Industry News

FDA on May 17 announced that it is reviewing the results of a federally funded study that found an increased risk of death in patients treated with azithromycin compared with those receiving amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin or people not receiving antimicrobial therapy.

Citing overfill concerns, FDA and Hospira announced the recall of a single lot of hydromorphone injection packaged in Hospira's Carpuject syringe system.

A soon-to-launch program developed by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) aims to improve communication between manufacturers, FDA, and other pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders in an effort to lessen the severity of drug shortages.

For pharmacists who provide medication therapy management (MTM) services to people with the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, the year 2013 means a standardized format for the written summary of annual comprehensive medication reviews and new coverage of barbiturates and benzodiazepines.

New guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) recommend both drug therapy and nonpharmacologic interventions for patients with osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, or knee.

FDA on May 7 announced safety-related changes to the labeling for lenalidomide.

Pfizer Inc. and Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. on May 1 announced the approval of taliglucerase alfa for i.v. infusion for the treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease in adults.

As pharmacists assume greater patient care roles, opportunities exist for motivated pharmacy technicians to also work at an advanced level—and for stakeholders to drive that process, said Everett McAllister, the new head of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).

FDA on April 27 approved the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor avanafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

The 30-year-old regulation that protects U.S. workers against on-the-job exposure to hazardous chemicals was revamped in March in an attempt to standardize the way chemicals in the workplace are classified and better conform to international hazard communication practices.

This may be the year that efforts to create an accreditation program for community pharmacies come to fruition.

American Regent Inc. today announced it is recalling all ampuls in epinephrine injection lot 1395 because the liquid in some containers is discolored or has small visible particles.

Expect FDA to approve a new anticoagulant and perhaps new treatments for multiple sclerosis and obesity before year's end, said Brian Kolling during an April 19 presentation at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy meeting in San Francisco.

New contraindications and warnings have been added to the labeling for products that contain the renin inhibitor aliskiren, FDA announced today.

Hospira Inc. on April 17 announced it was recalling lot 10830LL of morphine sulfate injection 4 mg/mL because a customer had reported that two of the Carpuject syringes in the lot contained more than 1 mL.

Citing an infection risk for patients, FDA today warned health care practitioners to stop using all lots of Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel that were produced from June through December of 2011.

Some drugs that are now available only with a prescription may one day be obtained after consulting with a pharmacist or answering a series of questions on a computer terminal, under a new system that FDA is considering for nonprescription drug use.

FDA approved rifampin for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in 1971, the same year Intel Corporation invented the first microprocessor.

The addition of drugs and their look-alikes to dietary supplements sold in this country has become a "significant health problem," according to the person who leads FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs.

Women who use oral contraceptives that contain the synthetic progestin drospirenone have a higher risk for blood clots than women whose contraceptive uses a different progestin, FDA announced today in a Drug Safety Communication.