HEALTH

 SWIFTWATER, Pa. — Sanofi Pasteur on Thursday announced it has filed for approval of a four-strain flu shot to the Food and Drug Administration. An action date is anticipated in the second quarter of 2013. 

ISELIN, N.J. — Ansell Healthcare on Wednesday announced the launch of Zero and Zero Larger. Zero is the thinnest latex condom now offered in America, 45% thinner than Ansell's standard latex design, and Zero Larger is now the thinnest large condom in the market in the United States, the company stated. 

According to consumer focus groups, condom users are consistently searching for more sensitive and better-fitting designs, and are willing to try different brands and styles to discover the condoms that best suit their needs. 

CHICAGO — In a randomized trial that included nearly 15,000 male physicians and started in 1997, long-term daily multivitamin use resulted in a modest, but statistically significant, reduction in cancer after more than a decade of treatment and follow-up, according to a study appearing in JAMA that was released Wednesday. The multivitamin used in the study was Pfizer's Centrum Silver. 

LONDON — Vitamin D supplementation could be considered an immunomodulatory agent for systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease characterized not only by skin, joint, neurological and renal symptoms, but also by inflammation of tissue linings in the body, according to a new clinical study published Tuesday in BioMedCentral's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy. 

An immunomodulatory agent has an effect on the immune system. 

Colgate Total and the American Diabetes Association teamed up to promote awareness for American Diabetes Month with a survey revealing people's knowledge — or lack thereof — about oral health and its association with diabetes.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 36% of respondents didn't know about the link between diabetes and oral health, and 66% of respondents didn't realize that people with diabetes are twice as likely to develop serious gum disease.

DENVER — Busy Breathers on Tuesday announced the availability of its portable oxygen backpacks on e-commerce sites Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com and in 75 Walgreens locations throughout Colorado.  

ATLANTA – Coca-Cola and Sanofi are partnering to launch a line of "beauty drinks" in France under the Oenobiol Beautific brand. The drinks claim to "help strengthen hair and nails, embellish skin, lose weight and improve vitality."

The beauty drinks will be sold in a "small scale pilot" to a limited number of pharmacies in the country, according to a statement from the Coca-Cola business unit in France. Coca-Cola declined to provide further details.

AKRON, Ohio — Gojo Industries on Wednesday announced the results of a series of independent lab studies testing the ability of instant hand sanitizers to meet Food and Drug Administration Healthcare Personnel Handwash germ kill requirements at various dosage levels. The studies, which included more than 20 different hand sanitizers, concluded that the patent-pending Purell Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer formulation is the only one to meet FDA germ kill requirements with a single 1.2-mL dispense.