Content about Collaborative Care

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Generic drug maker Hospira has appointed Matt Stober as its SVP operations, the company said.

Stober, who began working for Hospira in 2011 as corporate VP U.S. pharmacy operations, will have expanded leadership over all the company's drug manufacturing, as well as manufacturing science and technology, engineering, competitive strategy, health and safety, supply chain and procurement. Stober succeeds John Elliot, who has led operations since April 2012 and will provide continuity of support until he retires at the end of the year.

NEW YORK — “It’s time to unlock the gates to the primary care club” and allow nurse practitioners to practice to the full extent of their education and training. That was a key message of a physician-authored article that recently ran in Slate magazine.
 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Results of a survey indicate a positive response among patients to redesigned patient medication information distributed to patients at retail pharmacy chains in two states as part of an eight-week program.

Catalina Health said it launched the eight-week quality improvement initiative in August 2012 to disseminate the information focusing on three medications dispensed in stores in an unnamed "leading pharmacy chain" in California and Michigan.

LONDON — A Food and Drug Administration panel has recommended that the agency approve an experimental drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease made by GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance, the two companies said.

The FDA Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-4 to recommend Breo Ellipta as a long-term maintenance treatment for airflow obstruction in patients with COPD and for reduction of COPD exacerbations in patients with a history of them. The drug is a once-daily inhaler that combines fluticasone furoate and vilanterol.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Generic drug maker Sandoz has launched a generic version of a drug used to treat high blood pressure and angina.

The company, a subsidiary of Swiss drug maker Novartis, announced the launch of diltiazem hydrochloride extended-release capsules, a generic version of Forest Labs' Tiazac. Sandoz is launching the drug in the 120-mg, 180-mg, 240-mg, 300-mg, 360-mg and 420-mg strengths.

Various versions of the drug had sales of about $174 million in 2012, according to IMS Health.

DUBLIN — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new strength of an antibiotic made by Warner Chilcott, the drug maker said.

Warner Chilcott announced the approval of the 200-mg strength of Doryx (doxycycline hyalite) delayed-release tablets, which the company plans to release in July 2013.

Doryx delayed-release tablets are already available in the 75-mg, 100-mg and 150-mg strengths.

LANDOVER, Md. — Giant Food of Landover, Md., is planning to raise $1.6 million for children's cancer research, the supermarket chain said Tuesday.

The Ahold USA-owned banner, also known as Giant-Landover, announced it would launch its ninth annual Triple Winner game on Friday to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Division at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and The Children's Cancer Foundation. The annual game has helped raise $11.5 million to support pediatric cancer research since its inception in 2005.

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — Amid various strategies adopted to stop the proliferation of rogue online pharmacies, one group has proposed controlling what they can put at the end of their Web addresses.

HAWTHORNE, N.Y. — Taro Pharmaceutical Industries reported last week that it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its new drug application Topicort (desoximetasone) topical spray, 0.25%.

Topicort topical spray, 0.25% is a corticosteroid indicated for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in patients 18 years of age or older.

According to Taro, the corticosteroid spray market is approximately $100 million in annual sales in the United States.

WASHINGTON — Generic makers heralded the fiscal year 2014 budget proposed last week by the Obama administration for its embrace of generic drugs, but were critical of its provisions on patent settlements and rebates.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The governor of North Dakota has signed into law a bill that would require pharmacy benefit managers to inform pharmacies about how reimbursement for generic prescription drugs is calculated under maximum allowable cost benchmarks and provide a more detailed appeals process to pharmacies to contest the MAC reimbursement caps that PBMs set up.

The bill, H.B. 1363, received unanimous support in both houses of the state's legislature, and Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed it into law Monday.