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An article citing the positive impact of prescription drugs on reducing other medical costs in the Medicaid program was published Wednesday by the journal Health Affairs' September issue. "Proper use of prescription medications is paramount in helping to improve patient health, especially for those with chronic conditions,"… "This research is further evidence of the impact of taking medications as prescribed – both in helping patients manage their chronic conditions and reducing emergency or catastrophic medical costs associated with medication non-adherence."

In 2011-2012, the estimated prevalence of diabetes among U.S. adults was 12% to 14% and the prevalence of prediabetes was 37% to 38%, indicating that about half of the U.S. adult population has either diabetes or prediabetes, according to a study in the Sept. 8 issue of JAMA. Though data from recent years suggests that the increasing prevalence of diabetes may be leveling off… Diabetes is a major cause of illness and death in the United States, costing an estimated $245 billion in 2012 due to increased use of health resources and lost productivity.

NIH award enables researchers to take deep dive into two genomic disorders (familial hypercholesterolemia and chronic rhinosinusitis)…Two Geisinger researchers,..have been awarded more than $3.5 million as part of a national effort to better understand the genetic basis of disease. The research will lead to tailoring medical treatment based on patients' genetic makeup…is part of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics, or eMERGE, Network administered by the National Human Genome Research Institute.

International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists submitted comments on the Food & Drug Administration's underestimated time and cost burden of reporting adverse events by 503B outsourcing facilities.

Attention, proles! ...Health Resources and Services Administration has released its long-awaited Omnibus Guidance for the 340B Drug Pricing Program…guidance brings some much-needed clarity to the definition of an eligible patient...duplicate discounts…diversion…covered entities audit and monitor contract pharmacies…Unfortunately, HRSA has granted itself intrusive oversight for what it calls "limited distribution plans." Under the guise of auditing manufacturer compliance,…is asserting novel and impractical review and approval authority over manufacturers' channel strategies… every manufacturer is expected to have its channel strategies reviewed and then published…Watch out!

.. pharmaceutical industry has paid £209 million ($321 million)to underwrite growth in the UK the medicines bill during the second quarter of this year,…has slammed the slow uptake of new therapies…the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, the industry agreed to pay a rebate when National Health Service spend on branded medicines goes above pre-agreed growth rates,..the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry says it is "deeply concerned" that the growth rate of branded medicines was just 2.41% in the second quarter - half the rate seen in 2014 - which suggests patients are still losing out.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced…a new program, "Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States," which aims to invest in 16 states currently battling an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. The program will commit $20 million…part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Opioid initiative… money will go to enhance prescription drug monitoring programs, implementing community-level prevention, responding to overdose issues, developing communications campaigns or surveillance systems and working with providers, health systems and insurers to discuss how to make informed prescribing decisions around pain medication.

UK cancer care is in the spotlight again following publication of two reports this week highlighting underfunded and overstretched diagnostic services, leaving patients waiting longer for their diagnosis and thus delaying treatment…It recently emerged that the ’62-day wait’ target…has been breached for six consecutive quarters, indicating that services are buckling under growing pressure… the reports… conclude that insufficient funding, workforces shortages and a lack of imaging equipment, with much of that in use out of date, is weighing heavily on diagnostic services throughout the country.

Novo Nordisk…announced that a research collaboration has been initiated with the Langer Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for what is hoped to be the next generation of drug delivery devices for the administration of peptides… as an alternative to parenteral or injection-based delivery of peptides… creating new approaches for delivering drugs such as peptides and proteins across complex barriers in the body such as the blood-brain barrier, the intestine, the lung and the skin.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc….filed a lawsuit seeking a court order allowing it to promote its post-surgery pain drug, Exparel (bupivacaine), for a wide range of surgeries, which the Food and Drug Administration opposes…Pacira contends that its own marketing is not for off-label use…Exparel,… is approved for administration into the site of surgery to produce post-surgery pain relief…approval was based on studies of its use in bunionectomies and hemorrhoidectomies,…Pacira, however, has promoted it for use in all kinds of surgeries.