INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — If you want to change any kind of misguided perception that pharmacists are mere pill-counters and quality assurance specialists who stand behind a counter with a team of pharmacy technicians, then you've got to do something dramatic. Placing the pharmacist front and center in an "information booth" armed with a technophile-friendly iPad who is proactively interacting with patients — that's dramatic.

DECATUR, Ga. — DeKalb Medical has teamed up with Walgreens pharmacists to help patients understand and comply with medication therapies following treatment at the hospital — a collaborative relationship, which already has in just its first three months of existence, improved patient care and satisfaction, DeKalb reported Thursday.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved 35 new drugs over the past 12 months, the agency said Thursday.

NEW YORK — Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb will present 20 study abstracts at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, the company said Thursday.

Bristol said that of those, 18 contain new data from studies of Orencia (abatacept) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus nephritis.

CHICAGO — Expect to see the pet products industry grow more than 30% over the next five years, a new Mintel report released this week suggested.

CHICAGO — The week before Christmas will be especially important for retailers looking to come out on top this holiday season, according to new ShopperTrak research released Tuesday.

Five of the top sales and foot traffic days will occur between Dec. 18 and Dec. 24, according to ShopperTrak, which noted in a recent report that holiday sales are projected to increase this year despite a drop in foot traffic.

LOS ANGELES — In its latest winter holiday shopping survey, PriceGrabber said almost all shoppers plan on shopping online, while just nearly one-half of consumers expressed intentions to shop at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

LONDON — Pfizer soon may lose its distinction of having the highest global sales of any drug company, according to life sciences industry analysis firm EvaluatePharma.

The next contender for the title is France's Sanofi, which EvaluatePharma said was expected to take the top spot next year and stay there through 2016.