Kristen Coppock, MA, Editor

The CDC has indicated that many recent measles cases reported in the United States in 2018 have been the result of international travel to areas of the world where the virus is active, and individuals who are not vaccinated against the virus.

Calcipotriene foam was approved by the FDA in 2010 for patients age 18 years and older.

The number of cases of the disease in 2016 was the highest since 1972 and represents a decades-long trend.

Solifenacin succinate tablet is a muscarinic antagonist indicated to treat this condition, with symptoms of urgency, urge urinary incontinence, and urinary frequency.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Alembic Pharmaceuticals have both received FDA approval for generic Solifenacin Succinate tablets.

Parvus Therapeutics and Genentech have entered into a worldwide collaboration and licensing agreement for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune liver diseases, and celiac disease using nanomedicines (Navacim) developed by Parvus.

The final rule requires Part D plans to adopt tools that provide clinicians with information that they can discuss with patients on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at the time a prescription is written.

Novartis has issued a voluntary recall of 3 lots of Promacta (eltrombopag) 12.5 mg for oral suspension to the consumer level, due to a risk of potential peanut flour contamination that occurred at a third-party contract manufacturing site.

An agreement between the US Department of Health and Human Services and Gilead will provide HIV prevention drugs to uninsured individuals who are at risk.

The House investigational hearing drew testimony from health care industry experts representing insurers, patient advocacy groups, and pharmaceutical companies.

In announcing the requirement, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Americans deserve to know the prices of the medications they receive.

The CDC is recognizing National Infant Immunization Week as part of the World Immunization Week, an effort of the World Health Organization.

According to Purdue Pharma, Nalmefene HCl has a longer duration of action than naloxone, another opioid antagonist currently approved for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.

Some patients reportedly opt not to seek medical care, because of a lack of empathy and understanding care providers about their needs.

The supplement (Equelle, Pharmavite) relies on S-equol, an intestinal bacterial metabolite of the soybean isoflavone daidzein that binds to select estrogen receptors in the body.

On Tuesday, a US Senate Finance Committee hearing on drug pricing focused on addressing the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in determining cost to patients.

The hearing, “Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part III,” gave PBMs a chance to testify about the issue and provide insight into what the role entails.

Plague is a serious medical condition recognized by public health authorities globally as a potential agent of bioterrorism.

The hearing will take place May 13, 2019 at the agency’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Voluntary reports indicate that some individuals, especially youth and young adults, are experiencing seizures or convulsions following use of e-cigarettes, although a definitive link has not been established.

The action follows discontinuation of quinidine, the only FDA-approved intravenous antimalarial drug in the United States.

Overall, more than half of commercially insured individuals who initiated pre-exposure prophylaxis persisted with it for the 12-month duration of the cohort study.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and 3 other manufacturers of opioid pain medications in 2017. In the filing on behalf of the state, he claimed these companies utilized deceptive marketing campaigns over the previous decade, which helped fuel the state’s opioid epidemic.

Bayer Healthcare and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., the makers of the Xarelto® (rivaroxaban), agreed to resolve approximately 25,000 state and federal claims about the drug with payment.

Officials with the FDA have approved brexanolone (Zulresso, Sage Therapeutics) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of postpartum depression in adult women.

This therapy is expected to become available in late June.

As a result of the agreement, Teva is licensed to launch a generic version of liraglutide (Victoza, Novo Nordisk) as of December 22, 2023.

In the March 15, 2019 FluView update, the CDC reported a slight decrease in the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses in clinical laboratories, from the previous week.

Vaginal inserts containing tenofovir alafenamide fumarate in combination with elvitegravir were shown to be highly effective in preventing simian/HIV infection in a macaque model.

Data compiled from a recent study show that this therapy was highly effective in preventing SHIV infection in a macaque model mimicking vaginal transmission of the virus.