December 2015

Contradicting common perception, researchers have found that low levels of vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine vitamin", does not cause or worsen sleep apnea.

Health Minister J.P. Nadda, along with Bollywood actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra, launched the nationwide Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplement (WISF) awareness campaign here.

The CDB Institute of Technology under the Coconut Development Board (CDB), which aims at innovations in the coconut industry, on Wednesday launched diabetic-friendly coconut biscuits.

With increasing cases of cancer across the country, the medical fraternity and policy planners face the challenge of mitigating and preventing the dreaded disease, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Wednesday.

Boehringer Ingelheim will make a significant investment in biopharmaceutical production at its Vienna (Austria) site. There the research-driven pharmaceutical company will establish a new large-scale biopharmaceutical production facility for active ingredients manufactured using cell cultures. With the roughly half billion euro investment Boehringer Ingelheim will also create more than 400 new jobs in the Austrian capital. The exact investment and job numbers will be established as details are ironed out.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Uptravi (selexipag) tablets to treat adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a chronic, progressive, and debilitating rare lung disease that can lead to death or the need for transplantation. Uptravi is marketed by San Francisco-based Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Zurampic (lesinurad) to treat high levels of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia) associated with gout, when used in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI), a type of drug approved to reduce the production of uric acid in the body. Zurampic is manufactured by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer announced the opening of trial sites for an international Phase III study of avelumab*, an investigational fully human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, in patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer. The JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial is the first Phase III study of a PD-L1 inhibitor investigated as a treatment for platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer. The alliance also announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has provided approval to move forward with a Phase III study of avelumab as a maintenance treatment, in the first-line setting, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. The first trial sites are expected to open shortly.