Content about Oregon

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Starting this month, the more than 8.6 million readers of Costco Wholesale's member magazine will be able to use smartphones and tablets to scan more than 50 digital watermarks included in articles and ads.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Galena Biopharma has purchased rights to a treatment for breakthrough cancer pain from a Swedish drug maker, Galena said Monday.

Galena, which specializes in cancer-related drugs, said it acquired Abstral (fentanyl) sublingual tablets for sale and distribution in the United States from Orexo AB. Breakthrough cancer pain, or BTcP, affects between 40% to 80% of cancer patients, with reported episodes of four per day and a median duration of 30 minutes, according to Galena.

BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons named the division presidents who will lead the 877 stores it will acquire from Supervalu after the purchase agreement closes next month, the company said. The two companies agreed to the purchase in January.

WASHINGTON — According to a report filed to Congress by the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday, the seizures of methamphetamine-producing labs declined following state and federal sales restrictions on pseudoephedrine. And while electronic tracking systems help enforce PSE sales limits, those efforts have not reduced meth lab incidents and have limitations related to smurfing, the GAO added. 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday urged Oregon state lawmakers to pass a series of bills that would "collectively reduce red tape for pharmacists caring for patients, give consumers greater pharmacy choice at no extra cost, and keep more revenue within the state."

NCPA has identified four issues of import:

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — More than five-dozen Albertsons stores in the West will start selling gluten-free frozen pizzas this month.

Better4U Foods said Friday that 63 stores in Albertsons' Intermountain West Division — which includes Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming — would stock the pizzas. Pizza varieties will include Gluten-Free Four Cheese, Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni and the vegan Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Roasted Vegetable.

SALEM, Ore. — Kettle Brand has added toasted snacks to its portfolio of all-natural snacks. New Kettle Brand Bakes are toasted rather than kettle-cooked and contain 65% less fat than Kettle’s fried chips. They contain no trans fats, no artificial colors or flavors, and no preservatives.

Kettle Brand Bakes are the only baked potato chip on the market made from slices of real potato seasoned with natural, savory flavors. Competitive baked crisps are made using dehydrated potato pulp and flakes.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is launching a six-month, nationwide health-and-wellness campaign to mark its 50 years of operation, the retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition added two keynote speakers to its annual meeting docket: Balz Frei, director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and Lawrence Green, professor at the University of California at San Francisco.

The two speakers will keynote the first and last sessions, respectively, at the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s one-day scientific symposium, held Oct. 3 in Laguna Beach, Calif.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Researchers argue there is compelling evidence that the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C should be raised to 200 mg per day for adults, up from its current levels of 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men, in a recent report published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.

The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, according to the researchers, because medical experts insist on evaluating vitamin C in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Peter Rabbit Organics has expanded its lineup of fruit and vegetable puree snacks.

Peter Rabbit Organics said that its line now touts five new flavors — peach and apple; banana and apple; pear and apple; pear and pea; and pumpkin, carrot and apple — all of which are packaged in BPA-free, resealable pouches. With these flavors, the company now offers 11 varieties.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Prescription-only pseudoephedrine regulation has no impact on the methamphetamine trade, according to a Cascade Policy Institute study on the 2005 Oregon law, which restricts access to medicines containing pseudoephedrine.