| Over-the counter heartburn drug could save consumers thousands
The over-the-counter drug omeprazole (Prilosec OTC) is just as effective in easing heartburn and acid reflux as costlier prescription medicines--and could save consumers up to $2,000 a year, according to an updated report from Consumer Reports' Best Buy Drugs initiative.
Prilosec OTC and prescription versions of similar drugs, such as lansoprazole (Prevacid) and esomeprazole (Nexium), belong to a class of drugs called proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). They are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the country, and manufacturers have put a great deal of marketing muscle into steering consumers to their brands. Nexium, for example, was the second-most advertised drug in 2005, with a $205 million direct-to-consumer ad campaign.
But according to the Consumer Reports' Best Buy Drugs report, none of the PPIs are significantly more effective than the others, with the only real difference being price.
Nursery games
As the latest round of parental heartburn outside nursery schools suggests, the Ganguly Committee's 100-point formula for nursery admissions has not worked. The five-member committee, headed by CBSE Chairman Ashok Ganguly and comprising eminent educationists, has been a let-down. Parents have not been spared the harassment of scurrying about to cast their nets wide, investing time, energy and money in filling up admission forms in as many schools as possible. Like any other year, there has been little transparency in the process of rejecting applications. As for the schools, which have protested against the illogical procedure all along, the formula has hardly signalled the end of admissions through 'contacts'. All this is not surprising. The formula, ridden with holes, was supposed to ensure that private schools follow guidelines and have transparent dealings in their nursery admissions.
AstraZeneca to Slash Jobs Despite Growth
AstraZeneca PLC announced it will slash 3,000 jobs over the next three years despite reporting its third successive year of earnings growth Thursday, stressing that it still needs to improve its weak pipeline of future drugs. The drug maker, which is facing patent challenges and escalating generic competition, revealed the job cuts as part of a US$500 million (euro384.02 million) three-year revamp of its supply chain as it said that sales growth would continue at a slower pace this year. Net profit for the three months to Dec. 31 rose 17 percent to US$1.4 billion (euro1.08 billion), from US$1.2 billion a year earlier, AstraZeneca said. Revenue rose 14 percent to US$7.2 billion (euro5.56 billion). For the full year, profits rose 28.5 percent to US$6.04 billion (euro4.66 billion), while revenue lifted 11 percent to US$26.8 billion (euro20.69 billion), marking the third year of growth since the expiration of a number of key patents in 2003.
B-Sides: Deployed Hoosiers do whatever it takes to watch football
Mitch Hunt, a fellow product of Prairieton Elementary School, was mentioned along with several other Wabash Valley folks serving in Iraq with Task Force Indy 38th DISCOM, an Indianapolis-based unit of the Indiana Army National Guard. That unit of 130-plus Indiana Guard men and women supplies life support services to more than 50,000 multinational soldiers, U.S. Department of Defense civilians and contractors around Baghdad International Airport.The release then explained how the soldiers have tried to follow the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl through the Armed Forces Network television broadcasts. Soldiers wanting to see the playoff games live had to stay up all night, thanks to the eight-hour time difference between Iraq and the U.S. Eastern time zone.The line in the press release that caught my eye, though, explained that many of the Task Force Indy soldiers — Indianapolis Colts fans — "slept through the NFC [Championship] game and set their alarms for 2:30 a.m.
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