Prescription Drug News and Research

RSS

Indiana reports fewer preventable medical errors; Kansas struggles to meet oral health needs

The Indianapolis Star: "Indiana's hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers reported a decrease in preventable medical errors last year -- including a 33 percent drop in the number of bed sores. Overall, 306 facilities reported 94 preventable medical errors in 2009, according to a report released Monday by the Indiana State Department of Health. That's down from 105 errors reported each year in 2008 and 2007. The 22 pressure ulcers, also called bed sores, reported for 2009 were the fewest since the state's medical-error reporting system began four years ago" (Lee, 8/31).

2 Sep 2010

Support falls for health overhaul as Obama administration prepares for midterms

Kaiser Health News: Public support for the new health law slipped in August, "a development sure to stir concerns among the Obama administration and congressional Democrats seeking to shore up support for the law in the months leading up to the mid-term elections." The latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 43 percent of Americans viewed the law favorably, which is down from 50 percent in July.

2 Sep 2010

FDA extends Prescription Drug User Fee Act date for ezogabine

GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for ezogabine to 30 November 2010.

31 Aug 2010

Medicare beneficiaries receive prescription drug cost relief under Affordable Care Act

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries have received prescription drug cost relief through the Affordable Care Act.

31 Aug 2010

Emdeon Commercial MedRx solution launched to make commercial medical claims process efficient

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced the launch of Emdeon Commercial MedRx, a specialized processing solution that enables retail pharmacies to submit commercial medical claims electronically to medical payers and health plans across the U.S.

30 Aug 2010

Eisai receives new action date for FDA priority review of eribulin mesylate NDA for metastatic breast cancer

Eisai Inc. announced today that it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the agency expects to complete priority review of the eribulin mesylate New Drug Application (NDA) for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer on or before December 30, 2010, which is a three month extension from the original Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of September 30, 2010.

30 Aug 2010

Protalix common stock receives approval for Tel Aviv Stock Exchange listing

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc.,a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins expressed through its proprietary plant cell based expression system, today announced that the Company's common stock has been approved for listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in addition to its current listing on the NYSE Amex.

30 Aug 2010

New research contradicts previous reports on blood-thinner clopidogrel

New findings by McMaster University researchers contradict earlier reports that people with a certain genetic make-up don't benefit from the blood-thinner clopidogrel, also known as Plavix.

30 Aug 2010

Montana Gov. seeks cheaper drugs for residents; Legal immigrants may lose health insurace in Mass.

The Associated Press: "Gov. Brian Schweitzer, cooking up a new plan to get cheaper prescription drugs for state residents, said he wants to let every Montanan get discounted medicine through Medicaid." It's his most recent idea about how "to either import cheaper name-brand prescriptions or to otherwise bypass what he sees as exorbitant prices charged by 'drug cartels.'"

27 Aug 2010

New alchemy module allows healthcare providers to verify, comply with state and federal prescription drug regulations

Gold Standard/Elsevier, developer of drug databases and medication management solutions, announced today the availability of its new Alchemy.

27 Aug 2010

HealthSpring announces acquisition of Bravo Health

HealthSpring, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Bravo Health, Inc., an operator of Medicare Advantage coordinated care plans in Pennsylvania, the Mid-Atlantic region, and Texas, and Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans in 43 states.

27 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Sebelius on EMRs, primary care's role in reform and more

Health care providers may agree with the benefits of electronic health records. But they also believed that adopting them was too difficult and expensive. … [T]hat's changing - in large part due to an ambitious investment we made in the Recovery Act to reduce many of the obstacles that limited the spread of electronic health records in the past (HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 8/26).

27 Aug 2010

AARP Report finds increase in brand-name drug costs outstrips inflation

"Retail prices for some of the most widely used brand-name prescription drugs shot up more than 8 percent in 2009, even as inflation plummeted to a record low, according to a new AARP analysis of retail drug price trends released today.

26 Aug 2010

Alexza Pharmaceuticals licenses Staccato nicotine technology to Cypress Bioscience

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has licensed its Staccato nicotine technology to Cypress Bioscience, Inc. The Staccato nicotine technology is a novel electronic multidose delivery system designed to help people stop smoking. The Staccato nicotine technology is intended to improve on a well-validated smoking cessation approach by delivering nicotine via inhalation, mimicking the nicotine effects of smoking without the harmful side effects associated with cigarettes.

26 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 26, 2010

Highlights from today's headlines include the latest political developments surrounding health reform as well as news about California's health insurance premium rates.

26 Aug 2010

Transparency needed in administration of drug benefits by pharmacy benefit managers

According to a new AARP report, the average retail price of the most popular brand-name drugs increased by 8.3 percent in 2009 and by 41.5 percent over the past five years – rates well in excess of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. At the same time, major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) like CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., hired by employers and other health plan sponsors to negotiate lower prices from drug manufacturers, experienced record profits, in some cases increasing five-fold over the past decade.

26 Aug 2010

Prescription drug abuse soars despite state monitoring programs

Stateline: Over the past 10 years, "prescription drug abuse has soared to new levels. A recent White House study found a 400 percent increase in abuse from 1998 to 2008.

26 Aug 2010

Medicare drug plan changes and prices could surprise seniors

The Associated Press: An effort to streamline the entangled field of Medicare drug plans could mean as many as 3 million seniors "could force 3 million seniors to switch plans next year whether they like it or not, says an independent analysis," by Avalere Health: "beneficiaries will see their prescription plan eliminated as part of a new effort by Medicare to winnow down duplicative coverage and offer consumers more meaningful choices. Seniors would not lose coverage, but they could see changes in their premiums and copayments."

26 Aug 2010

Kindred subsidiaries to acquire 5 long-term acute care hospitals from Vista Healthcare

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced that its subsidiaries have signed a definitive agreement to acquire five long-term acute care ("LTAC") hospitals from Vista Healthcare, LLC for a purchase price of $180 million in cash.

25 Aug 2010

Virginia Attorney Gen. approves stricter oversight on abortion clinics; Indiana fails to follow up inspection reports on nursing homes

The Washington Post: "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has concluded that the state can impose stricter oversight over clinics that perform abortions, a move immediately decried by abortion-rights organizations and others as an attempt to circumvent the General Assembly, which has repeatedly rejected similar measures.

25 Aug 2010

Prescription Drug News and Research

Indiana reports fewer preventable medical errors; Kansas struggles to meet oral health needs

Support falls for health overhaul as Obama administration prepares for midterms

FDA extends Prescription Drug User Fee Act date for ezogabine

Medicare beneficiaries receive prescription drug cost relief under Affordable Care Act

Emdeon Commercial MedRx solution launched to make commercial medical claims process efficient

Eisai receives new action date for FDA priority review of eribulin mesylate NDA for metastatic breast cancer

Protalix common stock receives approval for Tel Aviv Stock Exchange listing

New research contradicts previous reports on blood-thinner clopidogrel

Montana Gov. seeks cheaper drugs for residents; Legal immigrants may lose health insurace in Mass.

New alchemy module allows healthcare providers to verify, comply with state and federal prescription drug regulations

HealthSpring announces acquisition of Bravo Health

Today's Opinions: Sebelius on EMRs, primary care's role in reform and more

AARP Report finds increase in brand-name drug costs outstrips inflation

Alexza Pharmaceuticals licenses Staccato nicotine technology to Cypress Bioscience

First Edition: August 26, 2010

Transparency needed in administration of drug benefits by pharmacy benefit managers

Prescription drug abuse soars despite state monitoring programs

Medicare drug plan changes and prices could surprise seniors

Kindred subsidiaries to acquire 5 long-term acute care hospitals from Vista Healthcare

Virginia Attorney Gen. approves stricter oversight on abortion clinics; Indiana fails to follow up inspection reports on nursing homes

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News