DES MOINES, Iowa — Stung by paying billions of dollars for settlements and trials, chemical giant Bayer has been lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills providing it a legal shield from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Nearly identical bills introduced in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho this year — with … Read more
LIBBY, Mont. — Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from railroad tracks where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to sneak into vermiculite-filled storage bins … Read more
TOKYO — Japanese government health officials raided a factory Saturday producing health supplements that they say have killed at least five people and hospitalized more than 100 others. About a dozen people wearing dark suits solemnly walked into the Osaka plant of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. in the raid shown widely on Japanese TV news, including … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — Noriko Kuwabara was excited to try a new recipe she’d seen on social media for crispy shrimp spring rolls, so she and her husband headed to Costco’s frozen foods aisle. But when she grabbed a bag of farm-raised shrimp from the freezer and saw “Product of India,” she wrinkled her nose. “I … Read more
SAN FRANCISO — Gerald Levin, who led Time Warner Media into a disastrous $182 billion merger with the internet provider America Online, died Wednesday at the age of 84, according to media reports. Levin had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, although his cause of death was not immediately reported. The former executive’s grandchild, Jake Maia … Read more
WASHINGTON — The first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available in U.S. stores later this month, allowing American women and teens to purchase contraceptive medication as easily as they buy aspirin. Manufacturer Perrigo said Monday it has begun shipping the medication, Opill, to major retailers and pharmacies. A one-month supply will cost about $20 … Read more
In this photo illustration, BHP logo of a multinational mining, metals and petroleum company is seen displayed on a smartphone in front of BHP Billiton logo. The world’s largest listed miner was cautiously optimistic on a demand recovery in the developed world in the next 12 months but said it was not yet clear how effective … Read more
The popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro pushed Eli Lilly past fourth-quarter forecasts, and the drugmaker predicted that 2024 will turn out largely better than expected too as new products build momentum. Lilly said on Tuesday that company revenue could climb as much as 22% and surpass $41 billion this year. Analysts expect sales to continue to … Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, that had been distributed through legitimate drug supply sources. The FDA and the drug’s maker, Novo Nordisk, are testing the shots. They do not yet have information about the drugs’ identity, … Read more
NEW YORK — Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb is acquiring Karuna Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company that has developed a new antipsychotic, in a $14 billion deal. Bristol Myers Squibb and Karuna announced their merger agreement on Friday. The transaction, which amounts to $330 per share in cash, offers a premium of 53% over Karuna’s stock on … Read more
