The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced an investigation into pharmacy benefit managers Optum Rx, CVS Caremark and Express Scripts Oct. 23, reviewing their auditing practices of independent pharmacies.  The investigation stems from concerns “that independent pharmacies have…

Bristol Myers Squibb said Oct. 23 a study participant died from septic pneumonia about six weeks after receiving a dose of a CAR-T cell therapy being tested for multiple sclerosis.  The phase 1 trial included 66 patients with highly active…

Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health plans to acquire three pharmacy businesses in Reidsville, N.C., expanding its retail pharmacy footprint and adding long-term care pharmacy services. The agreement includes Carolina Apothecary, Belmont Pharmacy and Rx Care, which have served Rockingham County residents…

The FDA has warned Baxter International over significant manufacturing violations at its Baxter Healthcare drug manufacturing facility in Round Lake, Ill., including deficiencies involving contamination controls and sterile injectable production. The agency identified the violations during a March 23-April 2…

The FDA has granted accelerated approval to Ultomiris (ravulizumab) to reduce proteinuria in adults with primary immunoglobulin A nephropathy at risk for disease progression, making it the first and only C5 complement inhibitor approved for this use. The approval followed…

A new coalition of patients, caregivers, physicians and pharmacy experts is advocating for access to specialty pharmacies, according to the group, the Specialty Access Alliance. It says it wants to educate policymakers about patients with complex, chronic and rare conditions…

Federal policymakers are now pressing on drug prices from six directions at once: tariffs, most-favored-nation pricing deals, international price benchmarks in Medicare and Medicaid, reshoring and limits on importation. Several of these efforts are delayed, narrowed or facing lawsuits, so…

The American Hospital Association and its fellow plaintiffs asked a federal court Oct. 21 to reject motions by AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim and PhRMA to intervene in the lawsuit seeking to block HRSA’s 340B rebate pilot, according to…

UC San Diego joined a federal initiative backed by up to $41 million to develop a national clinical trial platform for testing potential treatments to prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease. The four-year project, funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency…

The FDA has approved the first generic of Climara Pro, a once-weekly transdermal hormone therapy patch for women with an intact uterus. The estradiol and levonorgestrel transdermal system, 0.045 milligrams per day/0.015 milligrams, is therapeutically equivalent to Climara Pro, according…