HEALTH

ATLANTA — SoloHealth on Friday named Joe Stephens to the newly created role of director of business planning and analytics. Stephens will focus on organizing business development initiatives, priorities, metrics and efficiencies, as well as helping guide new-business exploration as the company continues its growth. 

Stephens will report directly to Stephen Kendig, chief commercial officer and EVP of SoloHealth, effective immediately.

WASHINGTON —  SanMedica International on Friday introduced its SeroVital-HGH, a new oral human-growth hormone booster formulated with women in mind, at the Academy of Women's Health's Annual Congress here. 

MILPITAS, Calif. — LifeScan on Monday initiated a voluntary recall and replacement for all of its OneTouch VerioIQ blood-glucose meters in the United States, effective immediately.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly are seeking regulatory approval for an experimental drug to treat Type 2 diabetes, the companies said Monday.

BI and Lilly announced the submission of a regulatory application to the Food and Drug Administration for empagliflozin. The drug belongs to a new drug class known as SGLT2 inhibitors, which work by removing excess glucose through the urine by blocking its reabsorption in the kidneys. The companies are testing the drug in a late-stage clinical trial for which they plan to enroll 14,500 patients.

LONDON — The U.K.'s Infirst Healthcare on Monday announced it has successfully raised $32.1 million in new funds. The funding, from Invesco Asset Management managed funds, will be used for the launch of the company's medicines into the cough-cold and analgesic consumer healthcare markets.

ATLANTA — An early look at this season’s reports indicates that about 90% of flu-related pediatric deaths occurred in children who had not received a flu vaccination this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. 

The number of influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported to the CDC during the current season surpassed 100 as an additional 6 deaths were reported in FluView last week. To date, this brings the total number of influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported to the CDC to 105 for the 2012-2013 season.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bausch + Lomb on Friday announced that it has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take the company public. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, the company stated. 

The proposed IPO could raise as much as $1.5 billion and is expected to value Bausch & Lomb at about $9 billion to $10 billion, Reuters reported earlier in March.

ATLANTA — The percentage of people who are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and aware of it has risen slightly over the past few years, but remains low, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.