Peggy Peck

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA approved a diet drug today that it wants no one to even consider taking. Slentrol (dirlotapide), is an obesity agent for dogs, with nasty side effects if humans try it.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it fined four makers of over-the-counter weight-loss products more than million for false advertising, including a .2 million civil penalty against Bayer for claims made for One-A-Day Weight Smart.

SAN ANTONIO -- Among the major breast cancer events of 2006, there was a report of a dramatic drop in the annual incidence, evidence that an osteoporosis drug may prevent invasive disease, and encouraging reports about an investigational therapy.

MONTREAL -- Early reports about promising investigational compounds and new insights into the effect of diet on the gut were highlights in gastroenterology during the year.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Meat and milk from the offspring of cloned cattle, pigs, and goats may soon find its way to American dinner tables, with the FDA's blessing.

SAN DIEGO -- The editor-in-chief at the Journal of the American College of Cardiology confirmed today that an editorial on drug-eluting stents in the Jan. 2 issue contains a significant error.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA today approved Olympic Cool-Cap, a device that cools the head to prevent damage caused by neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition that affects 5,000 to 9,000 newborns each year.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA today approved Invega (paliperidone) for treatment of acute schizophrenia.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Two patients treated with the immune modulator Rituxan (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythmatosus have died of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), the FDA warned physicians.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Two FDA advisory committees agreed today that the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin) should be limited to second-line therapy for community-acquired pneumonia, and that the drug should have black box warning added to its label.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Two FDA advisory committees agreed today that the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin) should be limited to second-line therapy for community-acquired pneumonia, and that the drug should have black box warning added to its label.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA announced today it had narrowed the indications for Trasylol (aprotinin injection), a drug used control bleeding during heart surgery, partly because of belatedly revealed risks of death or serious kidney damage.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA announced today it had narrowed the indications for Trasylol (aprotinin injection), a drug used control bleeding during heart surgery, partly because of belatedly revealed risks of death or serious kidney damage.

BETHESDA, Md. -- Two U.S.-led trials of men in sub-Saharan Africa were halted early when interim analyses of results confirmed that circumcision can significantly reduce heterosexual transmission of HIV.

BETHESDA, Md. -- Two U.S.-led trials of men in sub-Saharan Africa were halted early when interim analyses of results confirmed that circumcision can significantly reduce heterosexual transmission of HIV.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Frozen oysters on the half shell, imported from South Korea and distributed to five states, have been linked by the FDA and CDC to a small outbreak of norovirus in Oregon.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Frozen oysters on the half shell, imported from South Korea and distributed to five states, have been linked by the FDA and CDC to a small outbreak of norovirus in Oregon.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Frozen oysters on the half shell, imported from South Korea and distributed to five states, have been linked by the FDA and CDC to a small outbreak of norovirus in Oregon.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Midway through a two-day FDA hearing on the safety of drug-eluting coronary stents the hard questions were still open.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- There are more questions than answers on the eve of the start of a two-day special FDA advisory panel on drug-eluting stents, such as whether they are safe, who should get get them, and who should not.

CLEVELAND -- The abrupt halt to clinical trials of torcetrapib, an investigational HDL-boosting agent, raises questions about any drug that inhibit cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), according to cardiologist Steven Nissen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- After a 14-year ban, silicone-gel breast implants will be allowed back on the market for breast reconstruction or augmentation, the FDA announced.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 17 -- The FDA said today it has expanded approval of Herceptin (trastuzumab) to include its use as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of early stage HER2 positive breast cancer.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved five new indications for Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, all rare life-threatening disorders. At the same time the FDA added a precaution to Gleevec's label about congestive heart failure.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Aricept (donepezil), a cholinesterase inhibitor on the market for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, today became the first of its class to win FDA approval for severe disease.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved the anti-angiogenic agent Avastin (bevacizumab), in combination with Taxol (paclitaxel) and Paraplatin (carboplatin), as first line therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- With the echoes of the Institute of Medicine's unrestrained critique of the FDA last month still resounding, two more broadsides calling for major reform were fired today at the beleaguered agency.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved Zolinza (vorinostat) capsules as second-line therapy for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma that is refractory or recurrent.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved Risperdal (risperidone), an adult antipsychotic agent, for symptomatic treatment of irritability in autistic children and adolescents.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Novartis Oncology said today it would send letters to U.S. physicians this week advising them of a possible link between Gleevec (imitinib mesylate), the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and congestive heart failure.