The FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs officially began its transition to a program-based structure Monday, aligning inspection staff into seven product categories — and creating three new geographic divisions for oversight of devices.
Scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick have created a graphene-based sensor that could lead to a wearable device that when blow into predicts the likelihood of an asthma attack.
Researchers have used data gathered by connected thermometers to predict the onset of an influenza outbreak. An analysis of data from users of the iThermometer wearable and its companion app in China predicted the spike in the 2015-16 flu season one month before the country’s public health body.
Pharma reps may soon have to cancel any doctor dinners they have planned in California. A state-level bill would cut off most drugmaker payments to physicians, including speaking fees for that staple of pharma marketing, the slideshow, over dinner.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham have identified the mechanism that causes muscle cells to stop regenerating as people age. This knowledge could lead to methods to slow — but not stop — the decline in muscle mass and function people experience as they get older.
The WannaCry ransomware attack that took out the United Kingdom Healthcare Service (UKHS) also hit at least two Bayer medical devices in the U.S., Forbes reports. An image received by the business magazine shows the now-familiar WannaCry ransom message obscuring the display of a Bayer radiology system.
The U.S. could run into a vaccine supply predicament if an influenza pandemic hits, since only one drug maker has a U.S. facility with egg-based vaccine production capabilities. Furthermore, the situation could be even more serious if the epidemic comes from an Avian Flu, which could infect the very same hens that supply the eggs used for vaccine development.
China’s FDA is proposing another round of policy changes designed to hasten clinical trial approval and lift restrictions placed on trial sites, with the ultimate goal of allowing drugs to get into the clinic faster.
Metformin has been helping patients with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar for more than two decades; however, now researchers led by McGill University are investigating a new use for the drug: to treat fragile X syndrome, which causes some forms of autism.