Supply Chain

The American Red Cross often sees a steep drop in blood donations starting around Memorial Day and continuing through the summer, due to vacations and school breaks.

Here are the six latest drugs or medical devices approved by the FDA since May 11.

The FDA on May 21 approved Dova Pharmaceuticals' drug Doptelet to treat thrombocytopenia — a condition involving a low blood platelet count — in chronic liver disease patients set to undergo a medical or dental procedure.

After two rejections, the FDA finally approved AstraZeneca's potassium drug Lokelma, the drugmaker announced May 18.

Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital is one of many hospitals nationwide grappling with a severe shortage of intravenous opioids.

The FDA has approved a detection device from BacterioScan, a St. Louis biotech startup, which can quickly diagnose patients with urinary tract infections, according to St. Louis Public Radio.

About 90 percent of emergency physicians have experienced shortages or absences of critical medications in their emergency departments in the last month, according to a recent poll conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The salaries of supply chain professionals increased faster than overall U.S. wage gains in 2017, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Pfizer earned FDA approval for its drug Retacrit — a biosimilar version of the anemia therapy Epogen/Procrit — May 15.

Amgen will charge $6,900 per year for its migraine prevention drug — a price 30 percent lower than Wall Street expectations — as the company attempts to dodge the payer backlash that has affected recent drug launches, according to STAT.