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Appeals court will consider blocked NYC soda ban on Tuesday

By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration will try to convince an appeals court on Tuesday to reinstate a ban on large sugary drinks, three months after a judge struck it down at the 11th hour as an illegal overreach of executive power.

Obama reverses course on morning-after pill; critic sees him 'caving to political pressure'

NEW YORK, N.Y. - After setting off a storm of criticism from abortion rights groups, upset that a Democratic president had sided with social conservatives, the Obama administration said it will comply with a judge's order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions. But in doing so at least one opponent of easy access to the contraception thinks the president is buckling to political pressure, rather than making the health of girls a priority.

Roche gets Swiss approval for skin cancer drug

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG has received Swiss approval for Erivedge, the first medicine for people with advanced forms of basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer. Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, said about 10,300 people are diagnosed with carcinoma in Switzerland a year and there are more than two million new cases worldwide.

Calgary man upset cancer-stricken wife moved from hospice care to long-term care

CALGARY - A Calgary man is looking for some answers from Alberta Health officials after his terminally ill wife was discharged from a hospice. Ian McDougall's wife has been sick with cancer for two years and spent the last three months in the Sarcee Hospice. McDougall says although her doctor recommended she stay put, administrators ordered her discharged and she was placed in a nursing home. McDougall says he believes it looks like the case of a patient who's lived too long.

US to allow morning-after pill for girls of any age

The Obama administration said Monday it would comply with a judge's order to allow women and girls of any age to purchase emergency contraception, ending its efforts to restrict the drug's availability. The reversal on the politically sensitive issue means that anyone, including young girls, will soon be able to purchase the popular Plan B One-Step morning-after pill over the counter, without a prescription.

U.S. group amends transplant policy for kids after lawsuits

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. group that sets policy for organ transplants voted on Monday to give some children access to adult organs after the parents of two children successfully sued to add them to the adult list for lung transplants. The cases, both in Pennsylvania, have touched off a debate in the United States over how donor organs - a scarce, life-saving resource - should be allocated among the 1,659 people, including 30 children, on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

Ottawa tables final rules for medical marijuana, gives pharmacists a reprieve

OTTAWA - After two years of study and discussion, the federal government has finalized new rules for medical marijuana and granted a reprieve to pharmacists who opposed the rules in their draft form. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq rolled out the regulations today for formal publication in the Canada Gazette on Wednesday. Under the new regime, the government will no longer produce or distribute medical pot and medical marijuana users will no longer be allowed to grow the product at home.

Research needed on child abuse prevention: panel

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There still isn't enough evidence to say whether office- or home-based programs ordered by doctors actually prevent child abuse when obvious signs of maltreatment are absent, according to a government-backed panel.

Canada to snuff out medical marijuana production in homes

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada, a pioneer in the use of medical marijuana, will take legal production out of private homes next year as it seeks to address more than a decade of neighborhood spats and criminal activity. Health Canada will also snuff out its own production, which has been another legal source of the drug, and leave supplies solely to licensed growers in the private sector.

Dynavax's hepatitis B vaccine delayed as FDA seeks more data

(Reuters) - Dynavax Technologies Corp said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked for additional safety data on its experimental hepatitis B vaccine potentially delaying its approval and sending its shares down as much as 30 percent. Analysts said the company will be required to conduct an additional trial on Heplisav - Dynavax's most advanced clinical candidate. Cowen and Co analyst Phil Nadeau said the outcome of Dynavax' meeting with the FDA was disappointing.
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