VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Walgreens has threatened to pull out of partnership with Theranos following the notice the latter received from the federal authorities regarding deficient medical practices. The drug retailer has given a 30-day ultimatum to its partner to clear their name, or their association gets terminated.

WHO on Thursday has warned for probable spread of Zika virus across the North and Central American countries. Ahead of rising concerns for Zika spreading, drug makers and scientists have commented that manufacturing of an appropriate vaccine may even require a decade. These warnings has opened a huge business potential for Oxitec, an Intrexon subsidiary. Oxitec’s gene modified mosquitoes are capable of ensuring security against Zika for large populations.

The FDA advisory panel has approved the use of an implant to help treat patients who are addicted to opiods. The implant will administer the drug slowly over a period of six months, but those opposed to the decision say that there are still problems with the implant that should be addressed before becoming approved for public use.

FDA has been reported to seize 90,000 bottles of RelaKzpro branded diet supplement on Wednesday. The seizure has been conducted under Federal Food, Drink & Beverage Act following a suit filed by the US Department of Justice on behalf of FDA in the District Court. The suit accuses kratom containing diet supplements as adulterated due to unreasonable health hazards.

For the first time in history, the FDA has approved the medical use of a virus to treat people with cancer - specifically those suffering from skin cancer, or melanoma. The announcement was made through a news release by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 27, stating that Melanoma is the most widespread form of cancer in the country and will be responsible for the deaths of 10,000 people by the end of 2015.

General Nutrition Corporation or GNC is on the hot seat as it is being accused of selling dietary supplements incorporated with illegal additives. Along with other sellers, GNC received notification letters from the New York Attorney General's office saying that it had been unable to verify several supplements contained in the label or some ingredients are not listed in the label.

A former Merck and Co Inc financial analyst was sentenced to three years and a month in prison for insider trading charge by the US Attorney of New York.

The health warning on a MarkTen electronic cigarette package is 116 words long. That's much longer than the warnings on traditional cigarette packs in the United States.

KFC, the world's largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics.

Costco Wholesale Corp is working toward eliminating the sale of chicken and meat from other animals raised with antibiotics that are vital to fighting human infections, senior executives at the third-largest U.S. retailer told Reuters on Thursday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's top enforcement chief warned on Tuesday that too many pharmaceutical companies are failing to accurately portray their dealings with federal drug regulators - a problem that could get them in trouble.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Japan's Eisai Co Ltd's drug to treat the most common form of thyroid cancer more than two months ahead of the review date.

A steep fall in Ebola cases in Liberia will make it hard to prove whether experimental vaccines work in a major clinical trial about to start in the country, the head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Saturday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc's drug Natpara to treat a rare hormone disorder, validating a bet by Shire Plc, which recently agreed to acquire NPS for $5.2 billion.

Shire Plc has agreed to buy NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc for $5.2 billion in its biggest acquisition yet, as the Dublin-based drugmaker strengthens its position in the lucrative field of medicines for rare diseases.