Content about Viral diseases

PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for genital herpes made by Mylan, the drug maker said Wednesday.

Mylan announced the approval of acyclovir ointment in the 5% strength. The drug is a generic version of Valeant International's Zovirax, used to manage initial genital herpes and in limited, non-life-threatening mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus infections in patients with compromised immune systems.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for reducing the severity of chickenpox symptoms, the agency said Friday.

The FDA announced the approval of Cangene Corp.'s Varizig (varicella zoster immune globulin [human]) for varicella zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox. The FDA said Varizig was the only FDA-approved immune globulin for the virus after exposure.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — By the time Hurricane Sandy had finished sweeping up the East Coast, it left billions of dollars in damage and took dozens of lives.

But it caused another dimension of hardship for some people: those living with chronic diseases.

PITTSBURGH — Parents are 52% less likely to develop a cold when exposed to a common cold virus than nonparents, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals has entered a settlement that will allow it to launch a generic patch used to treat post herpetic neuralgia, a pain disorder associated with shingles.

Watson announced Tuesday a settlement through one of its subsidiaries with Endo Pharmaceuticals and Teikoku Seiyaku Co. over its generic version of Lidoderm (lidocaine) topical patch. Lidoderm had sales of $1.2 billion during the 12-month period ended in March 2012, according to IMS Health.

SAN DIEGO — Two drug makers have finalized the design of a late-stage clinical trial for a vaccine against a common virus that can cause complications later in life.

Vical and Astellas Pharma announced Monday that they had finalized the general design of a phase-3 trial of TransVax, a vaccine against cytomegalovirus, or CMV, for transplant recipients.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Depomed has launched a new drug for treating shingles, the drug maker said Monday.

The company announced the launch of Gralise (gabapentin) tablets, a once-daily treatment for postherpetic neuralgia, the pain that follows healing of the rash associated with shingles.

Gralise is a proprietary formulation of gabapentin that uses patented polymer technology that enables gradual release of the drug. Depomed said it is not interchangeable with other branded or generic gabapentin-based drugs.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline is making a donation that it said would give more than 10,000 girls and women access to human papillomavirus vaccination.

GSK announced that it would donate $1 million worth of Cervarix (human papillomavirus bivalent [types 16 and 18] vaccine, recombinant) to the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership over the next five years, as well as $50,000 to support the program operations. The partnership is an initiative led by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, UNAIDS, the President's Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief and the George W. Bush Institute.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on companies that it accuses of selling fake products for sexually transmitted diseases, the agency said.

The FDA said at least 15 products — some sold as dietary supplements — that claim to treat, prevent or cure such STDs as herpes, Chlamydia, genital warts and HIV/AIDS, were being sold online and at some retail stores. Brands include MedaVir, which claims to treat herpes; Gene-Eden, which claims to treat a range of STDs, as well as flu and mononucleosis; and several others.

The pharmacist isn’t just someone in a white coat who hands out bottles of pills anymore. The role of pharmacists has been changing and expanding dramatically over the last several years.

Now, pharmacists in all 50 states can offer a service previously reserved for doctors and nurses: 
administering vaccinations. Retail pharmacies across the country are racing to join the immunization trend, with Weis Markets recently announcing that it would spend the year making sure all its pharmacists were trained to give vaccinations. 


CAMP HILL, Pa. — A decision by the Food and Drug Administration to lower the age at which patients can receive a vaccine for shingles opens the door for pharmacists to administer it to more patients.

Rite Aid said Tuesday that pharmacists at more than 2,100 of its stores now could vaccinate patients ages 50 years and older with Merck’s Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) thanks to the FDA’s approval of the vaccination for patients in that age group. Previously, it was only approved for patients ages 60 years and older.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine for shingles in older patients.

The agency said Thursday that it had approved Merck’s Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) vaccine in patients ages 50 to 59 years. The vaccine already is approved for those ages 60 years and older.

Shingles, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, affects about 200,000 people in the United States ages 50 to 59 years each year.