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A recall of 3 lots of physician sample blister packs of Coumadin 1-mg tablets and 5 lots of Coumadin 1-mg tablet hospital unit dose blister packs has been initiated by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12 over an extended period does not have a beneficial effect on vascular outcomes in individuals who have had a myocardial infarction, but it also poses no excess cancer risk, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, HealthDay News reported.

Purdue Pharma has awarded the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation a $100,000 grant to advance its efforts to stimulate community-pharmacy-based research that helps improve patient care and education.

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association has recognized Sandoz Inc. with a 2010 Distribution Industry Award for Notable Achievements in Healthcare (DIANA) in the Best New Generic Product Introduction Award category.

Phil Hagerman, RPh, president and CEO of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Michigan and Northwest Ohio region. He was honored June 10 at an awards ceremony in Dearborn, Mich.

A systematic review assessing the comparative effectiveness of oral anti-diabetic drugs for preventing patients at high risk from progressing to type 2 diabetes has found glitazones (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone), biguanides (metformin), and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs; acarbose, voglibose) reduced the relative risk of diabetes by as much as 63%, whereas insulin secretagogues (sulfonylureas and glinides) had no effect.

FDA has announced that the agency is currently evaluating whether the use of the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan (Benicar, Daiichi Sankyo; also sold in combination with hydrocholorothiazide as Benicar HCT) was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 greatly reduced FDA involvement in assessing the safety of dietary supplements, leaving pharmacists with the problem of obtaining accurate information with which to advise patients.

Letters: July 2010

Pharmacists speak out about the personal touch, personalized medicine, and "personality kids"

Inhaled insulin may be making a comeback. That's the hope at MannKind, a California-based biopharmaceutical company developing a rapid-acting inhaled insulin known as Afrezza (insulin human rDNA origin).

In the business world, it just seems like common sense that you dictate to your customers at your extreme peril. Even when you think God is on your side.

The number of e-prescriptions filled last year soared 181% to 191 million, according to "Advancing Healthcare in America," a report issued by Surescripts in Alexandria, Va.