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DUBLIN — Irish drug maker Elan Corp. is paying about $380 million to buy one drug maker and a large stake in another, the company said.

Elan announced plans to buy Vienna-based AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals for about $340 million, a company that specializes in drugs for rare conditions in a variety of areas, including cancer, neurology and metabolic disorders. Elan also paid an initial $40 million to buy a 48% stake in Newbridge Pharmaceuticals, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Elan will have the option to buy the rest of the company for $244 million by 2015.

PASADENA, Calif. — A new vaccine against pneumococcal disease appears as safe as an older one, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente and published Wednesday in the journal Vaccine, compared the new 13-valent vaccine with the seven-valent one used before 2010. The Food and Drug Administration approved the newer vaccine, called PCV13, in 2010 after a series of trials. The valent number refers to the number of varieties of pneumococcal disease the vaccine prevents.

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK — The Safeway Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, have teamed up to develop a print, radio and digital public service announcement featuring actress and SU2C Ambassador Marcia Cross. The PSA is designed to increase awareness for the fight against prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death for men in the United States, and currently affects more than two million American men. One-in-six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

PITTSBURGH — A federal appellate court has ruled in favor of Mylan in a case involving a drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the drug maker said Tuesday.

Mylan said that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had reversed a lower court's decision invalidating five patents held by subsidiary Mylan Specialty for Perforomist (formoterol fumarate) in a case filed in 2007 against Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma subsidiary Sunovion Pharmaceuticals over the drug Brovana (arformoterol tartrate).

HAYWARD, Calif. — Impax Labs has launched an authorized generic drug for migraine headaches under a partnership with AstraZeneca, Impax said.

Impax said its generics division, Global Pharmaceuticals, began shipping authorized generic zolmitriptan tablets and orally disintegrating tablets in the 2.5 mg and 5 mg strengths. The drug is a version of AstraZeneca's Zomig.

Zomig had sales of about $196 million during the 12-month period that ended in April, according to IMS Health.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — A subsidiary of drug maker Mylan is sponsoring a campaign to draw attention to severe allergic reactions.

Mylan Specialty announced the Raise Your Hand for Anaphylaxis Awareness campaign, hiring actress Julie Bowen as a celebrity spokeswoman. The campaign will invite people to virtually "raise their hands" for their school districts by visiting www.Anaphylaxis101.com; four winning school districts will receive grants of $15,000 to support educational programs.

ST. LOUIS — Spending on specialty drugs is likely to increase by 67% over the next couple of years, according to a new study by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts.

NEW YORK — Vitamin C can kill a virulent form of tuberculosis, researchers in New York have found.

The researchers, at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, determined that vitamin C was able to kill drug-resistant forms of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis in lab culture, publishing their findings in the online journal Nature Communications. They had been looking into how TB bacteria become resistant to isoniazid, a first-line drug used to treat it.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Kerr Drug has introduced a new prescription-synchronization service, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

Kerr, a regional chain based in Raleigh, N.C., announced the introduction of the new Simplify My Meds synchronized prescription refill service. The service uses the chain's new central-fill center in Kerr, and the company said it hoped the program would solidify customer loyalty by increasing convenience.

WASHINGTON — A recent survey commissioned on behalf of a pharmacy benefit manager trade group found a high degree of satisfaction among Medicare Part D beneficiaries with preferred pharmacy plans.

SYDNEY — A Food and Drug Administration panel will consider whether to recommend approval for an experimental painkiller in July, the drug's developer said Friday.

Australia-based QRxPharma said the FDA had determined that an advisory committee would meet on July 17 to consider a resubmitted application for Moxduo, an immediate-release formulation of the opioid painkillers morphine and oxycodone.

PITTSBURGH — Mylan has launched a generic drug for treating cholesterol, the company said Friday.

Mylan announced the launch of fenofibrate tablets in the 48 mg and 145 mg strengths. The drug is used to reduce so-called "bad" low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B while increasing "good" high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults with primary hyperocholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia.