Content about Massachusetts

NORWELL, Mass. — Carex Health Brands on Wednesday launched two new bathroom safety products: the Ultra Grip extra bar and the Ultra Grip pivot grab bar.

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Novartis plans to pay up to $440 million for rights to a drug for treating hepatitis C made by Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Enanta said.

Enanta said it had made a licensing agreement with the Swiss drug maker for the worldwide development, manufacturing and commercialization of the drug EDP-239, which works by inhibiting NS5A, a protein that is key to the virus' replication.

WABAN, MASS. — Research results released Tuesday by Temkin Group, which rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries, showed that only eight companies deliver excellent customer experience.

Sam's Club and Publix led the pack, followed by Starbucks, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Aldi, Winn-Dixie, H-E-B and credit unions.

According to the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, in its second year, 76 companies (37% of the total) earned "poor" or "very poor" ratings.

LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass. — Ocean Spray has expanded its lineup to include the brand's first-ever cherry juice drinks.

Ocean Spray's new line includes such flavors as Ocean Spray cherry juice cocktail, Cran-Cherry cranberry cherry juice drink in original and diet, and Ruby-Cherry grapefruit cherry juice drink.

NORWELL, Mass. — Carex Health Brands recently launched its ultimate shower massager, a shower head that features a full body spray and five different massage settings.

The chrome shower head comes with an easy-to-install shower head holder, a wide showerhead handle for a secure grip and an extra-long 84-in. tangle-free hose.

The Carex ultimate shower massager will be available January 2012 online and at select retailers, independent pharmacies and drug stores at a suggested retail price of $34.99.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new means of administering a cancer drug made by Takeda, the drug maker said.

The FDA approved injection under the skin of Velcade (bortezomib) for multiple myeloma and mantle-cell lymphoma, also known as subcutaneous injection.

Takeda said the approval was based on results of a phase-3 trial conducted on 222 patients who had not received the drug before that showed subcutaneous injection worked as well as intravenous injection.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — In its battle with Express Scripts, Walgreens is not only seeking to retain that prescription base payer by payer, but also patient by patient, as evidenced by the more than 500,000 customers who have taken advantage of Walgreens' Prescription Savings Club since Jan. 1, according to company officials.

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec and Isis Pharmaceuticals will work together on a drug invented by Isis for spinal muscular atrophy, the two companies said.

According to the companies, SMA is the most common genetic cause of infant mortality and causes muscle atrophy and weakness, occurring in 1-in-10,000 births. While children with the condition appear normal at birth, symptoms can develop within a few months and significantly shorten their lifespan. The drug, ISIS-SMNRx, is designed to compensate for the underlying genetic defect that causes SMA.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — An orally administered drug made by Genzyme for treating multiple sclerosis did not appear superior to a biotech drug already on the market, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial.

Genzyme, owned by French drug maker Sanofi, compared the once-daily drug teriflunomide with Rebif (interferon beta-1a), made by Pfizer and Merck KGaA, in patients with relapsing MS in the 324-patient "TENERE" trial. Merck KGaA, based in Germany, operates under the name EMD Serono in the United States to avoid confusion with U.S.-based Merck & Co.

WORCESTER, Mass. — Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School said a diabetes prevention program they created was able to reduce prediabetes indicators among Latinos who were at risk of developing the disease.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — The market for drugs to treat ulcerative colitis will increase from 2010's $1.7 billion to $3 billion in 2020, according to a new report by market research firm Decision Resources.

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. — Kaz on Thursday introduced its new Vicks behind ear thermometer (V980), which takes the guesswork out of measuring for fever. Using patented technology, the Vicks behind ear thermometer features rapid one-second readings, and is one of the first thermometers designed to measure temperature from behind the ear — a gentler, noninvasive approach to detecting fever than rectal, under-the-tongue and forehead measurements.