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New US drug shortages this year are running roughly at the same levels as the last two years, and far below the record highs seen earlier this decade,…several significant products remain difficult to find, and hospitals, still shaken by the critical shortages of the recent past, remain concerned that key drugs could once again become scarce..

An independent pharmacy will pay a $46,000 settlement over an alleged lack of break times for its employees…Three former employees,..filed small claims lawsuits with California’s labor commissioner against Point Reyes Station-based West Marin Pharmacy…Deputy Labor Commissioner…ruled that the pharmacy owed the 3 ex-employees rest-period premium wages and waiting-time penalties.

…. proponents of e-prescribing have achieved their goal of electronic prescribing of controlled substances becoming legal nationwide, as Vermont has become the last holdout to change its rules… years of protests from law enforcement over concerns that drug diversion would increase, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in 2010,legalized e-prescribing of Schedule II-V drugs,

Big Pharma, out today on PC, Mac and Linux, is a fascinating look at the complicated and often dark world of drug development. Right now there's a counter on the game's official website (it counts profits made, comas caused, patents infringed and clinical trials buried) that starkly illustrates the factors that come into play when profit and competition is involved in the business of curing disease.

Pharmaceutical companies usually are involved in a lengthy process in getting their drug candidates to market through clinical trials. There is a fair amount of risk involved,..should a study come back negative or should a candidate not be approved. Conversely, if a drug is approved or passes a clinical trial, there can be big upside. Food and Drug Administration rulings can make or break these companies…. big FDA decisions coming up on the calendar for the month of September..

1. Opko Health - expecting a rolapitant PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act ) action date on September 5. (prevention of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting)
2. Tesaro - tag along with Opko, has a New Drug Application for oral rolapitant under review by the FDA with the same PDUFA goal date.
3. Zosano Pharma - completed its enrollment for the Phase 2 trial for ZP-Glucagon. (significant improvement over the currently marketed products for treatment of severe hypoglycemia)
4. Xenoport - completed enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical trial of XP23829 as a potential treatment for moderate-to-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis..
5. Apricus Biosciences - enrolled its last patient in its RayVa Phase 2a proof-of-concept study, (Raynaud’s phenomenon secondary to scleroderma)

PharmTalk is a special production from the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy that features Keith and Kevin Boesen.

They are often in the basement, and patients seldom visit. But the pharmacy department in a big hospital is a vital unit for making sure the right medicines get to the patients on time and safely.

...evolutionary underpinnings of diabetes are actually quite strong: Animals go through cycles in which their metabolism changes. Animals become obese and insulin-resistant when food availability is very low, and their metabolism kicks into gear when the environment is flush with food…all aligns with Circadian rhythms, Rhode Island-based biotech VeroScience asserts, which is why it’s developing its line of therapeutics around the waxing and waning of mammal metabolic function. In short, it’s studying how the biology behind the hibernation patterns of a bear,.. might be harnessed to spark new therapeutic modalities.

Dutch public employees' pension fund, the world's third largest, has sold all its shares in pharmaceuticals maker Mylan after it emerged that one of the company's products is in stock at a U.S. prison where death sentences are carried out…European companies are barred from selling drugs for use in executions, forcing states that still impose the death penalty to scrabble for alternative substances, some of which have led to widely publicized and gruesome botched executions.

Department of Health and Human Services has no plans to curtail use of enterprise social network Yammer, despite a scathing report detailing serious security risks associated with that platform at the Department of Veterans Affairs…VA’s Office of Inspector General issued a report calling Microsoft-owned Yammer "unapproved," … we found that it had vulnerable security features, recurring website malfunctions, and users engaged in a misuse of time and resources,"..

Two NIH institutes join forces to educate teens about the risks of using drugs and alcohol…An annual, week-long observance that brings together teens and scientific experts to shatter persistent myths about substance use and addiction will feature information about alcohol in addition to drug use. Now called National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, the observance will be held Jan. 25-31, 2016, and is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, both part of the National Institutes of Health. The institutes often work together on research and prevention initiatives.