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More than 720 data breaches occurred this year, and the top seven cyberattacks alone have left more than 193 million personal records open to fraud and identity theft...Of the seven, the healthcare industry has the dubious honor of three top spots, with the Anthem breach leading the pack...Our research indicates that cybercriminals are increasingly going after targets in the medical and healthcare verticals, which store valuable patient data that can't be reissued like a credit card...Each of the top seven data breaches compromised more than 5 million records, indicating that attackers are becoming stealthier, are employing more sophisticated techniques and are going after bigger and more lucrative targets...The top 7 breaches:

1. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
2. Premera Blue Cross
3. Vtech
4. Experian/T-Mobile
5. OPM
6. Ashley Madison
7. Anthem

Novartis announced today that it has reached a delivery milestone of 300 million pediatric antimalarial treatments supplied without profit since 2009, helping to reduce the disease burden for children in more than 30 malaria-endemic countries. Coartem® Dispersible is the first artemisinin-combination therapy developed by Novartis in collaboration with Medicines for Malaria Venture specifically to meet the needs of children. Never before have so many pediatric treatments been distributed in such a short timeframe to children suffering from malaria…"This milestone underscores our long-standing commitment to the fight against malaria and to the children who are most at risk from the disease…"We are proud of the part we have played in helping to reduce childhood deaths from malaria. And we continue to provide medicine at no profit to people who need it, contributing to the goal of a world free from the disease."

Never mind that report in a scientific journal last month that a new superbug resistant to all antibiotics might go global. It already has, according to a scientific magazine…Danish researcher Frank Aarestrup said he has found the mcr-1 gene in one person in Denmark and in 5 samples from poultry meat imported from Germany more than two years ago. He said the gene is the same as the one found in China…The finding that bacteria with that gene were resistant to the last-standing effective antibiotic, colistin, prompted fears of apocalyptic germs spreading around the world. The discovery at Southern Agricultural University in China was believed to be the first case of mrc-1 (mcr-1) found in humans…If the gene's presence leads to a global pandemic, infections that normally would be treated with antibiotics would become incurable unless new types of antibiotics make their way onto the market in time.

Massive use of antibiotics in farming poses a critical threat to global public health and should be reduced dramatically to an internationally-agreed target…implementing a global target for agricultural antibiotic use won't be easy…but is vital if life-saving medicines designed to fight bacterial infections are to be kept effective, both for animals and for people…in many countries most of the use of antibiotics is in animals, rather than in humans…This creates a big resistance risk for everyone…Any use of antibiotics promotes the development and spread of so-called superbugs - multi-drug-resistant infections that can evade the medicines designed to kill them…estimated antibiotic and microbial resistance could kill an extra 10 million people a year and cost up to $100 trillion by 2050 if it is not brought under control..."We need international governments, policy makers and the agricultural industry to coordinate their actions and set tangible targets for the reduction and better use of antibiotics in animals."

Cindy Whitehead, CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the recently approved “female Viagra” drug Addyi (flibanserin), is leaving her post only months after Valeant bought the company…Whitehead was instrumental in bringing Addyi to market. She fought through two Food and Drug Administration rejections of the drug in 2010 and 2013, pushing forward until it was finally approved in August. That effort included purchasing the drug rights herself and forming Sprout after Boehringer Ingelheim dropped it following the first rejection by the FDA…Valeant quickly bought the privately-held company for $1 billion in August after Addyi’s final FDA approval. Though, blockbuster sales have so far eluded the drug. From its launch on Oct. 17 until Nov. 6, only 227 prescriptions were written for the drug…For comparison, Viagra notched more than half a million prescriptions in its first month…Now, Valeant…is opting to switch up Sprout’s leadership…“Having built a team to take Addyi to market, we mutually agreed that it was the right time to transition to new leadership for the next phase of global commercialization.”

On the recommendation of the Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission, ASHP (the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education boards of directors have updated the Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Programs. The update expands the flexibility of training programs to meet requirements regarding the number and types of student experiential activities that must be performed, requiring at least one and encouraging two different contemporary pharmacy practice experiences. Accredited pharmacy technician education and training programs include didactic education in sterile and nonsterile compounding; accredited programs, however, may now determine whether they provide hands-on training in sterile compounding, nonsterile compounding, or both.

Four people (Dr. Michael Kelly, Priscilla Orosco, Joyce James, Tamara Mitchell) have been charged in a $17 million health insurance fraud scheme involving the sale of ketamine to patients without a valid prescription…The four-count indictment alleges Mitchell was an owner of two pharmacies, Diamond and Save Rite, that sold controlled substances as part of a marketing scheme, rather than for legitimate medical need. Diamond Pharmacy and Save Rite almost exclusively sold compounded creams containing prescription drugs and ketamine to the public by using pre-signed prescriptions to fill orders for customers, who had the “right” insurance plans, according to the charges…Mitchell allegedly hired pharmacy technician Orosco and pharmacist James to conduct the day-to-day operations of the business…Diamond Pharmacy paid (Dr.) Kelly thousands of dollars per month to provide pre-signed prescriptions without examining patients. Diamond and Save Rite (pharmacies) then allegedly billed insurance companies for compounded creams containing controlled substances…the four…face up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. They also face another 10 years for both the conspiracy to distribute and for aiding the distribution of Ketamine as well as a possible $500,000 fine.

CNBC's Meg Tirrell reports on the hearing on drug pricing focusing on older drugs.

As part of National Influenza Vaccination Week, December 6-12, 2015, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, government and health officials will join community partners to raise awareness about the benefits of flu vaccination and honor local flu vaccination heroes during a press conference and awards ceremony. Flu vaccination heroes to be honored include:

• Nevada State Assemblyman, James Oscarson, for his efforts to provide access to flu vaccinations for the citizens of rural communities in district 36.
• Joyce Goedeke, Vice President of Marketing/Public Relations for Southern Hills Hospital & Medical Center, for her leadership on the Immunize Nevada flu taskforce and for hosting a flu clinic at the Southern Hills Annual Balloon Festival.
• Melissa Shake, Pharmacy Manager and Immunizations Trainer for Walgreens, for her leadership on the Immunize Nevada flu taskforce and dedication to community flu protection by coordinating free flu vaccinations across southern Nevada through Walgreens’ national flu vaccine voucher program.
• Tavia Campbell, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder for Walls 360, Inc., for her sponsorship and donation for the 2015-2016 Immunize Nevada flu campaign.

WHEN: Friday, December 11th, 10 to 11 a.m.
WHERE: East Las Vegas Community and Senior Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas

The American College of Cardiology has recognized pharmacists as advanced practice providers, valuable to car­diovascular team-based care…sees this as an inspiring time, encour­aging other historically physician-driven, non-pharmacist organizations to support pharmacists, as they push for healthcare provider status…“ACC recognizes that there’s a shortage of cardiologists,”…The ACC recognizes that there’s a lot of work to go around but not enough cardiologists to do it. They see the benefit of advanced practice providers, which includes pharma­cists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and they believe that’s the way to make it happen…to offer care where care isn’t being given.”… With the ACC’s backing, there’s hope that other non-phar­macist organizations will support pharmacists...