Can a common green algae improve the health of your gut? People with inflammatory bowel disease will soon be asked to help answer that question.An upcoming study at UC San Diego will look for volunteers to add a nutritious green algae to their diet, said algae researcher Steve Mayfield. The goal is to see if the algae improve the function of gut microbes, possibly alleviating symptoms.The study will be performed by the California Center for Algae Biotechnology, which Mayfield directs. The date hasn’t yet been determined.It’s a follow-up to a previous 30-day study, which will soon be published. That study provided a powdered form of the algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Volunteers mixed it or a placebo with their meals. The algae is used as a nutritional supplement to provide protein.It’s also being tested as an environmentally friendly food source. Last year, prominent San Diego chef Brian Malarkey served the algae, provided by San Diego’s Triton Algae … [Read more...] about Nurture that gut feeling on health
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Drug Company Protections Are Latest Stumbling Block for Nafta Rewrite
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Politics Subscribe Log In Log In Today’s Paper Politics | Drug Company Protections Are Latest Stumbling Block for Nafta Rewrite Advertisement Supported by ByAna Swanson March 21, 2019 WASHINGTON — President Trump’s ability to get his revised North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress may hinge on a little-noticed provision governing intellectual property protections for new pharmaceutical products. Congressional Democrats have seized on measures in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that establish protections for drug companies, saying they are a boon to the pharmaceutical industry and could undermine efforts to make American health care more affordable. The issue is the latest complication in Mr. Trump’s yearslong effort to rip up Nafta and rewrite the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. While Mr. Trump secured … [Read more...] about Drug Company Protections Are Latest Stumbling Block for Nafta Rewrite
The Health 202: The Trump administration is taking on middlemen that inflate drug prices
Paige Winfield Cunningham, The Washington Post Published 5:39 am PST, Friday, February 1, 2019 The Trump administration is declaring its boldest move yet in its battle to lower the high cost of prescription drugs, proposing to outlaw the secretive rebates that many blame ballooning drug prices in the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services had already drawn ire from the pharmaceutical industry for its efforts to link Medicare payments to pharmaceutiucal prices in other countries. The latest move drew swift condemnation from health insurers and the organizations that negotiate lower drug prices on their behalf, reflecting the buck-never-stops here attitude of the players in the drug supply chain even as prescription drugs remain far more expensive in the United States than those in other countries. The Trump administration's draft rules, which were anticipated for weeks but thought to be delayed because of the government shutdown, would allow drug … [Read more...] about The Health 202: The Trump administration is taking on middlemen that inflate drug prices
Trump Officials Move to Lower Drug Prices by Passing On Rebates to Patients
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Politics Log In Subscribe Log In Today’s Paper Politics | Trump Officials Move to Lower Drug Prices by Passing On Rebates to Patients Supported by ByRobert Pear Jan. 31, 2019 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed on Thursday to require health insurance companies and middlemen to give consumers the benefit of discounts they get on prescription drugs, a huge change that could substantially lower some patients’ costs but could also have unintended consequences. Drug makers now pay billions of dollars in rebates to such middlemen to increase the use and sales of their products. Under the proposal, these rebate payments would be viewed as illegal kickbacks, disrupting longstanding arrangements in the pharmaceutical industry. “This is an incredibly important proposal that could fundamentally change how drugs are priced and paid for at … [Read more...] about Trump Officials Move to Lower Drug Prices by Passing On Rebates to Patients