Wed 22 Feb 12

New medicines on the PBS

THE Government has agreed to fund nine new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme including Astra Zeneca’s Brilinta (ticagrelor) for acute coronary syndrome; GlaxoSmithKline’s antibiotic Zinnat (cefuroxime axetil); and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sprycel (dasatinib) for chronic myeloid leukaemia.

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Tue 21 Feb 12

Generics could save millions

AUSTRALIA pays significantly more for generics and prescribes proportionally less of them than other countries, according to a recent article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

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Tue 21 Feb 12

Omega-3 for healthy hearts

RESEARCHERS at the University of Sydney have found that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in adults who were small at birth.

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Mon 20 Feb 12

EMA clamps down on drugs

THE European Medicines Agency (EMA) has released its final recommendations for 12 medicines manufactured by Ben Venue Laboratories- which at present has suspended manufacturing at its Bedford Ohio facility (PD 12 Jan).

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Mon 20 Feb 12

Govt pain killer crack down

PHARMACISTS will be able to better monitor and stop prescription drug abuse, with a new five million dollar electronic records system that has been announced by the Federal Government.

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Fri 17 Feb 12

Bayer goes into bat for Yas

BAYER Pharma AG and Bayer Australia Limited have gone into bat to protect the company’s oral contraceptives Yas and Yasmin, launching Federal Court proceedings yesterday against Lupin Australia and Generic Health.