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By Sharon Atieno African countries bear the biggest brunt of fake medicines, accounting for nearly three in 10 medicines circulating the market. As a result, more than 100,000 Africans are losing their lives, a new report reveals. According to the white paper titled “Securing the Medicine Distribution Network in Africa,” majority of these medicines include antimalarials, antibiotics, painkillers (particularly opioids), HIV antiretrovirals and genitourinary medicines. Anti-inflammatories and blood-derived products are also affected. A 2023 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on trafficking in medical products in the Sahel found that between 72,000 and 169,000 children die each year from pneumonia treated with subpar or fake antibiotics. Worse still, of the one million annual deaths caused by malaria, 200,000 could be avoided if patients were treated with genuine medicines, according to a 2018 Le Figaro report. The white paper...

FRIDAY, June 13, 2025 (News) -- Despite an increase in the prevalence of prescribing, only 0.5 percent of U.S. adolescents with obesity were prescribed an obesity medication in 2023, according to research published in the June 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . Using ambulatory electronic medical record data, Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined trends in the proportion of U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with obesity who were prescribed U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved obesity medications during 2018 to 2023. The researchers observed a substantial increase in the proportion of U.S. adolescents who were prescribed obesity medication in 2023 (by about 300 percent compared with 2020), the year after expansion of FDA approval of two obesity medications to include adolescents. In 2023, 0.5 percent of adolescents with obesity were prescribed an obesity medica...

Two of the first drugs proven to slow down Alzheimer's disease will be denied to NHS patients from this week - unless they pay to go private. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has refused the 'miracle' drugs lecanemab and donanemab for use on the NHS as they are too expensive to justify. This means over 70,000 patients in England will be denied the 'game-changing' drugs, found to slow cognitive decline by an average of four to seven months, unless they can afford tens of thousands of pounds a year for private treatment. After a positive drug trial in 2022, lecanemab (brand name Leqembi) made by Eisai, and donanemab (marketed as Kisunla), made by Eli Lilly, were proven to clear toxic amyloid protein from the brain and thus slow the underlying cause of dementia. Campaigners hailed it as 'the beginning of the end' of Alzheimer's. Iain Hartnell, Research Communications Officer at Alzheimer's S...

Fallout continues after a chaotic clash between protesters and law enforcement serving a drug trafficking warrant on Lake Street in Minneapolis Tuesday . While residents and local leaders denounced the tactics, they do say drugs are a growing problem in Minneapolis. Health care officials are sounding the alarm, too. The chaotic clash is gone but questions remain — about the optics in which federal agents went about the raid at a Mexican restaurant on Lake Street. Many believed the raid was tied to immigration enforcement, but the Department of Homeland Security calls it a "groundbreaking criminal operation." Local leaders say the search warrant was connected to "drugs and money laundering." "I don't know one person who's OK with drug smuggling in our communities," said Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt. In fact, Witt says Tuesday's operation needed to be done, pointing to an uptick in overdoses. ...

BATON ROUGE, La. ( Louisiana First ) — A man was arrested after a drug bust in Baton Rouge on Wednesday. According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, deputies conducted a multimonth investigation into a suspected drug dealer, Johnny Richardson, 38. During the investigation, agents were able to identify a location in the 4900 block of Mobile Drive that is believed to be associated with Richardson’s alleged narcotics operation. Agents managed to purchase crystal meth from Richardson. EBRSO noted that Richardson left the home before the purchase and returned immediately after. A search warrant was granted for Richardson’s home and vehicle. On Wednesday, deputies conducted a traffic stop of his vehicle. After searching the home and vehicle, investigators seized the following: 6.13 ounces of crystal meth 5.8 grams of powder fentanyl (58 lethal doses) 4.5 pounds of THC edibles 29.8 grams of marijuana ...