In a setback for Novartis' efforts to expand the use of its gene therapy drug Zolgensma to older patients, the FDA halted the drugmaker's clinical trial after it found a safety concern in an animal study, according to STAT.
Pharmacy
Chronic drug shortages are a result of low prices for older generic medicines and what officials call a "broken marketplace," because it doesn't follow the textbook model of supply and demand, according to a new federal report released Oct. 29.
A House subcommittee will hold a hearing Oct. 30 to discuss the safety of the U.S. drug supply chain after two major drugs were recalled due to potential carcinogens, according to Politico's Prescription Pulse newsletter.
Fifteen drugmakers will pay the state of Illinois $242 million to settle allegations they published inflated average wholesale price information to increase Medicaid reimbursements, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Oct. 28.
The FDA may create a rating system for drugmakers' manufacturing facilities as a strategy to combat drug shortages, according to STAT.
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Raley's Supermarkets plans to close 27 in-store pharmacies in California and Nevada.
Illinois may change its state pharmacy regulations to require more breaks and lighter workloads for pharmacists in an effort to promote safer drug dispensing, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The CEO of Insys Therapeutics has stepped down from as the embattled drugmaker continues to wind down operations under bankruptcy protection, according to The Phoenix Business Journal.
Walgreens plans to close its in-store health clinics to cut costs and will look to outside companies to provide medical services in its stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In an effort to cut costs, an undisclosed number of employees were laid off from Walgreens' corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., according to CNBC.