FDA is updating health care professionals and consumers following a recent FDA press release about voluntary recalls of several drug products containing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) valsartan. Valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. FDA recommends patients…

FDA said Thursday that it has become aware of instances of severe illnesses and deaths that stem from the use of contaminated synthetic cannabinoid products. In these reports, the synthetic cannabinoid was tainted with brodifacoum, a very long-acting anticoagulant often used in rat poison.…

California health officials confirmed this week the death of an infant from whooping cough, the first death from the disease in the state since 2016. While the California Department of Public Health did not provide any details about the case due to confidentiality reasons, department director Karen…

A new analysis suggests that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids has little or no effect on the risk of death, heart attack, or stroke. While omega 3 supplements appeared to reduce triglyceride levels, they also reduced levels of HDL cholesterol, according to the report in the Cochrane Library…

Merck & Co. said Thursday that would voluntarily cut the prices of some of its drugs. Merck said there would be a 60% cut on the price of elbasvir–grazoprevir (Zepatier) hepatitis C treatment as well as a 10% cut to the list price of six other older drugs. The company vowed not to raise…

Prescription medications under state Medicaid programs costs those states tens of billions of dollars annually. The cost nearly doubled between 2008 and 2016. The Center for Public Integrity began investigating the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on state Medicaid programs 8 months ago.…

Researchers have expressed concern that FDA's expedited approval process for drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions could lead to uncertainty about safety and efficacy. The findings from a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association "suggest that…

In Tennessee, Chattanooga State Community College reports that certified pharmacy technicians are seeing record demand in the region. According to Nancy Watts, director of the school's Pharmacy Technician program, certified pharm techs are in "unprecedented high demand" in the area. "The duties and…

Diamondback Drugs has been acquired by Wedgewood Pharmacy, the nation's largest animal drug compounder. The merged company will operate as Wedgewood Pharmacy, serving more than 40,000 prescribers and hundreds of thousands of animal owners. The company will also have more than 500 employees at its…

The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would scale back protections currently in place that allow rebates between drug manufacturers and insurers and PBMs. The proposal comes amid administration efforts to implement a wide-ranging plan to lower prescription medicine prices. HHS has sent…