Content about Specialty pharmacy

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Hospira has reappointed its chief scientific officer after he briefly left the country earlier this year, the generic drug maker said.

Sumant Ramachandra has been reappointed to the position, effective Friday, and will be in charge of the company's research and development, regulatory and medical affairs.

TAMPA, Fla. — The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy has launched an online resource with clinical and business-related content in more than 20 therapeutic categories, the group said Thursday.

The Specialty Pharmacy Education Center provides 30 hours worth of content for members of the organization, including preparation for the group's Certified Specialty Pharmacist program.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for a type of lung cancer.

Roche subsidiary Genentech and the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Astellas Pharma announced the approval of Tarceva (erlotinib) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have mutations that activate the epidermal growth factor receptor. The FDA also approved a test to detect the mutation.

The drug was already approved for advanced NSCLC that did not exhibit the mutation.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A new treatment for late-stage prostate cancer has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA announced Wednesday the approval of Bayer's Xofigo (radian Ra 223 dichloride) for men with symptomatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread to the bones but not other organs, also known as metastasis. The drug is designed for men whose cancer has spread after receiving medical or surgical therapy to lower testosterone.

NORTH WALES, Pa. — Teva Health Systems has launched a generic injectable drug for small-cell lung cancer, the company said Tuesday.

Teva, a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals, itself a subsidiary of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, announced the launch of topotecan injection in the 1 mg-per-1 mL strength, in 4 mL, single-dose vials.

The drug is a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Hycamtin.

EAST HANOVER, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a biotech drug made by Novartis for treating a form of arthritis that affects children, the Swiss drug maker said Friday.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board has appointed Terri Smith Moore as the education director, the group said Friday.

Moore is the senior manager for product development at healthcare accreditation organization URAC, where she manages the group's accreditation programs and revisions and maintenance of related accreditation documentation.

WASHINGTON — The Drug Enforcement Administration collected more than 371 tons of unused medications last month as part of its sixth annual drug take-back program, the agency said.

WASHINGTON — One of the difficulties that federal regulators ran into during the nationwide scandal surrounding the New England Compounding Center — the Massachusetts-based pharmacy blamed for a nationwide fungal meningitis epidemic that has sickened hundreds and killed dozens — was the issue of when such pharmacies cross the line from compounding to manufacturing.

TAMPA, Fla. — The outline of an exam that will be used to certify pharmacists working in the specialty channel has received approval from the Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board, the group said Tuesday.

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for HIV in infants and toddlers.