Content about Disaster

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — Egg allergies may no longer be a valid reason to not get a flu shot, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology announced Friday. 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday advised consumers not to purchase or use “MAXILOSS Weight Advanced” — a product promoted and sold for weight loss on various web sites, including DreamLifeWeightLoss.com, and in some retail stores.

CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. — ProPhase Labs recently announced that its Cold-Eeze Cold Remedy will sponsor a New Jersey television personality to help raise money for Camp Sunshine, a retreat in Casco, Maine for kids with life-threatening illnesses and their families. 

On Jan. 1, "Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino will take the plunge as part of the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge New Year’s Day event. 

This is Vinny’s second year doing the Polar Bear Plunge, ProPhase noted.

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — A national group representing state boards of pharmacy has announced its support for efforts to strengthen regulations on compounding pharmacies.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy said Wednesday that it would implement a four-part action plan centered around inspection of compounding pharmacies and sharing data from the inspections among boards of pharmacies around the country.

NEW YORK — A Congressional committee is looking into allegations that a compounding pharmacy industry association may have taught pharmacists how to sidestep requests for samples from the Food and Drug Administration, according to published reports.

Reuters reported that the House Energy and Commerce Committee had requested internal documents from the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, citing a news report about the organization.

AKRON, Ohio — Among children who took part in a recent study on the use of hand sanitizer in an environment with limited access to clean water, diarrhea cases were reduced by 30% and respiratory illnesses by more than 11%, GOJO Industries noted in a release issued Tuesday. 

The University of Columbia study was reported in the June 2012 issue of Pan American Journal of Public Health. As part of the study, researchers monitored children's use of alcohol hand sanitizer in conjunction with education to help to reduce life-threatening infections.

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Drug maker Shire has started a research program focused on rare diseases and their effects on patients and healthcare professionals, the company said Monday.

Shire announced the launch of the Shire Rare Disease Impact Report, which includes surveys of patients, caregivers, physicians, payers and others in the United States and United Kingdom, with results expected in the first half of 2013.

Perhaps the iconic scene at the end of Ridley Scott’s 1991 movie “Thelma & Louise” — with Gina Davis’ and Susan Sarandon’s characters hurdling into the Grand Canyon in a green convertible — is a good metaphor for what’s happening in the generic drug industry these days.


NEW YORK — Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg is asking Congress to give the agency more power to regulate compounding pharmacies amid a nationwide meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts-based compounding pharmacy that has claimed dozens of lives nationwide.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., on Thursday announced plans to introduce legislation that would strengthen federal regulations of compounding pharmacies. The legislation is borne out of the recent meningitis outbreak linked to the New England Compounding Center, which is located in Markey's district, that has drawn much criticism on how regulators oversee compounding pharmacies.

NEW YORK — Hurricane Sandy may have shut down lower Manhattan for a few days, but research analyst Ed Kelly of Credit Suisse was bullish on how the storm system may have whipped up front-end sales for pharmacy operators. 

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A division of Wolters Kluwer Health has released a new version of a Web-based quality-assurance software for pharmacy compounding.

Pharmacy OneSource announced the release of a new version of Simplifi 797, used for ensuring compliance with USP chapter 797 regulations, which call for proper training of staff who prepare sterile compounded products.