Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Approves Generic Capsule Form of HIV/AIDS Drug

The first generic HIV/AIDS drug in capsule form for the U.S. market has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The same drug, zidovudine, already had approval in tablet and oral dosage forms.

The approval of the capsule form of the drug, made by Aurobindo Pharma in India, follows the expiration of GlaxoSmithKline’s patent on Retrovir, its brand name form of zidovudine, the FDA said.

“This is a significant generic approval,” Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, acting commissioner of the FDA, said in a prepared statement.

“Retrovir, which was initially approved in March, 1987, was the first of a group of breakthrough medications that have transformed what was then a disease with a very dismal prognosis into one with a much more hopeful prognosis. Approval of this additional dosage form of zidovudine should help reduce the cost of this therapy for American patients,” von Eschenbach said.

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Group Wants Most Consumer Warnings Removed From Drug Ads

A coalition of advertising and public relations groups wants U.S. federal regulators to remove most of the consumer warnings contained in prescription drug ads.

In a petition submitted Friday to the Food and Drug Administration, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication said current prescription drug ads directed at consumers “overwarn and underinform,” which results in, “more confusion than communication,” the Associated Press reported.

The companies coalition, which receives some funding from drug companies, represents trade associations that specialize in medical advertising, communications, marketing and publishing.

“Our goal is simpler, clear messages that communicate both the risks and benefits of prescription medicines, more informed doctor-patient dialogue and improved patient compliance,” John Kamp, executive director of the coalition, told the AP.

However, seo services a consumer advocate said the coalition is off the mark. Consumer drug ads should contain clearer, not less, information.

“To pull away or remove those fine details, we are against that. I guess we are saying, ‘more is better,’” Bill Vaughn, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, told the AP.

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Companies Sued Over Sun Lotions’ Effectiveness

A class action lawsuit launched in Los Angeles against the five leading U.S. makers of sun protection lotions alleges that the companies lied about the effectiveness of their products in blocking harmful sun rays and protecting skin.

The lawsuit names the following brands: Coppertone (Schering-Plough); Banana Boat (Sun Pharmaceuticals and Playtex Products); Hawaiian Tropic (Tanning Research Laboratories); Neutrogena (Neutrogena Corp. and Johnson & Johnson); and Bullfrog (Chattem Inc.).

Combined, they account for 70 percent of U.S. sales of such products, Agence France Presse reported.

Mitchell Twersky, one of the lawyers involved in the legal action, said claims by these brands are “clearly misleading” insofar as they claim that “their products block all the harmful sun rays.”

The lawsuit seeks to have words such as “sunblock” and “waterproof” taken off the labels of these products. It also wants the companies that make them to direct “the money that they wrongfully obtained” into a skin cancer research foundation, AFP reported.

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Child’s Death, Injuries Prompt Recall of Toy Building Kits

A recall of 3.8 million Magnetix toy building kits was announced by the U.S. Consumer