As a therapeutic agent, a drug is any substance, other than food, used in the prevention, diagnosis, alleviation, treatment, or cure of disease. It is also a general term for any substance, stimulating or depressing, that can be habituating. According...

In the United States, the FDA approves drugs. Before a drug can be prescribed, it must undergo an extensive FDA approval process. This process involves first testing the drug on animals or in medical labs. If found to be safe by the FDA and approved for...

A bid to allow lower-priced drugs to be imported from Canada and elsewhere survived a challenge in the Senate on Thursday, making approval likely early next week despite the Bush administration's opposition.The Senate, on a 63-28 vote, effectively endorsed the measure as an amendment to...

The tens of thousands of people in the U.S. who are infected by hepatitis B each year gained a new drug on Wednesday to fight the virus. The Food and Drug Administration said it approved Tyzeka, known generically as telbivudine,...

Government health officials on Wednesday began cracking down on Internet sales of custom-mixed hormones for menopausal women, a market born when doctors deemed prescription estrogen therapy too risky for many.But the Food and Drug Administration says these alternative hormone mixes are no safer, and told...

Shares of Amgen Inc. slipped more than 2 percent Friday as the company met with analysts to discuss a study that found its best-selling drug Aranesp was not significantly better than a placebo in aiding certain cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment.Amgen shares fell $1.55, or...