All News

Sanofi-Aventis is appealing a federal judge's decision to lift the injunction against the sale of a generic Allegra D24 product in the United States.

Empty frozen-fruit bags are the most recent healthy eating display in the pharmacy departments of Wegmans Food Markets.

Elderly patients have difficulty with long-term adherence to medications following myocardial infarction, and this is significantly worse among those with kidney dysfunction, according to a study published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, HealthDay News reported.

Health advocacy organizations that promote research and access to healthcare services for members routinely fail to disclose their financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, according to a study released online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Medication errors involving analgesics, including mistakes in prescribing, are a major contributor to suboptimal therapeutic outcomes and preventable adverse patient events, according to a study published in The Journal of Pain, reported Newswise.com.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has issued updated guidelines regarding the use of antiviral agents for the treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza, according to a report in the January 21 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The new recommendations, which include a summary of the effectiveness and safety of antiviral treatment medications, update those issued by the committee in 2008.

FDA has issued a complete response letter to Eisai for its rabeprazole sodium extended-release capsules, 50 mg, an investigational proton pump inhibitor (PPI) under review for the healing and long-term maintenance of healing and symptom resolution of erosive GERD, and for the treatment of daytime and nighttime heartburn and other symptoms of non-erosive GERD.

FDA has issued a complete response letter for Orexigen?s and Takeda?s Contrave (naltrexone HCl/bupropion HCl) extended-release tablets for the treatment of obesity, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss.

NACDS Mobile is the association?s new mobile website that serves as a ?guide on the go? specifically designed for ease of use on any smart phone with a web browser.

Half of Americans polled don't think vaccines cause autism. However, 18% are convinced that vaccines, like the MMR vaccine, can cause the disorder, and another 30% aren't sure, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.

The Centers for Disease Control included a botanical treatment for genital warts in its recently revised 2010 CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines.

Meth activity on the rise

Despite the electronic-tracking systems for pseudoephedrine that have been implemented in several states, methamphetamine-related activity is on the rise.

New draft standards from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention could bring dramatic changes to Rx labels as early as 2012. Changes to USP Chapter 17, Prescription Container Labeling, include larger font, placement of the most important information at the top, more understandable language, and more white space.

OTC Product News

In this section we showcase products and product news that ran up against space limitations or fell outside the parameters of recently featured categories in the print edition. Look for more OTC Product News in upcoming issues of the Drug Topics e-newsletter.

With several blockbusters going off patent, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked the office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to ?examine barriers to and identify opportunities for increasing generic use.?