Trending News Today: FDA Requests Manufacturer Withdraw Opioid From the Market

As Teva Pharmaceuticals continues to struggle, the manufacturer will overhaul its board and nominate 4 new directors in hopes to remake the company, reported Fox Business. Board Chairman Sol Barer said shareholders will approve the nominees at Teva’s annual meeting July 13, 2017. One nominee, Chemi Peres, is the managing partner of Pitango Venture Capital, while the other 3 nominees would bring international drug-industry and financial experience to the company. “We are evolving the board to meet new challenges both within Teva and the business [of generic drugs],” Dr Barer told Fox Business. The 3 nominees include Murray Goldberg, former chief financial officer at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; Roberto Mignone, managing partner of Bridger Management LLC; and Perry Nissen, former GlaxoSmithKline PLC research and development official, and head of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.

In an effort to boost the careers of young scientists and encourage them to stay in the field, the National Institutes of Health said it will begin increasing research grant money. According to The Wall Street Journal, the medical research agency said it will begin redistribution immediately with approximately $210 million per year. The amount would steadily increase over 5 years to approximately $1.1 billion annually.

The FDA has requested that Endo Pharmaceuticals withdraw its pain killer Opana ER due to the risk of drug abuse, according to USA Today. This is the first time the agency has asked a pharma company to withdraw a currently marketed pain medication, citing risks that outweigh any benefits. If Endo fails to meet the request, the FDA will take steps to withdraw approval of the drug, the agency said in a statement. “The abuse and manipulation of reformulated Opana ER by injection has resulted in a serious disease outbreak,” Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement reported by USA Today. “This action will protect the public from further potential for misuse and abuse of this product.”