Qui tamIn common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ through which private individuals who assist a prosecution can receive for themselves all or part of the damages or financial penalties recovered by the government as a result of the prosecution. Its name is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, meaning "[he] who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself." The writ fell into disuse in England and Wales following the Common Informers Act 1951 but remains current in the United States under the False Claims Act, et seq.
UpjohnThe Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn who was an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make friable pills, which were specifically designed to be easily digested. They could be "reduced to a powder under the thumb", a strong marketing argument at the time. Upjohn developed a process for the large scale production of cortisone.
ModernaModerna, Inc. (məˈdɜːrnə ) is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry instructions for proteins to produce an immune response. The company's name is derived from the terms "modified", "RNA", and "modern". The company's only commercial product is the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, marketed as Spikevax.
Tax inversionA tax inversion or corporate tax inversion is a form of tax avoidance where a corporation restructures so that the current parent is replaced by a foreign parent, and the original parent company becomes a subsidiary of the foreign parent, thus moving its tax residence to the foreign country. Executives and operational headquarters can stay in the original country. The US definition requires that the original shareholders remain a majority control of the post-inverted company.
Continuing medical educationContinuing medical education (CME) is continuing education (CE) that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications, online programs, audio, video, or other electronic media. Content for these programs is developed, reviewed, and delivered by faculty who are experts in their individual clinical areas.
TofacitinibTofacitinib, sold under the brand Xeljanz among others, is a medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. It is a janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, discovered and developed by the National Institutes of Health and Pfizer. Common side effects include diarrhea, headache, and high blood pressure. Serious side effects may include infections, cancer, and pulmonary embolism.
American Heart AssociationThe American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1915, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
Growth hormone therapyGrowth hormone therapy refers to the use of growth hormone (GH) as a prescription medication—it is one form of hormone therapy. Growth hormone is a peptide hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates growth and cell reproduction. In the past, growth hormone was extracted from human pituitary glands. Growth hormone is now produced by recombinant DNA technology and is prescribed for a variety of reasons. GH therapy has been a focus of social and ethical controversies for 50 years.
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variantOmicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world. Following the original B.1.1.529 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged including: BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5. Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 called BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have emerged.
Nirmatrelvir/ritonavirNirmatrelvir/ritonavir, sold under the brand name Paxlovid, is a co-packaged medication used as a treatment for COVID19. It contains the antiviral medications nirmatrelvir and ritonavir and was developed by Pfizer. Both are protease inhibitors: nirmatrelvir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 main protease, while ritonavir inhibits HIV-1 protease, and is additionally a strong CYP3A inhibitor. Side effects of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir include changes in sense of taste (dysgeusia), diarrhea, high blood pressure (hypertension), and muscle pain (myalgia).
