Pharmacy

The federal government is awarding a contract to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to investigate the association between vaccines and autism.  The Troy, N.Y.-based engineering school is receiving the no-bid contract due to what HHS said is the school’s “unique ability” to…

The FDA is moving to scale back its long-standing use of expert panels to review drug applications, KFF Health News reported Sept. 12. George Tidmarsh, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the agency…

A group of House lawmakers is urging HHS to scrap or revise its proposed 340B rebate model pilot program, warning the model could dismantle the original intent of the program and harm safety-net providers.  Here are five things to know: 

In early 2024, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) reported a record 323 active drug shortages, many affecting sterile injectable medications. This situation was exacerbated later in the year by a disruption in IV fluid production due to Hurricane Helene,…

A child enrolled in Capsida Biotherapeutics’ gene therapy trial for STXBP1 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy has died, prompting the company to pause the study while investigating the death.  The patient was the first participant in the clinical trial. Capsida said…

CVS Health is making leadership changes in its care delivery division.  Paymon Farazi, president of CVS subsidiary Signify Health, will be stepping down, according to a LinkedIn post from Sreekanth Chaguturu, MD, president of health care delivery at CVS Health.…

Spending through the 340B Drug Pricing Program rose by 565% between 2010 and 2021, increasing from $6.6 billion to $43.9 billion, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.  In 2021, 87% of 340B purchases were made by hospital-based…

Novo Nordisk, the Denmark-based manufacturer of Ozempic, said Sept. 10 it plans to reduce approximately 9,000 of its 78,400 global roles.  The drugmaker said in a news release the workforce reductions will save 8 billion Danish Krone, or about $1…

The Trump administration is weighing the imposition of severe restrictions on medicines from China that, if enacted, could sow “chaos” in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, especially generics, The New York Times reported Sept. 10.  At the center of the proposed…

HHS and the FDA are taking measures to crack down on misleading pharmaceutical advertisements, including digital and broadcast drug ads.  The FDA is sending roughly 100 cease-and-desist letters and thousands of warning letters to drug companies, citing “widespread violations” and…