All News

As part of the sampling effort being done for the investigation into toothpaste made in China, the FDA has updated the list of products that have tested positive for diethylene glycol (DEG) on its Web site.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has launched a multiyear, multimillion-dollar public relations campaign that will focus on "whys and ways" people incorporate dietary supplements into their lifestyle.

According to Repro-Med Systems, which designs and manufactures medical devices for medical respiratory products and infusion therapy, notification received from CMS indicated that the Freedom60 has been rereviewed for Medicare billing.

Sepracor is unhappy with the way CMS proposes to pay for its Xopenex (levalbuterol HCl) Inhalation Solution. CMS plans to bundle levalbuterol with generic albuterol inhalation solutions under Medicare Part B.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) has proposed a new list of 62 medications that it thinks fit its criteria for hazardous drugs and a list of 88 products that don't fit those criteria.

The Bridgewater, N.J., firm maintains that cancer patients could be hurt by CMS' reduced coverage proposal for these antianemia agents.

Yet another group has come out against CMS for its proposal to withdraw coverage of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) for many uses.

The Department of Defense has issued a notice advising interested parties of a demonstration project in which the department will evaluate allowing selected OTCs to be included on the TRICARE uniform formulary.

Humana announced that fully insured commercial Humana health insurance plan enrollees will have their first copayment for a generic equivalent waived when utilizing the insurer's prescription home delivery service, Right Source.

In federal court papers filed last week, NCPA stated its opposition to the proposed settlement in the average manufacturer price-fixing suit, insisting that it might radically reduce or eliminate the already-thin profit margin for community pharmacies.

An internal analysis of the outcomes of the Walgreens Health Initiatives medication therapy management (MTM) program reveals savings of more than $50 per member per month for patients receiving interventions.

Most Medicare Part D beneficiaries have access to most drug classes despite wide variations in formularies, according to a report in the June 20 issue of JAMA.

According to a just-released study of Medicare Part D data from 2006, conducted by the Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 97% of retail pharmacies offer at least one Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

The Michigan Department of Community Health has expanded its prescription drug price Web site from 30 medications to 150.

The Department of Health & Human Services has withdrawn a controversial proposed rule that would have allowed it to exclude from government health programs any provider that submitted reimbursement claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal and state healthcare programs that were held to be "substantially in excess" of the provider's "usual charges," unless the provider had "good cause" to submit the claim.

A medication list that includes patients' current medications and only the most relevant information about their care will be an effective tool to tackle one of the most challenging obstacles to the smooth delivery of care facing patients.

Adult patients with Type 1 or 2 diabetes will now have the option of receiving insulin glulisine (rDNA origin) injection (Apidra, Sanofi-Aventis) by intravenous infusion while under medical supervision in a clinical setting.

The FDA has given the go-ahead to Cephalon Inc. to market armodafinil (Nuvigil) for the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, narcolepsy, and shift-work sleep disorder.

Giving irinotecan (Camptosar, Pfizer) at low doses for several days may eliminate the need for the genetic test that determines whether a patient carries a variation in the UGT1A1 gene, putting one at risk for increased toxicity.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Merck Serono have announced the launch of their expanded-access program for sapropterin (Kuvan), an investigational agent for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).

Several reports of patients who experienced chills, fever, and body aches after receiving propofol for sedation have been received by the FDA.

Information on Kawasaki disease (KD) has been added to the prescribing information for Merck's RotaTeq vaccine after three postmarketing reports were received of KD following vaccination.

A request from the FDA has led to a revision of the prescribing information for pioglitazone (Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals).

The CVS ExtraCare Plus card will provide CVS customers with a convenient and secure multipurpose reward and payment solution that links the cardholders' existing checking accounts to their existing ExtraCare accounts.

The FDA has approved DexCom Inc.'s STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. The STS-7 System measures glucose levels every five minutes throughout a seven-day period.

The sudden death of a Staten Island, N.Y., high school track star was caused by the accidental overuse of OTC remedies to treat sore muscles and joints, according to the city medical examiner.

King Pharmaceuticals is the 11th pharmaceutical company to join Together Rx Access, a prescription savings program created by leading pharmaceutical companies to help individuals and families gain access to meaningful savings on drugs.

The FTC has accepted, subject to final approval, an Agreement Containing Consent Order with Rite Aid Corp. and the Jean Coutu Group. The agreement is designed to remedy the likely anticompetitive effects arising from Rite Aid's proposed acquisition of the Brooks and Eckerd retail pharmacies from Jean Coutu.