News

Making prescription refills more affordable and easier to get may reduce disparities among hypertension patients, according to a study.

The cost of managing diabetes patients is extremely high, and many patients still experience poor glycemic control and renal complications, according to results of a study.

FDA issued a draft guidance last month to help the industry in the development of opioid drug formulations with abuse-deterrent properties, saying it considers development of these products a high public health priority.

The use of clarithromycin in the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage, according to researchers in Denmark. However, the researchers did not find a link between exposure to clarithromycin and major congenital malformations.

Influenza activity remains elevated in most of the country, according to the latest FluView report from the CDC for the week of January 13-19.

The cost of managing diabetes patients is extremely high, and many patients still experience poor glycemic control and renal complications, according to results of a study published online in the journal Diabetes Care.

Patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) have a 44% increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events, according to a study, published online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Social ties to industry appear to influence physician prescribing behaviors, according to a recent study published online January 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly Archives of Internal Medicine).

An FDA advisory committee voted 19 to 10 in favor of moving hydrocodone combination drugs such as Vicodin, Lortab, and Norco into the more restrictive Schedule II category of controlled substances, MedPage Today reported.

FDA has expanded the approved use of deferasirox (Exjade, Novartis) to treat patients aged 10 years and older who have chronic iron overload resulting from a genetic blood disorder called non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT).

The spike in flu cases over the past month, along with limited supplies of influenza vaccine and Tamiflu across the United States, has led FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to issue guidance to pharmacists and other healthcare providers.

The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) early estimates of the effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine is 62%.

FDA expanded the approved use onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox, Allergan) to treat adults with overactive bladder (OAB) who cannot use or do not adequately respond to a class of medications known as anticholinergics

Researchers examining the effectiveness of cefixime in the treatment of gonorrhea found a relatively high treatment failure rate, raising concern that gonorrhea may become untreatable, according to results published January 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

FDA has approved sumatriptan iontophoretic transdermal system (Zecuity, NuPathe) for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. Zecuity is a single-use, battery-powered patch that actively delivers sumatriptan, the most widely prescribed migraine medication, through the skin.

FDA’s recent approval of crofelemer (Fulyzaq, Salix Pharmaceuticals, under license from Napo Pharmaceuticals), 125 mg delayed-release tablets, the first anti-diarrheal drug for HIV/AIDS patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), is a significant step forward in addressing the unmet medical need of people with HIV/AIDS on ART who experience noninfectious diarrhea, which often can lead to reduced treatment compliance.

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) recommends that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) evaluate existing national quality health measures before implementing quality metrics in state health insurance Exchanges starting in 2016.

FDA approved the first trivalent influenza vaccine (Flublok, Protein Sciences) made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease in people aged 18 to 49 years.

FDA has approved budesonide (Uceris, Santarus and Cosmo Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA) extended-release tablets for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.

Merck is halting sales of its cholesterol drug-extended-release niacin/laropiprant (Tredaptive)-after preliminary data from a study showed that it did not achieve its primary end point of reduction of major vascular events and also raised safety concerns.

A new web-based program aims to help clinical pharmacists and other healthcare professionals achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients on antithrombotic medications.

Forty percent of consumers believe insurers should be more regulated then they are now.

Fiscal cliff deal shuts down loan program meant to launch state-based co-op health plans; 26 states will miss out.

The new State Health Care Cost Containment Commission aims to create practical solutions for states to manage today’s crushing healthcare costs.

WellPoint's LiveHealth Online offers members live-video visits with primary care physicians.

New findings could help physicians to selectively use acid-suppressive medications when needed, and avoid using them when there is no indication that patients are at risk

Patients with acute coronary artery syndrome and those undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention should be maintained on low-dose aspirin therapy, a recent study demonstrates.

The smoking cessation aid varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) may increase the risk of cardiovascular events in adults with cardiovascular disease, according to a recent FDA safety announcement.