Healthcare - Business - BostonHerald.com

Broad scientists NOTCH another success

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:43:07 -0500

An Innovative chemical staple that can hold up human cells in their three-dimensional states has opened doors into a new field of cancer-fighting research, scientists at the...

4 kidneys swapped in bellybutton surgery

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:16:14 -0500

BALTIMORE - University of Maryland Medical Center surgeons have transplanted four kidneys through the patients' belly buttons. The patients and surgeon Matthew Cooper...

Official: Mass. in line for $160M for Social Security error

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:29:53 -0500

Massachusetts is owed $160 million from the federal government for a little-known Social Security policy that's been erroneously overlooked for 35 years, according to...

Cardiologist and Boston Sci exec Donald Baim dies at 60

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:35:00 -0500

NATICK - Dr. Donald Baim, a renowned cardiologist and medical device executive, died Friday following surgery to treat a form of cancer, his family said in a statement. He...

AMA president: Lawsuits up health care cost

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:10:12 -0500

Trial lawyers are a big reason health-care costs are on the rise, American Medical Association President J. James Rohack told a group of Harvard Business School alumni yesterday. ...

US backs MSU, UK, MIT studies of medicinal plants

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:36:01 -0500

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Researchers at three universities have received $6 million in federal stimulus grants to study the genetics of how plants make compounds used in medicines. The...

AMA president: Lawsuits drive up health-care costs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:44:58 -0500

Trial lawyers are a big reason health-care costs are on the rise, American Medical Association President J. James Rohack told a group of Harvard Business School alumni today. ...

Boston Scientific paying $296 million settlement

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:10:47 -0500

NEW YORK - Medical device maker Boston Scientific says it will pay $296 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation into the company's Guidant unit. The...

Report: Student health plans inefficient

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:11:38 -0500

BOSTON - A new report shows that the health insurance plans sold to almost 100,000 college students in Massachusetts result in higher profits for insurance companies than...

Democrats' plan to help 'uninsurables' questioned

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:57:52 -0500

WASHINGTON - You're afraid your cancer is back, and a health insurance company just turned you down. Under the health care bills in Congress, you could apply for coverage...

Sources: AARP to endorse House health care bill

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:11:05 -0500

WASHINGTON - Officials are telling The Associated Press that AARP_the seniors' lobby_will endorse the health care overhaul bill that House Democrats are preparing to...

Smart Rx: Drugs that work and won't break the bank

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:19:28 -0500

WASHINGTON - Last year pharmaceutical companies spent more than $4 billion urging patients like you to "ask your doctor" about their drugs. But if you want a prescription...

FDA will fast-track review of Shire's Gaucher disease treatment

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:07:14 -0500

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will fast-track its review of Shire PLC's treatment for Gaucher disease, the Cambridge biotechnology company announced today. ...

Families seek coverage for hearing aids

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:56:29 -0500

Health insurance companies in Massachusetts are not required to pick up the cost of children's hearing aids, but if Josephine Lee of Georgetown and other parents have...

Merck, now No. 2 drugmaker, set for future buys

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:15:38 -0500

TRENTON, N.J. - The new Merck & Co. has become the world's second-biggest drugmaker overnight, with a fat wallet to fund future deals. That's after the maker...

First aid for switching careers

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:53:48 -0500

More career changers are moving into health care these days, because the field remains largely recession-proof due to the aging population and a health-care overhaul that...

NH gets $136M financing plan for hospitals

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:18:24 -0500

CONCORD, N.H. - A company that operates two hospitals and a medical office in New Hampshire is getting a $136.4 million federal loan for expansion and renovation projects. The...

Low cholesterol may prevent some prostate cancers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:48:59 -0500

MILWAUKEE - Men may protect more than their hearts if they keep cholesterol in line: Their chances of getting aggressive prostate cancer may be lower, new research suggests. One...

Health insurer Humana 3Q profit jumps on government programs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:43:43 -0500

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Health insurer Humana Inc. rode its strong government business in posting a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit today, as bulging membership and premiums...

Report: Ariad cancer drug shows promise

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:15:44 -0500

A new drug from Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. may help people with cancer for whom current therapies don't work, according to a report released today in the scientific...

Stigma part of breast cancer's grip on poor

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:04:35 -0500

WASHINGTON - Nurses were training women in rural Mexico to examine their breasts for cancer when one raised her hand to object. If she lost her breast, Harvard public health...

1 dose of flu vaccine working in pregnant women

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:23:18 -0500

WASHINGTON - A single dose of the swine flu vaccine works well for almost all pregnant women, but young children will still need two doses for best results, federal health...

Human Genome reports positive data on lupus drug

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:07:52 -0500

NEW YORK - Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline said today their experimental lupus treatment passed another key goal on its path to potentially becoming the first new...

FDA won't accept Merck's application for new drug

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:00:49 -0500

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. - U.S. regulators won't accept drugmaker Merck's application for a new combination cholesterol pill that includes rival Pfizer's Lipitor,...

Amylin signs obesity drug deal with Takeda

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:38:19 -0500

NEW YORK - Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it could potentially receive more than $1 billion from a partnership with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. on potential obesity...