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Rite Aid continues to expand COVID-19 testing sites with eleven new locations opening Wednesday, April 22, in Delaware, Idaho, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia through its partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...Now spanning eight states and 24 store locations, all of Rite Aid’s self-testing sites will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week and expect to be able to conduct approximately 200 tests each day through online appointments. In total, Rite Aid will have the capacity to conduct nearly 5,000 tests daily across all locations...READ MORE

Nearly 90% of community pharmacies will apply for small business federal aid under the CARES Act to help them get through the coronavirus storm, according to a new survey...by the National Community Pharmacists Association...“Pharmacies are ‘essential businesses’ staying open during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep serving their communities, but many are on the brink at the very time they are needed most,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “In the 18 months before this crisis, the number of pharmacies had shrunk by over 2,000, mostly due to low reimbursement from pharmacy benefit managers...As the pandemic strains neighborhood pharmacies, nearly half of pharmacy owners rank the overall financial health of their business as somewhat poor or very poor, according to the survey...READ MORE

In the wake of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, both insulin manufacturers and legislators in some states are stepping in to ensure patients with diabetes are able to afford life-saving medications...Following announcements of its recently-launched Lilly Insulin Value Program, Eli Lilly has made available non-branded versions of insulin lispro protamine and insulin lispro injectable suspension 100 units/mL and insulin lispro injection, 100 units/mL at a 50% lower list price than branded versions...The non-branded insulin products are now available for order by US pharmacies, Lilly said. These non-branded insulin options are identical to the branded versions, with different packaging and a 50% lower list price of $265.20 for a package of 5 KwikPens...READ MORE

Drug manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers oppose Buy American policies as likely to reduce reliable supplies and raise product costs...Efforts to shift more production of pharmaceuticals and APIs to the United States as a strategy for reducing drug shortages and ensuring access to needed medicines...The recent $2-trillion COVID economic stimulus legislation...supports exploration of federal “Buy American” policies, ostensibly to reduce US dependence on drugs and medical products imported from overseas...READ MORE

The biopharma industry has struggled to recruit patients into clinical trials that adequately reflect the diverse patient populations they hope to reach with new products. Failure to improve minority subgroup participation now will cost trial sponsors later...New Research from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development reveals the extent to which minority groups are absent from clinical trials supporting new drug and biologic approvals...Additional tools are emerging to help sponsors effectively recruit and enroll underrepresented patient populations in clinical trials...READ MORE

At least four federal class-action lawsuits have been filed against the Chinese government that aim to recover trillions of dollars in damages for what plaintiffs allege is China's failure to contain the coronavirus outbreak and notify the international community about its dangers...In one suit filed in late March, a coalition of California property managers and an accounting firm are seeking to represent all "small businesses" in California that have suffered as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. A suit filed in mid-March by several Florida residents aims to assemble its own class of millions of people...All of the suits accuse the Chinese government of direct complicity in the COVID-19 outbreak and hope to use the machinery of the U.S. legal system to recover enormous amounts in damages. But the chance these actions will lead to any actual recoveries is slim, legal experts said...READ MORE

The National Community Pharmacists Association announced the results from their latest survey, which found that nearly 90% of neighborhood pharmacies have experienced drug shortages since March 1, 2020, according to a press release...Among the most common drug shortages reported by neighborhood pharmacists were albuterol inhalers, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, as well as others that have seen spikes in demand since the outbreak began...READ MORE

The Food and Drug Administration in the past month has stepped up seizures of prescription drugs being sent to American customers from pharmacies in Canada and other countries, according to operators of stores in Florida that facilitate the transactions...While seizures at the nation’s international mail facilities have periodically spiked during the past two decades, the latest crackdown is distressing many older customers whose goal is to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic...READ MORE

...British Columbia was already battling an opioid epidemic when the new coronavirus hit, compounding the threat to drug users, many of whom are homeless and particularly vulnerable during the pandemic...In March, the Canadian government urged provinces to lower barriers to prescription medications - allowing doctors to provide prescriptions for controlled substances by phone and pharmacists to deliver them - to better help citizens to practice physical distancing and self-isolation...B.C. is the first province to apply those guidelines to support people who use street drugs. Healthcare providers are ramping up the supply of prescription drug replacements for those who live with addictions to drugs like heroin, and even dispensing some of them via unique vending machines...READ MORE

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a host of problems in the global pharmaceutical supply chain—particularly in China, a major producer of drug ingredients. Now, seeing an opportunity, India is reportedly working on a plan to supersize its own ingredient manufacturing to combat Chinese dominance in the market...The Indian government is planning to escalate domestic production of pharmaceutical ingredients to counteract a perceived over-reliance on Chinese imports now hampered by COVID-19 shutdowns...READ MORE