Helen Palmer

We've all heard the charges that Vioxx can trigger heart attacks. Now comes word that rival pain reliever Celebrex may also exacerbate heart problems. Helen Palmer reports.

The FDA, under fire for sluggishness in approving generic drugs, announced this week that it had OKed a generic version of the popular nasal spray Flonase. In response, the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, took legal action to halt the move. Helen Palmer reports from the Health Desk at WGBH.

A new report out today predicts that healthcare spending will account for 20% of the GPD by 2015. Helen Palmer reports.

The World Trade Organization is expected to rule today on a dispute between Europe and the US over genetically modified foods. Helen Palmer looks at what's at stake.

President Bush expects to make health saving accounts a highlight of his State of the Union speech tonight. But how exactly do they work at the consumer level? Helen Palmer has the details.

Johnson&Johnson is likely to escalate the bidding war over Guidant Technologies today. As Helen Palmer reports, the red-hot medical device market makes Guidant attractive, despite its liabilities.

Contradicting advice from the CDC, British researchers today warned people not to take Tamiflu for seasonal flu symptoms for fear indiscriminate use could give rise to a treatment-resistant flu strain that could trigger a pandemic. The warning comes at time when the US has already earmarked $1.8 billion to stockpile Tamiflu, and sales of the drug have sky-rocketed. Helen Palmer has more.

Helen Palmer reports on the race among drug companies to find a universal flu vaccine to treat a possible outbreak of avian flu.

Repercussions from the South Korean cloning scandal continue to reverberate. This week, Science magazine announced a rare retraction of an article authored by the researcher at the heart of the scandal. Helen Palmer looks at whether the scandal has cooled investor enthusiasm for life sciences ventures.

A new study points to the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could help improve cognition in Alzheimer's patients. As Helen Palmer reports, the application could help revive flagging sales of ED drugs.