Tag: Drug and device safety
Drug-resistant killer bugs linked to air pollution, top scientists say – POLITICO
As if air pollution wasn’t deadly enough.
Now new research suggests tiny airborne pollutants may be linked to higher rates of drug-resistant lethal bacteria.
In the study, researchers from Zhejiang University, China and the University of Cambridge, England, concluded that air pollution is one of the leading factors driving antimicrobial resistance (AMR) after compiling data from 116 countries between 2000 and 2018, with more than 11.5 million lab test results covering nine bacterial pathogens and 43 types of antibiotics.
The
9 ways Dutch political paralysis hits the EU – POLITICO
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It’s hard to punch above your weight if you’re handcuffed.
In Brussels, the Netherlands is known for its assertive positioning in EU legislation in a wide range of policy files. Despite its relatively small size, the Netherlands has a tendency to get involved, even on files that are not at the core of the Dutch domestic debate.
Its prime minister, Mark Rutte, is the second-longest serving European Union leader
Why Big Pharma might think twice about running away to America – POLITICO
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Is Big Pharma crying wolf?
In the six months since the EU’s plans to reform its rules for medicines were leaked, CEO after CEO has lined up to warn that the legislation will sabotage the European pharma market and force companies to invest elsewhere. Their threat, not always veiled, is that they’ll take their business to America.
But with the United States undergoing its own radical clampdown on drug
AI improves breast cancer detection rate by 20 percent – POLITICO
Artificial intelligence is able to accurately detect 20 percent more breast cancers from mammograms than traditional screening by radiologists, according to early results from a Swedish trial published overnight.
The study is the first randomized controlled trial to look at using AI in breast cancer screening and comes amid a dramatically shifting landscape for the technology and how it’s regulated.
The interim results, published in the Lancet Oncology late Tuesday, found that using AI-supported analysis of mammograms, alongside either one
Spanish police arrest Mexican drug cartel kingpin in Madrid – POLITICO
The leader of the European division of the Mexican Los Zetas drug cartel was arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid Monday.
The accused, who goes by the name of “Said,” is Moroccan and 54 years old, El Mundo reported. Four more cartel members were also apprehended.
“A total of five people have been arrested in addition to the seizure of 400kg of narcotic substances and 220,000 euro in cash,” the Spanish National Police wrote. The cartel had been trying to
Long wait for justice in one of Britain’s worst health scandals – POLITICO
LONDON — Decades after they were let down by the state that was supposed to care for them, British victims of the world-wide infected blood scandal are still waiting for amends.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was heckled as he sought to answer a flurry of questions on his administration’s response to what has been called the “worst treatment disaster” in the history of the National Health Service.
Thousands died – with many more falling ill — after being
How to navigate Spain’s EU presidency policy agenda like a pro – POLITICO
Spare a thought for Spanish diplomats in Brussels. They’re going to be working flat-out until Christmas.
Sweden has spent the last six months trying to process a huge pile of legislative files, many of which were proposed late by a European Commission distracted by COVID-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Despite commendable progress, many of these files still need a lot of work before being passed into law. Look at the files we’ve laid out below, then look back at
Confronting the world’s number one killer: cardiovascular disease – POLITICO
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) — often regarded as the ‘silent pandemic’ — is the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2019 alone, it was responsible for 18.6 million deaths.
The same year marked the beginnings of the COVID-19 crisis, which revealed profound deficits and inequities in our health care policies and systems. Hospitals were not only overrun and under-resourced, but the prevention, screening and treatment of non-communicable diseases were also disrupted.2 This daunting global crisis, however, revealed something else: our
Who killed the COVID vaccine waiver? – POLITICO
“Is that a direct threat? I don’t know.” The adviser to the Belgian prime minister spoke calmly as they recounted a lobbying phone call from 2021, but the contents of the conversation are extraordinary.
The call was from a spokesperson for Janssen, the Belgian-founded pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) that developed the company’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. According to the adviser, the spokesperson warned them that if Belgium supported a radical proposal made by India and South Africa at
After Roe, abortion’s underground railroad gains steam – POLITICO
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RIGA — If you want to get an abortion in Poland, Kinga Jelinska is happy to help.
Legally terminating your pregnancy is almost impossible in the Eastern European country. Abortion is only allowed in the case of rape or incest, or when it threatens the life of the woman.
That’s where Jelinska comes in. She’s the co-founder and executive director of Women Help Women, an Amsterdam-based nonprofit that helps provide women with the