The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for constipation related to use of opioid painkillers made by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the drug makers said.

Generic drug maker Hospira marked its fifth year marketing knock-off versions of biotech drugs in Europe Wednesday as it presented at the 2013 Biotechnology Industry Organization International Convention this week.

A dramatic jump in the rates of misuse of prescription stimulants over the past four years is linked to lax attitudes on the part of parents, according to a new study, though misuse and abuse of prescription opioids has remained flat.

The Food and Drug Administration has launched an interactive map that allows users to find licensed online pharmacies by searching through states' board of pharmacy databases.

Unnecessary spending related to medications totaled nearly half a trillion dollars last year, and much of that was in the poorest states in the country, according to pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts.

Sandoz U.S. Generics Operating Unit VP sales and marketing Rich Tremonte will leave the company.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new contraceptive drug made by Warner Chilcott, the drug maker said.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Alcon, the drug maker said.

To the skepticism of many, Walgreens last year made a big global splash with its two-step merger deal with Alliance Boots across the pond. But with the announcement that the co-joined Walgreens/Alliance Boots had signed a 10-year distribution deal with wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, that included an equity stake to boot, well, it seemed that many analysts on Wall Street finally got it.

This is going to be a big year for community pharmacy, said Thrifty White president and CEO Bob Narveson, as the nation reaches full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2014.

This month Walgreens announced that it would begin to offer chronic care services at its Take Care Clinics. Its biggest competitor, MinuteClinic, made a similar announcement about a year ago. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the people paying the bills are going to get a good look at what retail clinics can do to lower costs and improve outcomes.

DSN talked with Suzanne Hansen, Walgreens group VP pharmacy operations, about how Walgreens is shifting its pharmacy service model to a comprehensive health-savings offering.