Kaiser Permanente is gearing up for a statewide strike Tuesday by what could be more than 23,000 workers.

The National Union of Healthcare Workers will strike to draw attention to stalled contract negotiations at five bargaining tables across the state. The California Nurses Association has called a sympathy strike. So has Stationary Engineers Local 39.

Most of the action will be in Northern California. Locally, up to 3,550 Kaiser workers may participate in the walkout, along with 250 behavioral health and optical workers at Kaiser who are members of NUHW…

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In a $785 million deal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with three national governments, the World Bank and 13 pharmaceutical companies in a new commitment to eliminate or control 10 neglected tropical diseases by the end of the decade.

The foundation joined with the U.S., United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates governments in the plan to focus on countries where neglected tropical diseases (NDTs) are endemic. The diseases affect 1.4 billion people worldwide.

The Gates Foundation is committing $363 million during a five-year period toward research for new and better drugs to address the diseases…

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The first meeting of a task force that will develop recommendations for medically necessary treatment for autism — and the qualifications of those who provide it — will be held Wednesday in Sacramento.

The Autism Advisory Task Force will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 204 at the Sacramento Convention Center at 1400 J St. The meeting is open to the public.

The task force is called for by Senate Bill 946, authored by Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento. The bill, signed by Gov…

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Two days before Oregon’s House and Senate open shop for 2012, lawmakers have released some of the nearly 300 bills they’ll consider between Feb. 1 and March 6.

The bills will receive consideration during what amounts to the state’s first official annual session. Many measures won’t get full committee hearings until the Feb. 9 revenue forecast, at which lawmakers will learn the size of Oregon’s budget deficit.

Both the House and the Senate have already referred bills to committees.

Several measures will address ways that Oregon Gov…

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Industry presenters will focus on the Use and Benefits of Physiologic, Mechanistic Models in Drug Development.
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The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint against Covington-based Omnicare Inc., moving to stop the company’s hostile bid to buy Louisville-based PharMerica Corp.

The case will be heard before an administrative law judge at the FTC in June.

As Business First reported earlier this month, Omnicare had disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would extend the deadline for the FTC to review its proposed acquisition until Jan. 26. Earlier Friday, Omnicare also extended its deadline to buy PharMerica shares to 5 p…

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Inside the Brooks Sports shoe lab, tucked inside a suburban office park in Bothell, biomechanical engineers, footwear developers and designers are trying to create the latest and greatest running shoe.

Brooks’ efforts show the ever-increasing convergence of athletic performance gear and technology, which is expected to grow even more pronounced in the next five years as clothing gets embedded with UV screens and digital sensors, and as computers gain the ability to respond to people’s motions…

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Three of the state’s largest hospital systems have released an explanation for their withdrawal from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association — a loss to the tune of what some say is $1 million in collective annual dues.

Banner Health, Abrazo Health Care and Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) sent a letter today to Laurie Liles, CEO of the state hospital association, announcing their membership termination, effective March 1.

“The association is no longer consistent with nor reflective of our collective interests on legislative and regulatory issues before the governor and state Legislature,” according to the letter…

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The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint against Covington, Ky.-based Omnicare Inc., moving to stop the company’s hostile bid to buy Louisville-based PharMerica Corp.

The case will be heard before an administrative law judge at the FTC in June.

As Business First reported earlier this month, Omnicare had disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would extend the deadline for the FTC to review its proposed acquisition until Jan. 26. Earlier Friday, Omnicare also extended its deadline to buy PharMerica shares to 5 p…

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With a squeal, Mayor Beth Van Duyne was a bit ecstatic when I called her for comment about Christus Health consolidating its corporate offices in Irving, adding 650 jobs to the region.

The employees will come mostly from San Antonio and Houston. The move will be staggered starting this summer and will be completed no later than next year.

After Irving-based Hostess Brands Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, and MetLife Inc.’s operation in Irving laying off about 900 employees — this was welcome news, Van Duyne said…

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