Content about Medicine

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — A division of Mylan is hiring NFL player Adrian Peterson and celebrity nanny Jo Frost to promote an emergency treatment for severe allergic reactions.

Mylan Specialty announced that it had hired the two — who both have potentially life-threatening allergies — to raise awareness of the problem. Mylan Specialty is launching a multichannel marketing campaign for the EpiPen (epinephrine) auto-injector to mark the 25th anniversary of its approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — One of the greatest challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry today is medication non-adherence — a fact that has not gone unnoticed by McKesson.

A variety of pharmacy-based solutions, designed to help pharmacy owners drive better results both from a patient outcomes and a profitability standpoint by offering services that promote long-term adherence and opportunities for patients to enroll in clinical trials, will be on display for ideaShare attendees through McKesson’s Clinical Services network.

FOREST HILLS, N.Y. — Nina Shamayeva, owner of Austin Pharmacy in Forest Hills, N.Y., is launching a health initiative aimed at adults to "Help America be Pain-Free."

Austin Pharmacy is a compounding pharmacy that provides the service to create different mixtures and proportions of ingredients that make up a prescription. Generic medications do not necessarily work well with all body conditions, and thus a compounding pharmacy could tailor-make the medication such that it works specifically for an individual.

 ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association commended Texas Gov. Rick Perry for signing into law two significant pieces of legislation in support of Texas small business independent community pharmacies: HB 1358, legislation that provides common sense standards to pharmacy audits conducted by pharmacy benefit managers, and SB 1106, which provides transparency in generic maximum allowable costs, or MACs, for Medicaid plans.

A new report by Accenture ACN states that the number of U.S. retail-based health clinics will double and drive $800 million in annual cost savings by 2015.

Well, it's not just DSN saying it anymore. The massive ramp up is happening and, according to Accenture, the number of retail clinics is expected to increase 20% to 25% per year between now and 2015, and double from 1,418 to 2,868 clinics in that time period.

WASHINGTON — Consumers avoid total sugars more than they avoid any specific sweetener, according to a new brand-level consumer attitudes and behavior study about food and beverages from Mintel Research Consultancy on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association.

Approximately a quarter of soda, yogurt and bread brand purchasers (between 17 and 26%) say they are looking to reduce total sugars in their diet. In contrast, a nominal 1-5% of consumers purchasing these items cite avoiding a specific sweetener, such as high fructose corn syrup.

DUBLIN — Irish drug maker Elan Corp. said Friday it was looking to sell itself off to a New York-based company that invests in drug royalties after rejecting a previous offer.

The company said it would start a process to be acquired by Royalty Pharma, but that shareholders should not put their shares up for sale into another, hostile takeover attempt by Royalty, in which Royalty offered more than $7.7 billion, or $13 per share, plus $2.50 in milestone payments. Elan has rejected that offer, made last week.

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Amgen for treating a rare and usually noncancerous bone tumor, the agency said Thursday.

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. and SWIFTWATER, Pa. — Voices of Meningitis, a public health initiative of the National Association of School Nurses, in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, has announced the launch of Get in the Game: Keeping Teens Healthy, a new program to help educate parents on the danger and prevention of meningococcal disease.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A state legislator in Ohio is sponsoring an open-house event to demonstrate advances in telemedicine.

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe on Thursday announced that June 22 the specialty retailer will host a "Share the Health" Expo.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer will open two new stores in northern Indiana, the mass merchandise retailer said Wednesday.

Meijer said the stores, in Portage and Warsaw, Ind., would open on Thursday. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based chain currently operates 32 stores around the state and more than 200 throughout the Midwest. The company said the stores would feature the chain's free prescription program, whereby it gives select drugs for free to customers with valid prescriptions, including generic versions of the cholesterol drug Lipitor (atorvastatin).