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Pfizer hikes U.S. prices for over 100 drugs on January 1

Pfizer Inc , which plans a $160-billion merger with Ireland-based Allergan Plc to slash its U.S. tax bill, on Jan. 1 raised U.S. prices for more than 100 of its drugs, some by as much as 20 percent, according to statistics compiled by global information services company Wolters Kluwer. Company spokesman Steven Danehy could not immediately confirm the remaining price increases, which were compiled by a unit of Wolters Kluwer Health and published in a research note by UBS Securities.

Congolese boy attacked by chimps getting rare face surgery in New York

By Barbara Goldberg STONY BROOK, N.Y. (Reuters) – An 8-year-old boy whose lips were torn off during an attack by chimpanzees as he played near a river in his native Democratic Republic of Congo will undergo a rare double-lip reconstruction at a New York hospital next week. Doctors at Stony Brook Children's Hospital on Long Island will perform the first of several surgeries on Dunia Sibomana on Monday. The goal will be to restore functioning lips that will improve his speech and stop constant drooling.

Hong Kong on holiday health alert after China bird flu death

A woman in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has died after being infected with the highly contagious H5N6 bird flu virus, days after she was admitted to hospital, Hong Kong’s Health Department said on Wednesday. All border check points between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the airport, had already introduced disease prevention measures with thermal imaging systems in place, a department spokesman said. Hong Kong culled thousands of chickens and suspended imports of live poultry from mainland China in December 2014 after a H7 bird flu strain was discovered in live chickens.

Baxalta in deal to expand immuno-oncology business

(Reuters) – Drugmaker Baxalta Inc has signed a deal with privately held Symphogen under which the companies will develop immuno-oncology drugs to treat rare cancers. The deal with Symphogen comes as Baxalta approaches the final stages of negotiating a potential sale to rare diseases drugmaker Shire Pharmaceuticals. It would include a cash component of about $20 per share, with the rest of it paid in Shire stock, said the sources, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

More patients may be able to safely shower after surgery

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Many patients may be able to shower just two days after their operations without increasing their risk of infections around the incision site, a recent study suggests. The findings, along with results from other recent research, should help convince more doctors to let patients shower after surgery, said Dr. Paul Dayton, a researcher at Des Moines University and UnityPoint Health in Iowa who wasn’t involved in the study. “Traditions are sometimes long to fade away due to lack of good evidence to support change – this paper will certainly help to drive change,” Dayton said by email.

In first court appearance, Cosby cuts a feeble figure

(Reuters) – The sight of 78-year-old Bill Cosby walking with a cane into a Pennsylvania courthouse as he held the hands of his lawyers on Wednesday was in stark contrast to the spry, wisecracking 1980s TV dad most Americans remember. Cosby’s appearance on Wednesday included a stumble as he walked into the courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. While Cosby is not reported to have any serious medical conditions, paparazzi photos of him in November leaving his New York townhome with his wife, Camille, supporting him, and looking weak sparked a flurry of rumors on social media that he was dying.

Guinea declared free of Ebola transmissions

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Guinea has been declared free from transmission of Ebola, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, marking a milestone for the West African country where the original Ebola chain of transmission began two years ago leading to the largest epidemic in history.

Valeant CEO Pearson remains hospitalized for pneumonia: Bloomberg

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc Chief Executive J. Michael Pearson has been moved to another hospital where he is being treated for a severe case of pneumonia, a company spokeswoman told Bloomberg on Sunday. Elaine Andrecovich, a public relations manager at Morristown Medical Center, where Pearson initially was admitted for treatment on Friday, confirmed that Pearson is not at the hospital but declined to provide more details. Laurie Little, a Valeant spokeswoman, told Bloomberg that Pearson is still in a hospital but declined to say where.

Valeant says CEO J. Michael Pearson hospitalized with severe pneumonia

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc Chief Executive J. Michael Pearson was hospitalized with a “severe case of pneumonia” on Friday and is receiving treatment, a company spokeswoman said. Pearson, 56, joined Valeant as CEO in September 2010 after a 23-year career at McKinsey & Company and became chairman of the board in 2010. Under Pearson's leadership, the company has come under U.S. government scrutiny for acquiring off-patent drugs and drastically hiking the prices.