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The Food & Drug Administration recently approved three generic versions of simvastatin (Zocor, Merck), the largest-selling drug yet to be opened to generic competition. For the next 180 days, Teva will have exclusive rights to sell the 5-, 10-, 20-, and 40-mg dosages of simvastatin and Ranbaxy will have the rights to sell the 80-mg dosage. In addition, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories will sell all five dosages under an agreement with Merck to be the authorized generic manufacturer of the drug.

NABP has launched its Pharmacy Authenticated Licensure Service (PALS) program providing licensure authentication of pharmacists and on-line pharmacies to state boards and the public. PALS provides a directory of licensed pharmacies and pharmacists-in-charge. Authenticated on-line pharmacies will be issued a hyperlink that users can click on to go to NABP's PALS site for details.

A lot of azathioprine 50-mg tablets (Lot 558470A, Exp. March 2009) has been recalled by Roxane Laboratories after the company discovered a single bottle containing methotrexate 2.5-mg tablets.

Bayer Diabetes Care, a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC and a member of the Bayer Group, has acquired Metrika Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. The company manufactures and markets A1CNow+, a meter-based diabetes monitoring system that has single-use, disposable test cartridges.

Pennsylvania's Gov. Edward Rendell has signed into law a new PACE Plus program, which will provide the state's seniors with a prescription assistance program. PACE Plus combines the popular lottery-funded PACE/PACENET program with the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. The Governor estimates that seniors in Pennsylvania will pay $2,000 less for their Rx benefits than older adults in other states.

More than one-third (35%) of patients report not filling all the prescriptions they receive, according to a new study conducted by Wilson Health Information and The J. Scott Group. The study of 32,000 patients indicated that this percentage is virtually unchanged over the past three years in spite of efforts by healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies to convey the benefits of compliance.

Walgreens has launched an initiative to hire people with disabilities at its new distribution center in Anderson, S.C., and is recruiting through a new, specially designed Web site. Walgreensoutreach.com describes jobs available at the Walgreens distribution center and is designed to be accessible by people with sensory, physical, and cognitive disabilities.

DrugMax, a specialty pharmacy and medical specialty product provider, announced that it plans to open two new pharmacies in leading medical office buildings during the second half of 2006. The company is also in discussion with existing physician group partners to launch additional pharmacies this year.

Medicare prescription drug plans generally provided incomplete and inaccurate information to callers who asked questions about the new benefit, according to a new GAO report entitled "Medicare Part D: Prescription Drug Plan Sponsor Call Center Responses Were Prompt, but Not always Accurate." Investigators placed 900 calls to 10 of the largest companies that offer drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries and reached representatives in 864 of those calls.

Prescribing physicians will now be able to initiate treatment for Type 2 diabetes with GlaxoSmithKline's Avandamet, a combination product containing both rosiglitazone maleate and metformin HCl, following a recent approval by the FDA. Previously, the drug was approved only as a second-line therapy in patients whose diabetes was uncontrolled on metformin alone.

The FDA is warning consumers not to purchase or consume Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Nasutra, Vigor-25, Actra-Rx, or 4EVERON. These products are promoted and sold on Web sites as "dietary supplements" for treating erectile dysfunction (ED) and enhancing sexual performance, but they are in fact illegal drugs that contain potentially harmful undeclared ingredients.

CHD Meridian Healthcare, an I-trax Inc. company, has opened an employer-sponsored on-site pharmacy for Vermeer Manufacturing, an agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturing company based in Pella, Iowa. The pharmacy offers prescription services at a substantial cost savings to Vermeer and its more than 7,000 employees, dependents, and retirees.

Aetna is launching a new program that will provide consumers with discounts of 10% to 50% off the cost of routine health expenses such as doctor visits and certain healthcare services, discounts of 10% to 40% off the average wholesale price of prescription medications, and a prepaid debit card to pay for discounted services at Aetna participating health care providers that accept Visa. The new program, called Vital Savings on Health, will be available to employers of all sizes on Sept. 1 in Denver and southern New Jersey and on Oct. 1 in Tampa, Fla., and Raleigh, N.C.

CVS Corp. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic, a provider of retail-based health clinics. MinuteClinic will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of CVS Corp.

FFF Enterprises, Temecula, Calif., a national distributor of flu vaccine, has a new service available at MyFluVaccine.com. The service allows customers to place orders on-line and to select their delivery dates.

Pharmacists can soon offer to women an extended-use oral contraceptive (OC) regimen that contains low-dose ethinyl estradiol tablets in place of placebo pills. The Food & Drug Administration recently approved levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol and ethinyl estradiol (Seasonique, Barr Laboratories) 0.15 mg/0.03 mg and 0.01 mg tablets for the prevention of pregnancy. Seasonique will be available through retail pharmacies and physicians' offices before the end of the summer.

FDA has completed its safety assessment of Sanofi Aventis' Ketek (telithromycin) and is advising health practitioners and patients to be aware of rare but potentially serious health risks. Ketek is the first FDA-approved antibiotic of the ketolide class.

Merck announced that the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously voted to recommend that children four to six years of age receive a second dose of varicella vaccine for the prevention of chickenpox. Merck's Varivax (varicella virus vaccine live, Oka/Merck) and Proquad (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella virus vaccine live, Oka/Merck) are the only vaccines to protect against chickenpox in the United States.

FFF Enterprises, Temecula, Calif., a national distributor of flu vaccine, has a new service available at MyFluVaccine.com. The service allows customers to place orders on-line and to select their delivery dates.

Pharmacists were rated the best at healthcare customer service, according to a survey of 7,479 consumers by BIGresearch, a market intelligence firm. Two-thirds of those surveyed think pharmacists provide a good or excellent level of customer service.

Planned Parenthood of the Rockies plans to give out free morning-after contraceptives at its clinics in Colorado to protest the Governor's veto of a bill that would have allowed pharmacists to prescribe and dispense Plan B. Gov. Bill Owens opposed spreading prescriptive authority beyond doctors and specialized nurses because it was outside the norms of medicine. Eight states permit trained R.Ph.s to prescribe and dispense Plan B.

IVAX Pharmaceuticals is recalling certain lots of 500-mg acetaminophen tablets and capsules because there's an error on the product label. The label incorrectly states, "Do not exceed 12 tablets or capsules in a 24-hour period," when it should have said, "Do not exceed 8 tablets or capsules in 24 hours."

The dental supply company Pascal is recalling the company's anticavity fluoride rinses because they could be contaminated with bacteria that may cause pneumonia, including Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas ?ruginosa. The recall affects all lots and all flavors of NeutraGard 0.05% Neutral Sodium Fluoride Anticavity Treatment Rinse, and NeutraGard Plus 0.2% Neutral Sodium Fluoride Anticavity Treatment Rinse.

Walgreens announced that it has agreed to acquire Pittsburgh-based Medmark Specialty Pharmacy Solutions. Medmark is a leader in specialty pharmacy services and care, including injectables, infusibles, and advanced oral medications to patients with unique or chronic medication needs for conditions such as hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, HIV, infertility, hemophilia, organ transplants, and cancer.

Walgreen Co. has acquired C&M Pharmacy, LLC, a 10-year-old Chicago-based specialty pharmacy. C&M Pharmacy serves patients with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and behavioral health conditions.

The New Jersey budget impasse that shut down non-essential government services has hit pharmacies. All claims for Medicaid and PAAD scripts filled up to and including June 30 will be paid, but claims after that date will not be reimbursed until a new budget is adopted.

Purdue Pharma has filled the first orders for its electronic customer ordering system for controlled substances. The system provides secure, paperless real-time access to information about the movement of controlled substances in the supply chain in accordance with DEA requirements, according to the drug company based in Stamford, Conn.