Content about Collaborative Care

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.

TAMPA, Fla. — The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy has launched an online resource with clinical and business-related content in more than 20 therapeutic categories, the group said Thursday.

The Specialty Pharmacy Education Center provides 30 hours worth of content for members of the organization, including preparation for the group's Certified Specialty Pharmacist program.

NEW YORK — The makers of a pill bottle that uses wireless technology to keep patients adherent won the grand prize at a recent healthcare innovation contest.

AdhereTech developers Josh Stein, John Langhauser and Mike Morena will receive $50,000 in prize money as winners in the Healthcare Innovation World Cup, an international diabetes innovation challenge funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and organized by HITLAB.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for a type of lung cancer.

Roche subsidiary Genentech and the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Astellas Pharma announced the approval of Tarceva (erlotinib) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have mutations that activate the epidermal growth factor receptor. The FDA also approved a test to detect the mutation.

The drug was already approved for advanced NSCLC that did not exhibit the mutation.

PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic migraine drug made by Mylan, the company said Wednesday.

Mylan announced the approval of zolmitriptan tablets in the 2.5 mg and 5 mg strengths. The drug maker plans to launch the product immediately.

The drug is a generic version of IPR Pharmaceuticals' Zomig and is used for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. Various versions of the drug had sales of $152.8 million during the 12-month period that ended in March, according to IMS Health.

BALTIMORE — The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy is piloting a program that will allow state employees to receive medication therapy management services, the university announced.

WASHINGTON — Walgreens Take Care Health Systems and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties are sponsoring a new program to support the clinical education of nurse practitioners, the two announced.

"NONPF is very pleased to have the support of a strong clinical leader such as Take Care Health Systems," president Debra Barksdale said. "The important role that NPs play by providing care at Take Care Clinics and the clinical education of NP students makes this a natural partnership."

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration will review an experimental contraceptive patch made by Actavis, the drug maker said Tuesday.

Actavis said the FDA accepted for review its application for norethindrone transdermal delivery system. The patch, which does not yet have a brand name, is designed to provide continuous delivery of norethindrone during a once-weekly, seven-day dosing regimen.

WASHINGTON — Medicare Part D plans that create tiered networks of pharmacies for beneficiaries need more oversight amid reports that small and medium-sized pharmacies are being excluded from them, several senators wrote in a letter last week to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.