MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'epo'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:38:43 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540739&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fy-ozTQgTevA%2F Five former Amgen execs have ‘taken the Fifth’ in depositions that were conducted as part of a False Claims Act lawsuit scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Boston later this year. And the former Amgen sales rep and product manager who brought the lawsuit is fighting to have the depositions filed in court and made public. At issue are allegations that Amgen provided free ‘overfills’ of its Aranesp anemia medication and encouraged doctors to bill Medicare and Medicaid for the extra amounts. The lawsuit, which was filed by Kassie Westmoreland, also charges the biotech offered kickbacks to doctors in the form of fictitious consulting arrangements and weekend getaways in order to steal market share from Johnson & Johnson, which sells the rival Procrit treat... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540739 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:02:31 +0100 4540739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4300551&cid=t_149897_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fremembering-gene-goldwasser-discoverer-of-epo-a-cure-for-anemia%2F2010.12.30 Gene Goldwasser died last week. He was 88, and he was my friend. I wrote previously about a series of conversations I conducted with Gene and Rabbi A.J. Wolf a few years ago. I met Gene one spring day after calling to invite him to sit in on a class I was teaching to a small group of medical students about social issues in healthcare. I’d read about him in a book called “The $800 Million Pill,” by Merrill Goozner. In the book, Goozner writes the story of Gene’s two-decade hunt to isolate the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). Part of the story relates how Gene tried to interest traditional big pharma companies in his discovery, only to be brushed aside. Instead, Gene wound up sharing his discovery with what became Amgen. The company went on to make a windfall from recomb... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4300551 Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0100 4300551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2838952&cid=t_149897_105_f&fid=39005&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allkidney.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fanemia-in-kidney-disease.html This study revealed that adults learned more efficiently the arbitrary association between visual and auditory novel … (show more) This study revealed that adults learned more efficiently the arbitrary association between visual and auditory novel stimuli when the visual stimuli were explored with both vision and touch. The results are discussed from the perspective of how they relate to the functional differences of the manual haptic modality and the hypothesis of a “haptic bond” between visual and auditory stimuli. Association and Haplotype Analyses of Positional Candidate Genes in Five Genomic Regions Linked to Scrotal Hernia in Commercial Pig Lines: Scrotal hernia in pigs is a complex trait likely affected by genetic and environmental factors. A large-scale associatio... All Kidney News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2838952 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:49:56 +0100 2838952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1865678&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F415092345%2F The drugmaker is trying to bolster its image after two more bicyclists tested positive for using its Mircera anemia medication, which some athletes apparently use to increase their stamina. Three stage winners in the Tour de France - Stefan Schumacher of Germany and Italy’s Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli - have been caught cheating with the drug, which is an advanced version of EPO. Schumacher (pictured left) and Piepoli were exposed Monday, the Associated Press reports. (Another cyclist was caught last summer). Roche, in fact, says it has been collaborating with the World Doping Agency to help catch cheats since 2004. And now the International Olympic Committee plans to retest samples taken from athletes in all sports at the recent Beijing Games to search for traces of the drug... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1865678 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:36:31 +0100 1865678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1646368&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F343470191%2F Ricardo Ricco, who upset some big names in biking during this year’s tour, was caught doping after the drugmaker planted a traceable molecule in the banned stamina-building drug he had taken, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency. And so the 24-year-old was kicked off after testing positive for EPO, or erythropoietin. Roche included a molecule in the third generation of EPO, called Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CARA), that acted as a flag in drug tests showing when an athlete was using the substance, John Fahey, WADA’s chief, tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Until this year’s Tour, the CARA EPO, which is released into the body more slowly than its predecessors, had been thought to be virtually undetectable by drug testers, ABC reports. Bu... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1646368 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:36:49 +0100 1646368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1335413&cid=t_149897_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fbreast-cancer%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fwho-will-fix-healthcare-and-heal-our-nation%2F There is no doubt that Barack Obama is a charismatic and inspirational political candidate. I like him as much as the next person and the media has swayed me into viewing him as a formidable presidential candidate. I am inclined however to quote a popular line from a ’70s commercial given by a little old lady; “Where’s the beef?” Although his speeches are exhilarating and eloquently delivered, there still for me is little substance in his policies. This election has to be about the people. I agree the economy, the war and immigration are all major platforms for this presidential race but the people of America at their healthiest and most vibrant will together affect these issues if the right policies are in place. I am a subscriber to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If you are ... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1335413 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:23:53 +0100 1335413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1256388&cid=t_149897_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fbreast-cancer%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Fhillary-clinton-will-address-healthcare-in-america%2F This is an amazing time in American politics. The increase in participation in these recent primaries is unprecedented. For breast cancer survivors and advocates this is an important time in American politics as well. Right up front I am going to tell you that I don’t get to vote this year. That privilege is for US Citizens only, and the process of becoming a citizen is quite long. However, the outcome of this year’s presidential election affects me and my family as much as any other living here in the United States of America. I don’t have to tell you how important the healthcare issue is for the upcoming election. Even the American Medical Association has sponsored an ad to stimulate interest in this issue and the need to give all Americans access to healthcare. There can be no dou... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1256388 Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:14:59 +0100 1256388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1236380&cid=t_149897_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fbreast-cancer%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Ffighting-to-keep-what-you-dont-really-have-in-us-healthcare%2F This past week, I have been reviewing benefit packages from both my husbands company and the one I work for. Like most people living in America, health benefits are a big part of how we select employment. My husband’s company has a great health care plan but the monthly co-pay for a family is at least 30 percent higher than the one through my company. The last company I worked for charged me a $500.00 monthly copay. I have discovered in speaking to many, many people about the plans that they get from their companies, that anywhere between $300.00 and $600.00 is considered quite reasonable these days for employee co-pay on family benefits. That is for a PPO plan which took me a while to understand gives me the best choices in care; only it costs me an additional amount if I choose a docto... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1236380 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:32:53 +0100 1236380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1015066&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F181677360%2F The biotech made several changes to the warning labels on its EPO drugs, Aranesp and Epogen, and six new clinical trials are being proposed to assess their safety in treating chemotherapy-induced anemia in specific types of tumors. The revised labels say therapy should end following the completion of chemotherapy, and patient dosing should be adjusted to achieve and maintain the lowest hemoglobin level possible to avoid a blood transfusion. The warnings also state that the hemoglobin level should not exceed the upper safety limit of 12 grams per deciliter of blood. The changes to the boxed warnings include additional language in the indications and usage section, addition of an oncology study to the warnings section, and clarification of the hemoglobin range for chronic renal failure patie... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1015066 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:13:10 +0100 1015066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=958988&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F171321645%2F The agency sent a letter to Pete Stark, a congressional Democratic, last week endorsing restrictions decided last July by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the use of Amgen’s Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson’s Procrit in cancer patients undergoing chemo. The letter comes amid a growing debate in Congress over those restrictions. Amgen, in particular, has been lobbying pretty hard to undo the restrictions, which limited usage due to tumor growth and increased mortality. And the lobbying has started to pay off. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in the House to role back the restrictions. The drugmakers have been getting help, by the way, from the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology and US Oncology, a treatment center... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=958988 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:23:26 +0100 958988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=926351&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F165173043%2F Indeed, the Levaquin calculator is good for adding or subtracting just about anything, not just the value of those lunches. Docs can tally the number of invitations to attend a CME dinner or a swanky conference. A key opinion leader can display the amount of speaking fees he or she would like to receive. This hand-held device would also make it easier to keep track of side effects that go unreported to MedWatch. Or docs can punch in the number of reps who come knocking each month - and how many times they showed them the door. Oncologists, meanwhile, can use this to calculate reduced Medicare reimbursement for those EPO drugs. Hat tip to Drug Rep Toys Share / E-mail (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=926351 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:38:16 +0100 926351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=925507&cid=t_149897_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F164743800%2F Less than a month, after the US Senate passed a resolution requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reconsider its decision to place tougher reimbursement restrictions on anemia drugs used by chemo patients, two congressional reps have introduced a bill to overturn the CMS move, The Hill reports. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat, and Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, introduced legislation that maintains the CMS revised payment policy puts patients at risk by restricting Medicare coverage of EPO drugs - Amgen’s Aranesp and Epogen, and Johnson & Johnson’s Procrit. Medicare proposed the new guidelines after the FDA added warnings to the drug labels in March over concerns that usage at high levels can increase risk of blood clots, heart attack and death. A... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=925507 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:13:30 +0100 925507