Content about Pennsylvania

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid brought the New Year in with a bang, recording monthly same-store sales increases across both the front end and back bench for the first time in almost two years.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid last week sweetened the pot associated with its loyalty card.

Rite Aid customers who use their Wellness+ card between Dec. 28, 2010, and Jan. 22 will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a dream vacation, fitness equipment, personal electronics and more as part of a new reward program created by Rite Aid called Resolution Rewards.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tops Markets, which operates 132 stores in western New York and Pennsylvania, is offering customers a new service to help them make healthier eating choices and develop better habits, according to a report by The Buffalo News.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board just delivered a rather large lump of coal to those 30-some-odd supermarkets carrying these wine kiosks, especially as retail wine sales for 2010 appear to be on a significant upswing since Thanksgiving.

(THE NEWS: Pa. supermarket wine kiosks taken off-line. For the full story, click here)

FRAZER, Pa. — Frank Baldino, the founder, chairman and CEO of Cephalon, has died, the company said.

Cephalon announced that Baldino, 57, had died Thursday evening while on medical leave, calling him a pioneer in the biotechnology industry and an inspirational leader who would be “sorely missed.” Baldino, who received his doctorate in pharmacology from Temple University, founded the company in 1987 after several years at E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co.

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. — McNeil Consumer Healthcare on Thursday voluntarily recalled all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Rolaids Extra Strength Plus Gas Softchews and Rolaids Multisymptom Plus Antigas Softchews distributed in the United States. McNeil is taking this action following some consumer reports of foreign materials in the product, including metal and wood particles.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — The need to communicate crucial health conditions to 
medical personnel responding to an accident or unresponsive patient is becoming more important, especially considering the increase in such chronic conditions as diabetes or allergies. And that need is expected to become a crucial driver behind the sale of fashionable medical alert bracelets.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — Endo Pharmaceuticals has finished its acquisition of Qualitest Pharmaceuticals for $1.2 billion, Endo said Wednesday.

Endo had agreed to buy Qualitest, a privately owned manufacturer of generic drugs, on Dec. 28.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is offering customers ways to earn money back on purchases made from Black Friday through Christmas Eve.

YORK, Pa. Lifestyle Foods is helping consumers curb their daily calorie intake without sacrificing taste.

Lifestyle Foods' chilled grab-and-go line of products pairs together soups, including chicken noodle, vegetarian vegetable and tomato basil varieties, with either Caesar or garden salads, accompanied by light Caesar, ranch or Italian dressings. Lifestyle Foods also offers an oatmeal kit, complemented by fresh apple, raisins and turbinado sugar.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. Pharmaceutical services company AmerisourceBergen has appointed Steve Collis as president and COO, the company said Friday.

Collis previously served as EVP of AmerisourceBergen and as president of AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., serving as president of AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group before that. He will report directly to CEO R. David Yost and will be responsible for business units, such as ABDC, ABSG, AmerisourceBergen Consulting Services and AmerisourceBergen Packaging Group.

SWIFTWATER, Pa. A vaccine for a bacterial infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract has been granted expedited approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis announced Tuesday that it had received fast-track designation from the FDA for its investigational Clostridium difficile vaccine. The FDA grants the designation to ease the development of new drugs and vaccines for serious or life-threatening conditions or unmet medical needs.