Recent News

By Region: North America

Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs

(InstituteofMedicine) Falsified and substandard medicines provide little protection from disease and, worse, can expose consumers to major harm. Bad drugs pose potential threats around the world, but the nature of the risk varies by country, with higher risk in countries with minimal or non-existent regulatory oversight. While developed countries are not immune, – negligent production Read More »

February 13, 2013
| Filed under North America, Public Health, and Research
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FDA Report Supports Botulinum Antidote

(NTI) A new report by U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff indicates an antidote to the lethal botulinum toxin could be safely and effectively used in humans, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Canada-based biopharmaceutical firm Cangene in 2006 received a U.S. contract now worth $476 million for final preparation and production of 200,000 doses of the Read More »

February 13, 2013
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Newly identified natural protein blocks HIV, other deadly viruses

(Eurekalert) A team of UCLA-led researchers has identified a protein with broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah and others designated “priority pathogens” for national biosecurity purposes by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

February 12, 2013
| Filed under North America and Research
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Bill Gates Says Expect Polio Eradication by 2018, Measles and Malaria, You’re Next

(GOOD) Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft turned global health pioneer through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, did a Reddit AMA on Monday, and discussed everything from polio vaccination to how he used to jump over chairs to train for what he called his “hard core” skiing habit. We’ve pulled together his best Read More »

February 12, 2013
| Filed under North America and Public Health
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Cangene drug against bioterrorism toxin likely safe for humans

(FierceBiotech) U.S. drug regulators deem a therapy developed by Cangene likely to be effective in humans to protect against a toxin considered a bioterrorism threat. Botulinum neurotoxin has long been judged a potential biological warfare agent, and there are currently no licensed vaccines to prevent botulism, a paralytic illness that can be fatal. Based on Read More »