Hot flashes common even before menopause

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most women expect hot flashes as a part of the "change of life," but more than half start sweating before menopause has actually begun, according to a survey.

EU fines Lundbeck and others 146 million euros for blocking rival drugs

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European antitrust regulators fined nine drugmakers, including Denmark's Lundbeck, a total of 146 million euros ($195 million) for blocking the supply of a cheaper anti-depressant to the market, the first EU sanction against such deals.

AstraZeneca, Bristol diabetes drug disappoints in key test

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb's diabetes drug Onglyza failed to reduce heart risks in a large clinical study, disappointing investors who had thought it might demonstrate an edge over rivals.

Analysis: Hospital investors sold on U.S. health reform despite bumps

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. hospital operators have been on a tear this year, on average posting triple the gains of the broader stock market, as investors tallied up the benefits of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform.

Outbreak of deadly piglet virus spreads to 13 U.S. states

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A swine virus deadly to young pigs, one never before seen in North America, is spreading rapidly across the United States and proving harder to control than previously believed.

Call for overhaul of drug industry business model

LONDON (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical companies need to boost the benefits of drug research by working with regulators and healthcare providers to overhaul the way medicines are approved and paid for, a thinktank backed by investors says.

Enroll America sets private outreach for Obamacare sign-up

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enroll America, a nonprofit group at the center of the political fight over President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, launched a multi-state grassroots campaign on Tuesday to help sign up millions of uninsured Americans for health coverage in the coming months.

FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cases of two individuals who died after injections with Eli Lilly and Co.'s long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, Zyprexa Relprevv.

Past care tied to later treatment's success

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If a person doesn't have much success with one pain treatment, they may say the next one they try doesn't work so great either, suggests a new study from Germany.

New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan.

U.S. court finds Novo Nordisk Prandin diabetes drug patent invalid

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court found the patent on Novo Nordisk's Prandin diabetes drug in combination with metformin to be invalid, paving the way for introduction of a generic version of the medicine, the Danish drugmaker said on Tuesday.

Obamacare-like groups tied to lower costs: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Large independent doctor practices that focus on primary care tend to spend less money and are more likely to meet guidelines for Americans on Medicare than smaller groups, according to a new study.

MRI may help find infection from tainted injection

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some people who received potentially contaminated steroid injections may benefit from a MRI to check for signs of infection, a new study suggests - even if they don't have obvious symptoms.

Industry-backed studies more prominent at meetings

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Studies that are funded by pharmaceutical companies or involve industry-backed scientists tend to be more prominent at cancer meetings than independent studies, a new report suggests.

FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug

(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cases of two individuals who died after injections with Eli Lilly and Co's long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, Zyprexa Relprevv.

AstraZeneca turnaround is 3-4 year journey, says CEO

LONDON (Reuters) - Turning around drugmaker AstraZeneca will be a long haul, with a strategy of revamping research and boosting acquisitions set to take up to four years to pay off, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

GSK negotiating $1 billion sale of thrombosis drugs to Aspen

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is discussing the sale of its thrombosis drug brands Arixtra and Fraxiparine, along with a related French factory, to Aspen Pharmacare in a deal that could be worth some $1 billion.

WHO urges tougher food marketing rules to curb childhood obesity

LONDON (Reuters) - The marketing of unhealthy foods to children has proven "disastrously effective", driving obesity by using cheap social media channels to promote fat-, salt- and sugar-laden foods, the World Health Organisation's Europe office said on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca picks site for new global home in Cambridge

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has chosen a science park on the southern outskirts of Cambridge, England, next to the world-renowned Addenbrooke's Hospital, for its new $500 million global headquarters and research center.

J&J in $1 billion deal to bolster prostate-cancer focus

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said it would pay up to $1 billion for Aragon Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drugs for prostate cancer, to bolster J&J's role in the field after it acquired another experimental prostate-cancer treatment four years ago that has become a leading brand.

Medtronic bone graft has limited benefit, may cause harm: reviews

(Reuters) - Two long-awaited independent reviews of a controversial Medtronic Inc bone growth product show it works as well as traditional bone grafts taken from patients, but it may not be as safe.

Wait-and-see may be best for early prostate cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Watching and routinely examining men with early, slow-growing prostate cancer is more effective and cheaper than sending them to surgery or radiation right away, according to a new study.

Saudi Arabia says MERS coronavirus kills four more

DUBAI (Reuters) - Four more people have died and three more have fallen ill in Saudi Arabia from the new SARS-like coronavirus MERS-CoV, the Saudi Health Ministry said on Monday.

Blood tests could detect sexually-transmitted oral cancers

LONDON (Reuters) - Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signs Medicaid expansion

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed a law on Monday to expand Medicaid, embracing a key part of Democratic President Barack Obama's healthcare plan in a hard-won policy victory over conservatives in her own party.

Eating more red meat tied to higher diabetes risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Increasing the number of hamburgers and other red meat people eat on a daily basis is linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes down the road, according to a new study.

Falling toilet seats: Rare but growing risk for boys

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ouch: Boys know that toilet seats are an occupational hazard of potty training, but a new study suggests the number of genital injuries caused by falling toilet toppers is growing.

Jury finds no negligence in trial over man's 8-month erection

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A jury on Monday cleared a doctor of negligence in a lawsuit filed by a Delaware truck driver who underwent a penile implant procedure and ended up with an erection that lasted eight months.

Supreme court says FTC can sue over deals that delay generic drug sales

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court ruled on Monday regulators can challenge deals between brand-name drug companies and generic rivals that delay cheaper medicines from going on sale, which regulators say increase costs to consumers by billions of dollars.

Niche drugmaker ViroPharma attracts takeover interest: sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - ViroPharma Inc, a drug maker specializing in rare diseases, is attracting preliminary acquisition interest from several pharmaceutical companies, according to three people familiar with the matter.