The Food and Drug Administration declined to approve two drugs for HIV made by Gilead Sciences for which the company was seeking approval for use as part of treatment regimens.

Medical products manufacturer Covidien's pharmaceutical division is expanding an initiative to collect unused and unwanted medications.

More than 1.3 million emergency room visits in 2010 were related to abuse of prescription drugs, and the problem has become widespread enough that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies it as an epidemic. In response, curbing abuse of prescription drugs has become a cornerstone of the Obama administration's drug policy.

Avella Specialty Pharmacy provided more than $7.2 million in financial assistance to patients last year, the company said Thursday.

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.

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.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy has several new programs in the works to promote health and wellness among its employees, the company said.

Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg faced strong criticism Tuesday in a hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to investigate the nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, but she conceded the agency could have done more.

The Food and Drug Administration will not approve generic versions of Purdue Pharma's painkiller OxyContin based on earlier versions of the drug that did not include features to thwart abuse, the agency said.

Johnson & Johnson's sales increased by 8.5% to $17.5 billion in first quarter 2013, the healthcare products company said Tuesday.

Two Dallas-based compounding pharmacies announced a recall of sterile drug products made at their facilities due to production conditions that could lead to contamination.

An inspection of more than two-dozen compounding pharmacies by Food and Drug Administration officials has found widespread problems with sanitation and sterilization practices, FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg wrote in a blog post on the agency's website Thursday.