GSK biotech asthma drug wins UK approval after extra price cut

GlaxoSmithKline's new injectable asthma drug Nucala has been recommended for use in Britain's state-run health service in the most severe patients, after the drugmaker provided further analyses on its use and made an additional price cut.

China vows to cap water consumption, crack down on polluters

China will keep national annual water consumption below 670 billion cubic meters (bcm) through to 2020, the state planning agency said on Wednesday, part of efforts to ease chronic regional shortages by cutting waste and boosting efficiency. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it would also aim to cap total water consumption at less than 700 bcm a year though to 2030. China has long been worried about a water supply bottleneck that could jeopardize future economic development, with per capita supplies at less than a third of the global average.

Japan orders major poultry cull after first bird flu outbreak in nearly two years

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has started culling more than 300,000 chickens and ducks after the discovery of a highly contagious form of bird flu on farms in the north of the country, local officials said.

6 Take Homes from Liver Meeting

(MedPage Today) -- From HCV to PSC, AASLD sessions covered the waterfront

China plans skiing, skating drive for 2022 Winter Games

China wants to get 300 million citizens involved in winter sports by the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and plans to encourage them by building more than 500 ice skating rinks and 240 ski slopes over the next six years, the government said. The country's top economic planner said on Friday that the number and scale of China's current facilities did not match its winter sports development targets. "At the moment... there is a large gap with other developed countries with winter sports," the National Development and Reform Commission said in a document signed by other government bodies including the finance and sports ministries.

3 Australians critically ill after rare thunderstorm asthma

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - An official says three patients remain critically ill three days after a rare condition known as thunderstorm asthma killed four people and sent hundreds to hospitals in Australia's second-largest city.

Survey finds many experience new problems after LASIK

(Reuters Health) - Many people who undergo laser surgery to correct their vision experience new eye problems months after the procedure, according to a new study from the U.S. government.

Huge study finds a billion people suffer from high blood pressure

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people with high blood pressure has almost doubled in 40 years to over 1.1 billion worldwide, scientists said on Wednesday, with the burden of the condition shifting from the rich to the poor.

Prisons fight opioids with $1,000 injection: Does it work?

SHERIDAN, Ill. (AP) - U.S. prisons are experimenting with a high-priced monthly injection that could help addicted inmates stay off opioids after they are released, but skeptics question its effectiveness and say the manufacturer has aggressively marketed an unproven drug to corrections officials.

Timing of Meals Linked to Fatty Liver (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Distributing calories during the day could reduce NAFLD risk

Israel reports H5N8 bird flu at farm: OIE

Israel has reported an outbreak of highly contagious H5N8 bird flu virus on a farm, a case likely due to contact with wild birds migrating from Europe, international animal health body OIE said on Monday. The outbreak occurred in Hefzi-Bah in the northern district of Hazafon and killed 1,500 birds out of 34,500 on the farm, the OIE said, citing information from the Israeli authorities. "Israel is on the migration route of wild birds coming from Europe to Africa.

J&J arthritis drug goes up against Humira, with mixed results

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said its experimental sirukumab treatment for rheumatoid arthritis showed mixed results against AbbVie Inc's top-selling Humira in a large trial.

British American Tobacco to test tobacco e-cigarette in Japan

By Taiga Uranaka and Martinne Geller TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) plans to test a new tobacco-based cigarette alternative in Japan next month, it said on Tuesday, taking aim at Philip Morris International Inc's popular iQOS and Japan Tobacco Inc's Ploom Tech. BAT said it plans to launch its new product, called "glo", on Dec. 12 in the northeastern city of Sendai. Glo electronically heats tobacco enough to create an inhalable vapor.

Three U.S. senators ask Mylan for EpiPen military reimbursements

(Reuters) - Three members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, ahead of a planned hearing late this month, said Mylan NV appears to have greatly overcharged the military for its lifesaving allergy treatment EpiPen and asked the pharmaceutical company when it plans to reimburse the Department of Defense. The reimbursement demand came in a letter on Monday to Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch, from Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and committee members Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, both Democrats. "We are alarmed that Mylan may have overcharged our military for this life-saving drug," the Senators wrote.

Self-care could cut need for millions of GP visits

Simple self-care measures could end millions of unnecessary GP visits every year, says the LGA.

Amyloid Scans Change Dementia Diagnoses (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Is this the study that wins Medicare coverage for amyloid PET imaging?