A.M. Vitals: Case Claiming Individual Mandate is Unconstitutional to Proceed

Case to Proceed: A federal judge says the assertion by 20 states that the health-care overhaul law’s individual coverage mandate is unconstitutional is “a plausible claim,” the WSJ reports. Judge Roger Vinson of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida is permitting the states’ case to go forward. He was more skeptical about the claim that the expansion of Medicaid included in the bill is also unconstitutional, but permitted it to go forward as well. The case is likely to make it to the Supreme Court, the WSJ says.

Offering Suggestions: UnitedHealth Group suggests that to save money, health benefits for the nine million people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid should be administered via managed-care plans, Bloomberg News reports. The insurer issued a report proposing several measures for Medicare and Medicaid it says can save $3.5 trillion over the next 25 years.

FDA Reversal: The FDA said it shouldn’t have allowed the Menaflex knee implant to reach the market because political influence affected the approval process, and is now revoking its approval of the device, the WSJ reports. As the paper wrote in 2009, the implant, made by ReGen Biologics, was approved following a lobbying campaign by four members of Congress — even after FDA staff questioned its safety and efficacy. ReGen says it’s weighing its options, which include an appeal of the decision.

Fighting Bacteria?: Chiquita Brands’ Fresh Express, which makes bagged salad mixes, says washing greens in a mixture of two organic acids — rather than the usual chlorine — is a more effective way to kill off potentially dangerous bacteria, the New York Times reports. The company will switch to the FreshRinse wash and will also license it to other producers; food-safety experts tell the NYT that without published data, it’s impossible to verify the wash’s effectiveness. Fresh Express has recalled packaged greens three times this year over bacterial contamination worries, the NYT says.

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View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Case Claiming Individual Mandate is Unconstitutional to Proceed

Case to Proceed: A federal judge says the assertion by 20 states that the health-care overhaul law’s individual coverage mandate is unconstitutional is “a plausible claim,” the WSJ reports. Judge Roger Vinson of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida is permitting the states’ case to go forward. He was more skeptical about the claim that the expansion of Medicaid included in the bill is also unconstitutional, but permitted it to go forward as well. The case is likely to make it to the Supreme Court, the WSJ says.

Offering Suggestions: UnitedHealth Group suggests that to save money, health benefits for the nine million people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid should be administered via managed-care plans, Bloomberg News reports. The insurer issued a report proposing several measures for Medicare and Medicaid it says can save $3.5 trillion over the next 25 years.

FDA Reversal: The FDA said it shouldn’t have allowed the Menaflex knee implant to reach the market because political influence affected the approval process, and is now revoking its approval of the device, the WSJ reports. As the paper wrote in 2009, the implant, made by ReGen Biologics, was approved following a lobbying campaign by four members of Congress — even after FDA staff questioned its safety and efficacy. ReGen says it’s weighing its options, which include an appeal of the decision.

Fighting Bacteria?: Chiquita Brands’ Fresh Express, which makes bagged salad mixes, says washing greens in a mixture of two organic acids — rather than the usual chlorine — is a more effective way to kill off potentially dangerous bacteria, the New York Times reports. The company will switch to the FreshRinse wash and will also license it to other producers; food-safety experts tell the NYT that without published data, it’s impossible to verify the wash’s effectiveness. Fresh Express has recalled packaged greens three times this year over bacterial contamination worries, the NYT says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Case Claiming Individual Mandate is Unconstitutional to Proceed

Case to Proceed: A federal judge says the assertion by 20 states that the health-care overhaul law’s individual coverage mandate is unconstitutional is “a plausible claim,” the WSJ reports. Judge Roger Vinson of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida is permitting the states’ case to go forward. He was more skeptical about the claim that the expansion of Medicaid included in the bill is also unconstitutional, but permitted it to go forward as well. The case is likely to make it to the Supreme Court, the WSJ says.

Offering Suggestions: UnitedHealth Group suggests that to save money, health benefits for the nine million people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid should be administered via managed-care plans, Bloomberg News reports. The insurer issued a report proposing several measures for Medicare and Medicaid it says can save $3.5 trillion over the next 25 years.

FDA Reversal: The FDA said it shouldn’t have allowed the Menaflex knee implant to reach the market because political influence affected the approval process, and is now revoking its approval of the device, the WSJ reports. As the paper wrote in 2009, the implant, made by ReGen Biologics, was approved following a lobbying campaign by four members of Congress — even after FDA staff questioned its safety and efficacy. ReGen says it’s weighing its options, which include an appeal of the decision.

Fighting Bacteria?: Chiquita Brands’ Fresh Express, which makes bagged salad mixes, says washing greens in a mixture of two organic acids — rather than the usual chlorine — is a more effective way to kill off potentially dangerous bacteria, the New York Times reports. The company will switch to the FreshRinse wash and will also license it to other producers; food-safety experts tell the NYT that without published data, it’s impossible to verify the wash’s effectiveness. Fresh Express has recalled packaged greens three times this year over bacterial contamination worries, the NYT says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Case Claiming Individual Mandate is Unconstitutional to Proceed

Case to Proceed: A federal judge says the assertion by 20 states that the health-care overhaul law’s individual coverage mandate is unconstitutional is “a plausible claim,” the WSJ reports. Judge Roger Vinson of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida is permitting the states’ case to go forward. He was more skeptical about the claim that the expansion of Medicaid included in the bill is also unconstitutional, but permitted it to go forward as well. The case is likely to make it to the Supreme Court, the WSJ says.

Offering Suggestions: UnitedHealth Group suggests that to save money, health benefits for the nine million people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid should be administered via managed-care plans, Bloomberg News reports. The insurer issued a report proposing several measures for Medicare and Medicaid it says can save $3.5 trillion over the next 25 years.

FDA Reversal: The FDA said it shouldn’t have allowed the Menaflex knee implant to reach the market because political influence affected the approval process, and is now revoking its approval of the device, the WSJ reports. As the paper wrote in 2009, the implant, made by ReGen Biologics, was approved following a lobbying campaign by four members of Congress — even after FDA staff questioned its safety and efficacy. ReGen says it’s weighing its options, which include an appeal of the decision.

Fighting Bacteria?: Chiquita Brands’ Fresh Express, which makes bagged salad mixes, says washing greens in a mixture of two organic acids — rather than the usual chlorine — is a more effective way to kill off potentially dangerous bacteria, the New York Times reports. The company will switch to the FreshRinse wash and will also license it to other producers; food-safety experts tell the NYT that without published data, it’s impossible to verify the wash’s effectiveness. Fresh Express has recalled packaged greens three times this year over bacterial contamination worries, the NYT says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Jazz Pharma’s Fibromyalgia Drug Needs More Studies

FDA Says No: Jazz Pharmaceuticals said the FDA won’t approve its fibromyalgia drug in its current form and that the therapy needs more trials, Dow Jones Newswires reports. In August an FDA panel voted against recommending the drug — already available under the Xyrem brand name to treat narcolepsy, but distributed under heavy restrictions — in part because of its potential as a street drug. An illegal form of the medication is similar to the “date rape drug” GHB.

Jaundice Connection?: A study published in Pediatrics finds an association between jaundice in newborns and the development of autism, but doesn’t show that one causes the other, the Associated Press reports. The Danish study found a 9% incidence of jaundice among infants who went on to develop autism, compared to a 3% incidence among those who didn’t. Other studies have found no link.

Drug Pricing: Novartis has put a price tag on its newly-FDA-approved oral MS drug Gilenya: about $48,000 a year, the WSJ reports. The first oral therapy for the disease approved in the U.S. is more expensive than current therapies, which are delivered by injection or infusion and top out at about $40,000, the paper says.

Weighing ACOs: Accountable care organizations — providers teaming up to deliver more integrated care that is hopefully both better and cheaper — are the latest fad in health care, and various interests are trying to suss out their potential impact, Kaiser Health News reports. Because providers will be incentivized to hold down costs, medical-device makers, for example, are worried cheaper devices will be favored, regardless of what’s most appropriate for a given patient. Employers, meantime, are concerned that costs may rise as large providers increase market share, KHN says.

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A.M. Vitals: Genzyme to Explore ‘Alternatives’ to Sanofi Bid

Considering its Options: In an SEC filing, Genzyme said it will “probe and evaluate alternatives,” including “contacting third parties,” as it fends off a $18.5 billion, now-hostile bid from French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, the WSJ reports. People familiar with the matter tell the paper the Boston biotech isn’t actively looking for a so-called white knight, but does want to “know what its options are.”

Going Up: Data from IMS Health show global prescription drug sales are expected to rise by as much as 7% to $880 billion next year, a faster rate of growth than seen this year, the Associated Press reports. Fueling the projected increase are new drugs with potentially large sales and greater demand in emerging economies, the AP says.

New Guidance: Draft guidance from the U.K.’s health-care costs arbiter, NICE, says it will now recommend the use of three Alzheimer’s drugs for mild forms of the disease, the WSJ reports. That’s a reversal of its previous stance on use of the drugs — Pfizer’s and Eisai’s Aricept, Shire’s Reminyl and Novartis’s Exelon — in that setting. NICE also recommended the use of another drug in more advanced cases of the disease.

No Guarantee: A survey conducted in Ohio finds that 13% of parents with health coverage say they still had to skip some care for their kids — such as seeing a specialist, filling a prescription or getting a lab test — because of the high cost, HealthDay reports. Families whose kids were covered by public insurance reported less difficulty in paying for recommended care, HealthDay says.

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A.M. Vitals: Genzyme to Explore ‘Alternatives’ to Sanofi Bid

Considering its Options: In an SEC filing, Genzyme said it will “probe and evaluate alternatives,” including “contacting third parties,” as it fends off a $18.5 billion, now-hostile bid from French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, the WSJ reports. People familiar with the matter tell the paper the Boston biotech isn’t actively looking for a so-called white knight, but does want to “know what its options are.”

Going Up: Data from IMS Health show global prescription drug sales are expected to rise by as much as 7% to $880 billion next year, a faster rate of growth than seen this year, the Associated Press reports. Fueling the projected increase are new drugs with potentially large sales and greater demand in emerging economies, the AP says.

New Guidance: Draft guidance from the U.K.’s health-care costs arbiter, NICE, says it will now recommend the use of three Alzheimer’s drugs for mild forms of the disease, the WSJ reports. That’s a reversal of its previous stance on use of the drugs — Pfizer’s and Eisai’s Aricept, Shire’s Reminyl and Novartis’s Exelon — in that setting. NICE also recommended the use of another drug in more advanced cases of the disease.

No Guarantee: A survey conducted in Ohio finds that 13% of parents with health coverage say they still had to skip some care for their kids — such as seeing a specialist, filling a prescription or getting a lab test — because of the high cost, HealthDay reports. Families whose kids were covered by public insurance reported less difficulty in paying for recommended care, HealthDay says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Genzyme to Explore ‘Alternatives’ to Sanofi Bid

Considering its Options: In an SEC filing, Genzyme said it will “probe and evaluate alternatives,” including “contacting third parties,” as it fends off a $18.5 billion, now-hostile bid from French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, the WSJ reports. People familiar with the matter tell the paper the Boston biotech isn’t actively looking for a so-called white knight, but does want to “know what its options are.”

Going Up: Data from IMS Health show global prescription drug sales are expected to rise by as much as 7% to $880 billion next year, a faster rate of growth than seen this year, the Associated Press reports. Fueling the projected increase are new drugs with potentially large sales and greater demand in emerging economies, the AP says.

New Guidance: Draft guidance from the U.K.’s health-care costs arbiter, NICE, says it will now recommend the use of three Alzheimer’s drugs for mild forms of the disease, the WSJ reports. That’s a reversal of its previous stance on use of the drugs — Pfizer’s and Eisai’s Aricept, Shire’s Reminyl and Novartis’s Exelon — in that setting. NICE also recommended the use of another drug in more advanced cases of the disease.

No Guarantee: A survey conducted in Ohio finds that 13% of parents with health coverage say they still had to skip some care for their kids — such as seeing a specialist, filling a prescription or getting a lab test — because of the high cost, HealthDay reports. Families whose kids were covered by public insurance reported less difficulty in paying for recommended care, HealthDay says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Novartis Aims to Accelerate Vaccine Production

Novartis’s Need for Speed: Novartis is partnering with Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomic Vaccines in an effort to reduce the production cycle for flu vaccines from its current five to six months, the WSJ reports. Analysts say the Swiss drug maker could charge more for more speedily produced vaccines and could also grab a bigger piece of the global vaccine market, the paper says.

Sector Shrinkage: A full quarter of U.S. biotech companies were purchased or went out of business since the end of 2007, according to an industry official, Bloomberg News reports. An official from BIO, the trade group for biotechs, said 25% of the estimated 294 companies that remain have enough cash to fund operations for less than a year, compared to 45% at the end of 2008, BN reports.

Drug Combo Study: A new study finds that combining Plavix — the blood-thinner co-marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb — with heartburn pills such as AstraZeneca’s Nexium and Procter & Gamble’s Prilosec doesn’t increase the risk of heart problems, the WSJ reports. Researchers behind the 3,800-person study, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, say there’s little reason for patients or doctors to worry about a drug interaction; the FDA, which warned about the issue on the basis of observational studies, says the study was too small to give a conclusive answer.

Boosting Protection: California will next year require secondary school students to get a booster shot of the whooping cough vaccine, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state hasn’t mandated a booster before, in part out of cost concerns — but that was before a whooping cough epidemic infected more than 5,000 people, killing nine babies, the paper says.

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View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Novartis Aims to Accelerate Vaccine Production

Novartis’s Need for Speed: Novartis is partnering with Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomic Vaccines in an effort to reduce the production cycle for flu vaccines from its current five to six months, the WSJ reports. Analysts say the Swiss drug maker could charge more for more speedily produced vaccines and could also grab a bigger piece of the global vaccine market, the paper says.

Sector Shrinkage: A full quarter of U.S. biotech companies were purchased or went out of business since the end of 2007, according to an industry official, Bloomberg News reports. An official from BIO, the trade group for biotechs, said 25% of the estimated 294 companies that remain have enough cash to fund operations for less than a year, compared to 45% at the end of 2008, BN reports.

Drug Combo Study: A new study finds that combining Plavix — the blood-thinner co-marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb — with heartburn pills such as AstraZeneca’s Nexium and Procter & Gamble’s Prilosec doesn’t increase the risk of heart problems, the WSJ reports. Researchers behind the 3,800-person study, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, say there’s little reason for patients or doctors to worry about a drug interaction; the FDA, which warned about the issue on the basis of observational studies, says the study was too small to give a conclusive answer.

Boosting Protection: California will next year require secondary school students to get a booster shot of the whooping cough vaccine, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state hasn’t mandated a booster before, in part out of cost concerns — but that was before a whooping cough epidemic infected more than 5,000 people, killing nine babies, the paper says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Novartis Aims to Accelerate Vaccine Production

Novartis’s Need for Speed: Novartis is partnering with Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomic Vaccines in an effort to reduce the production cycle for flu vaccines from its current five to six months, the WSJ reports. Analysts say the Swiss drug maker could charge more for more speedily produced vaccines and could also grab a bigger piece of the global vaccine market, the paper says.

Sector Shrinkage: A full quarter of U.S. biotech companies were purchased or went out of business since the end of 2007, according to an industry official, Bloomberg News reports. An official from BIO, the trade group for biotechs, said 25% of the estimated 294 companies that remain have enough cash to fund operations for less than a year, compared to 45% at the end of 2008, BN reports.

Drug Combo Study: A new study finds that combining Plavix — the blood-thinner co-marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb — with heartburn pills such as AstraZeneca’s Nexium and Procter & Gamble’s Prilosec doesn’t increase the risk of heart problems, the WSJ reports. Researchers behind the 3,800-person study, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, say there’s little reason for patients or doctors to worry about a drug interaction; the FDA, which warned about the issue on the basis of observational studies, says the study was too small to give a conclusive answer.

Boosting Protection: California will next year require secondary school students to get a booster shot of the whooping cough vaccine, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state hasn’t mandated a booster before, in part out of cost concerns — but that was before a whooping cough epidemic infected more than 5,000 people, killing nine babies, the paper says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: J&J Reaches Agreement to Buy Crucell For $2.4 Billion

Vaccine Deal: Johnson & Johnson said it’s struck a deal to purchase Dutch biotech Crucell for about $2.4 billion, giving J&J access to the company’s pipeline of experimental vaccines, the WSJ reports. J&J bought a stake in Crucell last year and said it was in advanced talks to purchase the remaining shares in September. Some big Crucell shareholders say the bid is too low, the paper says.

Reassurance on ACOs: Federal officials yesterday told physicians and hospitals that they’d work to offer guidance on how to structure so-called accountable care organizations, or ACOs, so as not to run afoul of antitrust laws, Kaiser Health News reports. ACOs involve more coordinated medical care between different providers and are encouraged by health-care overhaul legislation.

Emergency Studies: Two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest changes to treatments given to patients in an emergency situation. One study finds that bystanders are better off using a simpler iteration of CPR — chest compressions alone rather than a combination of compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing — on people whose hearts have stopped beating, the WSJ reports. Another JAMA study finds that brain-injury patients weren’t helped by saline solution given intravenously by paramedics, the WSJ reports. It was thought the infusion would improve blood flow and reduce pressure on the brain.

No Harm Found: A new study suggests pregnant women can have a couple of alcoholic drinks a week without causing long-term behavioral or cognitive problems in their children, Bloomberg News reports. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiological and Community Health, found no such problems in five-year-olds born to light drinkers — though those women were also better off, socioeconomically speaking, than abstainers, BN says.

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A.M. Vitals: Novartis to Scrap Two Drugs, Take $590 Million Charge

End of the Line: Novartis is taking a $590 million to cover the cost of scrapping work on two experimental drugs — one for chronic hepatitis C, the other an antifungal agent, the WSJ reports. The Swiss drug maker was developing the hepatitis drug, albinterferon alfa-2b, with Human Genome Sciences.

Nearing an Agreement?: Final terms of the deal to sell Caritas Christi Health Care to the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and turn the hospital chain into a for-profit enterprise are close to being hammered out, the Boston Globe reports, citing people familiar with the talks. Likely conditions of the sale include a commitment to keep hospitals open for five years and increased funding of pension liability, the Globe says. (The parties involved wouldn’t comment on the details of the negotiations to the Globe.)

Big Pharma Probe: Many of the big names in pharma, including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and GlaxoSmithKline are being investigated by the federal government for overseas business practices, the WSJ reports. None of the companies have been accused of wrongdoing, the paper notes. Possible violations include payments to doctors, hospital committees and regulators to prompt the purchase or approval of drugs, the WSJ says. Representatives of the companies told the WSJ they were cooperating with the probe.

Raising Concern: Accountable care organizations — networks that bring together many different providers to better coordinate care — are praised by the health-care overhaul law, but providers worry they may violate antitrust laws and insurers say they’re no guarantee of lower costs, Kaiser Health News reports. Government and health-industry folks gather today in Baltimore to sort out some of these issues, KHN says.

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View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Novartis to Scrap Two Drugs, Take $590 Million Charge

End of the Line: Novartis is taking a $590 million to cover the cost of scrapping work on two experimental drugs — one for chronic hepatitis C, the other an antifungal agent, the WSJ reports. The Swiss drug maker was developing the hepatitis drug, albinterferon alfa-2b, with Human Genome Sciences.

Nearing an Agreement?: Final terms of the deal to sell Caritas Christi Health Care to the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and turn the hospital chain into a for-profit enterprise are close to being hammered out, the Boston Globe reports, citing people familiar with the talks. Likely conditions of the sale include a commitment to keep hospitals open for five years and increased funding of pension liability, the Globe says. (The parties involved wouldn’t comment on the details of the negotiations to the Globe.)

Big Pharma Probe: Many of the big names in pharma, including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and GlaxoSmithKline are being investigated by the federal government for overseas business practices, the WSJ reports. None of the companies have been accused of wrongdoing, the paper notes. Possible violations include payments to doctors, hospital committees and regulators to prompt the purchase or approval of drugs, the WSJ says. Representatives of the companies told the WSJ they were cooperating with the probe.

Raising Concern: Accountable care organizations — networks that bring together many different providers to better coordinate care — are praised by the health-care overhaul law, but providers worry they may violate antitrust laws and insurers say they’re no guarantee of lower costs, Kaiser Health News reports. Government and health-industry folks gather today in Baltimore to sort out some of these issues, KHN says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: Novartis to Scrap Two Drugs, Take $590 Million Charge

End of the Line: Novartis is taking a $590 million to cover the cost of scrapping work on two experimental drugs — one for chronic hepatitis C, the other an antifungal agent, the WSJ reports. The Swiss drug maker was developing the hepatitis drug, albinterferon alfa-2b, with Human Genome Sciences.

Nearing an Agreement?: Final terms of the deal to sell Caritas Christi Health Care to the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and turn the hospital chain into a for-profit enterprise are close to being hammered out, the Boston Globe reports, citing people familiar with the talks. Likely conditions of the sale include a commitment to keep hospitals open for five years and increased funding of pension liability, the Globe says. (The parties involved wouldn’t comment on the details of the negotiations to the Globe.)

Big Pharma Probe: Many of the big names in pharma, including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and GlaxoSmithKline are being investigated by the federal government for overseas business practices, the WSJ reports. None of the companies have been accused of wrongdoing, the paper notes. Possible violations include payments to doctors, hospital committees and regulators to prompt the purchase or approval of drugs, the WSJ says. Representatives of the companies told the WSJ they were cooperating with the probe.

Raising Concern: Accountable care organizations — networks that bring together many different providers to better coordinate care — are praised by the health-care overhaul law, but providers worry they may violate antitrust laws and insurers say they’re no guarantee of lower costs, Kaiser Health News reports. Government and health-industry folks gather today in Baltimore to sort out some of these issues, KHN says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: J&J Reaches Agreement to Buy Crucell For $2.4 Billion

Vaccine Deal: Johnson & Johnson said it’s struck a deal to purchase Dutch biotech Crucell for about $2.4 billion, giving J&J access to the company’s pipeline of experimental vaccines, the WSJ reports. J&J bought a stake in Crucell last year and said it was in advanced talks to purchase the remaining shares in September. Some big Crucell shareholders say the bid is too low, the paper says.

Reassurance on ACOs: Federal officials yesterday told physicians and hospitals that they’d work to offer guidance on how to structure so-called accountable care organizations, or ACOs, so as not to run afoul of antitrust laws, Kaiser Health News reports. ACOs involve more coordinated medical care between different providers and are encouraged by health-care overhaul legislation.

Emergency Studies: Two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest changes to treatments given to patients in an emergency situation. One study finds that bystanders are better off using a simpler iteration of CPR — chest compressions alone rather than a combination of compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing — on people whose hearts have stopped beating, the WSJ reports. Another JAMA study finds that brain-injury patients weren’t helped by saline solution given intravenously by paramedics, the WSJ reports. It was thought the infusion would improve blood flow and reduce pressure on the brain.

No Harm Found: A new study suggests pregnant women can have a couple of alcoholic drinks a week without causing long-term behavioral or cognitive problems in their children, Bloomberg News reports. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiological and Community Health, found no such problems in five-year-olds born to light drinkers — though those women were also better off, socioeconomically speaking, than abstainers, BN says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here

A.M. Vitals: J&J Reaches Agreement to Buy Crucell For $2.4 Billion

Vaccine Deal: Johnson & Johnson said it’s struck a deal to purchase Dutch biotech Crucell for about $2.4 billion, giving J&J access to the company’s pipeline of experimental vaccines, the WSJ reports. J&J bought a stake in Crucell last year and said it was in advanced talks to purchase the remaining shares in September. Some big Crucell shareholders say the bid is too low, the paper says.

Reassurance on ACOs: Federal officials yesterday told physicians and hospitals that they’d work to offer guidance on how to structure so-called accountable care organizations, or ACOs, so as not to run afoul of antitrust laws, Kaiser Health News reports. ACOs involve more coordinated medical care between different providers and are encouraged by health-care overhaul legislation.

Emergency Studies: Two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest changes to treatments given to patients in an emergency situation. One study finds that bystanders are better off using a simpler iteration of CPR — chest compressions alone rather than a combination of compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing — on people whose hearts have stopped beating, the WSJ reports. Another JAMA study finds that brain-injury patients weren’t helped by saline solution given intravenously by paramedics, the WSJ reports. It was thought the infusion would improve blood flow and reduce pressure on the brain.

No Harm Found: A new study suggests pregnant women can have a couple of alcoholic drinks a week without causing long-term behavioral or cognitive problems in their children, Bloomberg News reports. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiological and Community Health, found no such problems in five-year-olds born to light drinkers — though those women were also better off, socioeconomically speaking, than abstainers, BN says.

Image: iStockphoto

View the original article here