop-smoking-drug-chantix-heart-fda.html Medications Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:10:01 EST news274618634 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 European regulators have approved a crucial new anticlotting drug, Eliquis, for preventing strokes and dangerous clots in the circulatory system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-bristol-pfizer-anticlot-drug-key-eu.html Medications Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:39:37 EST news272651965 (HealthDay)—Xeljanz (tofacitinib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) among people who can't tolerate, or haven't been helped by, the drug methotrexate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-xeljanz-rheumatoid-arthritis.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:08:08 EST news271523281 (AP)—Drug giant Pfizer Inc. said Thursday that its third-quarter profit fell 14 percent as sales plunged, mainly due to U.S. generic competition to cholesterol fighter Lipitor, long the world's top-selling drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-pfizer-3q-profit-falls-pct.html Other Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:40:02 EST news270981000 (AP)—Pfizer said Monday it will buy NextWave Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company that makes a liquid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug, in a deal worth as much as $700 million. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-pfizer-nextwave-pharma-700m.html Medications Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:50:03 EST news270119853 A simple, five-question patient-administered survey (COPD-PS) may lead to increased diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-question-survey-copd.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 03:51:16 EST news270096658 (AP)—Advisers to European Union regulators have recommended approval of a new anti-clotting drug for use by adults with a common irregular heart rhythm that boosts risk of strokes or blood clots, drugmakers Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-anti-clot-drug-eu.html Medications Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:09:06 EST news267451731 An experimental drug that failed to stop mental decline in Alzheimer's patients in the U.S. and Canada also showed some potential benefit in slowing brain plaque, fuller results of two major studies show. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-alzheimer-drug-stabilize-brain-plaque.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:40:51 EST news266568046 Pfizer Inc. says the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved its new drug to treat a rare form of blood and bone marrow cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-fda-pfizer-drug-rare-blood.html Medications Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:20:40 EST news265998025 Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson say they are ending development of a once-promising drug designed to treat Alzheimer's disease after the treatment failed in two late-stage clinical trials. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-pfizer-jj-alzheimer-drug.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:09:06 EST news263495334 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) — A closely watched experimental Alzheimer's treatment has failed to slow the disease in one late-stage study, a big disappointment for doctors and patients but not the end of the road for the drug. Pfizer Inc. said Monday that it will continue to study its effect on a different group of patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alzheimer-drug-2nd.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:10:56 EST news262285845 Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer Inc. have published a new study showing how a new drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel) works. Tafamidis, approved for use in Europe and currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is the first medication approved by a major regulatory agency to treat an amyloid disease, a class of conditions that include Alzheimer's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-reveals-world-drug-amyloid-disease.html Medical research Tue, 29 May 2012 16:57:51 EST news257529296 A new study that tracked what Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) costs Medicare during three distinct stages of patient care suggests that the government insurer could realize substantial savings through efforts to reduce the hospitalizations that occur before patients became permanent nursing home residents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-pre-nursing-home-hospitalization-dementia-patients.html Health Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:37:17 EST news253273017 (HealthDay) -- Primary venous thromboembolism prophylaxis with apixaban, an oral direct Factor Xa inhibitor, in ambulatory cancer patients undergoing first- or second-line chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic cancer, is safe and well tolerated, according to a phase II study published online March 12 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-prophylaxis-apixaban-feasible-cancer-patients.html Cancer Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:09:53 EST news252245375 Watching Alzheimer's disease steal away the memory, talents and very selves of its victims is hard enough for the people who love them. But a new pill formulated by a respected pharmaceutical company and approved by the Food and Drug Administration will do little to help most patients and bring misery to some, say two medical investigators. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-alzheimer-drug-sharply-criticized-medical.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:50:01 EST news251717731 (HealthDay) -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Monday will weigh the wisdom of allowing new clinical trials of a class of powerful painkillers for osteoarthritis. The drugs may have worked so well for some patients that those patients wound up needing knee replacement surgery because they overworked their already damaged joints. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-fda-panel-chance-class-painkillers.html Medications Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:40:01 EST news250778922