Agency issues draft guidance for abuse-deterrent generics Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 24, 2016.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a draft guidance intended to support industry in their development of generic versions of approved opioids with abuse-deterrent formulations (ADF) while ensuring that generic ADF opioids are no less abuse-deterrent[Read More…]

New Law Will Create State’s First Syringe Access Programs;  Harm Reduction Gone Mainstream: Florida Follows in Steps of Kentucky, Indiana and Republican-Led Congress in Passing Syringe Access Reforms FLORIDA–(ENEWSPF)–March 23, 2016.  Today, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the IDEA Act (“Miami-Dade Infectious Disease Elimination Act”), after it passed the Florida[Read More…]

New safety warnings also added to all prescription opioid medications to inform prescribers and patients of additional risks related to opioid use Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2016.  In a continuing effort to educate prescribers and patients about the potential risks related to opioid use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration[Read More…]

Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2016. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may prove more effective than usual treatment in alleviating chronic low-back pain, according to a new study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers from[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 21, 2016.  Today, Representative Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Older Americans Act reauthorization: “As co-chair of the Seniors Task Force and the former executive director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens, I know how critical the Older Americans[Read More…]

Boston, MA –(ENEWSPF)–March 21, 2016.   Truck drivers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who failed to adhere to treatment had a rate of preventable crashes five times higher than that of truckers without the ailment, according to researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Morris,[Read More…]

Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 21, 2016.  Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal to ban most powdered gloves in the United States. While use of these gloves is decreasing, they pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury to health care providers, patients and other individuals[Read More…]

Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 21, 2016.  On Friday, March 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Anthim (obiltoxaximab) injection to treat inhalational anthrax in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs. Anthim is also approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate. Inhalational anthrax is a[Read More…]

  New Ebola cases confirmed in Guinea as WHO warns of more possible flare ups. Photo: WHO/M.Winkler GENEVA–(ENEWSPF)–18 March 2016 – The United Nations health agency has dispatched a team of specialists to Guinea after 2 new cases of Ebola were confirmed yesterday, the first re-emergence of the deadly virus[Read More…]

NIH-funded study could inform development of male contraceptives, infertility treatments Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 18, 2016.  Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered the cellular switch that boosts the activity of sperm cells so that they can travel to the egg.  The finding may lead to new options for[Read More…]