Content about Massachusetts

WALTHAM, Mass. — One-of-every-4 deaths among Americans between the ages of 35 years and 69 years can be attributed to smoking, according to a study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine. But smoking cessation efforts can help curb that trend, researchers noted. 

MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn. — Zipnosis, which provides patient access to mainstream medicine via online diagnosis and the treatment of common health needs, has announced that its services are now available in 11 states across the country.

Patients who live in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin can now visit Zipnosis.com and receive a diagnosis and treatment from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

NEW YORK — While replacing a single combination pill for HIV with generics would save the healthcare system money, it could also diminish the effectiveness of treatment, a new study suggests.

The study, led by investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, and published in the Jan. 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, found $1 billion in potential savings, but the more complicated treatment regimen might result in more patients missing doses and a loss of drug effectiveness.

CANTON, Mass. — A new product is designed to make toilet paper mimic wet wipes while being easier to flush.

Fresh Dab, introduced by a company of the same name, is a gel applied to toilet paper, which the company said would allow for better removal of residue than toilet paper alone, while also allowing toilet paper to break down as it normally would, unlike wet wipes that can clog sewage and septic systems.

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a hemophilia drug that it called the first of its kind.

The drug maker announced that it had submitted a regulatory application for recombinant factor IX Fc fusion protein, or rFIXFc, which it called the first long-lasting factor IX therapy for hemophilia B.

WESTON, Mass. — An experimental drug for Lou Gehrig's disease made by Biogen Idec has failed in a late-stage clinical trial, the drug maker said Thursday.

Biogen announced results of its phase-3 trial of dexpramipexole in patients with the disease, known technically as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The drug failed to improve functioning and survival in patients and failed to show efficacy in key secondary endpoints as well, the company said.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — A majority of prescribers would prescribe biosimilar versions of two treatments for rheumatoid arthritis within a year of their approval, according to a new study.

ANDOVER, Mass. — More than 10% of Americans consider Web-enabled, mobile health apps a part of their health care and key to living long lives, according to a new survey by a division of electronics manufacturer Philips.

Royal Philips Electronics commissioned Opinion Research to conduct a survey of 1,003 adults, finding that 11% said that were it not for Web-based health information, they might already be "dead or severely incapacitated."

BOSTON — The state health department in Massachusetts has made changes to the state's pharmacy board and leveled sanctions against three pharmacies in the wake of a nationwide meningitis outbreak traced to a compounding pharmacy in the state, the department said.

NEWTON, Mass. — L’Oréal has signed an agreement with Castanea Partners to acquire the fashion-forward, edgy beauty brand Urban Decay.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, were not disclosed. In the fiscal year ended in June 2012, Urban Decay, which is sold in such beauty retailers as Ulta and Sephora, recorded net sales of $130 million.

In the United States, Urban Decay will report to Carol Hamilton, president of L'Oréal Luxe USA.

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Drug maker Shire has started a research program focused on rare diseases and their effects on patients and healthcare professionals, the company said Monday.

Shire announced the launch of the Shire Rare Disease Impact Report, which includes surveys of patients, caregivers, physicians, payers and others in the United States and United Kingdom, with results expected in the first half of 2013.

NEW YORK — Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg is asking Congress to give the agency more power to regulate compounding pharmacies amid a nationwide meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts-based compounding pharmacy that has claimed dozens of lives nationwide.