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Leaders of India's $15 billion pharmaceuticals industry, a major supplier of affordable generics to the world, have joined public health activists in criticizing a new U.S.-led trade deal they say will delay the arrival of new cheap drugs…The impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership struck last week between 12 nations…but not India, is still being studied by Indian drug makers. But in initial comments, industry executives said provisions in the deal that shield new drug data from competitors would hurt their business in those nations…Countries from the United States to Africa rely on India as a supplier of cheap medicines, earning it the "pharmacy to the world" nickname.

Brian Haug, President of Pharmacy and Managed Markets, Pharmacy Times (PTNN) This weekly video program highlights the latest in pharmacy news, product news, and more. (video)

…nonpartisan watchdog group called Project on Government Oversight published a report…that highlights flaws in the FDA’s 2010 approval of Pradaxa…group says this case study is a "cautionary tale" for U.S. legislators considering the 21st Century Cures Act which aims to expedite the drug approval process…Food and Drug Administration was "lax" and "permissive" in its approval…analysis suggests the FDA rubber-stamped the drug on the basis of a single poorly designed clinical trial that overlooked safety concerns…damning report comes at a time when Congress is considering the 21st Century Cures Act…

...soon, Apple Inc. iPhones and watches may be able to recognize when someone’s having an epileptic seizure, and call for help…Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed an app that can track and measure seizure symptoms, and is the first research app to combine sensors on both Apple’s watch and phone. Eventually, it may run in the background and alert caregivers that a patient is having an event….the app measures heart rate, movement and other data as the seizure progresses. The watch will also display queries designed to test whether the wearer is alert…

Swiss food company talks turkey with the FDA even as it researches conditions like Alzheimer's…If Big Pharma didn't already have enough to worry about, with patent cliffs, drug price investigations and reluctant payers, it now will have to face the onslaught of a large, well-funded company trying to create hybrid pharma and food products company that would treat conditions from stomach disorders to Alzheimer's disease…the four-year-old health-focused unit of Swiss food giant Nestlé is acting very much like a Big Pharma player these days. It is doing deals for pipeline projects, talking to the FDA about approvals on health-proven products and eyeing the same emerging markets that Big Pharma players have looked to improve their margins…

Three in four NHS hospitals are unsafe, official watchdogs warned last night…In an alarming report, they said casualty cases had been left in makeshift huts outside A&E. Other patients were given the wrong drugs or illegally sedated…Care Quality Commission also warned of a culture of bullying and blame, with staff scared to raise concerns or admit blunders…The report came on the day that an NHS whistleblower was named by his shameless bosses. The professor had revealed that dozens of patients were needlessly put through the agony of chemotherapy…The most comprehensive NHS assessment ever, the CQC’s 120-page report covers 150 hospitals. A shocking 74 per cent were graded either ‘inadequate’ or requiring ‘improvement’ in terms of patient safety.

Pfizer CEO Ian Read says he's met the drug-cost enemy, and it isn't pharma. The firestorm over U.S. drug pricing isn't a problem for drugmakers to solve…The public debate about rising drug prices--be they increases for existing meds or 6-figure cancer-treatment costs--overlooks the financial benefits of drug treatment...Read cites cost-benefit analyses showing that Lipitor and other statin meds cost $305 billion between 1987 and 2008, but they generated $1.3 trillion in economic benefits, by preventing heart attacks and strokes, and their costs to the healthcare system.

..overuse of antibiotics is one of the greatest threats facing the pharmaceutical, farming and medical industries. Overuse or abuse of the drugs has led to increasing resistance and given rise to "superbugs" that threaten patients and the world's food supply…threat is especially acute in poorer, developing countries where antibiotics are routinely overprescribed or given without a prescription…a plan in China to control the use of antibiotics has shown positive results, at least for one kind of superbug (MRSA)…Data..showed…rates of infection…decreased…from 70% to 30% …in many hospitals in China, thanks to the strict control…Part of those new controls include requiring prescriptions…and doctors are also being required to cut down on the use of the drugs.

Kenya has become the first country to take up the Novartis Access programme, under which the Swiss drug giant is providing a batch of essential medicines at a cost of $1 per treatment per month…15 therapies on offer all target chronic diseases such as diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer, the idea being to increase access to potentially life-saving medicines and thereby help reign in their growing spread in areas with limited access to healthcare…In Kenya, noncommunicable diseases...account for 27% of deaths, or almost 100,000 people per year...by 2030, it is estimated that they will be responsible for more than 60% of deaths, highlighting the urgent need for intervention.

Dynamic podcast interview with Alex Barker PharmD, founder of Pharmacy School HQ Alex is a self proclaimed ‘neopharmaphobic’ clinical pharmacist in Michigan.

Nick Gentile, Director of State Grassroots Advocacy and Political Action for ASHP, provider status update