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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Merz Pharmaceuticals has created two programs to provide financial assistance to patients using its drug for cervical dystonia, the company said Tuesday.

The programs — the Xeomin patient co-payment program and the Xeomin patient assistance program — cover Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), designed to decrease the severity of abnormal head positions and neck pains in patients with the disease, which causes muscle contractions resulting in repetitive movements and abnormal postures.

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a regulatory approval application for a Type 2 diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, the two drug makers said Tuesday.

The FDA accepted the application for dapagliflozin, an investigational drug for adults with the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 1-in-11 U.S. adults has diabetes, with 90% to 95% of them having Type 2 diabetes.

The agency expects to take action on the application in late October.

CHICAGO — An ultra-concentrated, multisurface cleaner in a reusable bottle system is being rolled out at select Whole Foods stores.

Replenish said its all-in-one bottle will be available next month in 33 of Whole Foods' stores in the Midwest. The system, the company said, allows consumers to measure, mix with water, store and spray powerful cleaners using replaceable concentrate pods, instead of buying premixed cleaners.

Replenish is available in three scents: fresh lavender, sun lemon and green tea.

TOKYO — Two years after launching a nonalcoholic beer in its native Japan, Kirin Brewery said it was taking the hit beverage for a test run in the United States.

The company reportedly will bring Kirin Free, a beverage that touts 0.00% alcohol, to select retailers in California, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Kirin currently sells its Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light beers in the United States.

MASHPEE, Mass. — Amid reports of a nationwide bed bug outbreak, a new pesticide-free solution has hit the market.

Stop Bugging Me!, a natural bed bug treatment designed for at-home and commercial use, can be sprayed directly onto any detergent-safe upholstery, including bedding, linens and clothing, killing bed bugs and their eggs. Stop Bugging Me! includes such natural, active ingredients as 2-phenethyl propionate (a natural insecticide), eugenol, sodium lauryl sulfate, geraniol and cinnamon oil with aromatic bark.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — UltiMed is offering 50-count pen needles for patients with diabetes, the company announced.

The company said the needles would give diabetes patients a high-quality and cost-effective option for their pen needle supplies. Before, pen needles were dispensed in quantities of 100.

UltiMed said its needles, manufactured in its De Smet, S.D., factory, are the only ones assembled in the United States.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Actavis last week named Lisa Buono to lead its over-the-counter drug division as part of the company’s strategic expansion of the division.

As director of OTC, Buono will oversee the division’s day-to-day operations and will focus on identifying and capitalizing on new product opportunities. Actavis manufactures and distributes numerous nonprescription liquids, creams and ointments sold under the Actavis label and its customers’ own brands, as well as FeverAll brand acetaminophen suppositories.

SHANGHAI — Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb is opening a new testing facility in China under collaboration with a local company there, Bristol said Monday.

WuXi PharmaTech will build, equip and operate the 25,000-sq.-ft. lab in Shanghai to store and test stability samples and perform other services for Bristol.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The board of directors of Genzyme unanimously recommended that shareholders accept French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis’ $74-per-share buyout offer, Genzyme said Monday.

Genzyme recently accepted Sanofi’s $20.1 billion offer for the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech company. Sanofi had sought to buy the company since last July, when it offered $18.5 billion, or $69 per share.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Robert Ingle, the founder and CEO of regional supermarket chain Ingles Markets, died March 6, the company announced Monday. He was 77.

The company's board of directors said Ingle will be succeeded by his son, Robert Ingle II, who has been Ingles' chairman of the board since 2004.

Ingle, who founded the business in 1963, served as CEO since the company was incorporated in 1965, as well as president from 1965 until 1982.

Ingles Markets operates 203 supermarkets across six Southeastern states.

ATLANTA — Meda Consumer Healthcare recently was named the grand winner of the MAX Awards for excellence in marketing for the relaunch of Bifera, an over-the-counter supplement that offers two types of iron — protein- and plant-based.

Presented by Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business Department of Marketing and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the MAX Awards honored outstanding marketing innovations developed or launched by Georgia companies in 2010.