Oklahoma to use nitrogen for executions in first for US

WASHINGTON: Oklahoma officials said on Wednesday the state would resume executions using nitrogen gas, a move that would make it the first US state to use the gas for capital punishment. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement that the state would use the gas as its primary means of execution once a procedure for its use had been finalized. A spokeswoman for Hunter declined to comment on when executions might resume following a three-year hiatus. It was not likely until the end of the year at the earliest, The Oklahoman newspaper reported. Oklahoma has not carried out an execution since 2015 after a series of mishaps, including a botched lethal injection where an inmate was seen by witnesses writhing in pain on a death chamber gurney.

Alexion’s rare blood disorder drug succeeds in late-stage study

Ag Reuters

TOKYO: Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday its experimental drug to treat patients with a rare blood disorder met the main goal in a late-stage study, sending its shares up 18 percent in premarket trading. The drug, ALXN1210, was being tested against the company’s flagship drug, Soliris, in patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH). The company said the drug demonstrated non-inferiority to Soliris on the main goal as well as four of the key secondary goals. Alexion said it expects to file marketing application for the drug in the US, the European Union and Japan in the second half of 2018.