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Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to settle charges it fraudulently promoted drugs and used kickbacks to spur sales, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.

Orally administered chemotherapies have become standards of care with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and some forms of leukemia, with an estimated one third of all new cancer treatments being developed as oral formulations.

FDA has approved obinutuzumab (Gazyva, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group), also known as GA101, in combination with chlorambucil chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

More than 10% of teens and young adults admit misusing a prescription painkiller or sedative, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

The estate of a longtime owner and operator of a Buffalo pharmacy has donated $2 million to a local hospice.According to report by radio station WBFO, the money was received from the estate of William Bender.

A Washington State pharmacist has filed suit against Wal-Mart, claiming the giant retailer hired him with knowledge of his past drug addiction and license suspension, then later fired him because of that same history.

Allopurinol, considered the standard of care for gout, may be inadequate to lower uric acid levels in patients with gout, according to new safety and efficacy data from a large study presented at the American College of Rheumatology 2013 annual meeting recently in San Diego, Calif.

Fluticasone furoate and vilanterol inhalation powder (Breo Ellipta, GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance) once-daily for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is now available to pharmacies throughout the United States.

Costs related to antibiotics are the most important factors influencing hospital formulary decision-making, according to a new report.

Teva President and CEO Dr. Jeremy Levin resigned Oct. 30, just 20 days after the company announced an accelerated restructuring program that will result in 5,000 job losses worldwide.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recently became the first U.S. hospital to disallow most dietary supplements in its formulary.

Rude and disrespectful behavior including bullying and intimidation is a big problem in healthcare workplaces that erodes professional communication essential to patient safety, according to a recent study by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

FDA has approved hydrocodone bitartrate extended-release capsules (Zohydro ER, Zogenix) for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

A campaign to encourage girls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In a letter sent late last week to the bill’s sponsor, more than 480 pharmacies endorsed the Medicare Efficient Drug Dispensing Act (S.B. 1493)

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association is urging Congress to consider a series of policies it believes would save $100 billion in federal prescription drug spending and improve safety in Medicare and Medicaid.

Regardless of their income, employment status, and access to resources, patients want to support their health, and pharmacists can help them do it.

Severe life-threatening allergic reactions are more common than many thought. Anaphylaxis very likely occurs in nearly 1 in 50 Americans (1.6%), and the rate is probably higher, close to 1 in 20 (5.1%), according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The FDA is recommending to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that hydrodone combination products, such as Vicodin, be reclassified as a Schedule II product, placing tighter controls on the pain medications. Hydrocodone is currently a Schedule III drug, according to an FDA announcement.

The product is the first and only filler to treat this condition.

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is asking for answers to questions raised in a newly published report.

An overestimation of future pharmacist jobs plus too many pharmacy schools will lead to a joblessness crisis for new pharmacy students, predicts a recent report in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Vast majorities of people who see physicians for sore throats or acute bronchitis receive antibiotics, yet only a small percentage should, according to analyses of 2 major national surveys presented recently at the IDWeek Meeting in San Francisco

FDA approved macitentan (Opsumit, Actelion Pharmaceuticals) to treat adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a chronic, progressive and debilitating disease that can lead to death or lung transplantation.

Pennsylvania, which has one of the highest rates of overdoses in the country, is moving closer to an Rx database that would list all prescriptions of potentially habit-forming medications.

Whether a patient receives proven and effective medications or potentially harmful ones may depend on where they live, according to a report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project.

In the treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE) in North American patients, rivaroxaban (Xarelto) reduced length of hospital stay by 1 full day compared to conventional dual therapy, according to data presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians scientific assembly, October 14-17, in Seattle.

"Because of poor medication adherence, the rampant prescription drug abuse problem, and the worsening primary care shortage, pharmacists are ideally situated,” says B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

In an open letter to Jim Plagakis, a JP fan decides that even when a paradigm is shattered, there is still value to be had in picking up the pieces.

Friends, co-workers, and Auntie Alice are definitely not the folks to give you the best advice about drugs. And sometimes, neither is APhA.