Daily Briefing: The First Stem Cell-Based Drug Is Approved

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Published on
May 18, 2012

 

Stem-cell-based drugsStem Cells: Canadian regulators have approved the first manufactured drug based on stem cells, New York Times' Andrew Pollack reports.  Osiris Therapeutics of Maryland manufactures the drug, which will be used to treat graft -versus-host disease in children.  

Hepatitis C: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that being a baby boomer is a risk factor for hepatitis C and recommended that those in the age group get tested for the virus, the San Francisco Chronicle Reports.  

Medicaid: A report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that  the federal government gave the state of New York $700 million more than it needed in 2009 to care for residential developmental disability patients, reports Danny Hakim of the New York Times.

Junk Food: A new study found that students in high schools in California, which regulates the sale of junk food in school vending machines, eat fewer calories in school than do high school students in states that do not regulate school sales, reports Reuters' Kenny Grens.  

Health Care Law: Health official in 27 states are developing contingency plans to deal with "uninsurable" patients who would loose coverage if President Obama's health care law is overturned by the Supreme Court, the Washington Post Reports.

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