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Fresenius Kabi USA on June 30, 2013 issued a voluntary, user-level product recall of 4 lots of benztropine mesylate injection, USP, 2 mg/2 mL (1 mg/mL) in 2 mL single-dose vials, due to the possibility of glass particles in the vials.

FDA issued a warning July 3 that olmesartan medoxomil, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, may cause sprue-like enteropathy several months to years after initiation of treatment.

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. on July 3, 2013 initiated a voluntary recall of 1 lot of its hepatitis B vaccine Recombinant HB Adult Formulation due to potential cracks in the vials.

FDA has approved low-dose paroxetine capsules (Brisdelle, Noven Pharmaceuticals), 7.5 mg/day, for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, also referred to as hot flashes and night sweats.

Opioid overdose deaths in women in the United States increased fivefold from 1999 to 2010. During the same time period, the risk of opioid pain reliever deaths in men increased 3.6 times, according to the July 2 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In addition to boosting patient health outcomes, medication therapy management is vital to a pharmacy’s bottom line, according to various speakers participating in the recent Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s webinar “Boosting MTM Program Compliance.”

States would see medical costs savings ranging from $19 million to $2.1 billion each if medication adherence rates improved, according to a study released by CVS Caremark.

The National Education Association Health Information Network is set to release a resource guide designed to help educators teach students about prescription drug abuse and misuse.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists will begin offering more than 20 hours annually of continuing pharmacy education courses through an online subscription service.

Healthcare costs were substantially lower for HCV patients who achieved sustained virologic response up to 5 years after antiviral therapy ended, according to a study published in the July/August 2013 Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.

Walgreens is partnering with Johns Hopkins Medicine to build a store adjacent to the hospital’s East Baltimore campus that will target students and staff and well as the surrounding community.

About half the adults in the United States regularly take dietary supplements to add nutrients or other ingredients to their diets. But how many know what’s actually in those supplements?

As part of a worldwide effort including law enforcement and international regulatory officials, FDA this week confiscated more than $41 million worth of illegal medicines and shut down more than 9,600 websites.

Despite increases in earnings and net income, Walgreens shares dropped this week after the company’s third-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The first of 2 pivotal phase 3 trials with a new allergy immunotherapy tablet for the treatment of house dust mite-induced respiratory diseases has met its primary end points, according to ALK and partner Merck.

FDA has expanded the use of telavancin (Vibativ, Theravance) to treat adult patients with hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by susceptible isolates of Staphylococcus aureus when alternative treatments are not suitable.

When it comes to taking medication properly, Americans 40 and older with chronic medical conditions, on average, earn a C+, according to a patient survey commissioned by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Adding more than a one-half serving of red meat daily for 4 years can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus over the subsequent 4-year period, according to a report published online June 17 for JAMA Internal Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to injection drug users who are at high risk of HIV infection, following the positive results of the Bangkok Tenovir Study, published online June 12 in the Lancet.

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is leading a group that wants greater FDA oversight of compounding pharmacies, including restrictions on the drugs they can produce.

FDA has approved the use of Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) as a nonprescription product for all women of child-bearing potential. This action complies with the April 5, 2013 order of the United States District Court in New York to make levonorgestrel-containing emergency contraceptives available as an over-the-counter (OTC) product without age or point-of-sale restrictions.

FDA approved a test that identifies the genotype of hepatitis C virus (HCV) that a patient is carrying.

APhA DrugInfoLine, an online publication that provides drug-news updates to members of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), has named Kristin W. Weitzel editor-in-chief.

The effectiveness of new drugs compared with that of older drugs has fallen since the 1970s, according to a new study in Health Affairs.

Janet Silvester, former president and board member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), will rejoin that organization as its vice president of accreditation services.

FDA approved the expanded use of denosumab (Xgeva, Amgen) to treat adults and some adolescents with giant cell tumor of the bone (GCTB), a rare and usually non-cancerous tumor.

FDA is investigating 2 unexplained deaths in patients who received an intramuscular injection of the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa Relprevv (olanzapine pamoate), according to an FDA Drug Safety Communication.

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that pay-for-delay agreements between brand name drug companies and generic manufacturers are subject to antitrust scrutiny.