Content about Specialty Pharmacy

OMAHA, Neb. — Amid rapid growth over the last few years, Amber Pharmacy is more than doubling the size of its headquarters.

LONDON — The global market for biosimilars will be worth nearly $2.5 billion this year, according to a new study.

The study, by British market research firm Visiongain, forecast that the $2.445 billion market size marked more than 20% of growth from 2012 and would account for about 2% of the overall market for biologics. The market is expected to grow rapidly through 2023 as biosimilars hit the market in the United States and European Union.

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — An experimental drug regimen under development by AbbVie could change the way hepatitis C is treated, according to a special designation it received from the Food and Drug Administration.

NEW YORK — Retail pharmacies, drug makers and law enforcement have a variety of methods used to fight organized crime, and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has drawn up a list of best practices that pharmacies can use to keep stores, drugs, staff and customers safe.

CINCINNATI — Prasco Labs has signed a deal with WellSpring Pharmaceutical Corp. to market an authorized generic version of a drug for a rare tumor disorder.

The company announced Wednesday the distribution and supply agreement for phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride capsules in the 10 mg strength for pheochromocytoma, an adrenal gland tumor disorder. The drug is used to control episodes of hypertension and sweating associated with the disorder.

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy recently took "extreme couponing" to a new level, not to save money for customers, but to collect items for charity.

Diplomat sponsored a contest in which 12 employees competed to see who could buy the most food items and toiletries for local charities using only $25 and coupons. With $300, employees bought $2,160 worth of groceries, which will be donated to Flint, Mich.-based Carriage Town Ministries and St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug that reverses the effects of anticoagulant drugs in patients who have suffered acute major bleeding, the agency said.

The FDA announced the approval of CSL Behring's Kcentra (prothrombin complex concentrate [human]) for the urgent reversal of vitamin K antagonist, or VKA drugs such as warfarin.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration declined to approve two drugs for HIV made by Gilead Sciences for which the company was seeking approval for use as part of treatment regimens.

ST. LOUIS — Medical products manufacturer Covidien's pharmaceutical division is expanding an initiative to collect unused and unwanted medications.

Mallinckrodt said it would expand communities' access to drug take-back collection boxes and promote safe disposal practices, installing lock boxes in three police stations around St. Louis. The company said it purchased the boxes under a collaboration with the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and also would provide a grant to help incinerate the medications that are collected.

WASHINGTON — More than 1.3 million emergency room visits in 2010 were related to abuse of prescription drugs, and the problem has become widespread enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies it as an epidemic. In response, curbing abuse of prescription drugs has become a cornerstone of the Obama administration's drug policy.

PHOENIX — Avella Specialty Pharmacy provided more than $7.2 million in financial assistance to patients last year, the company said Thursday.

The Phoenix-based specialty pharmacy said its representatives work with patients to secure funding to cover specialty medication costs as specialty drugs can often be too expensive, even for patients with health insurance and monthly co-pays in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

BETHESDA, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for constipation related to use of opioid painkillers made by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the drug makers said.