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Reports that the company Cooke Pharma Inc. of California is claiming that its food bar, HeartBar, is a medical food. Medical foods being a category of products regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration under the Orphan Drug Act passed in 1988; Food bars containing the amino acid L-arginine; Marketing plan of the company.

Focuses on the problems associated with pharmaceutical name confusion. United States deaths attributable to medication error; Name confusion as a cause of medication error, according to Jerry Phillips of the Food and Drug Administration; The increasing potential for name confusion; Efforts of an informal network of pharmacists and nonprofit groups to do what it can to prevent errors.

Focuses on the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) order to recall all products containing gamma butyrolactone (GBL). Health problems caused by GBL; Companies' claims on the effectiveness of the substance; Utah National Products Alliance's cooperation with the FDA.

Reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee will review the safety profile of Rezulin drug for diabetes manufactured by Warner-Lambert Co. Issues on deaths and liver transplants linked to the use of Rezulin; Discussion on the product recall; World-wide sales of the product in the first nine months of 1998.

Reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Pletal, a drug developed to reduce severe leg pain in the elderly caused by intermittent claudication from Otsuka American Pharmaceutical Inc. Labelling of the drug; Information on intermittent claudication; Requirement for the company to conduct more studies on death rates of patients taking Pleat.

Reports the recommendation of the United States Food and Drug Administration advisory panel for the agency to approve corneal-ring implants, an alternative to wearing glasses and contact lenses made by KeraVision Inc. Details on the panel's conditions on the product's approval; Statistics regarding people who suffered from nearsightedness; How corneal implants works and how it differs from laser surgery; Cost of the implants; Side effects.

Highlights the plans of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to focus on the food additives that could improve food safety. Common food-borne illnesses; Incidence of food-borne illnesses in the country; Comments from Joseph Levitt, director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Reports the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the arthritis-pain drug, Celebrex developed by Monsanto Co. Details on the drug; Views from drug analyst; Price of the drug.

Reports the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration on an arthritis drug from Searle & Co. Information on the drug; Side effects of the drug.

Reports that Pfizer Inc. and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have agreed to a host of warnings on labels for Viagra, an impotence drug. Mortality rate related to the impotence drug; Details on the labels; Comments about the issue; Sales growth of the drug.

Reports that the United Food and Drug Administration has imposed a relabelling on asthma inhalers using steroids. Products affected by the relabelling; Recommendation from the agency; Total number of children who have asthma; Opposition from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Focuses on the delay of marketing of Johnson & Johnson's Benecol products as its dietary supplements. Reason for United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to object on the test marketing of the dietary products; Necessary actions that the FDA plans if Johnson & Johnson decides to move forward with its marketing plan; How a dietary supplement could be removed from the market.

Reports on the warning of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that Johnson & Johnson's line of cholesterol-lowering products cannot be categorized as a dietary supplement. Information on the company's Benecol line; Plans of the company for the Benecol line despite opposition from the FDA.

Focuses on the victory of Jane Henney in the United States Senate confirmation as head of the Food and Drug Administration. Background information on Henney; Support of Henney on anti abortion policy; Political concerns on abortion.

Reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve Periostat, a low-dose form of doxycycline developed by CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to treat periodontal disease. Advantages of the pill; Uses of doxycycline; Other treatments for gum disease.

Reports on the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Lipton's cholesterol-busting margarine substitute of Unilever PLC. Implication of the FDA approval to Johnson & Johnson; Market strategies of Unilever for the product; Comments from John Rice, president and chief executive of Lipton.

Reports on the approval given by the United States Food and drug Administration on Xenical, a fat-fighting drug from Roche Holding Ltd. Indications of the drug; Reason behind the delay in the approval of the drug; Mode of action of the drug.

Looks at the pressures facing the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in approving drugs for market use. Importance for the FDA to balance the demands from the pharmaceutical industry and insistence from the consumer groups; How the FDA do its duty; Discussion on how the FDA operates.

Reports the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration on the use of corneal-ring implants manufactured by KeraVision Inc. to correct nearsightedness. Information on the implant; Details on the implant procedure; Expectation on the product.

Focuses on the hearing conducted by the United States Food and Drug Administration on Warner-Lambert Company's diabetes drug called Rezulin. Side effects of the drug; Expected decline of sales.

Focuses on the meeting of the United States Food and Drug Administration panel that discussed whether diabetes drug Rezulin could stay in the market. Increase in the sales of Warner-Lambert Co. for the drug; Side effects of the drug; Mortality rate of people using the drug; Focus of the interest among the panel.

Reports on the failure of Relenza, a flu drug from Glaxo Wellcome PLC, to clear a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel in the United States. Details on the drug; Implication of the decision; Reaction of the drug firm to FDA.

Reports the lawsuit filed by the generic-drug industry against the United States government regarding its pediatric-drug rules. Details on the drug policy; Claims of generic-drug companies on the rules; Permission given by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on companies to conduct studies.

Reports that Cholestin drug is a dietary supplement according to the ruling provided by a federal judge in the United States. Information on the drug; Claims of the Food and Drug Administration regarding the decision.

Reports that in 1998 the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was forced to pull the painkiller Duract off the market due to several deaths and liver transplants associated with it. Fears Rudolph Widmark, a FDA medical officer, had before the drug was released; Reasons the FDA approved the drug; Other instances where the FDA has recalled medications due to deaths.

Details how Duract, a potent painkiller approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), turned into a lethal failure. Reaction from officials of Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, manufacturer of the drug; Arguments from Doctor Rudolph Widmark, a former FDA medical officer; Clinical description of patients who were administered with the drug.

Focuses on the reception received by Jane Henney, the United States White's choice to head the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at a confirmation hearing on September 2, 1998. Speculation on whether the full Senate will vote on her nomination before Congress recesses for 1998, in October 1998; Comments from Joe Karpinski, a spokesman for Senator James Jeffords; Previous posts held by Henney; Issues discussed by the FDA at the hearing.

Reports that United States District Judge Royce Lamberth removed some restrictions on drug and medical-device makers' ability to promote off-label use of their products. Information on Lamberth's ruling; Reference to Washington Legal Foundation's 1994 lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Violation of the First Amendment by the FDA's guidelines.

Reports that Celgene Corporation's thalidomide, a drug known for causing birth defects, was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of skin lesions caused by leprosy. Restrictions imposed by the FDA on the use of the drug; Details on the side effects of the drug; Benefits of the drugs to patients with cancer and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome; When Celgene began researching thalidomide.

Focuses on the United States Food and Drug Administration's approval of a computer system, made by R2 Technology Incorporated, that could improve the chances of detecting breast cancer. Features of the machine; Estimated number of cancers on mammograms which radiologists fail to detect; Comments from Alan Stein, the company's vice president of regulatory affairs; Details on cancer in American women.

Comments on the number of complaints the United States Food and Drug Administration is receiving, on the adverse effects of Pfizer Incorporated's impotency drug, Viagra. Belief of regulators that the drug is safe; Number of reports the FDA received of men dying from the drug as of mid-June 1998; Other side effects of the drug on men; When Viagra was placed on the market; Warning that Viagra should not be mixed with nitrates.

Focuses on opposition to the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) system for monitoring drugs that are already on the market. Criticism of the agency's MedWatch system; Concerns of physicians and consumer advocates; Features and operations of the agency's safety monitoring system; Drug recalls that have contributed to the debate in medical circles over the agency's monitoring system.

Reports on the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) policy towards tobacco legislation. Enforcement of the administration's ban on underage smoking; Expected increase in the number of states where the ban will be in effect; Plans by the FDA to start reviewing ingredients in cigarettes and tobacco products which claim health benefits; Comments from William Schultz, FDA deputy commissioner for policy.

Reports on the recommendation received by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration, from an advisory panel that the agency approve the LYMErix vaccine for the prevention of Lyme disease. Reference to SmithKline Beecham PLC, producer of the vaccine; Age group which can receive the vaccine; Details on the disease; Concerns expressed by the panel over the vaccine; Reference to the Immulyme vaccine produced by Pasteur Merieux Connaught company.

Reports that clarification is being sought by the United States Food and Drug Administration, between drugs and dietary supplements. Reference to a proposal announced on April 24, 1998; Impact on the way company market their products; Examples that showed how minuscule the distinction can be; Allowance given to a dietary supplement; When the proposal will be published; Reaction to the proposal.

Reports that on April 1, 1998, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sweetener, sucralose, which is manufactured by a unit of Johnson & Johnson. What sucralose can be used in; Whether Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Incorporated will use sucralose in any of their diet drinks; Names of others artificial sweeteners.

Reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration gave approval for frozen and canned fruits and vegetables to be labeled and marketed as healthy. Perception that some frozen fruits and vegetables may contain more nutrients than fresh produce; Comments from Steve Anderson, president and chief executive of the American Frozen Food Institute; Response of the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association to the administation's decision.

Reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to Hoffman-LaRoche Incorported, warning them to stop distributing the advertisement that the acne drug Accutane, could minimize depression. Original label warning of the drug; Date the letter was issued and when it was made public; What the company had been advertising in medical journals; View that Accutane is the only drug available to treat severe, recalcitrant nodular acne.

Reports that the advisory board of the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) split five-to-five over whether to recommend that the agency approve Hoffman-La Roche Incorporated's Xenical because of concerns that it could increase the risk of breast cancer. When the FDA is likely to decide whether the diet drug should be sold in the US; How Xenical works; Warning label that the drug could require if it is approved by the FDA.

Reports that Synercid, an antibiotic to treat potentially fatal infections, created by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Incorporated, was given a mixed endorsement from a United States Food and Drug Administration advisory panel. How the panel voted; Functions of the antibiotic; Recommendations of the panel.