Nike has its FuelBand, the bracelet that tracks everything a “serious” athlete wants to know about so she or he can finish their workout and yap about whatever their NikeFuel number is at that moment. But soon people will have a whole new and much more invasive tracking system: one that you actually eat like a pill.

This new microchip the size of a grain of sand isn’t built for athletes who want bragging rights. The idea is to help the, well, unhealthy among us track their bodies better so doctors can know what the ill need on a regular basis. For someone who needs to take pills on a regular basis, the device can inform them when their body needs the medicine.

The FDA has just approved what PC World is calling a smart pill from Proteus Digital Health “that keeps track of your insides and relays that medical information back to your healthcare provider.” The so-called ingestible digital sensors are activated by mixing with the stomach’s digestive fluids and then transmitting to a patch on the patient’s skin, the site notes. The patch then sends "vital information about your medication-taking behaviors and how your body is responding" to the doctor or nurse’s mobile device.Continue reading...

Battling counterfeit products is one of a brand's biggest headaches. More often than not, counterfeiting strikes luxury and accessory brands, since it is easier to sell fake branded handbags, shoes, and clothes online and in flea markets and bazaars around the world. But what about when buying a knock-off has life-or-death implications?

Fake products are penetrating an even more serious category than luxury goods — pharmaceuticals. America's Food and Drug Administration just announced the findings of the agency’s investigation of fake vials of the cancer drug Avastin that have showed up in California, Illionis, and Texas.

The FDA's tests indicated the vials did not contain Avastin's active ingredient, and traced the phony drug to the U.K. via a distributor in Tennessee. Reuters reported that the fake Avastin apparently originated in Cairo, Egypt and went from there through Switzerland to Britain. While the FDA was warned about the products by British officials late last year, it only confirmed that they were counterfeit last week. Cancer patients and medical practitioners, understandably, are up in arms.Continue reading...

You can't help but notice the Help Remedies line of over-the-counter medicines for its distinctive packaging. The New York-based brand's minimal, clean design hints at what's inside with an impression of the blister-pack, for instance, but it's the text that really sells what's inside. 

Offering simple medicine for simple health issues, it strips away the complexities that typical medicinal packaging bombards patients with. Instead, each package bears a "Help, I..." line of text, such as "Help, I can't sleep" for a sleep aid, or "Help, I have a headache" for a package of acetaminophen.

The simplicity of the packaging matches the promise of the products, which feature no dyes, coatings, and aim to use only the main chemical needed to treat what the patient needs.Continue reading...