Specialty Pharmacy

Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, senior clinical consultant, Emerging Therapeutics, Express Scripts, Inc, discussed the 351K pathway and compared it with the biologic licensing application (BLA) submission route for biosimilar drugs at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's Educational Conference.

Walgreens and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced today they are forming an alliance that will give Walgreens a significant ownership stake in the parent company of Cystic Fibrosis Services, Inc, a specialty pharmacy that provides medications and treatment support for the cystic fibrosis community.

Axium Healthcare Pharmacy, one of the nation's largest independent specialty pharmacy providers, kicked off October with an in-depth look at Balanced Solutions Compounding Pharmacy.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a video today on the importance of prevention and early detection in the fight against breast cancer.

Catamaran Corp, a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services and technology announced it has launched its new specialty brand, BriovaRx.

The Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP) will hold its 2nd Annual Research Symposium, October 2, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The FDA approved Stivarga (regorafenib) to treat patients with colorectal cancer that has progressed after treatment and spread to other parts of the body.

Vanderbilt University and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that they have signed a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies acting on the mGluR4 glutamate receptor, known as positive allosteric modulators or PAMs, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Managed Health Care Associates, Inc (MHA), a leading health care service company focused on the alternate site health care provider marketplace, announced that Erik Halstrom has joined MHA as vice president of Specialty Pharmacy Solutions.

Study of the biology of squamous cell lung carcinoma leads a team of scientists to conclude that potential new cancer treatment approaches should focus on genetic aberrations rather than on the organ of origin.

Patients taking Truvada may still significantly reduce their risk of HIV infection even when they are not 100% adherent to their drug regimens, a new study revealed.

When compared with traditional treatments, biologic therapies for RA were found to not be associated with an increased risk of cancer.

A new report finds that among all the types of physicians, oncologists are most likely to restrict visits with pharmaceutical reps.

The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) announced it is scheduled to launch the organization and its marketing campaign this coming October. NASP is a non-profit organization that will be dedicated to represent all specialty pharmacy stakeholders and provide a strong voice in the specialty pharmacy industry.

The staff at all CVS Caremark Specialty Pharmacy locations are being trained to use PAN's Specialty Pharmacy Portal to help patients quickly access financial support to cover medication costs that may not be covered by insurance.

Magellan Pharmacy Solutions, a specialty health care management organization, has launched Total Drug Solutions, an integrated approach to managing all drugs - oral, injectable and infusible.

The lifetime revenue potential of orphan drugs far exceeds the financial potential of other medications, according to a recent report conducted by researchers from Thomson Reuters Life Sciences Professional Services and Pfizer.

Breakthrough cancer pain-episodes of intense pain experienced by many cancer patients despite around-the-clock treatment with opioids-can be effectively managed with a fentanyl-based oral spray.

The Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance Foundation, Inc (JJPAF) announced that it has started to use a new common patient assistance program application for the HIV medicines it offers, streamlining for patients in the United States the process of applying for HIV medicines from multiple patient assistance programs.

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced that the FDA has approved Aubagio (teriflunomide) as a new once-daily, oral treatment indicated for patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Although many of the anticompetitive claims levied against the ESI-Medco merger did not survive a recent United States District Court ruling, the claim regarding the sale of specialty pharmaceuticals remains intact.

In honor of National Ovarian Cancer Month and Gynecologic Cancer Month, both taking place in September, Walgreens and Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc announced a collaboration to provide free access to certain fertility medications and educational resources as part of Ferring's h.e.a.r.t. BEAT program.

The Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee (AIDAC) to the FDA voted 13 to 1 that there was adequate evidence of efficacy and safety to support the use of tobramycin inhalation powder (TIP) for the management of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients whose lungs contain bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa).

Pfizer Inc recently announced the FDA has approved Bosulif (bosutinib), an Abl and Src kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with chronic, accelerated, or blast phase Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) with resistance, or intolerance to prior therapy.

The FDA recently approved Linzess (linaclotide) to treat chronic idiopathic constipation and to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adults.

Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc, a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies, today announced that it has filed the necessary documents requesting that the FDA grant orphan drug status to its PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells for the treatment of aplastic anemia.

Stribild, previously known as the Quad, has been approved by the FDA to treat HIV-1 infection in adults who are starting HIV treatment for the first time.

Scientists show a renewed interest in latrepirdine as a treatment for a number of neurodegenerative disorders after experiments with the drug exhibited improved memory function in animal models.