Trending News Today: Judge Rules for Amgen in PCSK9 Inhibitor Patent Trial

A federal judge has ruled against Sanofi SA and partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals regarding a patent litigation, according to The Wall Street Journal. The 2 companies were ruled to have infringed the patent that Amgen Inc holds for its new cholesterol-lowering PCSK9 inhibitor, Repatha. If the decision holds, it will permanently block Sanofi and Regeneron from selling Praluent in the United States, the Journal reported.

The National Institutes of Health has announced new guidelines for when parents should introduce peanut-containing foods to their infants. According to NPR, a panel of experts recommends parents introduce foods that contain peanuts into the diets of babies as young as 4 to 6 months. The new guidelines are based on multiple recent studies that have shown that feeding peanut-containing foods to infants can reduce the risk of peanut allergies. Additionally, introducing babies with severe eczema or egg allergies—–conditions that increase the risk of peanut allergy––to foods that contain peanuts at that age, can reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy; however, infants should be evaluated by an allergy specialist before the child is introduced to peanuts, NPR reported.

As MD Anderson Cancer Center continues to struggle with financial losses in the New Year, the Texas-based hospital said it will cut 800 to 900 jobs, or approximately 5% of its workforce. Dan Fontaine, the chief financial officer, attributed the losses to a drop in physician productivity when the hospital started using new electronic health records last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. As physicians tried to learn the new computerized system, it cut into time they spent with patients. According to Fontaine, their physicians are continuing to struggle with the system. The Journal noted the job cuts will include administrators and back-office staff, including billing and clinical employees who do not work directly with patients.