All about ban on glyphosate, illness at Ohio Chipotle, US production quota cuts for opioids

A potential ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil over concerns it may cause cancer in humans would be a "disaster" for the country's agricultural industry, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Thursday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 17-08-2018 10:38 IST | Created: 17-08-2018 10:26 IST
All about ban on glyphosate, illness at Ohio Chipotle, US production quota cuts for opioids
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed that U.S. drugmakers cut production quotas of the six most abused opioids by 10 percent next year to fight a nationwide addiction crisis. (Image Credit: Twitter)

FDA approves Teva's generic of Mylan's EpiPen

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's generic version of Mylan NV's life-saving allergy injection, EpiPen, at a time when regulators are looking to lower healthcare costs. U.S.-listed shares of Teva jumped 6 percent to $23.88, while those of Mylan were down 1.3 percent at $37.31.

China sacks top official over vaccine scandal, the firm may de-list

China has sacked a senior provincial official and is probing a former top drug regulator after a safety scandal at vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co Ltd, which again warned it could be delisted over the scandal. The company was accused in July of falsifying data for a rabies vaccine and manufacturing an ineffective vaccine for babies, sparking widespread consumer anger.

Japan's Eisai sets price tag of about $16,000 on liver cancer drug

Japan's Eisai Co Ltd said on Thursday it would price its cancer drug Lenvima at about $16,000 for a month's supply before discounts after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use in patients with a common form of liver cancer. The drug was approved as the first therapy in over a decade in the United States to treat previously untreated patients with an advanced or intermediate stage of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

WH Group shuts China slaughterhouse for six weeks after African swine fever discovery

WH Group Ltd, the world's top pork producer, on Friday said it had been ordered to shut a slaughterhouse in central China for six weeks after pigs there died of African swine fever (ASF) in the country's second case of the disease. Some 30 hogs died of the illness on Thursday at the slaughterhouse in Zhengzhou in Henan province, controlled by China's largest pork processor Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development, a subsidiary of WH Group.

Exclusive: OxyContin maker Purdue taps financial restructuring adviser - sources

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP has tapped law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP for financial restructuring advice, as its potential liabilities swell with a wave of lawsuits over the opioid addiction epidemic sweeping the United States, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Purdue and other opioid manufacturers, including Endo International Plc and Johnson & Johnson, have been fighting hundreds of lawsuits filed by U.S. states, counties, and cities accusing the drugmakers of pushing addictive painkillers through deceptive marketing.

The ban on glyphosate would be 'disaster' for Brazil agriculture: minister

A potential ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil over concerns it may cause cancer in humans would be a "disaster" for the country's agricultural industry, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Thursday.

A Brazilian court ruled on Aug. 3 that new products containing the chemical could not be registered in the country and existing registrations would be suspended starting from September until health authority Anvisa issues a decision on its re-evaluation of glyphosate's safety.

Illness at Ohio Chipotle caused by food-borne bacteria: local officials

A type of bacteria found in meat and pre-cooked food left at unsafe temperatures was responsible for sickening hundreds of people who ate at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Ohio, local health officials said on Thursday.

The outbreak last month was the latest in a series of food safety lapses at the burrito chain, and health officials said it was caused by the clostridium perfringens bacterium, which often infects food that is prepared in large quantities and kept warm for a long time.

Lawmakers want British vaping rules relaxed to help smokers quit

Vaping rules should be relaxed to allow the promotion of e-cigarettes as tools to help tobacco smokers quit, British lawmakers said on Friday. This could include prescribing medically licensed e-cigarettes to assist smoking cessation efforts.

Pfizer bets on biotech flu vaccine in $425 million BioNTech alliance

Pfizer has agreed to pay German biotech firm BioNTech up to $425 million in an alliance to develop more effective influenza jabs, the latest among several major pharma companies to bank on a promising new genetic approach. Privately-held BioNTech will receive $120 million upfront plus up to $305 million depending on certain development achievements as well as tiered royalties on futures sales in the double-digit percentage range, the two companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Trump administration proposes production quota cuts for six opioids

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed that U.S. drugmakers cut production quotas of the six most abused opioids by 10 percent next year to fight a nationwide addiction crisis.

In a statement, the U.S. Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said the proposed cut would be in keeping with President Donald Trump's effort to cut opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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