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Semiautomatic Rifles May Make Mass Shootings Deadlier, Study Says

Mass shooters appear to injure and kill more people when the use semiautomatic rifles instead of handguns, other types of rifles, or shotguns, according to a new analysis in the Journal of The American Medical Association. But the research has significant limitations.




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Veeva launches free remote monitoring

The companyâs SiteVault Free tool, designed to enable collaborating between sites and study monitors, now has a remote monitoring feature.




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CDISC launches COVID-19 research standards task force

The group will work to rapidly develop guidance on standardizing COVID-19 research data, with the help of several participating member companies.




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3M Drug Delivery Systems relaunches as Kindeva Drug Delivery

The launch of the renamed, newly independent company follows its acquisition by Altaris Capital Partners.




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ERT launches patient-administered ECG assessment

The technology enables sponsors to continue gathering cardiac data for clinical trials without interruption or risk to patient safety.




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Menopause Predisposes a Fifth of Women to Alzheimer's

Being female is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Why?

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com




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Bayer launches pre-filled syringe to administer eye medication Eylea™ in Europe (for specialized target groups only)




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Remdesivir: five Australian hospitals to receive experimental coronavirus drug

Exclusive: St Vincent’s in Sydney is the only confirmed location so far, as NSW Health negotiates with US pharmaceutical giant Gilead

The US pharmaceutical company Gilead is finalising the location of five hospitals in Australia to receive the highly sought-after experimental coronavirus drug remdesivir.

The only confirmed location is St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney, a major tertiary hospital and the centre of many of the New South Wales outbreak areas. A NSW Health spokeswoman confirmed the health department “has been engaging with Gilead on gaining access to the drug for Covid-19 patients”.

Related: Remdesivir: the antiviral drug is being touted as a possible coronavirus treatment – but will it work?

Continue reading...




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Australia calls for investigation into China’s coronavirus response

Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, has called for an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus, as Australia becomes one of China’s most vocal critics of its response to the pandemic.




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MHRA launches new pharmacovigilance reporting platform for COVID-19 treatments

A new online reporting site has been launched by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) to track potential side-effects arising from the use of any therapies used to treat COVID-19, in a bid to build a knowledge base around safe treatment of the pandemic disease.




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Bausch + Lomb licenses Stada and Xbrane’s Lucentis biosimilar

Eye health specialist Bausch + Lomb, part Bausch Health Companies, has entered into an exclusive licensing…



  • Bausch & Lomb/Bausch Health Companies/Biosimilars/Canada/Deals/Germany/Licensing/Lucentis/Ophthalmics/STADA Arzneimittel/Sweden/USA/Xbrane Biopharma AB/Xlucane

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Bausch Health and partners settle Xifaxan IP litigation

Canada-based Bausch Health Companies, along with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Salix Pharmaceuticals and…



  • Alfasigma/Bausch Health Companies Inc./Canada/Deals/Legal/Licensing/Nephrology and Hepatology/Patents & Trademarks/Pharmaceutical/Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd/Sandoz/Switzerland/USA/Xifaxan

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Pfizer tags 3 U.S. manufacturing sites for possible COVID-19 vaccine launch

Global coronavirus vaccine makers have been rolling out details about their manufacturing and launch plans—even ahead of any clinical data. Now, Pfizer says it will draw on three sites in the U.S., plus one in Belgium, for the early stages of a launch, provided its BioNTech-partnered shot wins a green light.




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GBT chief blames COVID-19 for 'clear' slowdown in Oxbryta launch, but analysts are still impressed

Global Blood Therapeutics' sickle cell disease medicine Oxbryta got off to a hot start after a November FDA approval. But early in its launch, execs now say they're seeing a "clear headwind" from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lately, new patient starts have tanked by 60%, CEO Ted Love said.




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FDA grants emergency use authorization to Quidel for first antigen test for COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday approved emergency use authorization (EUA) to Quidel Corp for the first COVID-19 antigen test.




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Puerto Rico Senator Jorge De Castro Font Pleads Guilty to Honest Services Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Extortion

Jorge De Castro Font, 45, a former senator in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to 20 counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former New York Power Authority Employee Sentenced to 37 Months in Jail for Bribery and Fraud Scheme

A former employee of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) was sentenced today to serve 37 months in jail and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine for his role in a kickback and bribery scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former AIG Vice President Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Role in Fraudulent Manipulation Scheme

The former vice president of reinsurance of American International Group Inc. (AIG), was sentenced today to four years in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate AIG’s financial statements.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Owner of Pharmaceutical Wholesale Company Pleads Guilty to Medicare Fraud

The owner and operator of HME Solutions Inc., dba Lifecare Medical (Lifecare Medical), a licensed pharmaceutical wholesale company in Miami, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Medicare program in connection with a $5.3 million HIV-infusion fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Imprisoned Spy and His Son Indicted on Charges of Acting as Russian Agents and Money Laundering

A federal indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon charging Harold James Nicholson, 58, of Sheridan, Ore., and Nathaniel James Nicholson, 24, of Eugene, Ore., with two counts of Conspiracy, one count of Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government, and four counts of Money Laundering.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former NFL Player, Ex-Casino Owner and Nevada Businessman Indicted in Massive Tax Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Alan Rodrigues, a former pit boss and casino owner from Henderson, Nev.; Weston Coolidge, a businessman from Las Vegas; and Joseph Prokop, a former National Football League punter from Upland, Calif., with a tax fraud scheme for their promotion of a fraudulent tax product through the now defunct National Audit Defense Network (NADN).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Lobbyist Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud

A former lobbyist pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud. Todd A. Boulanger, 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia. According to court documents, Boulanger worked as a lobbyist from 1999 through 2004 with Jack Abramoff and others.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Employees of Emergency Vehicle Vendors Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud Employers on Homeland Security Contract

Two Florida homeland security vendor employees were sentenced today for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by depriving their employers of money and the right of honest services, the Department of Justice announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Final Defendant Pleads Guilty to Anti-Obama Assaults

Ralph Nicoletti pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court today before U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon to committing three assaults targeting African-American residents in Staten Island, N.Y., on the night of President Barack Obama’s election victory. Nicoletti was the last of four defendants to plead guilty in the federal prosecution stemming from the attacks.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Recovers $19 Million from AMEC Construction Management to Settle Litigation Regarding Fraud, False Claims, Kickbacks & Re-Procurement Costs on Federal Construction Contracts

The United States has recovered more than $19 million from AMEC Construction Management Inc. (ACMI) to resolve allegations of fraud, false claims and kickbacks on four General Services Administration (GSA) construction contracts, as well as litigation over claims by the GSA for excess re-procurement costs incurred by GSA after it terminated ACMI’s contract to build the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. ACMI was formerly known as Morse Diesel International Inc.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) that, if approved by the court, will resolve the complaint of pattern or practice religious discrimination filed by the United States against WMATA under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.



  • OPA Press Releases

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California Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Community Correctional Facility in Connection with Scheme to Defraud First International Bank and Export-Import Bank

Carlos Serrano, 64, of Glendale, Calif., was sentenced to 18 months in a community correctional facility in connection with a $1.3 million scheme to defraud the First International Bank of Connecticut (FIB) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). In addition to his prison sentence, Serrano was placed on five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $924,569 to the Ex-Im Bank.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Four Individuals Indicted for Racially-Motivated Assault in Nampa, Idaho

Four individuals have been arrested and charged with carrying out a racially-motivated beating and conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of an African-American man in Nampa, Idaho.



  • OPA Press Releases

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APL Ltd. to Pay U.S. $26.3 Million to Resolve Fraud Allegations for Inflated Shipping Costs to Military in Iraq and Afghanistan

APL Limited has agreed to pay the government $26.3 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the United States in connection with contracts to transport cargo in shipping containers to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Three Miami Physicians and Three Medical Workers Charged with $10 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Six Miami-Dade County residents have been indicted in connection with an alleged $10 million Medicare fraud scheme operated out of Midway Medical, a Miami clinic that purported to specialize in treating HIV/AIDS patients.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Atlantic City Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Jail for Fraud

Eduardo Cortez, a resident of Mays Landing, N.J., was sentenced to 36 months incarceration and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden, N.J. According to his plea agreement, Cortez and his employees knowingly prepared false and fraudulent tax returns for customers that included false and inflated deductions, credits and adjustments.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Fraudulent Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison

DaJuan Jackson, a former tax return preparer in District Heights, Md., was sentenced to 51 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus for preparing false tax returns for customers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Fraudulent Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison

Rodrick Williams, a former tax return preparer from District Heights, Md., was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus for preparing false tax returns for customers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Sues Housing Authority in Wayne County, Ill., for Race Discrimination

The Department today filed a lawsuit against the Wayne County Housing Authority (WCHA), in Fairfield, Ill., as well as Jill Masterson and Danna Sutton, WCHA’s executive director and assistant director, respectively, alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when they tried to discourage a white couple from renting their property in Fairfield to an African-American woman.



  • OPA Press Releases

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N.J. Electrical Company Employee Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the Environmental Protection Agency at Superfund Site

An employee of a Sewell, N.J., company that provided temporary electrical utilities pleaded guilty today to participating in a fraud conspiracy at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site in New Jersey.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Miami Man Found Guilty in $13.5 Million International Money Laundering Scheme

Rodrigo Molina, 33, a Brazilian national who resided in Miami, was found guilty by a federal jury on 11 of 16 charged counts related to a $13.5 million money laundering conspiracy. Molina was found guilty on Feb. 25, 2009, following a seven-day jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.



  • OPA Press Releases

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N.J. Industrial Pipes Supply Company and Its Co-Owner Plead Guilty to Fraud at Two N.J. Superfund Sites

A Middlesex, N.J., industrial pipes, valves and fittings supply company and its co-owner pleaded guilty today to participating in a fraud conspiracy at two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund sites in New Jersey. The sites are Federal Creosote, located in Manville, N.J., and Diamond Alkali, located in Newark, N.J.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Asks Courts in California & South Carolina to Shut Down Promoters of Allegedly Fraudulent $39.2 Million Tax Refund Scam

The United States has sued tax return preparers in Placerville, Calif., and Columbia, S.C., seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others. According to the government complaints in the two cases, Teresa Marty of Pollock Pines, Calif., and Winston Able of Blythewood, S.C., prepare federal income tax returns for their customers that claim fraudulent tax refunds.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Fairfield, Calif., Couple Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charge for Alleged Bias-Motivated Assault

A Fairfield, Calif., couple was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, Calif., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged bias-motivated assault on an Indian-American couple. The two-count indictment alleges that on the evening of July 14, 2007, Joseph and Georgia Silva committed a bias-motivated assault on another couple at a public beach in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Illinois Man Convicted for Production, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography, as Well as Bank Fraud

Carl Courtright III, of Granite City, Ill., was convicted today on child pornography and bank fraud charges in the Southern District of Illinois following a five-day jury trial. The federal jury convicted Courtright of one count of production of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, as well as one count of bank fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Congressional Staffer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud

A former congressional staffer pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud. Ann Copland, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Individual Indicted in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures

A British citizen was charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities on March 10, 2009, by a Miami federal grand jury. Sirtaj Mathauda was indicted on charges that he and his co-conspirators purported to sell vending machine, beverage and greeting card business opportunities, including assistance in establishing, maintaining and operating such businesses. The charges form part of the government’s continued nationwide crackdown on business opportunity fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud

A securities attorney pleaded guilty today to defrauding investors in stock manipulation schemes involving 19 different publicly traded companies. David B. Stocker, 49, of Phoenix pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his participation in a stock manipulation conspiracy known as a “pump-and-dump” scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Jury Convicts Former Social Worker of Defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs and Obstructing Justice

A former Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) social work associate was convicted yesterday by a jury on four counts of honest services mail fraud, violating the criminal conflict of interest statute and making a false statement to agency officials.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Border Patrol Agent Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charge for Assault in Federal Detention Facility

A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson, Ariz., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged assault on a detainee at a federal detention facility. The two-count indictment, returned on March 11, 2009, alleges that on May 10, 2006, Eduardo Moreno violated the civil rights of a federal detainee by assaulting and causing bodily injury to the individual while Moreno was on duty at the U.S. Border Patrol processing facility in Nogales, Ariz.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney Indicted for Conspiracy and Wire Fraud in Stock Registration and Manipulation Scheme

A securities attorney was charged in an indictment unsealed today with participating in a stock registration evasion scheme involving nine different publicly traded companies and with defrauding investors in a manipulation scheme related to three of the companies.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Accounting Firm Vice Chairman/Board Member Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Related to Tax Shelters

Adrian Dicker, a United Kingdom chartered accountant and former vice chairman and board member at a major international accounting firm, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with certain tax shelter promoters to defraud the United States in connection with tax shelter transactions involving clients of the accounting firm and the law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist (J&G).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Jury Convicts Two Doctors and Two Medical Assistants in $5.3 Million Medicare Fraud Scam

A federal jury in Miami today convicted two physicians and two medical assistants in connection with a $5.3 million Medicare fraud scheme. After a two-week trial in federal court in Miami, a jury found David Rothman, M.D., 66; Keith Russell, M.D., 65; Eda Marietta Milanes, 43; and Jorge Luis Pacheco, 50; guilty on all charged counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and multiple counts of health care fraud for submitting claims to Medicare for unnecessary medications.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Wisconsin Man Who Participated in 1943 Massacre of 8,000 Jews Is Deported to Austria

A former Nazi concentration camp guard who settled in Racine, Wis., after World War II and acquired U.S. citizenship, has been removed to Austria due to his participation in Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution during World War II. Josias Kumpf, 83, served as an armed SS Death’s Head guard at the Nazi-run Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Germany and at the Trawniki Labor Camp in Poland.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Third Defendant Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Scheme Involving Bribes for Contracts at Kuwait Army Base

The sister of a U.S. Army officer has pleaded guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war. Carolyn Blake, of Sunnyvale, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy after accepting more than $3 million in bribe proceeds on behalf of her brother, Major John Cockerham.



  • OPA Press Releases