Delivering vaccines directly into the body's immune cells could make the preventions even more effective, according to new research from a pharmaceutical scientist and professor at West Virginia University in Morgantown.

As 2 in 5 hospitals report shortages of clinical pharmacists, the American Hospital Association on Feb. 20 urged the Labor Department to simplify the hiring process for immigrant pharmacists. 

Richard Gonzalez, the CEO of AbbVie since the drugmaker's inception in 2013, is exiting the role on July 1. 

 Drugmakers are pouring billions of dollars toward the advancement of treatments that target cancer more precisely than mainstay treatments like radiation and chemotherapy. 

As clinicians ration penicillin and two more cancer injectable drugs fell into shortage, supply strained recently for nearly a dozen other medications.

Roctavian held promise of treating hemophilia A, but has only been used for one patient since its approval in June 2023, Bloomberg reported Feb. 20. 

RAPT Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company, said Feb. 20 that two of its clinical trials are on pause because of one patient's liver failure. 

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. now offers two Bayer brand-name medicines: Yaz, an oral contraceptive, and Climara, a menopause treatment. 

The American Medical Association has long been advocating against what it calls "scope creep," or nonphysicians gaining expanded scopes of practice. On Feb. 16, two pharmacist associations fired back. 

In 2023, Vizient secured 37 deals with new and existing customers, including health systems, hospitals and healthcare solutions companies. 

Hospital pharmacy leaders aren't the usual candidate for CEOs and other top positions in health systems, but they might not recognize their existing capabilities. 

While a majority of corporate health insurance plans cover glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist drugs for diabetes, less than a third said they cover the class of drugs for weight loss. However, experts say it's only a matter of time before more employers move to cover obesity treatments, CNBC reported Feb. 16.

The FDA has approved omalizumab, which goes by the brand name Xolair, as a treatment to reduce the risk of severe allergic reactions for those with food allergies. 

A week ahead of schedule, the FDA approved the nation's first cell therapy for advanced melanoma on Feb. 16. 

The prevalence of polypharmacy — or overlapping prescriptions of psychiatric drugs — is growing among children and adolescents, new findings from a Maryland study suggest. 

Avesi Partners ("Avesi") announced that it has made an investment in Visante (or the "Company"), a leading provider of specialized tech-enabled consulting and advanced partnership services focused on helping health systems accelerate financial and operational performance through their pharmacy offerings. Avesi has partnered alongside the existing management team to support Visante's overall mission of positively transforming healthcare through pharmacy, with a specific emphasis on the specialty and infusion pharmacy markets.

In the first 10 months of 2023, 1,268 Wegovy prescriptions were written for adolescents with obesity — a more than 50-fold increase from 2022, according to an exclusive Reuters report. 

A COVID-19 antiviral therapy authorized in Japan, ensitrelvir, shortened the duration of symptoms from five days to four days in a phase 3 study.

Senators are urging the FDA to update decade-old guidance and take action to rein in social media advertisements of prescription drugs from telehealth companies, requesting that the agency respond to their concerns by March 27, according to a Feb. 15 Wall Street Journal report. 

The Federal Trade Commission and HHS launched an investigation Feb. 14 into how group purchasing organizations and drug wholesalers might cause drug shortages.