Content about Specialty Pharmacy

NEW YORK — Women with ovarian cancer and diabetes who took the generic diabetes drug metformin showed better survival rates than those who did not take the drug, according to a new study led by the Mayo Clinic.

The study, published in the journal Cancer, enrolled 61 patients who took metformin and 178 who didn't. Of those who took the drug, 67% were surviving after five years, compared with 47% of those who didn't take it. Further analysis indicated that patients taking metformin were almost four times likelier to survive than those not taking it.

WASHINGTON — Increasing the prescriptions filled by Medicare beneficiaries by 1% would reduce the program's spending on medical services by about 0.2% by reducing costs in such areas as hospitalizations, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON — Drug companies have made "remarkable progress" in treatment options for patients with HIV and AIDS, according to two new reports from a drug industry trade group.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Novo Nordisk has launched a mobile app for hemophilia patients, the drug maker said.

HemaGo — available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices — is designed to track hemophilia treatment, bleeding episodes and life events, helping people with the condition and their caregivers monitor the details of treatment, including medications, dosing, bleeding information and the disease's effects on life events.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Walgreens will encourage communities to focus on the importance of HIV testing and early treatment, both services addressed through its more than 700 HIV-specialized pharmacies coast to coast, the company announced Wednesday. 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Any trickle-down of an improving economy hasn't trickled down to Fred's consumer base, Bruce Efird, Fred's CEO, told analysts Tuesday morning in discussing the discounter's third-quarter results. "During the third quarter we continue to see generally weak economic conditions throughout the Southeast which are clearly weighing heavily on our customers and influencing how they shop for their basic needs," he said. "It's more evident that things are not getting better for our core customers." 

BETHESDA, Md. — The drug-discovery division of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is teaming up with drug maker Pfizer to find new treatments for patients with the most common genetic mutation of the disease.

Perhaps the iconic scene at the end of Ridley Scott’s 1991 movie “Thelma & Louise” — with Gina Davis’ and Susan Sarandon’s characters hurdling into the Grand Canyon in a green convertible — is a good metaphor for what’s happening in the generic drug industry these days.


NEW YORK — Spurred by health reform and other factors, a "golden era" could be approaching for drug companies as they reinvent themselves, according to a new report by PwC.

The report, "Pharma 2020: From Vision to Decision," said that the industry was on the verge of an era of renewed productivity and prosperity, but its success was not guaranteed.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Patients with a form of arthritis that affects young adults taking a drug made by Abbott experienced improvements in their condition after a year of treatment, according to late-stage clinical trial results.

Abbott announced Monday the first long-term patient-reported health outcomes data for the phase-3 "ABILITY-1" trial of Humira (adalimumab) in patients with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis, or nr-axSpA. Results of the trial were presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual scientific meeting in Washington.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim has created a website designed for patients with hepatitis C and advocates, the company said Friday.

BI announced the launch of HepCRedefined.com, which it describes as an online portal to help improve the lives of those living with the virus through education, information and understanding.

EAST HANOVER, N.J. — A Food and Drug Administration expert panel has voted unanimously in favor of approval for a Novartis drug for a rare endocrine disorder.