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Clinicians who treat persons with Gaucher disease will soon be able to offer their patients the first oral treatment option for this condition to be approved in the U.S. The FDA recently approved miglustat (Zavesca, Actelion Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of adult patients with mild to moderate type I Gaucher disease for whom enzyme replacement therapy is not a therapeutic option. Miglustat will be available to patients later this year.

State pharmacy boards are generally exempt from the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), according to the attorney representing the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

New Drug Checklist - Crestor

Crestor (Rosuvastatin) is a new statin indicated for patients with high cholesterol and triglycerides.

Clinicians will soon be able to offer men with erectile dysfunction (ED) the first drug to be approved in five years for the treatment of this condition. The FDA recently approved vardenafil (Levitra, Bayer/GlaxoSmithKline), which will be available in pharmacies within the next several weeks.

Oncologists will soon be able to offer patients the first 5-HT3 receptor antagonist with an indication for delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). The FDA recently approved palonosetron (Aloxi, MGI Pharma/Helsinn Healthcare) injection for the prevention of acute nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately and highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy and the prevention of delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Palonosetron will be available to patients within the next several weeks.

Here's how to get more R.Ph.s to use their prescriptive authority, allowed in most states but lagging in practice

The American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education launched a campaign to help recruit more pharmacists to teaching using grants totaling $12 million to fund fellowships for pharmacy faculty positions.