food and drug administration

Obama ‘Comfortable’ With FDA Approach On Plan B

President Barack Obama says he’s comfortable with his administration’s decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.

2013/05/03

The New England Compounding Center is shown here on Oct. 5, 2012 in Framingham, Mass. (credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Report: FDA Failed To Act For Years To Close Pharmacy Responsible For Deadly Meningitis Outbreak

House Republicans said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration should have acted years earlier to close the Massachusetts pharmacy responsible for a deadly meningitis outbreak tied to contaminated medications.

2013/04/16

Robot Use In US Surgeries Increases Exponentially, FDA Reviews Spike In Reported Malfunctions

The biggest thing in operating rooms these days is a million-dollar, multi-armed robot named da Vinci, used in nearly 400,000 surgeries nationwide last year — triple the number just four years earlier.

2013/04/09

Federal Regulators Look To Stop Billion Dollar Deals Between Drug Companies, Generic Brands

Federal regulators are pressing the Supreme Court to stop big pharmaceutical corporations from paying generic drug competitors to delay releasing their cheaper versions of brand-name drugs. They argue these deals deny American consumers, usually for years, steep price declines that can top 90 percent.

2013/03/25

File photo of peanut butter. (credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

FDA Suspends Registration Of Country’s Largest Organic Peanut Butter Processor

The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a New Mexico peanut butter plant that had repeated food safety violations over several years, using new authority to halt operations at facilities that may be producing unsafe food.

2012/11/27

FDA Finds Contamination Issues at Source of Meningitis Outbreak

Federal health inspectors found numerous potential sources of contamination, including leaky ceilings and insects, at a drug-making facility that has the same founders as the specialty pharmacy linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak.

2012/11/12

A client places an oral swab into a solution to complete an HIV test during a free HIV testing event at by the Whitman-Walker Health on Feb. 7, 2012 in Washington, D.C. (credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

FDA Panel Approves First Take Home HIV Test

American consumers may soon be able to test themselves for the virus that causes AIDS in the privacy of their own homes, after a panel of experts on Tuesday recommended approval of the first rapid, over-the-counter HIV test.

2012/05/16

File photo of scientists conducting AIDS research. (Photo by Alyssa Banta/Newsmakers)

FDA Favors First Drug For HIV Prevention

Federal drug regulators on Tuesday affirmed landmark study results showing that a popular HIV-fighting pill can also help healthy people avoid contracting the virus that causes AIDS in the first place. While the pill appears safe and effective for prevention, scientists stressed that it only works when taken on a daily basis.

2012/05/08

Maryland Health Officials Warn Against Unapproved Cold Med Baczol

Maryland health officials are warning against using an unapproved medicine called Baczol, which has been found in some Maryland stores.

2012/04/06

File photo of sushi. (credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images)

Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 90 People In 19 States

Federal health officials are investigating a growing outbreak of salmonella that has sickened 90 people in 19 states and the District of Columbia, according to a Food and Drug Administration memo.

2012/04/03