HEALTH

PITTSBURGH — GNC on Friday announced that its employees and customers donated a total of $3.1 million over the past few months to support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thanks and Giving campaign. The campaign, now in its ninth year, builds awareness of and raises funds for the research and treatment done at St. Jude to help children fighting cancer. 

WASHINGTON — According to a report filed to Congress by the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday, the seizures of methamphetamine-producing labs declined following state and federal sales restrictions on pseudoephedrine. And while electronic tracking systems help enforce PSE sales limits, those efforts have not reduced meth lab incidents and have limitations related to smurfing, the GAO added. 

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe on Thursday announced that it has closed on the previously announced purchase of Super Supplements — a specialty retailer of vitamins, minerals and supplements — for approximately $50 million.  

Super Supplements is headquartered in Seattle and operates 31 stores in the Pacific Northwest.

WASHINGTON — Two nonprofit groups focused on asthma and allergies will merge to combine their efforts.

The Kids with Food Allergies Foundation will become a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and the combined organization will provide education, advocacy, research, social networking and support for families living with the diseases. The groups' boards agreed to merge in 2012.

BOSTON — According to research published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, not all respiratory ailments that generate influenza-like symptoms can be attributed to the flu. The human metapneumovirus — which is not a strain of influenza, is impervious to antiviral medicines like Tamiflu and does not have an available vaccine according to reports — causes just as many hospitalizations and outpatient visits among children as does the flu. 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. marshals, acting on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration, on Thursday seized tainted products from Globe All Wellness in Hollywood, Fla. The products may be unsafe because they contain an undisclosed active pharmaceutical ingredient.

NORWELL, Mass. — Carex Health Brands on Thursday unveiled a revamped website featuring both a consumer-centric and a business-to-business version.

“We feel this new website design reflects who we are as a company and better serves both our consumer-facing and B-to-B customers," stated Jeff Swain, VP marketing, Carex Health Brands. "Every day at Carex we seek to improve the quality of life of our consumers and to better serve our resellers. This web site is a giant leap forward toward accomplishing those goals.” 

CHICAGO — Swisse Wellness, one of Australia's leading multivitamin brands, on Thursday announced availability of 15 of its most popular multivitamins and dietary supplements through Walgreens. 

"We are impressed by Swisse's growth, commitment to its principles and the research investment in the premium quality of their multivitamins and supplements," stated Robert Tompkins, divisional VP and general merchandise manager for Walgreens.