HEALTH

SAN DIEGO — The Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to a drug for treating sickle cell disease.

A recent Raymond James Financial commercial, in which the “fastidious librarian Emily Skinner” lives to the “ripe old age of 187” (thanks in part to prudent financial planning), really captures what tomorrow’s senior is going to look like — or at least what he or she will aspire to look like. And judging by the commercial, seniors will look extremely active, playing a ping-pong champ, landing a record-setting bass and setting off on a hang glider into the sunset.

CHICAGO — A drug made by Pfizer may help decrease the risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure, according to a late-stage clinical study.

The “Emphasis-HF” study — funded by Pfizer, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Chicago — found that adding Inspra (eplerenone) to standard therapies reduced the risks compared with placebo.

NEW ORLEANS — Moving, in its own words, “beyond e-prescribing,” paperless platform provider Surescripts has begun expanding its nationwide e-prescribing network to allow doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals to exchange all types of clinical information.

DEERFIELD, Ill. —The healthcare landscape is changing. There’s a new value-driven consumer who has emerged and, in light of this, retail pharmacy giant Walgreens is in the midst of an evolution into “a retail health and daily living store” and is on a mission to “own well.” That was a key message that an optimistic Greg Wasson, Walgreens president and CEO, had for Wall Street during the company’s Analyst Day conference on Nov. 4 in Chicago.

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Hugo Naturals, a maker of natural personal care products, has received the gluten-free seal from the Celiac Sprue Association, designating the company's full range of products as gluten-free and appropriate for the growing population with celiac disease.

Today, American consumers are more focused on the foods they eat. They read labels. They understand the importance of fiber and whole grains. They know the difference between good and bad fats.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A backlog of more than 2,000 drug entities and devices is awaiting approval. That’s the situation facing the Food and Drug Administration and the generic pharmaceutical industry—and it’s the chief impetus behind the FDA’s push to impose user fees on generic drug makers seeking the agency’s review and approval for their brand-equivalent medicines.