Ohio considering bone, muscle injection in prison death chamber in wake of failed execution

Ohio considering bone, muscle for lethal injection

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio is considering injecting lethal drugs into inmates’ bone marrow or muscles as an alternative to — or a backup for — the traditional intravenous execution procedure, a prisons department spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Kansas doctor pleads guilty to illegally prescribing painkillers to woman who wasn’t a patient

Kan. doctor guilty of writing illegal prescription

WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas doctor who worked for a physician accused of causing dozens of patient deaths from prescription drugs has pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing a painkiller for a women he never met.

SciClone Pharma shares dive after company halts trial of RP101 for pancreatic cancer

SciClone tumbles after cancer drug trial stops

NEW YORK — Shares of SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. dropped Monday after the company suspended a study of its drug candidate RP101, which was intended as a treatment for late stage pancreatic cancer.

Depomed says its post-shingles pain drug succeeded it trial, and shares hit three-year high

Depomed says shingles pain drug meets study goal

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Depomed Inc. on Monday reported a successful late stage clinical trial of a drug intended to treat pain following the viral infection shingles, and its shares soared on the news.

Former California biotech executive convicted of fraud in marketing of Actimmune drug

Calif. biotech exec convicted of marketing fraud

SAN FRANCISCO — The former chief executive of the biotechnology company InterMune Inc. has been convicted of wire fraud in marketing of the drug Actimmune.

Authorities: Money, drugs, general dislike of others were motives in slaying of 3 in Arizona

Officials discuss motives in slaying of 3 in Ariz.

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. — An Arizona man who confessed to killing three people and pronounced himself a serial killer told authorities he committed the crimes because one man shot his dog, he didn’t want the second to hurt anyone else and his attempts to get a 16-year-old off drugs failed.

UN: 4 million AIDS patients now on drugs, but another 5 million people still need them

UN: 4 million on AIDS drugs, others still in need

LONDON — About 4 million people are now getting AIDS drugs worldwide — a 10-fold jump in five years — but 5 million others are still in dire need of the medicine, U.N. health officials estimated in a report issued Wednesday.

Drug researcher dies of apparent overdose; fellow scientist-boyfriend faces drug charges

Drug researcher dies, boyfriend faces drug charges

BALTIMORE — A neuroscientist who studied the effects of drugs on the brain is dead of an apparent overdose and her live-in boyfriend, who did similar research, is facing drug charges, Baltimore police said Tuesday.

A world first: AIDS vaccine cuts the risk of HIV infection by 31 percent in big Thai study

A world first: Vaccine helps prevent HIV infection

BANGKOK — For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible.

Ex-police officer in Calif. gets 15 years for taking drugs, supplying to others

Ex-police officer gets 15 years in drug case

LOS ANGELES — A former police officer in Southern California has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking narcotics from drug traffickers and peddling the drugs to other dealers.

Poisoning at group therapy session in Germany, 2 people die, doctor detained

2 people die in poisoning at German therapy group

BERLIN — A doctor leading a group therapy session gave participants drugs and other substances that killed two and left 10 hospitalized, Berlin police said Sunday. One person was left comatose and in critical condition.

Father fatally stabbed 2 children before overdosing on drugs, authorities say

Capt.: Dad kills 2 kids, kills himself with drugs

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Ventura County officials say a father died of a drug overdose after stabbing his two children to death at his apartment.

Ill. teacher accused of giving teens pot, alcohol, prescription drugs for work around her home

Ill. teacher accused of giving girls alcohol, pot

FOX LAKE, Ill. — A northern Illinois teacher faces felony charges after allegedly giving two teenage girls marijuana, alcohol and prescription drugs in exchange for work around her home. Kym Krocza was arrested Tuesday on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She is free on bond.

State Department investigating death of US employee hired to help train Afghan national police

Drugs suspected in death of Afghanistan contractor

WASHINGTON — A U.S. contractor in Afghanistan helping train the national police was found dead last week of a possible drug overdose, just months after his company was reprimanded by the State Department for another worker’s drug-related death.

US arrests American Airlines workers on suspicion of drug smuggling at Puerto Rico airport

US targets smugglers at Puerto Rico airport

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Several employees of American Airlines were among a group of at least 20 people arrested Tuesday on suspicion of aiding a smuggling ring that shipped drugs from Puerto Rico’s main airport to the U.S. mainland.

Phildelphia police say a man lost his stepson at 4:30 a.m. while on alleged drug buy

Cops: Man loses stepson while trying to buy drugs

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police said a man out buying drugs flagged down officers after he couldn’t find the car he’d parked with his 6-year-old stepson inside. The man, 31, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.

20 years later, former teenage cocaine kingpin in Chicago now deals hot dogs instead of drugs

Former cocaine kingpin now serves dogs, not drugs

MARKHAM, Ill. — Two decades after customers clamored to buy cocaine from a teenager named John Cappas, they’re lined up again to buy what he has to sell: Hot dogs.

After mass funeral, teen brother of Ga. mobile home slayings suspect declares he is innocent

Teen says brother innocent in Ga. mobile home case

TOWNSEND, Ga. — The brother of a Georgia man charged with slaying his father and seven others in a mobile home insisted Saturday that the suspect would never harm his family, and he also speculated that a dispute over drugs could have prompted the killings.

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma of Japan acquiring US drug maker Sepracor for $2.6 billion

Dainippon of Japan acquires US drug maker Sepracor

TOKYO — Japanese drug company Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. is acquiring U.S. drug maker Sepracor Inc. for about $2.6 billion in an effort to expand in the U.S. market, both sides said Thursday.