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NCPDP offers compelling testimony on Proposals for a National Health Plan Identifier

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs offered compelling testimony to the National Committee on Vital Health Statistics last week on Proposals for a National Health Plan Identifier, citing the existing operational processes that have been successfully used in the pharmacy industry for over 25 years.

27 Jul 2010

Insurers, young, uninsured all prepare for different changes under health reform

Insurers, the young, the uninsured and lawmakers are just a few of the groups sorting out what the implementation of health reform means for them as details emerge on changes to the system.

27 Jul 2010

Alexza second-quarter net loss decreases to $12.9 million

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 and provided a business update. The net loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, as reported in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP), was $12.9 million and $26.3 million, respectively, compared to a net loss of $17.0 million and $23.9 million in the respective comparable periods in 2009. Alexza had consolidated cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at June 30, 2010 of $41.7 million.

27 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Health reform and long-term care; Health care incentives; Reasons for optimism or repeal and replace?

Our system of long-term care does not provide adequate or coordinated human services and medical treatment for our growing aging population. … Thanks to a provision of the new health care law known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, tomorrow's continuum of care does not have to be so unforgiving. For the first time, a voluntary public insurance program will be available to help adults and families pay for long-term care services (Bruce Chernof, 7/23).

26 Jul 2010

Increase in need for language services increases revenues of ISI Translation Services

Even before the 2010 U.S. Census confirms it, one Los Angeles company's consistent growth throughout the recession reveals an increasing need for language services, especially for companies in the healthcare and financial services sectors.

26 Jul 2010

Senior Smart introduces online tool for seniors looking for quality assisted living facilities

In response to the "graying of America" phenomena, Senior Smart announced today the inception of http://www.assisted-living-info.org, an online tool that provides the perfect match between families and seniors actively looking for assisted living and quality assisted living facilities nationwide.

23 Jul 2010

BCBSGA offers key tips for caregivers for better health care management

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, more than 65 million people in the United States serve as informal caregivers, typically for family members, which equates to more than one out of every four people serving as unpaid caregivers.

23 Jul 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb second-quarter net sales increase 2% to $4.8 billion

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported results for the second quarter of 2010 which featured data on key marketed and investigational compounds in its oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular franchises, and growth in sales and EPS. The company also confirmed guidance for 2010 and minimum guidance for non-GAAP EPS in 2013.

22 Jul 2010

AstraZeneca provides medicines to patients at Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers

AstraZeneca announced today that it is providing medicines at no cost to qualifying patients at Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers, Inc. in St. Louis.

22 Jul 2010

Fera acquires investigational new drug for treatment of fungal otitis externa

Fera Pharmaceuticals announces the acquisition of an investigational new drug to treat fungal otitis externa (FOE).

22 Jul 2010

Amylin reports $164.4M total revenue for quarter ended June 30, 2010

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The Company reported total revenue of $164.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, which includes net product sales of $162.5 million. Net loss, excluding a restructuring charge of $3.4 million, was $40.8 million, or $0.28 per share.

22 Jul 2010

Eli Lilly CEO says U.S. drugmakers' biggest challenge is sustaining innovation

USA Today/Indianapolis Star: Drugmakers are facing an array of challenges, like lawsuits and patent losses, but also new opportunities including global growth and an expected surge in the number of U.S. residents with health insurance. Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter comments in a Q&A: "The biggest challenge facing the industry is to be able to sustain the flow of innovative medicines from our pipelines that can effectively compete against the generic versions of our own products" (Chu, 7/21).

22 Jul 2010

Medicare drug benefit appears to help more seniors with heart failure

The Medicare drug benefit may be helping more older Americans with heart failure get the medications recommended for controlling the disease, a new study finds. The study, of nearly 7,000 older heart failure patients in one large insurance plan, found that the number of filled prescriptions for standard heart failure medications increased after the Medicare drug benefit kicked in in 2006. The biggest increase was seen among seniors who had previously lacked any form of drug coverage.

22 Jul 2010

Company creates cottages for aging, disabled relatives; Report examines rising costs for elderly health care

"On Monday, N2Care, a company formed by a Methodist minister in Salem, Va., showed off its first MedCottage, a 12-by-24-foot prototype filled with biometric technology that would allow a family and health-care providers to monitor the condition of an aging or disabled relative. … [T]he Virginia General Assembly this year passed legislation, HB1307, that supersedes local zoning laws and allows families to install such a dwelling on their property with a doctor's order."

21 Jul 2010

States worry Congress may not provide extra Medicaid funding; AARP steps in to advocate for the cause

"New York's budget took another blow on Monday, as Congress pulled away from providing more than $1 billion in expected health-care funding. If the money doesn't show up soon, officials warn, there will be layoffs. Senate aides said Monday that a measure to extend unemployment benefits is likely to pass this week, but won't include the extra Medicaid money that Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg had been seeking to plug budget holes. In previous versions of the bill, the money had been included along with unemployment benefits."

21 Jul 2010

FDA accepts MannKind's resubmission of AFREZZA NDA, sets PDUFA action date

MannKind Corporation today announced that it has submitted, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted, MannKind's resubmission of its New Drug Application for AFREZZA™ (insulin human [rDNA origin]) and classified it as a Class 2 resubmission. With the Class 2 designation, the FDA set a corresponding Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of December 29, 2010.

21 Jul 2010

UnitedHealth Group second-quarter consolidated revenues increase 7% to $23.3 billion

UnitedHealth Group today reported second quarter results, including better-than-projected growth in Health Benefits and Health Services. Key performance metrics and costs were in line with or better than Company expectations.

20 Jul 2010

New report compares efficacy of Plavix, Effient in treating patients with ACS

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome, 56 percent of surveyed interventional cardiologists who prescribe Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix in high doses, consider it to be comparable in efficacy to Daiichi Sankyo/Eli Lilly's recently-launched Effient.

20 Jul 2010

Pain medication abuse soars

The Associated Press: "A new government study finds a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment for abusing prescription pain medication. The increase in substance abuse among people ages 12 and older was recorded during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008. It spans every gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment level, and all regions of the country" (7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Amgen granted FDA priority review designation for denosumab BLA

Amgen today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review designation to denosumab, a subcutaneous RANK Ligand inhibitor, for the treatment of bone metastases to reduce skeletal related events (SREs) in patients with cancer.

17 Jul 2010

Prescription Drug News and Research

NCPDP offers compelling testimony on Proposals for a National Health Plan Identifier

Insurers, young, uninsured all prepare for different changes under health reform

Alexza second-quarter net loss decreases to $12.9 million

Today's OpEds: Health reform and long-term care; Health care incentives; Reasons for optimism or repeal and replace?

Increase in need for language services increases revenues of ISI Translation Services

Senior Smart introduces online tool for seniors looking for quality assisted living facilities

BCBSGA offers key tips for caregivers for better health care management

Bristol-Myers Squibb second-quarter net sales increase 2% to $4.8 billion

AstraZeneca provides medicines to patients at Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers

Fera acquires investigational new drug for treatment of fungal otitis externa

Amylin reports $164.4M total revenue for quarter ended June 30, 2010

Eli Lilly CEO says U.S. drugmakers' biggest challenge is sustaining innovation

Medicare drug benefit appears to help more seniors with heart failure

Company creates cottages for aging, disabled relatives; Report examines rising costs for elderly health care

States worry Congress may not provide extra Medicaid funding; AARP steps in to advocate for the cause

FDA accepts MannKind's resubmission of AFREZZA NDA, sets PDUFA action date

UnitedHealth Group second-quarter consolidated revenues increase 7% to $23.3 billion

New report compares efficacy of Plavix, Effient in treating patients with ACS

Pain medication abuse soars

Amgen granted FDA priority review designation for denosumab BLA

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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