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WAYNE, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new intrauterine device for preventing pregnancy made by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the drug maker said.

Bayer announced the approval of Skyla (levonorgestrel-releasing uterine system), which can prevent pregnancy for up to three years. The IUD contains 13.5 mg of levonorgestrel.

Nearly 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration is ordering the makers of several sleep drugs to lower the recommended dosage due to the risk that they can impair patients the morning after, the agency said Thursday.

The FDA announced that it was requiring the manufacturers of drugs containing the active ingredient zolpidem to lower the current recommended dosage in light of new data showing that the morning after use, the drug can remain in the blood in sufficient quantities to impair activities that require alertness, such as driving.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — One of the most serious drug abuse problems in the country doesn't involve heroin, methamphetamine or crack, but abuse of legal prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, a problem that the Food and Drug Administration aims to change with draft guidance released Wednesday.

NEW YORK — Ten issues will take center stage as the healthcare industry moves to meet the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

NEW YORK — The rocketing incidence of flu has been characterized as the most severe in at least a decade, and it's only going to get worse. Or better, depending upon your perspective. 

NEW YORK — Abbott Labs has spun off its specialty drug division into a new company called AbbVie, which the new company's leaders heralded Wednesday by ringing the first opening bell of 2013 at the New York Stock Exchange.

SAN FRANCISCO — Biotech companies saw a decline in project delays due to regulations over the past year, as more than half have said insurance coverage and reimbursement issues have become more difficult, according to a new report.

The 2013 California Biomedical Industry Report — by PwC, the California Healthcare Institute and BayBio — looked at California's biotech industry and how it faired in 2012.

WASHINGTON — New results from a national online public opinion poll of Americans 18 and older show that 34% of smokers plan to quit smoking as a New Year’s resolution in 2013, as compared to only 18% who reported that quitting smoking was a New Year’s resolution in 2012. Increasing costs of cigarettes (67%) and concerns about the health risks associated with smoking (58%) were two of the key factors motivating smokers to contemplate quitting as a resolution for 2013.