Hospital

Multiple health care organizations, including The American Hospital Association (AHA), the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), have shown their full support for the MEDS Act.

Attendees of a session on operating a long-term-care (LTC) pharmacy received tips on key metrics, technology advancements, and meeting customer needs, during the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) 2019 Annual Convention.

Officials with the FDA have expanded the use of Melinta Therapeutics’ delafloxacin (Baxdela) to include treatment of adult patients with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia caused by designated susceptible bacteria, but the drug’s availability will be delayed for this new indication.

Researchers have found that patients with high blood pressure (BP) who take all their antihypertensive medications at bedtime have better controlled blood pressure and a significantly lower risk of death or illness caused by heart or blood vessel problems, compared to patients who take their medications in the morning.1

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape.

Genentech has announced the results of a Phase III study which showed that atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) increased overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Officials with the FDA have approved Allergan’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for onabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX®) to expand its indication to include treatment of pediatric patients, ages 2 to 17 years, with lower limb spasticity, excluding spasticity caused by cerebral palsy.

Results from the safety and efficacy trial of revefenacin (REV) demonstrated that the drug had a safety profile similar to foremoterol (FOR). In addition, patients with COPD in the suboptimal peak inspiratory flow rate trial (sPIFR) showed lower weight, BMI, and lung function in comparison to patients with optimal peak inspiratory flow rate (oPIFR) in a second study.

Bemcentinib is being evaluated as a treatment for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia whose disease has relapsed.

In addition to Jennifer Garner, actresses Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Christina Applegate are advocates for breast cancer, both being survivors of the disease.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has awarded Scott J. Knoer, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP, with its John W. Webb Lecture Award.

The new, standardized, ready-to-use formulation of phenylephrine HCl can help reduce medication errors and improve patient safety.

At the ESMO Congress 2019, Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, spoke about how a collaborative program between pharmacists and oncology providers at her institution helps prevent medication errors.

According to investigators at the National Institutes of Health, a single dose of highly diluted VSV-Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine is still protective against the disease.

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape.

Four pharmaceutical distributors have agreed to settle federal litigation related to the ongoing opioid epidemic for a collective $260 million, less than a day before a federal trial was set to begin in Ohio.

Limited supply of chemotherapy agent that treats several pediatric cancers may lead to rationing of doses.

Pending results of the California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE) have been invalidated for 1400 applicants that recently took the test, due to a cheating issue.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval for abiraterone acetate tablets USP, 250 mg, a generic of Janssen's Zytiga tablets, 250 mg.1

Nine widely-used medications have experienced substantial price growth since 2016, adding $5.1 billion to overall drug spending.

The full-day meeting will feature recognized experts sharing the latest clinical data in oncology, while exploring best practices and management strategies.

Kyowa Kirin’s istradefylline (Nourianz) is now available in the United States as adjunctive treatment to levodopa/carbidopa in adult patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) that are experiencing “off” episodes.

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape.

Today is National Pharmacy Technician Day, and pharmacists are sharing how valuable technicians are to them.

In the wake of California’s drug transparency law, an analysis by state health officials on pricing trends found that drug companies raised the whole acquisition cost dramatically for many drugs.

The Rite Aid Foundation is awarding $2.3 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through its KidCents Grant Program.

To date, the FDA has granted rivaroxaban 8 indications, 6 of which are specifically for the treatment, prevention, and reduction in the risk of recurrence of venous thromboemolism across a wide range of patient populations.

A researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in St.Louis has received close to $7.5 million in total funding for research towards development of stem cell-based treatments for chronic pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and other disorders.

Top news of the week from Specialty Pharmacy Times.

This article is the third in a series on difficult to pronounce drug names.