Is there an upside to the opioid substitute kratom? Some people think so and they're fighting efforts to ban it. (Kaiser Health News)
Yesterday's approval of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug was preceded by "intense bickering" within the FDA, with the drug's chief critic at the agency departing before the approval was announced, says Ed Silverman at STAT.
Opioid drugmakers spent eight times as much as gun rights organizations during the past decade on lobbying at the state and federal levels, according to an AP-Center for Public Integrity investigation.
Meanwhile, researchers have identified another adverse effect of opioids: they dull the "awwww" response to cute baby pictures. (LiveScience)
African-American physician Alvin Blount, MD, age 94, helped lead the successful effort to desegregate American hospitals in the 1960s and, last week, got an apology from a North Carolina hospital system that tried to bar him from practicing back then. (North Carolina Health News)
A new low-dose (8 mg) formulation of phentermine has been approved for weight loss, to be sold as Lomaira, says manufacturer KVK Tech.
Bundled payment models being tested by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services showed mixed results -- some showed "potential for savings," others showed significant savings, and a third group showed no savings yet, according to a CMS blog post.
The Obama administration is awarding $4.7 million in telemedicine and distance learning grants -- including seven grants to help rural hospitals connect to larger healthcare facilities to provide diagnosis and treatment services for substance use disorders.
An internal investigation cleared University of Washington neurosurgeon Richard Ellenbogen, MD, who co-chairs the NFL's committee on head, neck and spine injuries, of charges that he improperly tried to influence research grants to be funded by the league. (USA Today)
Also in football news, Sunday was a bad day for NFL running backs, with seven starters going down with injuries, reports Monday Morning MD's David Chao. Among them, stars Adrian Peterson and Danny Woodhead.
Psychiatric Times has an interview with an expert on "positive computing," an emerging intersection between technology and mental health.
Thirteen pharma companies promised steps to curb antibiotic overuse as well as leakage from their factories into waterways -- after some years of study and consideration, of course. (Reuters)
Only five marijuana growers were approved for New York's medical marijuana program, and one is already in financial trouble, Politico reports.
Today and tomorrow, an FDA advisory committee will discuss whether wound care products impregnated with antimicrobial agents -- many of which are currently unregulated -- should come under stricter agency review.
The Department of Veterans Affairs needs to do a better job of vetting the community physicians caring for veterans, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Social media superstar Kim Kardashian West has become more transparent about the paid nature of her drug promotions, says FiercePharma.
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