International Business News - Drugs http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif The Food and Drug Administration ordered stronger warnings Thursday on four medications widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses, saying they can raise the risk of possibly fatal fungal infections. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080904/fda-orders-stronger-warnings-for-4-arthritis-drugs.htm Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:28:09 EDT Venezuelan authorities incinerated more than 3 tons of drugs on Wednesday, but the U.S. drug czar pointed to a sharp decline in cocaine seizures as proof the country needs to do much more. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/us-venezuela-spar-on-drugs-as-seizures-decline.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:29:24 EDT President Hugo Chavez's insistence that Venezuela doesn't need U.S. help in fighting drug trafficking is raising diplomatic tensions as American officials warn of a surge in cocaine flights out of the country. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/120697-venezuela-us-drugs.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080901/us-venezuela-increasingly-at-odds-on-drugs.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080901/us-venezuela-increasingly-at-odds-on-drugs.htm Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:16:41 EDT Take the generic drug clonidine for high blood pressure? Double-check that you didn't leave the drugstore with Klonopin for seizures, or the gout medicine colchicine. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080901/watch-out-for-drug-names-that-look-sound-alike.htm Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:53:47 EDT Venezuela on Sunday rejected U.S. requests to resume cooperation in the war on drugs, saying it has made progress despite an alleged fourfold-gain in the amount of Colombian cocaine now passing through its territory. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/119760-venezuela-us-drugs.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080831/venezuela-no-anti-drugs-pact-with-us.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080831/venezuela-no-anti-drugs-pact-with-us.htm Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:28:40 EDT A list of some prescription medications for which concerns have been raised involving suicidal thoughts and actions: _All antidepressants. Drugs such as Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin and Zoloft carry required warnings that the medications can increase suicidal thinking and behavior in some children, adolescents and young adults. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080831/list-of-drugs-with-suicide-concerns.htm Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:27:07 EDT Cody Miller was a high school football player who was allergic to ragweed. Douglas Briggs was a doctor coping with pain from an old back injury. Both are now dead, hanging victims driven to suicide, their families believe, when drugs prescribed to relieve physical symptoms upset their mental and emotional balance. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080831/suicide-risks-studied-in-drugs-for-physical-ills.htm Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:24:17 EDT New data on whether the popular cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin increase risk of cancer will be one of the highlights of a huge European conference of heart specialists opening Saturday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080829/cholesterol-drugs-cancer-risk-in-spotlight.htm Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:39:27 EDT What does a company do when there's anecdotal evidence that two of its drugs are equally effective in treating a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, one costing patients $60 per treatment and the other $2,000? http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/study-outcome-wont-sway-company-on-eye-drug.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:49:27 EDT Among the sector activity stories for Wednesday, Aug. 27, from AP Financial News: NEW YORK (AP)--Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. could feel more competitive pressure in the diabetes market as their drug Byetta comes under scrutiny after new patient deaths were reported Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/sector-roundup-diabetes-drugs-auto-suppliers.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:16:04 EDT A four-year effort to cut West Virginia's prescription drug costs has achieved many goals but has fallen short in its key mission, with estimated savings to date at just under $300,000, an audit released to legislators Tuesday said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080826/new-report-targets-w-va-s-quest-to-cut-drug-costs.htm Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:59:24 EDT Drought and anti-drug campaigns helped slash Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation by 19 percent this year compared to 2007, but Taliban militants could still derive up to $70 million from the harvest, the U.N. anti-drug chief said Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/116589-afghanistan-drugs.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080826/un-opium-cultivation-drops-in-afghanistan.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080826/un-opium-cultivation-drops-in-afghanistan.htm Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:49:37 EDT Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says its troops have confiscated 1.3 tons of opium in southern Afghanistan. In a statement Monday the ministry said its counter-narcotics force seized the drugs during a raid in Marjah district of Helmand province last week. Three smugglers were detained. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080825/1-2-tons-of-opium-seized-in-afghanistan.htm Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:29:31 EDT The U.S. drug czar appealed to Venezuela's government on Friday to take action against the flourishing flow of cocaine being smuggled through the country. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/114196-caribbean-cocaine.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/us-drug-czar-cocaine-flow-through-venezuela-grows.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/us-drug-czar-cocaine-flow-through-venezuela-grows.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:13:39 EDT Nearly three years into the Medicare drug benefit, federal officials have yet to ensure that private drug plans enacted programs to deter fraud and abuse, government investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/audits-of-medicare-drug-plans-lacking.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:33:32 EDT Many people in Medicare with diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions stop taking their medicine when faced with picking up the entire cost of their prescriptions, researchers say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080821/insurance-gap-leads-some-elderly-to-forgo-medicine.htm Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:01:01 EDT People with chronic chest pain who are not in big danger of a heart attack now may have even less reason to rush into an artery-opening angioplasty: There's more evidence drugs should be tried first and often are just as effective. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080814/drugs-as-good-as-stents-for-many-heart-patients.htm Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:43:44 EDT People with chronic chest pain who are not in big danger of a heart attack now may have even less reason to rush into an artery-opening angioplasty: There's more evidence drugs should be tried first and often are just as effective. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080813/drugs-as-good-as-stents-for-many-heart-patients.htm Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:04:56 EDT A Burrillville town councilor got more than he bargained for when he bought a used police cruiser at auction. Kevin Blais bought the 2004 Ford Crown Victoria in an online auction from the Hartford, Conn., public works department. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080808/r-i-man-finds-cocaine-in-used-police-cruiser.htm Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:29:05 EDT Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly hiking the prices of specialty medications by 100 percent or more--sometimes much more--attracting scrutiny from lawmakers who have pledged to lower health care costs. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080808/drug-price-hikes-draw-scrutiny-from-lawmakers.htm Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:59:39 EDT