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A whistleblowing former paralegal at drug giant Sanofi is now claiming she was aware of "many instances" where Sanofi lawyers destroyed documents to avoid turning them over to opponents in prior legal cases…Ex-Sanofi paralegal Diane Ponte's new allegation comes in an affidavit she filed in her pending lawsuit against the company...claims she learned of an alleged scheme at Sanofi to pay more than $30 million in kickbacks to promote the company's diabetes drugs. The suit came a year after the France-based drug company already agreed to pay more than $100 million to the U.S. federal government to settle other claims related to alleged kickbacks to doctors, and seven months after Sanofi agreed to pay a nearly $40 million fine in Germany in connection with two employees who were convicted there of paying bribes to boost drug sales.

Food and Drug Administration has so far approved 37 novel drugs in 2015, more than the 34 that had been cleared by this stage a year ago and just short of 2014's final total of 41…European Medicines Agency is also waving through more products, recommending a total of 84 new medicines so far, up from 75 in the first 11 months of 2014…The brisk pace of new arrivals over the past two years reflects improved productivity in drug research labs and a change of pace by regulators, who have committed to speed up the process of getting life-saving treatments to patients, especially in cancer…The science has got better and we seem to be finding more molecules that are showing material improvements…the rapid pace of new drug launches is forecast to continue, with 225 new drugs expected to be approved between 2016 and 2020…Drug companies argue they need to make decent profits to pay for the billions of dollars needed for drug research. Many companies also have extensive low-cost or even free access schemes for patients who cannot afford their medicines… For healthcare systems in the developed world, paying for such pricey medicines is a challenge - but for many patients in poor countries they will remain out of reach, reflecting the economic realities of drug development.

Involving pharmacists in preventing antimicrobial resistance makes the implementation of successful policies more likely. This is the view of the International Pharmaceutical Federation…to mark the start of the first World Antibiotic Awareness Week…“Fighting antimicrobial resistance: The contribution of pharmacists” presents the causes and consequences of AMR, and points to the need for better management and policies. Antimicrobials are used in inappropriate ways all over the world…The cost to lives and to health care systems resulting from suboptimal antimicrobial medicines use cannot be afforded…The federation also warns that the responsible use of antimicrobials remains crucial; or else new medicines may become ineffective too soon.

We are joined by independent pharmacy business accounting expert – Ollin Sykes founder of Sykes & Company, P.A. (podcast 21:45 min)

The initial fallout from the Valeant-Philidor kerfuffle has hit the pharmacy industry. Over the past few weeks, the major pharmacy benefit managers have begun dropping pharmacies from their networks. Some PBMs are also reminding retail pharmacies that they are prohibited from acting as mail pharmacies…I highlight the high-profile network pruning by the top three PBMs—Express Scripts, the Caremark PBM business of CVS Health, and the OptumRx business of UnitedHealthcare. I also speculate on the factors that would lead a PBM to clash with a pharmacy in its network…An as-yet-unanswered question: If PBMs routinely monitor their networks, why did it take a highly publicized pharmacy meltdown before PBMs finally cracked down?

Mike Glaicar, Business Development: Pharmacy Times...(PTNN) This weekly video program highlights the latest in pharmacy news, product news, and more. (video)

Pharmacists can play a critical role in coordinating better strategies to enhance antimicrobial stewardship. Often, they are already working directly with medical and nursing staff to ensure that patients are prescribed the best treatment by advising on drug selection, dose, and administration method…“Pharmacists can’t just expect others to do it,”…“We must make our own contributions if we want to fix this problem.”...Here are some ways pharmacists practicing in all care settings can continue to fight antibiotic resistance:

1. Counsel Patients in Community Pharmacy Settings
2. Make Sure Everyone Knows How Important Immunizations Are
3. Prevent Unnecessary Antibiotic Use for Non-Bacterial Infections
4. You Can’t Spell “Hospital Health Care Team” Without “Team”

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The world is drawing closer to a “post-antibiotic era” after bacteria resistant to last-resort drugs are discovered in China…The report in the Lancet Infectious Diseases identified bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin in patients and livestock…the new mutation is able to be easily shared between bacteria…"If this mutation becomes global…and the gene aligns itself with other antibiotic resistance genes…then we will have very likely reached the start of the post-antibiotic era.”… “To advise policy makers on the best way to tackle antimicrobial resistance, robust scientific data on how antimicrobials are used across the EU and how resistance emerges and transfers are needed,”…“This requires close cooperation between the various European agencies that have responsibilities in this area.”

A group of San Diego, California, pharmacies and their owners have paid $750,000 to the federal government to resolve drug diversion claims…pharmacies had been accused of mishandling prescription narcotics and ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products…The settlement was with Park Medical Pharmacy Inc…and owners Joseph Grasela and John Grasela…Drug Enforcement Administration alleged that the pharmacies had violated the Controlled Substances Act by diverting a “significant” amount of controlled substances, not taking adequate inventory of controlled substances, and not maintaining records of the pharmacies’ distribution of products.