Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NYSE: BAY) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) has announced that the New England Journal of Medicine has published their pivotal Phase III trial demonstrating that Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets doubled median progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), or kidney cancer. [click link for full article]

A woman’s response to HIV treatment with drug combinations that contain nevirapine is improved if at least six months have passed after she received the drug as a single dose during labor to prevent passing HIV on to her child. (The response to treatment is measured by the reduction of HIV in the blood.)Conversely, the response to treatment with nevirapine-containing combinations is diminished if less than six months has passed since the preventive regimen. [click link for full article]

Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) this week proposed expanding state health coverage eligibility to include more children of undocumented immigrants, the Seattle Times reports. The proposal would raise the annual family income eligibility level from 100% of the federal poverty level to 250%. [click link for full article]

Soon, Congress may vote on whether to require the Medicare system to negotiate lower prices for medicines taken by millions of seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.That change and others might save some seniors a lot of money, suggests a new study from the University of Michigan Medical School. It finds tremendous variation in what Medicare enrollees in different states pay for the same medications, even with the lowest-cost Part D plans. [click link for full article]

Some federal lawmakers and governors have been lobbying FDA to ease the way for the production and sale of generic insulin, which analysts say would reduce the cost of diabetes treatment by 25%, the New York Times reports. [click link for full article]

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a recommendation to Congress to increase reimbursements to doctors by an estimated 1.7% in 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports. Without action from Congress, physician reimbursements in 2008 would decrease by 10% under the current payment formula. [click link for full article]

In a new study on Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) - a distressing or impairing preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in one’s appearance - researchers from Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School found that individuals who are concerned about their weight are more impaired than those whose appearance-concerns are not weight-related. This is particularly important, as weight-related preoccupations have at times not been considered diagnostic of BDD. [click link for full article]

“Emotion and ignorance shouldn’t thwart” a Washington, D.C., City Council bill that would require girls entering the sixth grade to receive Merck’s human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil and would “save the lives of thousands of women,” a [click link for full article]

Engineers have developed a system that uses a simple water purification technique that can eliminate 100 percent of the microbes in New Orleans water samples left from Hurricane Katrina. The technique makes use of specialized resins, copper and hydrogen peroxide to purify tainted water.The system–safer, cheaper and simpler to use than many other methods–breaks down a range of toxic chemicals. While the method cleans the water, it doesn’t yet make the water drinkable. [click link for full article]

A bill (HR 4) that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit would not lead to lower prices, according to acting [click link for full article]