Cardinal Health and URAC are joining forces to help Cardinal Health’s customers pursue accreditation for their specialty pharmacies and practices.

Leveraging insights from 70 operating outpatient pharmacies in 19 states, Cardinal Health offers pharmacies and medically integrated dispensaries a full range of solutions through its Specialty Pharmacy Services, including consultative support, assessments and new facility openings, as well as providing leadership and day-to-day management.

As part of the agreement with URAC, Cardinal Health customers will receive special pricing for new URAC accreditations, which validate that a pharmacy meets the most rigorous standards in the industry and demonstrates the value of the clinical services it provides.

[Read more: Cardinal Health reports revenue growth in Q3]

“Hospitals across the country continue to face challenges in minimizing the costs and complexity of specialty medications. Many are searching for ways to better manage this growing area of outpatient pharmaceutical spend more effectively,” said Peter Siavelis, senior vice president and general manager of acute care distribution and services at Cardinal Health. “Our agreement with URAC will further strengthen our commitment to providing the guidance and support needed to help hospitals and health systems determine the right path for their pharmacies.”

URAC accreditation also serves as a framework for ensuring quality within an organization by identifying areas for improvement through performance analysis and education. 

“Because of their role in serving patients with complex chronic illnesses, pharmacies are a critical and growing resource within the healthcare landscape,” said Jeffrey Carr, URAC’s vice president of business development. “We’re pleased to offer Cardinal Health preferred pricing for new accreditation to its customers nationwide, further validating the high-quality care they provide and their commitment to improving patient outcomes.”

[Read more: Cardinal Health to expand footprint in Columbus, Ohio]

Cardinal Health helps hospitals and health systems determine the right outpatient pharmacy approach for their facilities based on their unique goals and needs. These services also extend to federally qualified health centers, independent physician practices, independent pharmacies and dispensing clinicians.  

Cheez-It is adding a hint of spice to its Snap’d line of cheesy, thin crispy snacks.

New from the Battle Creek, Mich.-based company is its limited-edition Snap’d Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar snacks, which are baked with 100% real cheddar cheese and feature a fiery heat, notes of garlic and savory umami.

“Lunch has become the mundane or forgotten meal, but with the cheesy, thin and crispy crunch from Cheez-It Snap’d, we’re bringing that ‘I can’t wait until lunch’ feeling back,” said Erin Storm, senior marketing director of Cheez-It. “With the debut of Cheez-It Snap’d Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar, we’re spicing up lunchtime and sending taste buds on a fiery, cheesy ride — making an unskippable lunch experience with a blazing kick.”

Cheez-It Snap’d Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar snacks are available throughout the summer at retailers nationwide.

In its generics guidance for 2022, Hikma shared Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ update to its expectations for the launch timing of an authorized generic of Xyrem (sodium oxybate) as provided in its first-quarter 2022 earnings conference call.

Xyrem is a central nervous system depressant indicated for the treatment of cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness in patients aged 7 years old and older with narcolepsy.

Jazz now expects authorized generic entry to occur in late 2022, or possibly even January 2023, Hikma said.

In 2017, the company entered into a settlement agreement with Jazz to sell an authorized generic of Xyrem. Under the terms of this agreement, Hikma has a certain launch date of Jan. 1, 2023 or earlier depending on certain market conditions, and 180 days of exclusivity.

To align with Jazz’s updated expectations, Hikma now conservatively assumes it will launch its authorized generic on  Jan. 1, 2023, and that the revenue and profit contribution from the exclusivity period will shift to the first half of 2023.

Reflecting this, the company updated its guidance for its generics business. For 2022, Hikma now expects generics revenue to be in the range of $710 million to $750 million and core operating margin to be around 20%, with the lower end of the range reflecting the possibility of further price erosion in the U.S. generic market, should this materialize. This compares with Hikma’s previous guidance of generics revenue growth in the range of 8% to 10% over full-year 2021 revenue of $820 million and core operating margin in the range of 24% to 25%.

All other guidance remains unchanged, the company said. 

The Food and Drug Administration has given Lupin permission for two new generics.

The FDA approved Iloperidone tablets, a generic of Vanda’s Fanapt tablets, in dosage strengths of 1 mg, 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg, 8 mg, 10 mg and 12 mg.

Fanapt is used for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and will be manufactured at Lupin's facility in Goa, India.

Iloperidone tablets had a market value of roughly $162 million, according to March 2022 IQVIA data.

Lupin also received the FDA’s clearance for pregabalin capsules in dosage strengths of 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 225 mg and 300 mg.

The medication is the generic of Upjohn’s Lyrica, which is indicated to treat fibromyalgia, diabetic nerve pain, spinal cord injury nerve pain and pain after shingles in adult patients, as well as partial-onset seizures in patients aged 1 month old and older with epilepsy who take one or more other drugs for seizures.

The product will be manufactured at Lupin's facility in Aurangabad, India.

Pregabalin capsules had a market value of approximately $263 million, according to IQVIA March 2022 data.

Patients with cold sore/fever blisters on their face or lips will soon have a new generic treatment. 

Alembic Pharmaceuticals’ subsidiary Aleor Dermaceuticals has received the Food and Drug Administration clearance for its generic Docosanol cream.

The product is the generic of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare’s Abreva cream 10% (OTC).

Docosanol cream 10% (OTC) has a market value of roughly $60 million for the 12 months ending December 2021, according to IQVIA.

One Brands has a brand-new limited-edition protein bar variety that was inspired by a classic ice cream flavor.

The Boulder, Colo.-based company’s new rocky road-flavored bars contain a chocolatey center filled with almonds and marshmallow-flavored bits surrounded by a decadent icing-like coating, according to the brand.

“Summer and ice cream go hand in hand, and One is making it easy to enjoy the delicious flavor of rocky road in a convenient bar that includes 20 g of protein and only 1 g of sugar,” said Eric Clawson, One general manager. “One Brands is known for flavor innovation, and our proprietary blends not only capture the best flavors from cinnamon roll to chocolate brownie, but our soft, not chalky, bar texture is the reason to believe you can really have your sweets and protein too.”

Available for a limited time, One Brands’ rocky road bar can be found online at one1brands.com and Amazon.com, as well as in stores at The Vitamin Shoppe and Circle K among others.