 | | | | Express Scripts Holding Co on Tuesday announced a new drug reimbursement list with lower U.S. prices for brand-name medications, as a way to encourage drugmakers to move away from paying rebates after a prescription is filled. The manager of prescription drug benefits for large corporate employers and government health plans said its new National Preferred Flex Formulary will be available as of Jan. 1 to all clients. | | | | | | Walmart and Home Depot, two of the top 10 U.S. employers, have embraced a health insurance strategy that punishes drugmakers for using discount cards to keep patients from switching or stopping their medications. | | | | | | Chinese animal feed maker Tangrenshen Group said on Tuesday that tests on feed made by one of its units had ruled out the presence of the deadly African swine fever. | | | | | | (This Nov 11 story corrects headline and text throughout to say case of disease in feed was suspected, not confirmed. Removes paragraph, bullet saying it is first reported contamination of feed supply.) | | | | | | AstraZeneca has taken another step to refocus on priority drugs by selling U.S. rights to a treatment for infant lung infections to Swedish Orphan Biovitrum for an upfront fee of $1.5 billion. | | | | | | Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Tuesday its Tecentriq medicine will get a speedy review by U.S. regulators in a tough-to-treat form of breast cancer, as it seeks to be the first company to have its immunotherapy win approval in this indication. | | | | | | China's agricultural ministry said on Tuesday it had confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever in central Hubei province. | | | | | | (Reuters Health) - The availability of helicopter ambulance service varies widely across different European countries, a recent study suggests. | | | | | | (Reuters Health) - More than half of U.S. children may not be getting the recommended amount of physical activity and doctors can help by making exercise one of the "vital signs" assessed in routine health checks, researchers say. | | | | | | (Reuters Health) - Concussions are still often missed or ignored in World Cup soccer games despite rule changes designed to sideline players with head injuries, a new study suggests. | | | | | | (Reuters Health) - A large U.S. study designed to gauge the health benefits of vitamin D and fish oil supplements concludes that the omega-3 oil can dramatically reduce the odds of a heart attack while vitamin D's benefits seem to come from lowering the risk of death from cancer. | | | | | |
