Mephedrone could soon be classified as a Class B drug

Ministers will take "immediate action" to prevent mephedrone if the consultants recommended prohibiting legal high, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told MPs.

Chief Adviser of drugs the Government announced that it will soon be classified as a drug class B.

In the Commons, Prime Minister said he was "very concerned" the dangers of substances and will act promptly.

It comes as the drug was associated with the deaths of several young people.

The drug known under different names, including "M-kit", "MK", "mieow", "nyav", "4MMC", or simply plant fertilizer.

Concern over its effect increased after the two friends, Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, died in Skantorp, county of Lincolnshire, the week after, mephedrone.

Since then a number of other deaths were investigated to see if they are drug related, including 24-year-old Lois waters, who died in Norton, North Yorkshire, on Monday.

On Tuesday, the chief adviser to the government drugs advisory board strongly pointed to drug abuse (ACMD) will recommend to prevent substance.

Professor Les Iversen said that he expected that the committee will make recommendations to the Minister of Interior in the following Monday.

He said he believed mephedrone was "harmful".

On Wednesday during question the prime minister, Brown said: "We are committed to preventing young people start using drugs.

"Advice is clear that just because a substance is legal does not make them safe.

"But we are very concerned specifically about the damage mephedrone, and the Advisory Council on Drug Abuse considers this and similar compounds, as an absolute priority."

He said: "immediate steps" be taken after consultation with the ACMD was taken March 29.

The Prime Minister said that government is determined to act to prevent this evil damage while the young people of this country. "

The drug is usually white or yellowish powder, which is pyrhnuv, but it can also be obtained in tablets and capsules. This market as vegetable food.

Prof Iversen said that his personal opinion as a pharmacologist who mephedrone and other drug-related were "amphetamines differently.

Amphetamine is currently classified as a Class B drug and possession may be imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of unlimited amount or even both, as the case may lead to imprisonment for 14 years.

Opposition Ministers also criticized the time it has taken to review the drug occur at sites that sell drugs told its clients this case "when" not "if" mephedrone be prohibited.

And some campaigns have called for the use of emergency prohibition powers to resolve the legal threat highs.

They proposed to use American-style laws that prohibit all legal maximum per year, and scientists to assess their risk.

Morel of West Pharmaceutical joins Kensey Nash board

Kensey Nash Corp. Said late on Monday evening that the CEO of Philadelphia other medical equipment kettle, Donald E. Morel Jr. West Pharmaceutical Services, joined Kensey Board of Directors.

Morel was the CEO of Western pharmaceuticals in April 2002 and chairman in March 2003 Kensey Nash said.

Exton, Pa.-based Kensey (NASDAQ: KNSY) specializes in the development, production and processing of resorption of biomaterial products used in cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, spine, endovascular surgery and common markets.

Lionville, Pa-based West Pharmaceutical (NYSE: WST) makes components and systems for injectable drug delivery, including stoppers and seals for vials, and closing the borders and disposable components used in syringe, IV and blood collection systems.

Breast cancer drug Taxotere PBS listed

A chemotherapy drug for women with breast cancer at early stage has been approved for listing PBS, making Australia the first country to grant a subsidy to the national therapy.

Treatment with Taxotere (docetaxel) in combination with cyclophosphamide will be included on the PBS on 1 April, less than a year after the drug has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

A maximum of four rounds will be subsidized by the government - a regime that will now cost patients between $ 8,000 and $ 9,000.

According to the manufacturer Sanofi-aventis, a phase III trial involving 1016 patients with operable breast cancer at early stage showed that the combination of cyclophosphamide, Taxotere improved survival rates of 81 percent, versus a rate of 75 percent improvement when the patient has taken a doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide combination.

Dr Arlene Chan Oncologist, Mount Hospital in Perth, said the availability of Taxotere combination of cyclophosphamide on the PBS was important because it was a non-chemotherapy with anthracyclines.

"Cardiotoxicity has been recognized as a serious complication of certain chemotherapy such as doxorubicin," said Dr Chan.

"Having an effective chemotherapy treatment that is not associated with heart problems, is an important therapeutic advance, particularly for women with a heart problem behind.

I had docetaxel (6 cycles) with doxorubicin and cyclophosamide under my regime of chemotherapy last year and didn't pay for it ... If PBS is paying for it then. Also curious that the article says it was approved within one year after receiving approval by the Theraputic Goods Administration. I started chemo in January last year and as far as I wasn't aware given the drug under trial

What wonderful news for all women unlucky about to start taxotere but what about women who just paid $ 9,000.00 for this treatment, the government will back the grant? I hope