INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

NEW YORK This battle was supposed to be over by now.

NEW YORK The business of blood glucose meters has always been a business of “what will they think of next?” When people with diabetes didn’t aggressively test because of the painful, daily pin pricks of their fingertips, manufacturers secured approval for alternate site testing. Manufacturers also developed no-coding meters to eliminate any errors in testing that may have resulted from miscoded testing strips, when that was identified as a potential interface issue.

NEW YORK There was speculation in January that Schering-Plough’s switch application around the proton-pump inhibitor Zegerid was scuttled after receiving a complete response letter from the Food and Drug Administration.

NEW YORK The approval of Watson Pharmaceutical’s ANDA for levonorgestrel tablets, otherwise known as the emergency contraceptive Plan B, marks the first time a generic company gained prescription-only approval for one month, even as it awaits nonprescription approval for the same drug a few months down the line.

Of course, it’s fitting, as Plan B is the only medicine available as both a prescription and nonprescription remedy at the same strength and for the same indication, the only distinguishing factor being the age of the patient.

NEW YORK It is critical that the dietary supplement industry extol the benefit and value associated with supplementing for health and wellness, especially as today’s legislators determine what health care will look like tomorrow, and how patients will be incentivized into being more proactive around the pursuit of preventative health behaviors.