The latest shortage of multiple forms of pediatric medications is only a fraction of the swath of drug shortages, Megan Ranney, MD, a professor of emergency medicine at Providence, R.I.-based Brown University, wrote in an opinion published in CNN Nov. 28. 

Penn Medicine researchers are targeting a "cornucopia of antigens" with mRNA-based technology to develop a universal flu vaccine, and human clinical trials for the 20-subtype candidate are in the works. 

From 2015 to 2020, FDA approvals of "skinny labels" on biosimilars saved Medicare $1.5 billion, according to a study published Nov. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

The fill rate for Tamiflu, the nation's most popular flu prescription drug, is nearly 100 percent higher than it was this time last year, but the drugmaker has said it has "sufficient supply."

As specialty drugs become more common, the types and forms of these drugs are changing, and their costs are increasing.

Batesville, Ark.-based White River Medical Center has filed a complaint to its state's insurance department that accuses Novo Nordisk of restricting drugs that are part of the 340B program, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Nov. 24. 

Henderson, Nev.-based drugmaker Spectrum Pharmaceuticals will reduce three-fourths of its research and development workforce because the FDA declined to approve its lung cancer drug candidate. 

With omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounting for more than half of COVID-19 cases, at least two therapies are on the cusp of losing their mainstay status in the COVID-19 drug market. 

The FDA will investigate the risk of severe hypocalcemia that results in hospitalization and death with Amgen's osteoporosis drug, Prolia (denosumab). 

A second study participant has died possibly as a result of the experimental antibody drug, lecanemab, meant to treat Alzheimer's, Science reported Nov. 27.

As the national amoxicillin shortage worsens, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a guidance Nov. 21 detailing its recommendations for alternative therapies. 

Mark Cuban is in talks with hospitals to identify generic drugs that often run in short supply, which he aims to make in a robotics-driven manufacturing plant currently in development in Dallas.

Mark Lemmon, PhD, was named chair of Yale School of Medicine's pharmacology department in New Haven, Conn.

The FDA approved a hemophilia B drug with a list price of $3.5 million — which could save the healthcare system millions per patient according to drug maker CSL Behring.

The following 10 hospitals, health systems and hospital operators have posted job listings seeking pharmacy leaders in the last week.

Researchers from Stanford (Calif.) University are enrolling 200 participants in a phase 2 study to see if Paxlovid could be used to treat the millions of Americans experiencing long COVID-19, according to a Nov. 21 entry on clinicaltrials.gov. 

After one fake tweet about Eli Lilly offering insulin for free went viral and the company's shares plunged, 12 of the 18 biggest drugmakers that advertise on Twitter have cut their spending to $0, Endpoints News reported Nov. 21. 

Mark Cuban's online pharmacy now offers nearly 1,000 generics after adding 82 drugs to its repertoire, the company said Nov. 21. 

With tighter rules from the Inflation Reduction Act approaching, Bristol-Myers Squibb will cancel plans for some drug development programs and cancer treatments, the drugmaker's CEO, Giovanni Caforio, MD, recently told the Financial Times. 

As the number of Tamiflu prescriptions increases amid a flu season that's shaping up to be the worst in 13 years, its drugmaker told Becker's it has "sufficient supply" of the common flu drug.