January 2016

Novartis announced today a collaboration with Qualcomm Incorporated through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Life, Inc., in digital innovation with the Breezhaler(TM) inhaler device to treat COPD. Under this collaboration, Qualcomm Life will provide the technology solution for the connectivity of the next generation of the Breezhaler(TM) inhaler, a device used for Novartis' portfolio of COPD treatments of Onbrez(TM) Breezhaler Seebri(TM) Breezhaler, and Ultibro(TM) Breezhaler, the leading LABA/LAMA treatment.

Using a medication prescribed to treat conditions including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase newborns' risk of heart defects, says a study.

Increased sugar levels in blood change the behaviour of blood vessels making them contract more strongly than normal which could result in higher blood pressure and increase the risk of heart attack complications, a study says.

A gene that is known to suppress the growth and spread of many types of cancer has the opposite effect in some forms of colorectal cancer, says a study led by an Indian-origin scientist.

Baxalta Incorporated, a global biopharmaceutical leader dedicated to delivering transformative therapies to patients with orphan diseases and underserved conditions, and Symphogen, a private biopharmaceutical company developing recombinant antibodies and antibody mixtures, announced a broad strategic immuno-oncology collaboration.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued two final orders to manufacturers and the public to strengthen the data requirements for surgical mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP) transvaginally, or through the vagina. The FDA issued one order to reclassify these medical devices from class II, which generally includes moderate-risk devices, to class III, which generally includes high-risk devices, and a second order that requires manufacturers to submit a premarket approval (PMA) application to support the safety and effectiveness of surgical mesh for the transvaginal repair of POP.