Weekly Roundup 1.30.15

2015 is already 1/12th over with. Frightening. A winter storm came and went from the East Coast. Here in Washington, we are still waiting for our first serious snowfall and it is not yet on the horizon. We are done taking stock of the year past, and now looking fully forward to the year to come.

And here is a bit of what happened this week of interest, along with a personal note:

  • Esomeprazole Goes GenericFDA announced this week that esomeprazole had been approved by the agency for its first generic version in 20 and 40 milligram doses. Esomeprazole is indicated for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is a highly prevalent condition and according to many studies, possibly increasing. Esomeprazole has been marketed under the brand name Nexium by AstraZeneca. According to the press release from Teva – the company launching the generic – IMS data reveal annual sales at $6 billion as of November 2014.
  • External Defibrillators Get Regulatory Overhaul – Taking steps to improve the overall quality and reliability of external defibrillators, FDA announced this week that it would be requiring manufacturers to undergo a more rigorous review of their product by submitting a premarket approval application (PMA). In its release on the subject, FDA said that between January 2005 and September 2014, the agency had received 72,000 medical device reports related to the failure of the devices and there have been 111 recalls of more than 2,000,000 defibrillator devices. The agency said that it will not enforce the requirement for new devices until July 29, 2016 and for current devices the enforcement target date is January 29, 2020.
  • A New Blog – for the Single Cook – And on a personal note, I have started a new blog if you might be interested. In 1940, just over 7 percent of households were single person homes and by 2012 it was 27 percent – over one quarter. But recipes are written like it is 1940. So, as a single person, I have started a new blog aimed at the single cook called Setting for One. I am not a professional chef or even a great cook, but I do love food and preparing it and so I am sharing what I do in the form of a blog as a sort of “food diary”.  Setting for One is meant to destigmatize the idea of solo food prep and eating and to help individuals see their way to self appreciation through the cultivation of good meals. So if you are inclined, please check out Setting for One. You can see the inaugural posting here.

That’s it for me this week folks. Enjoy your weekend!

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