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Virginia Commonwealth University’s new Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences degree will prepare students to step into pharma jobs like quality assurance technicians, research technologists and laboratory technicians, according to Kelechi “K.C.” Ogbonna, dean of VCU’s School of Pharmacy...“What’s different about this program is many of those programs were designed as feeder programs for a professional degree or a graduate degree,” Ogbonna said. “A lot of those programs were not focused on … being a standalone program that is hands on, where they’re actually translating what they learned in the classroom and in internships and externships and getting familiarity and understanding with certain tools and instruments, assurance methodologies.”...READ MORE

Three women are suing the cancer blood test developer Grail claiming that, during their time as high-level sales employees, they suffered harassment, discrimination and ultimately retaliation under “a fraternity house” type of toxic work culture led by senior staff...the three separate lawsuits said that Grail failed to properly respond to the plaintiffs' complaints of a “sexually charged” and hostile work environment, including racist remarks made by a coworker in one case. They also each claim they were denied equal pay under California law...READ MORE

CVS reported first quarter financial results premarket Wednesday fresh off closing some of its biggest acquisitions since its $70 billion megamerger with insurer Aetna in 2018...The retail health giant tied up its $10.6 billion acquisition of value-based medical group Oak Street Health...and completed its $7.8 billion acquisition of home care provider Signify Health in March. The acquisitions are meant to advance CVS’ value-based strategy in primary care and home health...READ MORE

...the Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus for the 118th Congress...will focus on domestic production of finished drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients...Members of the caucus said they will look to advance legislation that incentivizes more domestic production for essential medicines as part of an effort to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign countries. The lawmakers also aim to head off potential supply chain disruptions and ensure a steady supply of pharmaceuticals in the event of public health emergencies...READ MORE

The Justice Department took a significant step toward rescheduling marijuana Thursday, formalizing its process to reclassify the drug as lower-risk and remove it from a category in which it has been treated as more dangerous than fentanyl and meth...President Joe Biden announced the “major” move in a direct-to-camera video posted to his official account on X. “This is monumental,” Biden said in the message. “It’s an important move towards reversing long-standing inequities. … Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana, and I’m committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it.”...The Biden administration has been signaling that it would move to reschedule the drug from Schedule I — a strict classification including drugs like heroin — to the less-stringent Schedule III, which would for the first time acknowledge the drug’s medical benefits at the federal level. The Drug Enforcement Administration submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on Thursday afternoon, triggering a 60-day comment period that will allow members of the public to submit remarks regarding the rescheduling proposal before it is finalized...READ MORE

Is AstraZeneca planning to peel off its China business? By CEO Pascal Soriot’s response to that question, it may only a contingency plan...A Financial Times report last month suggested that AstraZeneca has drafted plans to spin its China operations—the largest of any foreign pharma by sales—into a separately listed company to protect the group against rising geopolitical tensions...quarterly earnings press call came on Friday, Soriot took a chance to clear the air...So on this specific rumor, we’d only say that we are satisfied with the way we are structured in China today...AstraZeneca...2023 revenue guidance for China. It now expects the unit’s revenue to increase by low-to-mid single-digit percentages...AstraZeneca has seen many years of commercial success in China. Lately, though, ruthless price cuts led to a major slowdown, culminating in a sales decline in 2022...READ MORE

More than 5,000 employees have been let go from biotech and pharmaceutical companies so far this year...At least five dozen biotechnology companies have laid off employees so far this year in a sector-wide contraction that has reached large and small drugmakers alike...Brought on by enduring funding challenges, the consolidation has resulted in roughly 3,200 biotech employees losing their jobs between Jan. 1 and early April...While the workforce reductions aren’t a new development — more than 100 biotech companies conducted layoffs last year — the pace of announcements has accelerated, suggesting the industry hasn’t recovered from 2022’s market downturn...READ MORE

Thousands of Nevadans who got their health insurance through Friday Health Plans of Nevada have until midnight on Aug. 31 to find a new policy...This comes after a Nevada court ordered the liquidation of the company by Sept. 1. Several states, including Nevada, placed the insurance company under receivership, a court proceeding similar to a bankruptcy...There will be a special enrollment period for existing Friday Health Plan of Nevada members to enroll in a new health insurance policy through Nevada’s Silver State Health Insurance Exchange...The special enrollment period began July 25 and ends Oct. 31. The last day to enroll without a coverage gap is Aug. 31...READ MORE

As a long-awaited advisory committee meeting on Perrigo’s over-the-counter birth control prospect Opill nears, the FDA says many big questions remain. Chief among them: Will people use the drug as intended in the real world?...Ahead of this week’s joint expert panel meeting, the FDA released briefing documents posing two main questions for its expert committees: First, just how likely are consumers to use Opill “in an effective and safe manner,” relying solely on the nonprescription prospect’s label and without help from a healthcare professional?...Second, will consumers who shouldn’t use the product avoid the temptation?...READ MORE

...the FDA approved the first over-the-counter naloxone product...the U.S.’ drug regulator blessed Emergent’s 4mg Narcan nasal spray with a nonprescription nod, teeing up direct-to-consumer sales at places like drug stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and gas stations...the timeline on which the product will be made available at stores—as well as its price—is up to Emergent...Other formulations and dosages of naloxone will remain prescription only, though there are access laws that technically permit pharmacies across all 50 states to dispense the emergency drug without a doctor’s note...READ MORE