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?

Subcutanous ICDs Exchange Lead Risks for Erosion, Failures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Complication rates similar but types differ versus transvenous devices

U.S. watchdog highlights dire state of Afghan road system

Billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's road infrastructure over more than a decade risk going to waste because of poor maintenance, a U.S. Congressional oversight body said on Saturday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said U.S. agencies had spent $2.8 billion since 2002 building roads in Afghanistan but wear and tear as well as the Taliban insurgency had damaged the system badly. "USAID and (the Department of Defense) spent billions of dollars on road construction in Afghanistan, but have had only limited success in ensuring the long-term sustainability of those roads," the report said.