Reuters Health Report

Click to View in Browser 01/13/2014 GSK's Tafinlar named as FDA breakthrough therapy for lung cancer LONDON (Reuters) - British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline said its Tafinlar cancer treatment had been given FDA breakthrough therapy designation for lung cancer, meaning the drug will be fast-tracked within the U.S. regulatory system. Brain training helped older adults stay sharp for years: study CHICAGO (Reuters) - A brief course of brain exercises helped older adults hold on to improvements in reasoning skills and processing speed for 10 years after the course ended, according to results from the largest study ever done on cognitive training. Hong Kong confirms second death from H7N9 bird flu HONG KONG (Reuters) - A 65-year-old man infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus has died in Hong Kong, the government said on Monday, the second such death in the city. China reports second H7N9 bird flu death in a week BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported one more death from the H7N9 strain of bird flu in southwestern Guizhou province, state news agency Xinhua said on Monday, in the second death from the virus in the past week. GSK hands back failed muscular dystrophy drug to Prosensa LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has handed back rights to an experimental drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy to Dutch biotech firm Prosensa after it failed last year in a critical clinical trial. Merck's anti-blood clot drug should be approved: FDA review (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc's experimental blood clot-preventing drug vorapaxar should be approved, based on "robustly positive" clinical trial results, according to a preliminary review of the data by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Lexicon Pharma to cut 45 percent of workforce, CEO to leave (Reuters) - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc said its chief executive would leave and it would cut its workforce by about 45 percent, as it moves its focus away from drug discovery to completing the studies of its drugs in late-stage development. FDA raises more concerns about Ranbaxy's India plants, shares fall MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has raised concerns about the manufacturing practices at a factory owned by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, the Indian drugmaker said on Monday, sending its shares down to nearly a one-month low. India breaks free of polio in boost to global immunization drive NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Monday marked three years since its last reported case of polio, paving the way for it to be declared free of the crippling virus and boosting efforts to wipe out the disease globally, the Organization (WHO) said. Sanofi to buy 12 percent of Alnylam, expands rare-disease drug deal SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi will buy a 12 percent stake in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc for $700 million and deepen their partnership to develop drugs for rare genetic diseases. Related Video Brazilian inventor sows seeds for farmers' success Elephant warning system to help humans in harm's way The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS

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