Drugmaker Gilead Sciences turned around a net loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018, but saw its expenses rise due to research and development costs.
Pharmacy
The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4 invited leaders from seven major drug companies to testify at a hearing about high prescription drug costs later this month, reports Reuters.
An abrupt shortage of the anti-anxiety drug buspirone is complicating mental healthcare for many patients, reports The New York Times.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sent a letter to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Feb. 4, asking why the company is charging $375,000 for a drug that many patients could previously access for free, reports Reuters.
Real-time benefit check (RTBC) is a relatively new technology that can help address the challenges of rising patient share of medication costs and medication non-adherence by surfacing prescription benefit details for patients and providers at the point of prescribing.
Advertisement
Drugmaker Merck ended the fourth quarter of 2018 with net income of $1.8 billion, compared to a net loss of $1 billion in the same period a year prior.
Walgreens purchased 63 pharmacies from Shopko Stores Operating Co. during a bankruptcy auction Jan. 28, reports the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Stewart Adams, PhD, a pioneering pharmacist who discovered ibuprofen, died Jan. 30 at age 95, according to BBC News.
Under a proposed rule HHS released Jan. 31, drug manufacturers would no longer be able to give rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, but they would be allowed to offer discounted prices directly to consumers.
A woman posed as a pharmacist and allegedly filled more than 700,000 prescriptions while working at three Walgreens locations in the Bay Area for more than 10 years, the Los Angeles Times reports.