- Novartis buys remaining rights to GSK treatment for up to $1 billion (reuters.com)
Novartis has agreed to buy all remaining rights to ofatumumab (Arzerra) from Britain's GlaxoSmithKline for up to $1 billion, boosting the Swiss drugmaker's stable of multiple sclerosis treatments…. it is currently being developed for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune conditions…
- Good Neighbor Pharmacy names college scholarship recipients (drugstorenews.com)
AmerisoureBergen’s Good Neighbor Pharmacy network network announced ..that it awarded a total of $12,500 in college scholarships to seven high school seniors aspiring to enter the healthcare industry...granted in partnership with...28 pharmacies from Virginia and 16 from North Carolina participating in the program.
The 2015 Good Neighbor Pharmacy Scholarship winners and sponsors are:
- Allison Burns $5,000 – Hanover High School, Mechanicsville, Va. (Colonial Pharmacy)
- Mitchell Kreisel $2,500 – Currituck County High School, Barco, N.C. (Good Neighbor Pharmacy)
- Grant Kiser $1,000 – Harrisonburg High School, Harrisonburg, Va. (Fishersville Family Pharmacy)
- Katherine Quigley $1,000 – Stuarts Draft High School, Stuarts Draft, Va. (Stuarts Draft Family Pharmacy)
- Kaleigh Smith $1,000 – Nelson County High School, Lovingston, Va. (Stoney Creek Pharmacy)
- Charles Strimel $1,000 – Nelson County High School, Lovingston, Va. (Stoney Creek Pharmacy)
- Gibson Barker $1,000 – Eastern Alamance High School, Mebane, N.C. (Haw River Discount Drug)
- Another outbreak from tainted scopes suspected at an L.A.-area hospital (latimes.com)
Huntington Memorial Hospital..it had alerted health authorities about a potential link between patients who have a pseudomonas bacteria and the Olympus Corp. duodenoscopes used to treat them… Federal regulators have attributed this to a design flaw that makes the tip of these instruments hard to clean even when following the manufacturers' guidelines.
- China could offer rare bright spot for European pharma stocks (reuters.com)
Concerns over the state of China's economy have hit world stock markets this week, yet one group of Western companies could benefit from regulatory developments…a decision…to speed up the review process for some of their products is being seen…offering a potential boost,… China's Food & Drug Administration said… the country aimed to "set up a more scientific and efficient system to ensure the safety and quality of medicines…appraisal and approval process of innovative drugs will be accelerated..
- Walgreens partners with Providence Health & Services on clinic expansion (drugstorenews.com)
Washington and Oregon Walgreens locations will be getting new retail clinics through a new partnership with Providence Health and Services…The partnership will see three new Swedish Express Care and Providence Express Care clinics…Walgreens is harnessing Providence’s name recognition in the region to create a more coordinated care effort for retail clinics and move them beyond urgent care...
- Diplomat named exclusive distributor for Taro’s Keveyis (drugstorenews.com)
Diplomat Pharmacy has been named the exclusive distributor for Taro’s primary hyperkalemic and hypokalemic periodic paralysis treatment, Keveyis (dichlorphenamide)… Taro has created the Keys2Care program, which will provide a suite of patient support services to ensure people diagnosed with periodic paralysis can receive treatment with Keveyis as soon as possible…. expected to be available in the third quarter..
- Lundbeck to advance schizophrenia drug solo after taking an ax to early-stage pipeline (fiercebiotech.com)Lundbeck cuts 1,000 jobs (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
Lundbeck has initiated a rejig of its pipeline, taking an ax to undisclosed early-stage assets in order to funnel cash into.. its most promising candidates…schizophrenia drug Lu AF35700 is among the beneficiaries… many of the drugs that are available..predominantly driving effects through D2 (receptor).. 35700..has a strong binding affinity to the D1 receptor… hopes to differentiate its pipeline candidate… through its side effect profile, giving patients who are resistant to D2-targeted drugs a treatment option that doesn't cause weight gain and metabolic disturbances.
- Allscripts, CoverMyMeds partner (healthcareitnews.com)
EHR vendor Allscripts and CoverMyMeds have partnered to help patients receive their prescriptions faster…aims to increase the number of health plans available for Allscripts eAuth software clients… enables providers to authorize prescriptions electronically…Performing prior authorization electronically within EHR workflow helps improve efficiencies and reduce costs throughout the prior authorization process…
- DSNTV: Menasha’s Paul Murphy talks solutions for improving care, front-end sales (drugstorenews.com)
Menasha has created a solution to educate pharmacists about front-of-store items that can not only provide better care for patients with chronic conditions and improve adherence, but also encourage basket-building among patients…Menasha’s Paul Murphy, senior director of retail sales and new business development,…bridge the merchandising strategy gap between pharmacists and front-of-store, which can help improve care. (video)
- Can nuclear deal make Iran a contract manufacturing destination? (outsourcing-pharma.com)
There’s little chance US companies will consider Iran as a venue for pharmaceutical contract manufacturing, even in the current era of limited détente…second-biggest economy in the Middle East and has a large pharmaceutical sector…nuclear agreement…even if passed by Congress, doesn’t include any commitment to remove sanctions that may restrict direct manufacturing activities..