FDA rejects Actelion's Zavesca for rare NP-C disease

Actelion’s bid to get a new use approved for Gaucher disease drug Zavesca has suffered a setback after regulators in the USA asked more information on the drug as a treatment for a rarer condition

FDA panel backs InterMune's Esbriet for IPF

Shares in InterMune will soar today after advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration voted in favour of recommending Esbriet for approval as a treatment for lung scarring

Pfizer/Biotie schizophrenia pact coming to an end

Pfizer is ending a partnership with Biotie to develop schizophrenia treatments, the Finnish drugmaker has revealed

Ark/Oxford BioMedica merger touted as Cerepro file is pulled

Ark Therapeutics is in talks about a possible sale after European regulators informed the UK firm that an expensive additional clinical trial is needed before its brain cancer drug Cerepro could be given the green light

Abbott Labs to buy Facet Biotech in $722 million deal

Having rejected much lower hostile bids from partner Biogen Idec last year, Facet Biotech Corp has agreed to be acquired by Abbott Laboratories for $27 per share

Ultrasound may benefit pressure ulcer healing

Ultrasound used alongside standard wound treatment could promote healing of pressure ulcers. This is the result of a pilot study reported in the Journal of Wound Care.

Top NHS bosses' pay to be frozen

Thousands of top-earning public sector workers are facing a pay freeze following today’s report by the independent salary review body.

Protected 'nurse' title some way off

Nurses will have to wait for some time before they see their title protected, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

NHS IT programme review needed, says BMA

Doctors’ leaders have written to the government calling for parts of the NHS IT programme to be suspended.

Mölnlycke launches Mepilex heel dressing size

Mölnlycke Health Care has added a new size dressing to its Mepilex Heel range.

Kidney donors face little risk, study shows

A new investigation involving 80,000 participants has revealed that people’s length of life is unlikely to be shortened if they donate a kidney.

Home wound care therapy more cost effective than hospital treatment

The results of a pilot study have suggested that providing home topical negative pressure (TNP) therapy may have qualitative and economic benefit.

Herbs do not help women conceive - British Fertility Society

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine do nothing to make pregnancy more likely, the British Fertility Society has said.

'Full' hospitals treating patients in non-clinical areas

Patients are routinely being treated in areas of hospitals not designed for care, a Nursing Times survey has revealed.

Doctor urges total cigarette ban

A respiratory specialist has called for cigarettes to be banned after witnessing increasing numbers of younger people develop lung disease.