Between January 2022 and December 2023, hospitals wasted more than 16 million injectable units — equal to 24% of all dispenses of controlled substances, according to Bluesight. 

Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professional in communities, literally standing among the patients, but they are not living up to the opportunity and responsibility they have to patients, Onisis Stefas, PharmD, CEO of Vivo Health, the pharmacy operated by New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health, said in an opinion piece published on MedPage Today July 10.

A study conducted by Mount Sinai Health System has found self-imposed use cessation dates (SUCDs) for ophthalmic eye drop bottles increased waste and costs compared to dates listed by the FDA.

After the Federal Trade Commission released its report highlighting the "enormous power" pharmacy benefit managers have over drug pricing and access, agency Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, criticized the report and its findings in a dissenting statement.

The chemotherapy shortage "remains a moving target," the National Comprehensive Cancer Network said in June. 

An investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into pharmacy benefit managers revealed PBM favoritism toward their own pharmacies and vast market control, which affects both medication access and affordability, according to the agency's initial July report.

Eli Lilly will acquire Morphic, a Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, for about $3.2 billion by the end of 2024. 

Hundreds of pharmacists are shifting from patient care roles to drug companies and specialty markets earning billions, according to Michael Hogue, PharmD, who said hospital pharmacies should counteract this trend. 

An enzyme known as PI3K gamma may be able to reduce organ and tissue damage in patients who have COVID-19 or drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, researchers at the University of California San Diego found.

After partnering with a local pharmacy for its meds-to-beds program, Memorial Health's board accepted a plan to acquire the location. 

Eli Lilly's experimental Alzheimer's disease treatment, Kisunla — which slowed decline by up to 35% in clinical trials — has been approved by the FDA, after previously delaying its decision in March, the agency announced July 2.

A Mississippi federal judge has denied a request from Novartis Pharmaceuticals and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America for a preliminary injunction against state enforcement protecting 340B pricing for contract pharmacies.

The HHS has awarded Moderna $176 million to expand its capabilities to develop mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.

The FTC has launched a probe into Teva Pharmaceuticals over contested drug patents the company refuses to remove from a federal registry, The Washington Post reported July 1. 

Former FDA attorneys say the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Chevron deference, a decades-old legal precedent, could stall the development of new drugs and medical devices, Politico reported July 1. 

If current trends continue, Michael Murphy, PharmD, said all payers will come to recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers by the end of the decade. 

In the last year, the field of oncology has continued to grapple with significant challenges that have imposed formidable hurdles on cancer care worldwide. 

The national supply of the cancer drug cisplatin now exceeds demand, FDA Commissioner Robert Cailiff, MD, said June 28. 

InflaRx N.V., a biopharmaceutical company pioneering anti-inflammatory therapeutics by targeting the complement system, announced today that GOHIBIC (vilobelimab) has been selected by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as one of three investigational therapies to be assessed in a Phase 2 clinical platform study exploring potential new options for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

An inhalable drug treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease received FDA-approval June 26, drugmaker Verona Pharma announced.